MARK | Lesson 10 | Lesson Notes / talking Points
Read Mark 15.20 – 16.8
MAKING THE CONNECTIONS & SETTING THE CONTEXT
1/ We have now come to the conclusion of our brief survey/summary of the Gospel of Mark. So much has been left unsaid, but what we have tried to do is point out and emphasize what Mark himself [under the influence of the apostle Peter] has pointed out and emphasized.
2/ Having said that, I want to point out just a few of the themes Mark evidently had in the forefront of his attention and purpose as he wrote. We know he did because he emphasized these themes by the words he chose and repeated from the beginning of his writing:
- '…the Gospel of Jesus Christ' [see ch 1.1 & 14]. This is Mark's accounting of the narrative of Jesus' Good News – the same Good News that Jesus Himself proclaimed about Himself. It is the Gospel / Good News of God's saving us and delivering us from our sins. Now in Mark's concluding paragraphs, he will give us the story of that Gospel. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15.1-4: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you … that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… This is the story Mark relates to us in these Scriptures.
- '…the Son of God' [see ch 1.1]. Mark's purpose in writing and publishing this Gospel narrative was to show how Jesus, in everything He said and did, demonstrated and evidenced His Deity – that He is, indeed, the Son of God, or to say it another way, God, the Son. Every word Jesus spoke and every deed He performed evidenced His Deity. Now, even in His death, even the Roman centurion who was in charge of Jesus' crucifixion squad, had to acknowledge in ch 15.39: And when the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"
- 'The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand' [see ch 1.15]. This was Jesus' own keynote to His message and the theme of His life's ministry. 'Kingdom' means that He is the King, and that He reigns over all. We have seen that sovereignty and authority exercised over and over – Jesus' power and dominion over all who resisted and opposed Him. Now, even in the ways He died and especially in His resurrection, He will demonstrably prove His absolute sovereignty and Lordship over every element, force, and person that would challenge His authority: principally over Satan, all His enemies, sin, and finally death. He is not only 'the King of the Jews' and 'the King of Israel,' but He is also 'the Ruler of kings on earth' [Revelation1.5] – all of them … including 'he who would be king,' that is, Satan himself.
- And there are so many other themes and threads that Mark has introduced and woven into this Gospel that are 'knotted and tied off' here in this grand climax and conclusion of his Gospel…
3/ So, with that in mind, let's summarize this grand finale of the Gospel story as accomplished by Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection … and narrated to us from the apostle Peter through John Mark.
4/ In the title Scripture from 1 Corinthians 15.1-4, Paul inseparably links the ways Jesus died and rose again with the Old Testament prophetic Scriptures. Here are some of those Scripture fulfillments…
I / Mark 15.20-41 / How Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
1/ vv 21-22 / The Romans invoked their custom and law of angaria which gave them the right to commandeer the property or services of anyone in the nations they subjugated to assist them or do their bidding. Jesus was already physically weakened by the overnight ordeals – and especially by the scourging. John 19.17 states that Jesus began bearing the horizontal cross-beam Himself, but with difficulty. So Simon was compelled into service to carry it. Apparently, by the time Mark wrote, Simon had become a well-known disciple, 'the father of Alexander and Rufus.' They arrived at Golgotha [Aramaic / John 19.17] (which means Place of a Skull) which was outside the city [Hebrews 13.12-13]. So must we be willing to 'take up His cross, bearing His reproach.'
"They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink" (Psalm 69.21)
2/ v 23 / This wine mixed with myrrh' [see Psalm 69.21] was probably a potion containing a sedative which would lessen Jesus' pain, discomfort, and His full experience of the cup the Father had given Him to drink. He refused to drink it. [This drink is different than the one offered to Him in v 36.]
3/ v 24 / The soldiers gambled for His garments to fulfill Psalm 22.18.
4/ v 25 / It was around 9 a. m. when Jesus was impaled and nailed to His Cross to fulfill Psalm 22.16: "They have pierced My hands and My feet."
"Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John 19.19)
5/ v 26 / The inscription that was nailed to Jesus' Cross was the indictment or charges that He was being crucified for. The Romans did this to announce and advertise to anyone who might even think of committing such a crime to not do it. Pilate most likely worded it this way as a digging insult to the Jews, as if to say, 'Don't even think about declaring yourself to be a king or liberator among our subjugated provinces. This is what we will do to you, too." Also, this was one of the charges the Jewish council had presented to Pilate when they delivered Jesus over to him [Luke 23.1-5] … and one of Jesus' enemies' primary subjects of mockery [ch 15.16-19]. There is an interesting back-and-forth between Pilate and the Jewish council over this wording in John 19.19-22. After accusing Jesus to Pilate of motives of insurrection and sedition against Caesar [John 19.15], now they want Pilate to write only that 'He said I am King of the Jews' as if to disown any identification with Him. Pilate answered with a terse 'what I have written, I have written!'
"And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left"
6/ v 27 / These two real outlaws, truly convicted and condemned, were crucified on either side of Jesus. Jesus died both among / in between sinners and for sinners. They were thieves, robbers, murderers, insurrectionists, anarchists – what we would call guerilla freedom fighters for their nationalistic causes. "And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'He was numbered with the transgressors.'"
"All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads … Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion … For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me…" (Psalm 22.7, 12-13, 16)
7/ vv 29-32 / Everyone around the Cross were mocking, insulting, and verbally assaulting Jesus: And those who passed by derided Him [see ch 14.57-58] … So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him … Those who were crucified with Him also reviled Him… One of these outlaws would see Jesus as the True King of Israel, would repent of His sins, and would appeal to Jesus to 'remember me when You come into Your Kingdom [Luke 23.33-43]. Jesus would forgive and save him and take him to Paradise that very day to be with Him! So He will do for anyone/everyone who calls upon Him in faith for mercy!
"My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" (Psalm 22.1)
8/ vv 33-34 / This is without a doubt the most plaintive cry in all of human experience. And Jesus suffered it in our place! This is quoted from Psalm 22.1, but in all likelihood, Jesus was quoting the whole Psalm, including the parts of the Psalm that express His faith in God's faithfulness. The Father had no displeasure in His Son, except for our sake. Jesus Christ was 'bearing our sin in His own body' [1 Peter 2.24-25], He was bearing our guilt and suffering our punishments for our sins in our place as our Substitute Sin-Offering and Redeemer, that He might save us from the wrath of a Just and Holy God and reconcile us back to God. Jesus was forsaken by God so we won't have to be forsaken and separated from Him for eternity!
9/ vv 35-36 / The word/name that Jesus cried out was 'Eloi' which is Aramaic for 'El' or 'God.' Some bystanders mistakenly thought He was appealing for Elijah [see again Malachi 4.5-6]. They mockingly jeered, wondering whether Elijah would, indeed, claim Jesus as worth saving in the Name of Yahweh. At this same time, Jesus, knowing His suffering was about to be fulfilled, cried out 'I thirst!' [John 19.28-29]. There was another drink available, one the soldiers may have kept around for themselves. This was a wine beverage diluted with water. They put some on a sponge and gave it to Jesus. He took this one, as opposed to His rejection of the previous offering / v 23.
"It is finished! … Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!" (John 19.30; Luke 23.46)
10/ v 37 / Jesus voluntarily and intentionally breathed His own last breath [John 10.17-18]. His two last statements were: "It is finished!" [John 19.30] and "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!'" [Luke 23.46]. In so saying and doing, Jesus offered to God both His perfectly sinless life and His sacrificial death as the Lamb of God as an atoning, redemptive offering for our sins – as our Substitute and in our stead. And by His once-for-all offering for our sins, He has paid for them fully, exhausted the Just and Holy wrath of God against them, and put them away – never to be remembered against us anymore! See Hebrews 10.1-7.
11/ And we must add here that Jesus cried and called out His last words 'with a loud voice,' meaning that He did not die in defeat, nor did He 'succumb' to their atrocities – He was not their 'victim.' He died in victory and in the strength and might of the 'definite plan and foreknowledge of God' [Acts 2.22-24]. Jesus died in His own time ['hour'], in His own way, and on His own terms.
"And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom"
12/ v 38 / Since Jesus has made this once-for-all and for-all-time offering for sin, there is no longer any need for the Holy of Holies in the temple [see again Hebrews 10.1-7]. It has already been defiled and corrupted by the practices of the Jews' religious practices, and He had rejected it from being useful as the place for meeting God and offering sacrifices and services in worship [see ch 11.1-26]. Jesus has already foretold the physical destruction of this temple [see ch 13 & Luke 19.41-48]. Now, Jesus effectively 'destroys' their temple by disabling their most sacred 'inner sanctum' and rendering it un-useable. Why? Because He Himself is God's ordained Temple. They thought they had destroyed Him, but in three days, He will raise Himself again from death [see John 2.18-22]. Jesus Christ has now given us access and authority "to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh…" [Hebrews 10.19-22 & also vv 1-14].
"Truly this Man was the Son of God"
13/ v 39 / This awesome confession by the Roman centurion was his testimony of a new-found faith in the Deity of the Man whose death by crucifixion he had just overseen. Without a doubt, in the following hours and days, he would inquire into who this Man might be – and would learn the truth of the Gospel Jesus had died to purchase and enact. [We didn't bring this in before, but now would be a good opportunity: even as they were nailing Jesus to His Cross, Jesus was praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" – and this would be for both the Jews who had delivered Him to Pilate and for those hands that were on Him to kill Him.Never had he heard such words of grace from any other subject of crucifixion – and surely he had witnessed many! This prayer for forgiveness was for him, too!]
"There were also women looking on from a distance…"
14/ vv 40-41 / As Jesus' male disciples have abandoned Him out of fear, self-preservation, and maybe even spasms of disappointment and disillusionment [with the exception of John, who was present at the Cross with Mary, Jesus' mother [John 19.25-27]], this testimony is given to the undying love of these women followers. They are the same women who 'When He was in Galilee, they followed Him and ministered to Him.' They also 'provided for them out of their means' [Luke 8.1-3].
15/ They stayed until the end and even followed Jesus' body to His burial…
II / Mark 15.42-47 / How Christ was buried
"Not one of His bones will be broken" (John 19.36)
1/ v 42 / Jesus died around 3 pm on that day [around the time of the Passover sacrifices] – the day before the approaching Sabbath. In three more hours, the Sabbath Day would begin. The Jewish leaders must get Jesus' dead body removed from the cross to prevent breaking the Law and 'defiling' the upcoming holy day [see Deuteronomy 21.22-23]. We never fail to see the irony in the religious scruples of the Jewish leaders. Another glaring example of their hypocritical protests is recorded in John 19.31: Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. It was at that time that the legs of the two outlaws were broken to hasten their deaths … but Jesus' legs were not broken – He had already given up His own spirit. Numerous other Scriptures also were fulfilled in just this one act: Exodus 12.46; Numbers 9.12; Psalm 34.20; Zechariah 12.10; Exodus 34.24.
"And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death" (Isaiah 53.9)
2/ vv 43-47 / We meet Joseph of Arimathea. He was a well-respected and highly-influential member of the Sanhedrin council – and he was a rich man. He is also described as a 'closet' disciple of Jesus [Luke 23.50-51 & John 19.38]. He 'was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God,' meaning he had believed in the Kingdom Jesus had been proclaiming and demonstrating.Heretofore, he had been afraid of declaring himself. But upon seeing how Jesus had confirmed all His Messianic claims in the ways He died, '(he) took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.' Pilate consented.
3/ Joseph had carved out this sepulcher tomb for himself – no one had ever lain in it [Matthew 27.60 & Luke 23.53]. He gave it for Jesus' burial. In three days, he would have it back! Nicodemus also came to assist him with 75 pounds of burial ointments and spices [John 19.39]. They hurriedly anointed His body and wrapped Him in the burial shroud he had bought. The 6 pm beginning of the Sabbath Day was approaching. Jesus is entombed, and the large stone was rolled across the mouth of the tomb-cave…
III / Mark 16.1-8 / How Christ was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures
"Low in the grave He lay … waiting the coming day … Up from the grave He arose!"
1/ vv 1-3 / After the Sabbath rest had passed, very early on the first day of the week, the women came back to the tomb where they had last seen Jesus being laid to His rest. They had been out earlier to buy their own burial spices and ointments, expecting Jesus' corpse to still be there where they had last seen Him. They were wondering among themselves how they would move the large stone out of the way for them to perform their service. [NOTE: how significant it is that Mary of Bethany had already anointed Jesus' body for burial 'beforehand' / see ch 14.8]
2/ vv 4-8 / But upon arriving at the tomb, the stone had already been rolled away! [Matthew 28.2-4]. Instead, they saw an angel of God [which greatly alarmed them – as awesome angels always do!]. The angel announced to them: "Do not be alarmed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here! See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you!"
3/ In these ways, all the Scriptures that foretold – and that Jesus Himself had pre-announced – that "the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise!" – THEY WERE ALL FULFILLED!
4/ And all the other Scriptures that are written in the seven-sealed scroll that the Ancient of Days delivered over to the authority of the same Son of Man [Daniel 7.13-14], 'the Lamb…as though it had been slain' [Revelation 5.1-7] – they, too, shall all be fulfilled!
Now, "Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation…!"
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