Blasphemy or Belief? Mark: Who Do You Say That I Am? Mark 15:25-39 Pastor Josh Black April 3, 2015 O the weight and the wonder of the cross?! What’s going on in your heart as you hear about the death of Christ? What is your response to the words we’ve read from Mark’s Gospel? What is your response to the songs we’ve heard and sung? After eight months in the Gospel of Mark, we come to the climax of the whole book. And now it’s time to answer the major question in this book? Who is Jesus? Or to put it in Jesus’ own words, “Who do you say that I am?” Those are the questions we’ve been asking for the last eight months in the Gospel of Mark. And those are the questions I put before you this evening. Mark gives us the right answer in the first verse of his Gospel. He tells us that his Gospel will be about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1). When we ask the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Mark wants us to answer, “Jesus is the Son of God.” At Jesus’ baptism God tore open the heavens and declared, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (1:10-11). At the transfiguration, God tore open the heavens and declared, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him” (9:7). But so far in the book of Mark, no human being has said Jesus is the Son of God. At least not until now. Only after Jesus is crucified and the curtain to the temple is torn (just like the heavens were torn), does the centurion declare, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” In Mark, it’s only at the cross do we see that Jesus is the Son of God. But even at the cross, not everybody responds the same way. Not everybody says, “Jesus is the Son of God.” In fact there are three groups of people at the cross who reject Jesus as the Son of God. “Those who passed by deride him” (v. 29). “The chief priests with the scribes mocked him” (v. 31). And even the robbers “who were crucified with him also reviled him” (v. 32). The key word Mark uses for their rejection is “deride”. They derided Jesus. What does it mean that they derided him? Well the Greek word for deride is where we get our English word “blasphemy.” Normally when we think of blasphemy we think it means claiming to be God. But that’s too narrow of a definition. To blaspheme is simply to dishonor someone, generally God. So the people in Mark 15 are dishonoring Jesus. But not only that. As they dishonor Jesus they’re dishonoring God. That’s why it’s blasphemy. Blasphemy is a really important word for Mark. In the book of Mark, Jesus claims to be the Son of God. And this makes the religious leaders mad. Because they think that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God is dishonoring to God—it’s blasphemy. In fact, that’s one of the reasons they wanted Jesus crucified. But here’s the irony. Mark says that if you don’t receive Jesus as the Son of God, you’re actually the one who’s blaspheming God. You’re dishonoring God. Why? Because Jesus is God’s Son. And Jesus is God’s way of bringing salvation to his people. So to reject Jesus as God’s Son and God’s Savior is to dishonor God. It’s blasphemy. 2

One of the reasons the crowds and religious leaders are deriding Jesus is because they think the cross discredits his claims to be the Son of God. “If you’re really the Son of God, you wouldn’t be hanging on a cross!” But the cross doesn’t disprove Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. In fact it strengthens Jesus’ claim. Those who deride Jesus say, “If you’re really the King of the Jews, you wouldn’t be put to death.” But Jesus really is the King of the Jews. He’s God’s Messiah. And his death is God’s way of bringing us eternal life. So to deride God’s king is to blaspheme God. Those who deride Jesus think, “If you’re really the Son of God, you wouldn’t be crucified next to criminals.” But Jesus isn’t crucified next to criminals because he’s a criminal. No, he’s the spotless Son of God. He’s the only guiltless one on the scene. He’s crucified next to criminals to pay the penalty for the guilty. His death is God’s way to provide forgiveness of sins. So to deride him is to blaspheme God. Those who deride Jesus say, “If you said you could tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days, then do it.” But they don’t realize Jesus is the temple. He’s the great meeting place between God and man. And he’s being torn down on the cross. But on the third day he will rise. This is God’s way to bring people back into relationship with him. So to deride him is to blaspheme God. Those who deride Jesus say, “If you’re really the Son of God, you’d be able to save yourself. In fact if you could just come down from the cross we would see and believe.” But Jesus doesn’t come down from the cross to save himself because dying on the cross is God’s way for him to save others. So to deride him is to blaspheme God. Those who reject Jesus think Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God is blasphemy. But it’s not blasphemy. In fact, it’s blasphemy to not acknowledge him as the Son of God. It’s dishonoring. Because Jesus is God’s Son. And Jesus is God’s way of salvation. This becomes even clearer in the events that surround Jesus’ death in verses 33-39. There are two signs that surround Jesus’ death: The darkness that covered the earth for three hours. And the curtain in the temple that was torn into. One right before Jesus’ death and one right after Jesus’ death. Only God could cover the earth with darkness for three hours. And only God could tear that curtain in two. So these two events on either side of Jesus’ crucifixion validate Jesus as God’s Son and God’s way of salvation. They also teach us a couple of amazing lessons about salvation. Darkness in the Bible normally represents judgment. Just like God sent the 9th plague of darkness on Egypt right before the 10th plague of slaughtering the firstborn son. So God sends darkness over the whole land before he slaughters his own Son. But instead of the judgment falling on the enemies of God, it falls on the Son of God. He was slain for us. The curtain in the temple kept man from the presence of God. The only one who could pass through the curtain was the high priest. And he could only go in once a year. And only with blood. Through Christ’s death, the way into God’s presence has been opened to all of God’s people once and for all through Christ’s blood. So the darkness and the curtain show us Jesus is the Son of God and God’s way of salvation. 3

The major question in the book of Mark is who is Jesus? Or in the words of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” But there’s only one correct answer to the question. Mark’s great desire is to show us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He’s God’s way of providing salvation for his people. And we see this most clearly at the cross! It’s not blasphemy for Jesus to claim to be God’s Son. In fact, it’s blasphemy to not acknowledge him as the Son of God. Because Jesus is God’s Son. And Jesus is God’s way of salvation. There are many today who would claim to believe Jesus was a real man and a good teacher. But the Son of God? Probably not. There are many today who would say they believe that Jesus died on a cross. But to pay the penalty for my sin? Probably not. After all why do we need all of this blood. The Bible says we need a blood substitute. Many today are saying we need a substitute for blood!1 But we don’t get to make God who we want him to be. We don’t get to make Jesus who we want him to be. And we don’t get to decide how we’ll be saved. To do so is to deride Jesus. It’s to blaspheme God. God has made a way. And only God’s way will save. God sent his own Son to die on a cross to save us from our sins. As you look at the cross of Jesus Christ, Mark puts forward two responses for us. What will it be? Blasphemy or belief? Will you dishonor God by rejecting Jesus as God’s Son and God’s way of salvation? Or will you be like the centurion? When he saw the way Jesus died, he said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

1 Dave Helm