Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro |

Jesus declared it is finished and he breathed his last breath, and Jesus died.

He was mocked, betrayed, beaten, and condemned to die a criminals death.

And, in all of this he obediently carried out the mission God gave him.

Now, Mark’s gospel is unique.

He gives a time frame for Jesus’ burial, and we can better understand its importance by looking to what Paul shares with the church at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...”

In my life I have given a lot of time considering the cross and the resurrection.

Which I think we should, but in doing so the burial of Jesus becomes a comma in this eternal drama.

Paul saw the burial of Jesus so important that he names it as one of the three main components of the Gospel.

If he truly died, he must be truly buried, and for him to be truly raised he must have truly died - which was confirmed through his burial.

The gospel contains this progression death, burial, and resurrection, so we should look to understand and learn from these verses to understand Christ and what we as his followers have been called to.

1. Perfect Timing (vv.

42, & 44-46)

Mk. 15:42 “And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,”

Evening had come.

This would be considered late afternoon for us.

After 3 o’clock and before sun down.

We know this because the day of Preparation would have been the day before the Sabbath.

The Sabbath ran from sun down on Friday to sun down on Saturday.

On Friday that a family would have prepared themselves for Sabbath rest, and specifically here they would have been preparing themselves for Passover.

Preparations were made, food was cooked, animals were slaughtered, houses were cleaned.

Many have argued the timing of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, but I believe here we have a solid timeline that is in keeping with OT law and Sabbath observance. .

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (ESV)

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.

You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

The discipline of preparation is beneficial for us today too.

We do it weekly when we prepare our hearts for worship, we are called to do it before we come to the Lord’s Table, and I think we should prepare our hearts weekly before we come to worship.

The timing of God is perfect...

Mk. 15:44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus would have already died.

“And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.”

To curb his curiosity, Pilate summoned the Centurion.

v.44 - This is the Centurion we talked about last week from v. 39.

Pilate brought this Romans soldier who had witnessed the crucifixion, and proclaimed that he was the Son of God to confirm his death.

Why was Pilate so surprised to hear that Jesus had died?

Mark: An Introduction and Commentary (v.

The Burial (15:42–47))

“Pilate’s surprise at the news of the death was genuine; men might, and often did, linger for days under the torture of crucifixion, before dying of exposure and thirst under the pitiless sun, or of asphyxiation from the strained hanging position.”

Yes, we must remember the humanity of Jesus, but we can’t lose sight that he was still in control as the Son of God.

Humanly speaking, he had endured multiple false trials throughout the night, been beaten, bruised, and betrayed.

Divinely, he bore the eternal infinite weight of God’s wrath for sinners, he declared it is finished, he breathed his last, and embraced hell for all who believe.

This was all within God’s perfect timeline.

Ecc.

3:2 “a time to be born, and a time to die.”

Heb.

9:27 “ it is appointed for man to die once…”

Eph.

1:11 “ He works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

Jesus death was not untimely, it was preordained, it was exactly when it was supposed to be within the counsel of God’s will and the Sabbath/Passover requirements.

God’s perfect timing gave an opportunity for Jesus to be buried before the Sabbath started so that he would be raised on the third day.

Mk. 15:46 “And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock.