Session 8 > Mark 15:27-39 Saves Jesus’ death bridges the gap between God and humanity caused by our sin. Military history is filled with stories about valiant soldiers who saved others by falling on a live grenade, charging an enemy position, or putting themselves in the line of fire to treat and retrieve wounded comrades. In civilian life as well, we hear frequent accounts of first responders as well as everyday citizens who selflessly put themselves in harm’s way to rescue people in peril. For Jack and Frank, self-sacrifice became extremely personal. Avid spelunkers, the two men went on a cave exploration. Deep inside the cave, however, they became disoriented. They frantically tried to find their way out, but without success. Each pathway seemed to lead deeper into the mountain—and into deeper despair. When Jack’s supplies ran out, Frank shared his supplies with Jack until both men became exhausted. Frank died in the cave, while Jack eventually found his way to safety. Jack realized that he probably would have been the one to die if Frank had not sacrificed for him. When we read the Gospel account and think about Jesus’ death on the cross, we are not just perusing a chapter in a dusty history book. We do better to meditate on this session’s text as though we were Jack sitting in the front row at Frank’s funeral. Jesus’ atoning death on the cross provided the way of eternal rescue from sin, death, and the grave for every believer. As we read and study this Bible passage, may it not be a dispassionate review of an ancient text. Rather, may we draw near to Christ, sensing the presence of the risen Lord among us today, calling us to faith in Him. UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT MARK 14:53–15:41 On the divine level, Jesus’ crucifixion was part of God’s eternal plan of salvation (see Acts 2:23). From a human perspective, Jesus’ death on the 80 Explore the Bible © 2019 LifeWay cross was a culmination of conspiracies that reached from the highest ranks of first-century Jewish leaders into the circle of Jesus’ twelve apostles (see Matt. 26:3-4,14-16; Mark 14:1). The immediate context of this session’s core passage features several trials that followed Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus’ captors first took Him to appear before Annas, a former high priest and the current high priest’s father-in- law (see John 18:13). Jesus suffered the indignities of an illegal nighttime tribunal; then Annas sent Him to appear before the high priest, Caiaphas [KAY uh fuhs] (see John 18:24). The entire religious and political leadership of the Jews gathered to judge Jesus. Jesus had prophesied that He would be condemned by this group and then killed. Without valid evidence against Jesus, Jewish leaders bribed false witnesses to speak against Him and charge Him with blasphemy (Mark 14:53-65). The trial ended with Jesus’ being beaten and condemned to die. Peter had followed the arresting mob to the high priest’s home and waited outside in the courtyard, mingling with the household servants (14:66-72) around a campfire. A maidservant twice pointed to Peter as one of Jesus’ disciples, but Peter denied her assertions. When others around the campfire chimed in, Peter cursed and swore that he didn’t even know Jesus. Jesus had earlier predicted that Peter would deny Him three times. In 15:1-15, Mark reported Jesus’ interrogation and condemnation by Pilate, the governor of Judea. To Pilate’s amazement, Jesus refused to defend Himself. The governor then sought to mollify the agitated crowd by offering to release Jesus in accordance with a custom. The Jewish leaders convinced the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas, a criminal, and the execution of Jesus. Pilate relented to the crowd’s demand and sent Jesus away to be flogged and crucified. In 15:16-20, Mark described Jesus’ being mocked and beaten prior to His crucifixion. Then the soldiers led Jesus to a place outside the city called Golgotha to be crucified. They forced a man from Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross to the execution site (15:21-23). While Jesus was on the cross, passersby insulted Him and mockingly challenged Him to save Himself (15:24-32). At noontime, Jesus cried out the opening words of Psalm 22 about feeling abandoned by God, a cry that some onlookers mistook as a plea for the prophet Elijah’s help (15:33-36). Later, when Jesus died, the temple curtain split in two from top to bottom, and the centurion at the execution site confessed that Jesus was the Son of God (15:37-39). Mark ended the description by noting that a number of Jesus’ women followers, including Mary, His mother, witnessed Jesus’ death (15:40-41). The finality of His last cry might have sealed His story if not for the wondrous resurrection that would happen in three days time. Session 8: Saves 81 © 2019 LifeWay EXPLORE THE TEXT CRUCIFIED (Mark 15:27) The Jewish religious and political leaders wanted Jesus out of the way. They felt threatened by His authority and reputation with the people. Having pressured Pilate the governor into condemning Jesus, the stage was then set for Jesus’ death on the cross. VERSE 27 They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and one on his left. By the time Jesus reached the place of execution, He had suffered massive bodily trauma and loss of blood. He had been beaten mercilessly with a scourge, a whip that had jagged bits of bone and metal affixed to its tail. To mock His kingship, the soldiers had forced a wreath of thorns onto His forehead as a crown. Because of the physical toll on Jesus, the soldiers had to conscript an onlooker in the crowd to carry His cross to the execution site. The actual crucifixion continued this degrading process. The soldiers crucified two criminals (“thieves,” KJV; “robbers,” ESV; “rebels,” NIV) alongside Jesus. The Greek word renderedcriminals could refer to the kind of ruthless bandits who ambushed people along roads in broad daylight to rob them. An alternate view is that the two men were revolutionaries in league with Barabbas. Mark 15:7 speaks of Barabbas’s being in prison with “rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion.” In any case, for the soldiers to position Jesus’ cross in the middle of these two crosses was meant to demean Jesus as nothing more than a despised, good-for-nothing lawbreaker. By the first century AD, the Romans had virtually perfected the use of crucifixion as a means of execution. It was meant not only to produce a slow, sure death but also to exact agonizing torture on the victim in the process and deter future lawbreakers. The person being crucified was stripped of all clothing, causing shame and removing any vestige of protection from the elements. Victims were affixed to the cross’s horizontal beam either by ropes or large nails driven through the hands or wrist bones. Similarly, the victim’s feet were tied or nailed to the vertical pole. While impaled on the cross, victims suffered excruciating pain in their muscles and joints while finding it increasingly difficult to fill their lungs with air. In some cases, executioners broke victims’ leg bones to cause even greater agony and hasten death. Often, though, victims survived several days on the cross, finally succumbing to exhaustion and asphyxiation. 82 Explore the Bible © 2019 LifeWay Based on different ancient New Testament manuscripts, some English Bible translations include an additional verse at this point. The King James Version, for example, includes verse 28 that reads “And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.” This is a reference to Isaiah 53:12, where the prophet foretold that the Lord’s Suffering Servant—the Messiah—would be counted among criminals at His death. Although the verse does not appear in other ancient manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel, the reference to Isaiah 53:12 as a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion is unquestionable. Thus, many English Bible translations that do not have Mark 15:28 in the main text refer to it in a note. EXPLORE FURTHER Read the article titled “Cross, Crucifixion” on pages 368–371 in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Revised and Expanded. What aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion demonstrate the cruel and humiliating nature of this practice? What emotions do you experience as you reflect on Jesus’ suffering and sacrificial death for sinners? MOCKED (Mark 15:29-32) VERSE 29 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 days, Victims of crucifixion endured not only excruciating physical agony but also severe emotional pain in the forms of shame and ridicule. Onlookers and those who passed by Jesus’ cross shouted insults at him (“railed on him,” KJV; “derided him,” ESV). The act of shaking their heads (“wagging their heads,” KJV; ESV) was a gesture of utter contempt. The form of the two verbs yelling and shaking reflects ongoing action. People kept on deriding Jesus. The Jewish leaders had successfully stirred up a mob mentality among the many citizens and Passover visitors to Jerusalem. One of the insults hurled at Jesus concerned a saying that He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Jesus had told His disciples concerning the temple that one day “not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down” (Mark 13:2).