The Agony on the Cross

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Mark 15:20-47

Introduction: (What?)

Already Jesus had experienced the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, The Agony in the Courtroom, and the Agony in the Courtyard. Now He experienced the final Agony on the Cross. Today as we take a fresh look at the Crucifixion, we will remember the sacrifice that Jesus made there by partaking of the LORD’s Supper.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The Via Dolorosa (vv 20b-22)

If you go to Jerusalem today you will find markings which begin just inside the Lion’s Gate of Jerusalem located in the Muslim Quarter, and the supposed location of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, proceeding about 1/2 mile through Jerusalem into the Christian Quarter ending at the Catholic Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Along the way there are 14 “stations” represented by paintings depicting various scenes from the trials to the burial of Jesus. It is called the Via Dolorosa, or the “way of sorrows or suffering”.

“After they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe and put His clothes on Him. They led Him out to crucify Him. They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull)”

Condemned prisoners were forced to carry the heavy crossbeam, weighing around 100 pounds to the execution site. Jesus, already weakened from His near-death experience in Gethsemane, a sleepless night, scourged and beaten, was unable to carry this heavy weight. When Jesus fell under the weight of the crossbeam, the Roman soldiers forced a passerby, Simon (possibly a black man) from Cyrene on the northern coast of Africa, to carry the beam. The fact that Mark mentions Simon’s two sons by name indicates that Mark knew them and knew that they would be recognized by members of the Roman Church, to which the gospel is written.

Although we don’t know for sure the location, the place where they brought Jesus was called Golgotha, (Calvary in Latin) meaning “the place of the skull”. Supposedly this name came from the shape of a hill outside of the Damascus Gate. There are two supposed locations that are considered possibilities. One is called “Gordon’s Calvary”, named after the English General who discovered a hill that looked like a skull. At the base of that hill today is a bus station. It is not far from the Garden Tomb.

The other is located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and has been revered by Catholics since the fourth century. Supposedly Helena, mother of Constantine the Great the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, discovered some wooden fragments that could have come from a cross, and the semblance of a tomb there. This discovery led to her being deemed a Saint.

Unlike our hymn “The Old Rugged Cross”, the place of crucifixion would not have been “on a hill far away” because the Romans did crucifixions near busy roads where they could be seen clearly by all who passed by. Also, if it was on a far away hill, the inscription above the cross would not have been readable and thus the Jews would not have objected as John recorded in his gospel.

2. The Cross (vv 23-39)

“They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified Him.”

The wine mixed with myrrh was a primitive narcotic. Supposedly this would deaden the pain as the nails were driven into wrists and feet. However, from the standpoint of the crucifixion detail of Roman soldiers, it served to keep the victim from struggling while being nailed to the crossbeam. This act fulfilled the prophecy of Psa. 69:20-21 “Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I waited for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but found no one. Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Having attached the hands (wrists) of Jesus to the crossbeam by nails, the soldiers then lifted the beam with His mangled body hanging down, about 10-12 feet high and attached it to the post which was already driven into the ground. Then they crossed His feet and drove a single spike through both feet and into the post. These details are not given in any of the gospels, but come from descriptions in the Encyclopedia Britannica of Roman crucifixions. The Roman iron spikes which were used were tapered and about 5-7 inches long.

“The inscription of the charge written against Him was: The King of the Jews. They crucified two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left. Those who passed by were yelling insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three day, save yourself by coming down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests with the scribes were mocking Him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.’ Even those who were crucified with Him taunted Him.” Remembering His Sacrifice (The LORD’s Supper)

“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which was translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?’ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, ‘See He’s calling for Elijah.’ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered Him a drink and said, ‘Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down.’

Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. Then the curtain on the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, say the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!”

Today we remember the agony of Jesus on the cross and the reason He was there as we participate in the LORD’s Supper. When the Passover meal was over, Jesus took a piece of bread, blessed it (PRAY) and broke it and passed it to each of the disciples. Then He said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

And in the same way also He took the cup, after supper, (PRAY) and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Although you have a 3rd point in your bulletin today, we are going to end here and take up the burial and resurrection next week.

Application: (How should I apply this to my life?)

It was your sins & mine that made the cross necessary. Someone had to pay. There is a chorus that we used to sing that went, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to take my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, ‘Amazing Grace, all day long, Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”

He has paid your sin-debt. Have you surrendered to Him so that your sins can be washed away? Even though the debt is paid, some people, and perhaps some of you, have never accepted His act of love by admitting that you have sinned and surrendering to the One who has paid your debt.

If you have surrendered to Christ and you are a disciple of His, today would be a great time to remember and renew your surrender.