Mark 15  Mark seems to rush through the details here.. from the early morning delivery of Jesus into Pilates hands.. to the release of Barabbas, the insurrectionist and murderer.. to the shouting crowd..  to the mocking and abuse of the Roman soldiers.. to the cross. 

I want to stop the movement.. and see.. really see Jesus in these moments.. 

They bind His hands.. the Hands that fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead.. embraced the children...  and  they lead Him to Pilate. 

Pilate asks Jesus, "Are You king of the Jews?"  Yes.. "It is as you say."  Jesus answers.  In other gospel accounts He says more.. but Mark keeps it simple and to the point.  Jesus will not answer the accusations of the chief priests. He has no more to say to them. They have rejected the Son of God.. they have rejected the One and only True God who sent His only begotten Son. But Pilate needed to know this Truth. 

Barabbas, the "son of a father".. was set free.. while Jesus.. the Son of the Father was sent to His death.  The man who killed and stole and rebelled walked away.. while Jesus the Man who healed and helped and restored what was lost.. was beaten and mocked.  Even Barabbas needed to know this Truth. 

Jesus was so weak and bruised and bleeding that He had to have help carrying the cross up the hill to Golgotha.  Simon the Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.. was pressed into service.. "to bear the cross".   We do not know this man's story.. but he must have become known to Mark to be identified so clearly.  We do not know his interaction with Jesus.. but in my imagination I think there was a deep connection made as he came in contact with the bruised body and the blood of the Savior. Simon also needed to know Jesus.. the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Jesus endured the nails. He refused the wine and myrrh. He heard the taunts. He saw the wagging heads and fingers. He would not come down.. knowing that the Father was pouring out the cup on Him.. so that sin would be conquered.. so that death would be overcome.. so that we might be rescued from the dominion of darkness. 

For three hours the sky turned black. He remained bound to a wooden cross with nails piercing His hands and feet.. and then.. at the 9th hour He cried out to His Father... "and Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last." (v37) 

The veil tore in two from top to bottom. The centurions proclaimed "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

The women watched Him die. They followed Him in life and they followed Him in death. 

Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate asking to take the body of Jesus to bury Him. He took His body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid Him in a tomb. 

Father in heaven,  blessed be the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.. the Beloved Son who gave His life for us. His Body was broken.. His blood was poured out.. His pain was greater than we can imagine.. His compassion for us.. so strong that He stayed on that cross until it was finished. Thank You Jesus! Thank You Father. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.. on the Truth who was "with God.. who was God.. who became flesh and dwelt among us".. who gave His life that we might be saved. We will cling to You with hearts of love and overflowing gratitude. Hallelujah! What a Savior!. Amen 

 Mark 14:54; 66-72  "And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest... " 

Mark turns, for just a minute, to give us a picture of Peter.  He is sitting outside the house where they had taken Jesus.  He is warming himself by the fire.. while Jesus is being accused.. tried.. beaten. "And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, 'You, too, were with Jesus the Nazarene' " 

Peter was no longer the bold one who promised "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not."  Instead, he denied even knowing what the girl was talking about. A second time.. and a third time, Peter denied knowing Jesus.. heading out the door.

But.. when he heard the rooster crow.. he remembered the words of Jesus.  He knew that Jesus heard it too and that Jesus knew what he had just done.  "And he began to weep." 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Peter mourned his failure, his loss, and his sin.  He wept for himself.. for he recognized his weaknesses and inability to do what he wanted to do.. he couldn't face the enemy and he could not face himself. 

We all come to that place in our lives..if we are honest.  The place...where we finally realize that we cannot make ourselves do what we want to do and find ourselves doing what we don't want to do.  Paul confessed his own experience with this in Romans 7:15 "For that which I am doing I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate..."   He found only one answer to this.. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! "  

Jesus restored Peter and Paul.. He restores us when we come to Him in repentance and humility.  As Paul reminds us in the wonderful words of Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  Jesus sets us free from sin and death.. He gives us Life.. He gives us His Spirit.. He gives us Hope. 

Father in heaven, thank You for the restoration and hope we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Thank You that You are compassionate and gracious to forgive us our sins and to restore us to fellowship even when we fail.. You know our weaknesses.. but are willing to give us strength.  You know our failures and fears.. but are willing to give us peace and victory. Let the Power of Your Spirit be at work in us today we pray, that we might walk as Jesus walked, trusting You and obeying Your voice. In His name we ask this, Amen. 

 Mark 14:53-65  "And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together." 

This picture.. this scene that Mark brings us to in this great story.. is more than we can handle in some ways.  The words on the page are not able to convey the tension, the hatred, the anger, or the sorrow in that room. The men who called themselves the authority.. the righteous.. the worthy ones.. convened an unlawful trial.. trying to use the Law to condemn the Law-giver to death. 

They tried to "obtain testimony against Jesus.. "  The Law required 2-3 witnesses ( Deuteronomy 17:6) in order to put someone to death.  It also required the "hand of the witnesses" to be the first to put him to death.  The problem that the priests had was.. "they were not finding any."   There were false witnesses.. but even those were" not consistent." Finally, the high priest stood up and questioned Jesus himself. 

"Are You the Christ , the Son of the Blessed One?"  This question, Jesus answered.. this is His confession, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  

Jesus was telling the religious leaders that He was the fulfillment of Daniel's vision.

 

"I kept looking in the night visions, 

And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, 

and He came up the the Ancient of Days

 And was presented before Him.

And to Him was given dominion, 

Glory and a kingdom.

That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language

Might serve Him.

His dominion is and everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed."

(Daniel 7:13-14)

The high priest  tore his clothes.. called Jesus a blasphemer.. and they condemned Him to death.  "And some began to spit at Him and to blindfold Him and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, 'Prophesy!'  And the officers received Him with slaps in the face." 

Father,  Jesus chose to drink the cup meant for us.. He spoke Truth.. He received punishment.. We cannot comprehend how anyone could do what these men did to Jesus.  How could they falsely accuse Him, lie about Him, reject Him.. reject You?   Help us to look upon our Savior and know the depth of His love for us.. His perfect love for You. My heart if full of love for this Beautiful Savior.. thank You for opening my eyes to see Him more clearly... to love Him more dearly.. Keep me near to Your heart, o God. amen. 

 Mark 14:32-51  This scene opens in a garden called Gethsemane... the "oil press".   8 disciples are given a place to sit.. as Jesus goes to pray.  Peter, James and John are invited to go further with Him.. to watch and to pray. 

Jesus is overcome with distress and anguish.. He is troubled.. He is full of heaviness.  He is sorrowful.  He went a little further and "fell to the ground and began to pray."   

He cries out "Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt."  Three times, we are told, Jesus asks His Father to remove the cup and each time He submits to the Father's will.  He will drink the cup.. the cup that we cannot drink.. 

Jesus finds Peter, James and John asleep.. unable to keep watching.. unable to keep praying.. unable to keep their eyes open.. unable to answer Him. 

"It is enough; the hour has come; behold the Son of Man is being delivered in the hands of sinners." It is too late for anything else to be done. The cobwebs of sleep are still lingering.. until Judas arrives.. "accompanied by a multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders."

Judas signals his betrayal with a kiss. 

The soldiers "laid hands on Him and seized Him." 

Peter wakes up enough to take his sword and strike a slave, cutting off his ear. 

Jesus submits to the false arrest, done in darkness... testifying that even this happens "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." 

And, just like that, all the disciples run away. 

Let us feel the heaviness that brought Jesus to fall on His face before the Father.  His sorrow was real. His prayers were honest. But.. I wonder.. was that sorrow for Himself?  Was it because of the suffering He would experience in just a few hours?   The "cup" would not be removed from Him.. and He knew all about that cup. He had known all along that this was His destiny and He would not refuse it. 

Psalm 75:8 speaks of a cup.. "For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams; It is well mixed and he pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs;"

Isaiah spoke of a cup.. "Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the Lord's hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.. " (51:17)

Jeremiah spoke of  a cup too: "For thus the Lord, the God of Israel says to me, 'Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. " (25:15) 

Father in heaven,  You sent Your Son to drink the cup.. the cup that was meant for the wicked..  and He drank it for us.  All praise and thanksgiving we give to You and to the Son,  the Savior who died for our sins.. who makes us righteous through His obedience and surrender.  We are amazed at the  glory of Your grace! Thank You Father! amen. 

 Mark 14:22-31  Mark gives us a glimpse of this Passover meal.. in this upper room.. Jesus with His disciples ( except for Judas who seems to have gone already)  and the presentation of a new covenant. 

"Take it; this is My body" Jesus tells them as He hands them the broken bread. Then.. he took the cup and gave thanks.. and after they had each drank from it, He said, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." 

The terms of this covenant are a broken body and poured out blood.  There would be no more covenants.. no more sharing of the "fruit of the vine" with Jesus until the kingdom of God has come. 

Mark tells us no more. John fills in the story with the final words, prayers, and warnings that Jesus spoke to them in that upper room.  But, Mark moves us on to the next picture, "And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." 

Here, Jesus tells them that He would be struck down and that they would scatter. Once again He tells them that He will rise again and that He would see them in Galilee.  

Peter can't imagine being apart from Jesus.. proclaiming his desire to go with Jesus even unto death... but Jesus knows that he cannot.  Peter would deny Jesus before the morning dawned. They all promised not to abandon Him.. but.. Jesus knew that He would face His crucifixion alone. 

Father, may we take the bread and the cup..  remembering this covenant.. and know, even more..  the depth of Your love for us in the precious Lamb who was slain.. whose blood was shed, whose body was broken.. so that we might truly be Your people.. Your children.. Yours forevermore..  We are washed by the blood.. we are made whole by His sacrifice. We rest in Him.  When that hour comes, when we face our final breaths... may the words on our lips be praise and thanksgiving to the One who will bring us home.  Thank You for the cross.. for the covenant.. for the love that poured out from that broken body and precious blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness..  thank You that we are not alone.. but that our Savior is with us always..  in His name.. in the Name of Jesus we come.  Amen

 Mark 14:12-21  It is the evening when the Passover lamb would be sacrificed.. the 7 days of the celebration of 'Unleavened Bread" began.. and the disciples come to ask Jesus where to prepare the meal.  Jesus sends them to a man that He knows well.. but they do not seem to know at all..  He tells them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him;"  

There is a prepared place..an upper room.. "furnished and ready;"  That evening, Jesus and the twelve came to the table together. They did not know it would be their last meal.. the last Passover with Jesus. They did not know the significance of this moment.. the things that would happen in the next few moments.. the next few hours.. or the next few days. It was an ordinary meal.. that was anything but ordinary. 

Mark begins setting the scene and then leaps straight into the dramatic events.  Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you that one of you will betray Me - one who is eating with Me."  This came as a shock to all but one of the disciples.  They were so shook up that they each wondered if they were that one.. "Surely, not I?" 

Jesus looked at His disciples.. the ones that  He called friends.. the ones He had chosen and spent the last three years with, teaching them.. loving them.. . He said, "It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl." A close friend, sharing a special meal together..was the ultimate betrayer..

 Jesus knew.. Judas knew..  but the others seem to be  looking at this from outside this scene.. perhaps focused on their own doubts and fears.

Imagine what was going on inside Judas' mind. He could have repented.. but he did not. He could have humbly wept at the feet of the Savior, but he did not. The next words spoken to him should have shaken out of his hardened heart.. but they did not.. "For the Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

In my mind and heart I feel that Jesus was heart-broken for Judas.  He knew that Scripture would be fulfilled.. He knew that Satan would enter Judas.. but still.. He knew and loved Judas. 

" Man of Sorrows.. what a name, for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah, what a Savior!"  This is our Savior, our Lord, our King.. Jesus Christ, the Son of God who faced sorrow... who faced  betrayal.. who faced death.. to reclaim us sinners!  Hallelujah! 

Oh Father, how we love You.. for You sent us Your One and only Son to save us from ruin and shame and darkness.. and death.  Thank You!  We our forever Yours for You have granted us repentance.. You have redeemed us.. You have adopted us.  We call You" Good".. Your lovingkindness and grace has poured down upon us through Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Amen. 

 Mark 14:1-11  Mark is giving us another snapshot of Jesus... it is 2 days before Passover.. the last few days of His life before the crucifixion and He is in Bethany.  The plot to kill Him has been put into motion.. and Jesus knows it well. 

As Jesus joins "Simon the leper"  for dinner that day, a woman comes in with "an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard."   Now, John records a similar account in John chapter 12.. but he said it was 6 days before Passover and that the woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  Mark writes that this woman anointed Jesus' head and John says it was His feet.  Both record that the nard was very valuable. saying it was worth 300 denarii.. almost a year's wages.  John records the fact that the perfume filled the room with its fragrance.  Mark writes that this happened after the triumphal entry while John has it right before that event. 

In both accounts the disciples criticized the woman for wasting the perfume for it could have been sold and the money used to help the poor.  And in both accounts Jesus tells them to "let her alone".  "She has done a good deed to Me." (v6)   Jesus received her gift.. her sacrifice.. as an anointing, for the burial that would come in just a few days. 

In Mark's account we see the contrast between the woman  who gave sacrificially from her heart.. and Judas... who was so angry.. and as John shares.. so greedy.. that he "went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them." 

It has been my goal through this reading of Mark's gospel to see Jesus.. to know Him more through the portraits that Mark drew for us... so instead of worrying about the differences between Mark's story and John's.. I just want to look at Jesus a little closer... 

Jesus accepted this anointing.... He accepted it as a preparation for His own death and burial.  As the precious perfume filled the air with its sweet fragrance, as He felt the oil run down His head or His feet and the touch of Mary's hair as she washed His feet ( according to John).. the reality of His crucifixion would perhaps become sharper. He would remember the smell, the touch, the sight of this woman who humbled herself before Him and displayed her great love and thankfulness so openly.  And.. there in this sacred moment.. his friends grumbled about wasting money!  One of His own disciples went out to betray Him.. and they all missed the significance of her actions.   Jesus didn't miss it.. and He doesn't want us to miss it either.. "And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of in memory of her." 

Do we remember? Do we speak of her.. of her gift.. of her love?  Can we put ourselves in her place?  Coming to the feet of Jesus.. or to His head.. offering everything that we have.. worshiping the One who was about to give His life for us?  

Father, help us to understand.. to grasp the significance of this event and to see Jesus as this woman did. 

amen.