Monthly Archives: October 2020

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – A MOMENT OF PITY?

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A MOMENT OF PITY?

21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. Mark 15:21-24

Gethsemane was the place where Jesus settled His obedience to the Father once and for all. Now the events were playing out moment by painful moment which He had chosen with resolution and determination.

Mark does not embellish his story with gory details. His descriptions are simple, matter of fact, discreet, drawing a curtain around the emotional and physical agony Jesus suffered. He notes a detail which lets a tiny shaft of light into the darkness of these events. Someone else was called in to carry Jesus’ cross to the place of execution.

By this time, Jesus was so weak from lack of food, loss of blood and physical trauma that He could have died before He even reached Golgotha. Perhaps one of the soldiers felt a spark of pity for Him and pressed Simon of Cyrene into service to carry His crossbeam those last few yards to the place of execution. Perhaps his reason was completely different – the soldiers could not allow the criminal to die before He got his just deserts.

Why did Jesus refuse the painkiller the soldiers offered Him? Any sane-thinking person would have accepted anything that would deaden the pain of that terrible death – but not Jesus! He would carry the world’s load with the full force of that suffering in His frail body. In seven simple words, Mark records this shameful act of rejection, treachery and abuse of the Creator God of the universe, “And they nailed Him to the cross.” All humanity was involved in that act – the terrible consequence of sin. There was a debt to pay and someone had to pay it – all mankind or an innocent substitute.

The whole world’s attitude is symbolised by the words and behaviour of those around the cross. With His blood dripping onto the ground beside them, callous and careless of the one above them, the soldiers gambled for His clothing. What did the winner do with His blood-stained robe? Did he hang it up like a trophy? Did it silently accuse him, night and day? It’s the last thing anyone with a fragment of conscience would want in his possession,

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THEY GOT WHAT THEY WANTED

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THEY GOT WHAT THEY WANTED

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:16-20

The Roman soldiers, though supposedly neutral, got caught up in this spectacle. Why did they treat Jesus with such contempt? Was it because of their loyalty to Rome? Were they mocking His claim to be a king? Yes, by their words and behaviour! They had Him in their power, king though He claimed to be, and they wanted to make sure that He knew it and felt it.

Viewing this scene from a broader perspective, both Jew and Gentile, representing the whole world, were drawn into the guilt of condemning and crucifying an innocent man but, more than that, the very Son of God. How terrifying the thought that they will stand before the very same Jesus whom they mocked, abused, insulted and spat on, the one whose authority and kingship they refused to take seriously, and hear His verdict on their guilt; not because He has not already pardoned them – He did that on the cross – but because they did not recognise who He was or receive His forgiveness for what they had done.

The saddest thing about Jesus’ sacrifice is that, for the vast majority of people who have ever lived and will ever live, it will have been in vain either because they did not know or because they refused to accept the forgiveness of sin His sacrifice purchased for them. Ever those who insulted, abused or crucified Him were included in His prayer, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.”

When it was all over, when they went home with their memories of the day flashing through their minds over and over again, how did they deal with the events of the day when their excuses no longer held water? How many of them chose to harden their hearts, and how many broke down in grief and repentance and received the forgiveness He uttered? How many were terrified and how many elated when He rose from the dead and the news spread around the city?

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE SEED DETERMINES THE HARVEST

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THE SEED DETERMINES THE HARVEST

6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
ut they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15:6-15

Did the Roman readers of Mark’s Gospel catch the underlying atmosphere of this story? Did they get the ludicrousness of these events? Jesus was quite obviously innocent of wrongdoing, though not innocent of the charges, and not worthy of death. Barabbas was equally obviously guilty of serious crimes and worthy of execution, yet in this scene playing out before the readers, God’s plan to rescue a guilty human race was unfolding, the innocent paying the price so that the guilty might go free.

How did Barabbas feel as he watched them leading Jesus away, knowing that it should have been him going to the cross? Did his conscience bite and his heart cry out against the injustice of it all? Did he ever feel gratitude for his freedom at someone else’s expense? Did he think about Jesus and wonder why He did it? We never hear of him again – he was only a blip on the radar screen but, like Judas, he stained history.

Once the die had been cast, Mark discreetly pulls the curtain down on Jesus’ suffering. No details are given about the whipping He received, only a few words to record that it happened. For Pilate, it might have been the end of the story, another criminal condemned and executed, but was it? According to Matthew, his wife warned him to stay out of it because she was having nightmares about Jesus, but it was too late. He had no choice but to be embroiled in the story.

Pilate wore two hats that day – Pilate, the Roman governor and Pilate, the man, and in both of these roles he had to make a choice that would affect his own destiny as well as that of the entire human race. This is one of those mysteries that only God can unravel. Even though he was part of the unfolding drama of redemption, he was still held accountable for his actions. He had to experience the principle of the harvest in his own life. “Don’t be deceived. God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows that will he also reap.” The seed determines the harvest.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – PILATE’S DILEMMA – THE INNOCENT FOR THE GUILTY?

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CHAPTER 15

PILATE’S DILEMMA – THE INNOCENT FOR THE GUILTY?

​1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Mark 15:1-5

According to the Jewish religious leaders and the Sanhedrin, phase one of Jesus’ trial had been successfully concluded. They had found a charge that stuck, confessed by Jesus’ own mouth – blasphemy – and that was punishable by execution, according to their law.

The next step was to find a charge that would also be punishable by death according to Roman law. Again, from Jesus’ own mouth had come the confirmation of the charge that Rome would never tolerate – treason. When He was hauled before Pilate, this was the question that He was asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

What did Pilate think of this whole debacle? As an objective observer, he would have seen a most unusual prisoner, facing a remarkably undignified set of “lawyers” plus an unruly mob of supporters all trying to get his attention to enforce their demands. This was not about justice. This was about manipulation, intimidation and domination. What chance did Pilate have against the threatening mob? The situation was tense. The soldiers were on high alert. The crowd was shouting, demonstrating, chanting, “Crucify Him; crucify Him!” The noise was disorientating. He tried to release Jesus by offering Barabbas in exchange. It was like trying to get Mother Teresa released by offering a serial rapist and killer in exchange. But the crowd would have none of it. So bent were they on killing Jesus, egged on by the religious judges that they had completely lost all reason.

The noise of their chanting rose to a crescendo. Pilate panicked. If he didn’t do something now, a riot would break out and there was no knowing where it would all end. Jerusalem was packed with Jews from all over Israel and farther afield – and they hated the Romans! If he didn’t give in to this mob, blood would flow and he would be answerable to Caesar. He had to sacrifice one innocent man for the sake of peace! What an amazing scene – prophecy fulfilled before his eyes, and he didn’t know it.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE ROOSTER CROWED THE SECOND TIME…

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THE ROOSTER CROWED THE SECOND TIME…

66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept. Mark 14:66-72

Caught in the act! It’s easy to see, in this little drama playing out in the courtyard of the High Priest’s house, that Peter had not taken Jesus’ warning seriously. He wasn’t even alerted when the cock crowed after his first denial. All he did was slink around, trying not to be noticed. Unfortunately, every time he opened his mouth, his Galilean accent gave him away Perhaps his appearance also revealed his identity.

What were the bystanders who accused him trying to do? Incriminate him with Jesus? Find him guilty by association? Peter didn’t want to be identified with Jesus in case he was also sucked into the mess Jesus was in. His blustering denial surely did not convince anyone. However, since it was Passover, being a Galilean in Jerusalem was nothing unusual. Perhaps some of them did believe him.

What went on in Peter’s soul in that moment when the rooster crowed a second time?  Perhaps, in that split second, the noise in the courtyard ceased and the crowing of the rooster could be clearly heard echoing across the city. Perhaps, in that moment, the sound penetrated Peter’s consciousness and he remembered – too late. Perhaps Jesus’ words sounded so loudly in his mind that he stopped caring about what the bystanders were saying. Overwhelmed with the guilt of what he had just done, he broke down and wept.

He was exposed; he was undone. All his vehement protests came to nothing. He had denied his Master and he could not take back his words. Worst of all, Jesus had overheard his words, accompanied by swearing and cursing. Peter would never forget the look in Jesus’ eyes – uncovering his guilt, his shame, his remorse, his grief. In an instant Jesus’ eyes undressed Peter’s soul and penetrated the darkness of his heart. His look was not, “I told you so!”  or “Peter, how could you?” It was, “I see your heart. I know you, Peter. Now know yourself.”