Despair to Dominion: The Cross to Resurrection

Mark 15:15-43; Psalm 22; Psalm 23; Psalm 24; 1 Cor 15

Introduction

In Mark’s Gospel lays before us the brutal reality of the cross – the physical suffering, the political maneuvering, the agonizing final words. But within that grim narrative lies the seed of an unimaginable victory. We so often wrestle with questions like: Where is God in the midst of pain? Is there hope beyond the grave? And what does it mean to truly live? Let us open our hearts and minds to the powerful truth that unfolds before us.

Bridge

Within each of us, there is a story that defines us. We each of us have our own muck and miry clay. We’ve lived through trials and tribulations. Each of us has encountered an obstacle in our lives. With each trial, tribulation, and obstacle, each of us has felt or been touched by suffering. Each of us has had or felt something inside of us break, or be shaken by the world, or some grief and despair has brought us to our knees. The reality is some of us have experienced very real Hell in our lives.

That same darkness covered the land during Christ’s crucifixion. That same darkness that covered the land of Egypt in the biblical plagues. The same darkness that touches our lives daily is offset by a promise —a biblical promise from a living God. There will be a dawn that breaks through. What seems like an eternity lies a promise that Christ took up our sins—the full weight of our transgressions—and redeemed us.

Let me tell you something, some of us believe we deserve suffering, we deserve pain, we deserve grief in our lives but that is a Lie from Satan—the father of all lies and the very first murderer. Satan wants us to dwell in the past and dwell in our sins. Satan wants us to drown amidst our trials and tribulations, but God. However, God tells us that we have something better in store.

What you are dealing with right now, too, shall pass. The Word of God says a promise is coming. We see this promise in the suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Paul says in Romans 5:5-11: 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.  8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.  11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

As we suffer, so oftentimes other emotions and thoughts begin to swirl around us. As we suffer, we experience the feelings of being lost, abandoned, or even overwhelmed, but our promise, that sweet promise from the Word of God, does not return void. The Word of God even goes further, and wherever the Word of God goes, Scripture says it prospers. In Isaiah, Scripture says the crooked places in our lives are made straight, the mountains and hills in our lives are made low, the rough places plain (ISA 40:4).

Today’s message echoes the suffering we experience but speaks to a promise. That Promise is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

That promise is [the I am]. Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world, and those who follow me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”

Jesus says in John 10:9–11 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Jesus says in John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” That means we have been grafted in.

He is our King Jesus. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but through Him.”

Jesus says, “I am the Resurrection and Life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life and all those who come to me shall never hunger and and those who believe in me shall never thirst.”

He is:

Deliverer (He delivers us through the storms of chaos and the fires of the Hell) [He was the fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the {Dan 3:25}]

Way-maker (He goes before us to level the mountain {Isa 45:2}

Stronghold Shatter (He shatters the chains of addiction and turns the messes in our lives into messages, tests into testimonies, and victims into victory {2 Cor 10:4-5})

Great Physician (He gives the blind sight and the lame can walk in his mighty name, Heare frees the afflicted from spiritual hell and spiritual oppression {Luk 4:18})

Master Weaver (He uses every thread - our joys, sorrows, successes, and failures to bring us into his will {Psalm 139:13-14}.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The life of Christ and his death on the cross are for us! His words and His Resurrection is for us! Today’s message shows us a path forged through despair to dominion by the very heart of God, a path marked by the Cross and illuminated by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Ascension to the throne of God.

Psalm 22: The Cry of the Crucified

Please turn with me to Psalm 22. As we read these verses, listen with your hearts, for these are not just the words of King David; they are the very cries of our Savior on the cross.

Perhaps you have felt like David in Psalm 22:1. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?.” This isn’t a polite prayer, this is a raw, desperate plea ripped from the depths of a soul in agony. David felt utterly abandoned. He felt like the world was closing in on him, like he was a worm, and not a man. Surrounded by his enemies, mocked and humiliated.

How many of you can relate to that feeling? The feeling of being utterly forsaken? The sense of being overwhelmed by circumstances that seem beyond your control? The feeling that God isn’t listening, isn’t caring? In our modern world, that despair takes many forms. It’s the anxiety that grips you as you scroll through endless bad news. It’s the crushing weight, the loneliness of a hyper-connected yet profoundly isolating world.

It’s the fear of failure, the regret of past mistakes, the uncertainty of the future. We build walls around our hearts, trying to protect ourselves from further pain, but those walls only serve to imprison us in our despair. We chase after fleeting pleasures, empty distractions, anything to numb the ache. Never truly satisfied.

“O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." (Psalm 22:2-3, KJV)

Can you feel the anguish in these words? This is the very cry of Jesus as He bore the weight of our sin upon the cross. He, the Holy One, felt the separation from His Father, a separation we deserved.

"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly." (Psalm 22:7-10, KJV)

The mockery, the taunts – these were the very words echoed at the foot of the cross. These are the same words uttered today against Christians, by self-proclaimed Christians, and there is a wall of unbelief that separates those who walk by the wide road to DAMNATION.

There is pride, arrogance, and a quest for self-worth, which can lead to self-satisfaction and self-gratification. Where is God in their lives?

"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Psalm 22:14-18, KJV)

Christ dying of thirst, bones disjointed, dislocated, flesh bare, bowls exposed - the assembly of the wicked surrounds him. They’ve pierced his hands and his feet. They gamble for his clothes.

Here in Psalm 22, we see the crucifixion laid bare, prophesied prior to the Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach.

It is a vivid and undeniable foreshadowing of the immense sacrifice Jesus made for us. What David laments in this psalm is the reality of what Jesus Christ bore for us. This psalm serves as a vivid and undeniable foreshadowing of the immense sacrifice Jesus made for us.

In Mark 15:15-46, we see the crucifixion of Christ. [Whipped, scourged, and brutalized, we see the despair and pain Jesus went through. He was given a robe of purple to mock his royalty. He was given a crown of thorns to mock his Kingship. A sign was about him and followed him to the Cross, Christ, King of Jews. When the crucifixion was carried out, Pontius Pilate exchanged Jesus Christ for Barabbas, a man who was a rebel and murderer. Jesus Christ was scourged and whipped, to be placed upon the cross - one of his shoulders had to be dislocated. Nails pierced his hands and feet. To breathe, Jesus had to put pressure on his feet with the nail and force himself up so he could breathe. Lifting his body to get air would have caused immense pain and suffering to his body. When they lowered his cross into the hole that had been dug, they were not, as the bottom of the cross hit the bottom of the hole, that you could almost feel a thud go through you, as I imagined it echoing on the cross. He was offered wine mixed with myrrh, which was a common pain reliever that he rejected.

When he thirsted on the cross, they gave him vinegar with a sponge to further mock him.] As Jesus was hung on the cross, there were two thieves on each side of him. This fulfilled the prophecy stating “he was numbered with his transgressors!” As all walked by him, they railed and scorned and scoffed at him. Mocking him and the Chief Priests exclaimed to anyone who would listen, “let the Christ King of Israel descend so we can see and believe.” By the 3rd hour, there was darkness that covered the land. By the 9th hour, we see Jesus Christ cried out, echoing David’s cry. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and yeilded his ghost, his spirit. As he died, the veil in the temple was torn in two.

Jesus, the Son of God, willingly took upon Himself the weight of our sin, the punishment we deserved. He felt the full force of God’s wrath and judgment against sin.

Let me say that again, he felt the full force of God’s cup brought to him and standing in the gap between sin and us. He exclaimed it is finished and yielded His spirit. Scripture says Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He died on the cross, a gruesome and humiliating death.

We’ve experienced suffering, we’ve experienced pain and grief, we are still living in despair, but the same cries our Christ uttered are the same cries King David uttered. And so the promise is revealed.

He declares, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” (Psalm 22:27).

The promise unfolds, and what awaits Jesus Christ reveals that all of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. Because Psalm 22 doesn’t end in despair. It doesn’t remain in the darkness. Look further! David, even in his anguish, prophesies a future hope. He sees beyond his immediate suffering to a deliverance from suffering through the valley of the Shadow of Death.

Psalm 23: The Shepherd's Comfort in the Valley of Death

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psalm 23:1-4, KJV)

Even in the shadow of death, there is comfort and assurance: That beacon of hope, beautifully illustrated as “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” He leads me beside the still waters. He makes me lie down in green pastures. This isn’t just a pretty word to make you feel good. It’s a profound statement of trust. It's a declaration that even in the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us. He guides us, He comforts us, He protects us.

“There is no situation in which a believer can find himself, in which this Psalm will not be a comfort and a guide.”  Think about that. Any situation.  No matter how dark, no matter how hopeless, God’s presence is sufficient.” Charles Spurgeon

As Jesus walked through the ultimate "valley of the shadow of death" on the cross, His trust in the Father, though seemingly distant in the cry of Psalm 22, remained. And for us, who are now His sheep, this Psalm offers immense comfort. Because He has walked through that darkest valley, He is with us in our valleys. His "rod and staff" – His authority and His care – they comfort us.

He goes before us and is beside us as we face the shadows of hell. He comforts us amidst travesty and chaos. He strengthens us when we face the impossible. He sees us through the darkness. We are not alone.

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (Psalm 23:5-6, KJV)

He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. He doesn’t remove the enemies, He empowers us to face them with His presence as our strength.

Even in the face of the enemy – sin and death – God prepares a feast for us. He anoints us with His Spirit, and our cup overflows with His blessings. This Psalm speaks of the victory that is to come, the triumph over the enemies that sought to destroy.

Psalm 24: The King's Glorious Ascension

Christ’s body was wrapped in linen and he was given to Joseph of Arimathea to bury. In a borrowed tomb, with a stone rolled over the entrance. But death could not hold Him! In Mark 16, the tomb was empty. The women came to anoint his body, the brough sweet spices but only found an Angel of the Lord sitting in the tome declaring “Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6)

On the third day, He rose again, victorious over sin and death! The tomb is empty! He is alive! And because He lives, we can live also!

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:1-4, KJV)

This speaks of the Lord's rightful dominion over all creation. And the question is asked: Who is worthy to ascend to His holy place? The answer points to a righteousness that we, in our strength, could never achieve. But how do we truly experience this dominion, this reign of God in our lives? How do we move from despair to hope? The answer lies in the ultimate act of love and sacrifice: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." (Psalm 24:7-10, KJV)

This is the triumphant ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ! Having conquered sin and death on the cross, having walked through the valley of the shadow of death with His Father's presence, He now ascends in glory as the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord of hosts!

1 Corinthians 15: The Reality of the Resurrection

(Emphasize the Sacrifice)

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

The words, the scriptures Paul is quoting comes from the Psalms. Psalm 22 foretold the sufering and death of the Messiah. Psalm 23 shows us a triumphiant king conquering death and Psalm 24 proclaims His glorious ascension as the victorious King.

“The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. If you remove it, the whole fabric crumbles into dust.” Without the resurrection, our faith is empty, our hope is futile. But because of the resurrection, we have a living hope, an anchor for the soul!” Charles Spurgeon

Paul goes on to say:

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Because Christ, the Shepherd-King, has risen, we too have the hope of resurrection! His despair is swallowed up in the victory amongst the shadow of death, and the comfort brings the assurance for our promise.

(God Moving in the Passage)

Look at how God is moving. He heard David's cries and promised future redemption. He provided for and protected David, guiding him through life's difficulties. He revealed Himself as the King of Glory, worthy of all praise. And most profoundly, He demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins and rise again, conquering death itself!

 (God Moving Now for Salvation)

And God is still moving today! He’s moving in the hearts of those who are hurting, those who are lost, those who are seeking. He’s offering forgiveness, healing, and a new life. He’s offering you, right here, right now, a way out of your despair and into His glorious dominion.

Don’t you desire to be next to him. Comforted and victorious.

The gospel is not a call to ease, but a call to battle. It is not a promise of comfort, but a promise of victory.”  Charles Spurgeon

This isn’t about avoiding suffering; it’s about facing it with courage and faith, knowing that God is with you every step of the way.

Conclusion: From Cross to Crown

(The Call to Salvation)

Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” That means give life, healing life, victory life, joy life - he is going to give life to your mortal body. That life, the same life, same power that’s in Christ is in you!

Don’t let pride keep you from admitting your need for a Savior. Don’t let fear hold you back from surrendering your life to Christ. Don’t let the weight of your past keep you from embracing the hope of the future. If you’re struggling with despair, if you feel lost and alone, know that you are not forgotten. God sees you, God loves you, and God wants to heal you. That life that is in Christ, that spirit that raised Jesus Christ is in you!! That spirit brings life. That life brings everything:

From despair to dominion. From the cross to the resurrection. Jesus Christ paid a price, that price was the cross, he conquered death for us. From the agonizing cry of our crucified Savior to the triumphant ascent of the glorified King, we witness the love and power of God on full display.

We’ve walked a difficult road today. We’ve stared into the face of suffering, witnessed the injustice of the cross, and felt the weight of the world’s sin. But we haven’t stayed there.

Because the tomb is empty.

Because the tomb is empty.

Because the tomb is empty.

That single, glorious truth changes everything. It shatters the power of death. It silences the voice of despair. Paul reminds us that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile. But Christ has risen! He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, guaranteeing our own resurrection.

The Shepherd who laid down his life in Psalm 23 has risen to lead us to still waters and green pastures. The King of Glory, humiliated on the cross, has ascended to reign forevermore in Psalm 24. And the cry of abandonment is answered with the resounding echo of victory!

This isn’t just a story for Resurrection Sunday. This is now, this is for every day. Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and Life. He is the Light that shines against the darkness and delivers us through the shadows of death to find hope in the midst of suffering, and to live lives transformed by the grace, and power, and truth of God!

So, let us leave this place today not with sorrow, but with joy. Not with fear, but with courage. Not with despair, but with unwavering hope. Let the reality of the resurrection permeate every aspect of our lives, shaping our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

Let us live as those who have been redeemed, as those who have been forgiven, as those who have been given the gift of eternal life.

Go now, and share the good news: He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20-21, “20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."