Mark 15:1-39

Outline

How many times did Jesus prophecy His death?

The Garden of Gethsemane

Being led like a lamb to the slaughter

Pilate

Chief Priests

The Crucifixion

Agony

Lowly

Promise of Salvation

Truly this man was the Son of God

Preliminary

Christ’s Predictions

Mark 2:20 KJV 1900

But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Mark 8:31 KJV 1900

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mark 9:31 KJV 1900

For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

Mark 10:33–34 KJV 1900

Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Mark 10:38–39 KJV 1900

But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?

Mark 12:1–11 KJV 1900

Longer so do not read. Parable of the beloved son killed by the tenants

Mark 14:8 KJV 1900

She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

Mark 14:22–25 KJV 1900

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

We have 3 explicit predictions (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34)

At least 5 strong allusions to His coming death

This death of Christ was not a surprise

Acts 2:23–24 KJV 1900

Him (Meaning Jesus), being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

Christ in the Garden

Right after our last text

We see Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

Mark 14:32 KJV 1900

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

The hour had arrived

Very soon the Son of Man would be betrayed into the hands of sinners

Christ knows this, what does He say in verse 34

Mark 14:34 KJV 1900

My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death:

Despite this, what does he do? In the synoptic gospel of Luke, listen to what it says:

Luke 22:41–44 KJV 1900

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

As the enemy comes, He is in a posture of prayer

Pleading with God for strength to carry Him through the trial

It was remarkable for it’s intensity

Hebrews 5:7 KJV 1900

strong crying and tears

It was remarkable for its humility - He fell to the ground, in the dust as it were, at His Fathers feet

Christ was in Agony “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground”

But, He was also granted relief “there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him”

And note the content of His prayer

“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.”

Scripture often uses the metaphor of a cup

A cup, with bitter ingredients, aggravating circumstances and considerations

The question is

What was in the cup??

There is a cup, full of red wine, in the hand of the Lord. And He pours it out upon the wicked

Christ’s cup was the cup of wrath

A deep cup, containing more wrath than any creature had endured

When Christ prays, “remove this cup from me” He is speaking of the horrid and dreadful wrath of God

It is important here, Christ in no way is going back on the covenant (of redemption)

What is happening? In His humanity, Christ is experiencing all the agony

He is suffering the fears, the trembling, the consternation inwardly as part of the sanctification for our sins

We must understand Christ must have endured the complete wrath of God, on His whole person, to be a propitiation for us sinners

Now, after He prays for the third time, the enemy appears

And they lead Jesus away

And note this - the garden of Gethsemane is very close to the city of Jerusalem

The City has 12 gates, with 5 gates on the east side

The most remarkable of these gates was that which is called the “Fountain Gate”

This is the same gate that Christ entered triumphantly in riding on a donkey just days before

There was another gate located on this side that has been denoted as the “sheep gate” - this gate took its name from the multitude of sheep that were driven through it for the sacrifice at the temple.

The garden was located close to this gate

The typology on this is astounding

When they arrested Christ this was the gate that He was led through, the “Sheep Gate”

When He was arrested, He was led through this gate as a sheep led to the slaughter - for sacrifice

This brings us to the text

Chief Priests, Scribes, Pharisees, Pilate (vs. 1-15)

Verse 1: It is good for us to remember that we are bound to the one that is bound for us

Verse 2: John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.””

Christ’s kingdom is above this. Christ has all authority. Pilate has no authority apart from that given to Him by God

Acts 2:23 KJV 1900

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Verse 3: God’s law tells us not to incriminate ourselves

If they have a true accusation against Him, prove it

Verse 12:John 19:15

John 19:15 KJV 1900

But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

Nature of Christ’s Death (15-32)

2 things:

Christ’s death was a violent death

Christ’s death was a death of humiliation

Violent

Though it was, we know, voluntary on Christ’s part - Look here

Verse 15: Scourged

Verse 17: Platted a crown of thorns and put it on His head

Verse 19: Smote(hit) with a reed over the head

Christ underwent and was in subjugation to the misery and torment of a bloody and gruesom death

Think about the Scourging by itself:

Pilate hoped that the scourging would deter the jews from seeking His execution - But we must remember, God is Sovereign - this was exactly what must take place - Christ must undergo this torture on our behalf

Jesus is stripped naked and probably chained or shackled to a column which was the normal process at this time

Then the soldiers use a flagrum (whip with metal or bone object attached) to hit him over his body

This caused, without a doubt, massive physical trauma - He would have lacerations, blood loss, His body would be in shock

But this must have been the case - this is apart of the atonement

John Flavel talks about how His senses were likely more acute and aware

How they were never dulled or blunted - how others would gradually fade out but not Christ -

He says “Christ’s death contains the greatest pains imaginable because they were intended to equal all the misery that our sin deserved”

It was a death of violence

But Not just this... it is also one of

Humiliation

They mock Him

Verse 17: Clothed him with purple

Verse 18: Began to salute Him

Verse 19: Spat upon Him, bowing their knees to worship Him

Verse 29: pass by railing on him, wagging their heads

Again mocking “ah thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself and come down from the cross”

Verse 31 “He saved others he cannot save himself”

The entire thing was in humiliation to the Son of God

Not only did Christ step down off His throne and take on flesh

But He was stripped naked, He was exposed as a spectacle

He was ridiculed

Remember what was in the cup

Christ, as it were, is drinking the cup

Our problem is we look at the religious pharisees and the saducees and the Romans and all these people who are mocking God and we think, how dare they

Beloved, apart from the grace of God there goes we

They wagged their heads and mocked and yet, that is the natural man

In fact apart from the grace of God, even with works of so called righteousness that he thinks he has, apart from the grace of God, they are right there next to them in the pit of hell

Apart from faith in Christ

Moreover, He was condemned to the death that was reserved for the vilest of persons - that of the Cross

A death appointed for slaves - for the worst of the worst, for the scum of the earth

I mean, truly this is a cursed death

Galatians 3:13 KJV 1900

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

The symbol of Him being suspended between heaven and earth - it carries much shame

It implies He was so vile that He no longer deserved to touch the surface of the earth

And yet, Christ was obedient to death, even death on a Cross

Look at Him, as He is on the cross (vs. 34-39)

Verse 34: I saw a youtube video of a muslim who was trying to debunk a christian with this verse “see, He thinks the Father has abandon Him”

Again, Christ is undergoing the full wrath of God

He is experiencing both body and soul what we deserve

But also, Christ is the same God who wrote the Old Testament

He is quoting Psalm 22

Psalm 22 KJV 1900

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 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. Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: They trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. 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. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; For there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, As a ravening and a roaring lion. 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. But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth: For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; And fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither hath he hid his face from him; But when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: They shall praise the Lord that seek him: Your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Then it goes on but for times sake we will stop there.

Beloved, do you see… Do you see what Christ is saying?

That it looks like God has forsaken Him but really, His heart shall live forever

Closing

Church

Look at what Christ endured

We see the wrath of God almighty, yet we think our lives too grand, our souls too valuable, our works too holy that God would spare us from the torment of hell and perdition

Man looks at what he has done or what he is doing or what he is going to do like he is better than the man next to Him

And yet, He did not spare His own Son

How Dare We!

Whatever pains a man takes, whatever prayers a man sends to heaven, God is under no obligation to save you.

You must be born again!!!

If you deny the gospel, you trample on the blood of the righteous Son of God

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness

This is the glorious part of the gospel

That Christ, who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf so that we might have peace with God

For those of us who have been saved, or are being saved

Do we not understand the depths of the love of God

That the Father elected us before the foundation of the world

That the Son willingly partook of the cup of the wrath of God

That the Holy Spirit descended upon us

That the Triune God of Glory made a covenant of Redemption to save a peculiar people to the glory of His grace

Beloved, look to the cross. Where God’s wrath was poured out upon the sinless Son of God, and where God’s love was pur out upon us.

Oh God, give us grace to see