July 9, 2017
Servant King – Week 25 – He took our death
Servant King – Week 25 – He took our death
Today we will be finishing up our series on the book of Mark, by looking at the Crucifixion of Jesus. Last week we discovered “He took our punishment so that we might experience His peace”. Today we will see that Jesus took our death so we can experience His Life.
Mark 15:21
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.
Simon was from Cyrene an area in Northern Africa near Lybia. 3 of the Gospels name Simon. Passing by, interruption, sometimes God interrupts us in the middle of our lives. Tap of the spear, Go the second mile. Random to us is design for God. Knows to the readers. Mark is written to Rome. Rufus is possibly referenced in Romans 16:13 Beam of the Cross, 110 pounds.
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.
Wine with myrrh was a common drink at the crucifixion. There are two reasons for this 1 would as a mercy to prisoner that it would dull the pain and senses. But the second was to prolong the torture of the crucifixion. Jesus wanted nothing to diminish what he was to experience on the cross for you and I. If it were me, I would say drug me up. But not Jesus He had a purpose that HE was about. He knew His death meant our life. This was also to fulfill prophecy… In fact many times today we are going to see that the events of the cross were foretold and some of them Jesus himself fulfills others of them the people unknowingly fulfill.
|
Psalm 69:19-21
You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
|
24 And they crucified him.
Unceremoniously Mark tells us the method of His death. There may be a few reasons for this. First is no description is needed for the people who Mark is writing to. In fact crucifixion would have been common place to them. They would have seen them regularly. In fact under Nero, it was common for Him to take prisoners and crucify them around gardens of his parties and light them on fire. So there would be no need to describe for reader what would happen. But I also think it reminds us that the type of execution does not mean as much as the person who died.
Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
Here we see the soldier fulfilling prophecy even though they would not have even realized they were.
|
Psalm 22:16-18
Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
|
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
9 in the morning. 3 Short trials in 2.5 hrs Jesus would hang on the cross for 6 hours. Notice the charge against Him was that He was the king of the Jews. In fact in John 19:21 we are told that the Jews objected to that title being used to describe Jesus. They did not want to admit that he was who he claimed to be but even in that they were fulfilling prophecy.
|
Psalm 118:22-23
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
|
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. 28 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’
Once again we see more fulfillment of prophecy.
|
Isa 53:12
Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
|
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Once again we see another potion of Psalm 22 fulfilled. What is amazing is how accurate almost word for word this prophecy is.
|
Psalm 22:6-8
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
|
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
Amazingly enough we see even nature fulfills prophecy at the crucifixion.
|
Amos 8:9
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”
|
34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
|
Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
|
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
In order for us to understand the context of Jesus’ crucifixion let me read to you a portion of an article from a medical doctor on what would have happened.
|
Jesus would have been quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The cross is then lifted in dropped into place the titulus reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is nailed in place.
The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.
As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins — a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain.
The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, “It is finished.” His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
|
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
This was one of the most amazing events that occurred during the crucifixion. The curtain was used to separate the Holy of Holies from the Holy place of the temple. It would have been 60 ft high, 4 inches thick. This was a supernatural event. God Himself tore the veil that separated man from God. The veil represented Jesus Christ himself. As Christ finally died, He finally made a way for us to enter in the the Holy of Holies.
|
Hebrews 10:19-22
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
|
39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
This is the second major declaration of who Jesus is. The first was by Peter when Christ asked him who do you say that I am? The second is was by a man who had no reason to make the declaration but instead was moved and changed by the death of our Lord.
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
Joseph of Arimathea was opposed to the actions of the counsel and when Christ had died He finally came out of the shadows and claimed the body to care for Jesus. But notice, HE was waiting for the kingdom of God. Even in this there was a fulfillment of prophecy.
|
Isa 53:9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
|
Why was it so important to notice all the prophecies fulfilled? Because Jesus did all of this for a purpose. To fulfill all the promises. To die for us so that we can live.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
So what did He accomplish?
He is our substitution (took our place) 1 Pet 2:24
He is our propitiation (appease the wrath) Rom 3:24-25
He is our reconciliation (relationship made right) Rom 5:10
He is our redemption (Price is paid) Eph 1:4
He is our righteousness (imputation) – (credited to us) Phil 3:9
For more from this series you can CLICK HERE.
As soon as sermons are ready they are posted on our Facebook Page. Please, consider liking our page
[shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”25194393″]