BOUND. Mark 15:1. “…and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.” He who binds the planets in their orbits was bound.
He who says to the waters of the oceans, “This far shalt thou go and no further,” was bound.
He who controls the winds and water with a word from His mouth was bound.
He who blinded men that they could not see and gave sight to the blind that they could see was bound.
He who loosed the tongue of the dumb that they could speak was bound.
He who spoke forgiveness and healing to the paralyzed was bound.
He who forgave the sins of the adulterous so that they could live in freedom was bound.
He who was released from the restrictions of creation of enough fish and bread to feed thousands of people was bound.
Has there ever been such a word, such a sight, as to see the One who gives deliverance to the captive, sets the captive “free indeed,” enables the liberated to walk in the newness of life, adds such a dimension to the restrictions of our humanity that we have “abundant life,” --- to see Him bound?!! It defies all logic. It is not to be understood. It cannot be that such a thing could happen. It demands an explanation!
“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened He not His mouth.”
The Word of God, the sign of the Servant, the Surety for sinners, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world—the explanation is: God planned it this way. The humiliation and submission were all part of the evidence that this One is indeed the Chosen One of God.
They had heard Him speak; they watched His life and saw the things He did. All but two of the Sanhedrin rejected Him and all the words He said. They did not want “This Man,” and for His death, the council cried. Nothing could satisfy them until they saw that Jesus had died. Pilate heard the false witnesses and all the council had to say. He knew the reason they wanted Him dead was really just envy. He knew Jesus was innocent of the charges laid against Him, and yet his own heart was still evil, and he delivered Jesus to be crucified to content the people.
When everything was lost to human sight: all the perversions of justice, the faces of scornful people, the curled lips and faces of smug complacency were hidden by the darkness that covered the land; the loud cry came, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” He was made sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Then, we have at least three important testimonies of eyewitnesses when the forsaking was past. The Roman centurion said, “Truly this was a righteous man; truly this was the Son of God.” A large company of devoted women stood “afar off beholding the things which were done.” Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who “consented not to the counsel and deed of them,” physically took the body of Jesus in his arms and took it off of the cross and to his own new tomb.
What an impact the recounting of these events must have had on the believers in the Rome assemblies when they read Peter and Mark's words! Peter himself was an eyewitness to the sufferings of Christ. He was there perhaps at a distance and likely with tears still pouring down his face as he thought of the One whom he had denied. Never will he forget the scene of Calvary, nor will I, and I consider them by the eyes of faith when I read these words. I understand the tears of Peter and the women because I have them too. “It was for me, yes, all for me. Oh, love of God, so great, so free. Oh, wonderous love, I’ll shout and sing! He died for me, my Lord and King!”
The Civil Trial of Jesus before Pilate, v.1-15 At the breaking of the day, the Sanhedrin, in an effort to legalize their illegal conviction of Jesus, ratified their decision quickly and led Jesus to Pilate. Roman officials began their business day at daybreak as well, so it must have been startling to Pilate and those with him to see Jesus so physically abused at that early morning hour. He was led before Pilate by loud-mouthed Jewish leaders, and the Lord Jesus, in the quiet dignity of innocence and holiness, stood looking at the judge in perfect and calm silence. That would likely have been disconcerting to Pilate, who had seen and done many bad things. The brutal things that had been done to Jesus didn’t seem consistent with the charges they were trying to bring against Him.
The insults and indignities against Jesus, the vulgarities and vicious hatred, the physical abuse and the spitting were laid on the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is hard for us to conceive of such divine mercy allowing them to live. These atrocities were done against the Son of God! Mark’s account of the events that morning leaves out many of the things that happened. We need to read all four Gospels to understand what happened in those early morning hours.
To read them privately and out loud impresses me with a sense of fearful awe and dread as I think of what an awful future from which I have been rescued. To have spit on the face of Jesus and then to stand before Him at the great white throne will be an unspeakable terror. To have been actually there and physically involved in those terrible abuses against the Son of God, and then to face Him – how glad I am that God has saved me from the wrath to come! And yet, He was there, enduring all that on my account. His humiliation was to “accomplish my salvation. Thousand, thousand praises be, Precious Savior, unto Thee.”
Because the Jews's conviction of Jesus for blasphemy was under Jewish law, not Roman law, it would have no effect in a Roman trial. Jesus was convicted unjustly because He was truly the Son of God. It was only the opinion of the Jewish leaders and those who followed them that He was not. Evidence that should have been and could have been brought before the Sanhedrin by many witnesses would have demanded a different verdict. The proofs were all in place as to who He was, but they ignored and refused to accept any verdict but their own. “His own received Him not.”
Roman rule did not allow capital crimes to be dealt with by local laws, and the Jews knew that they had no case according to Roman law. So, to have a capital crime to accuse Jesus of, they brought to Pilate three crimes that would be against the Roman government: tax evasion, “forbidding to give tribute to Caesar;” treason, claiming He was king of the Jews; terrorism, causing riots in different places.
If any or all of these were true, they would cause Pilate concern. The order of the civil proceedings was that Jesus was first led to Pilate, where Jesus stated plainly that He was a king but that His kingdom was not of this world. If that had been the case, His servants would fight, but His kingdom was the true spiritual kingdom in which truth ruled. That was why Pilate asked the question we read of in John’s account; “What is truth?” in a more or less off-hand fashion.
Because the Lord didn’t answer the accusations the Jews laid against Him, Pilate waited for Jesus’ reply, but none was forthcoming. There would have been no point to it because truth had already been thrown out the window. To answer would have been futile, and the time had come for Him to accomplish the work He had been sent to do by the “determined counsel and foreknowledge of God.” His silence before Herod at the second phase of the trial was an open condemnation of Herod, who had killed John the Baptist. Jesus had no word to say or miracle to perform for him. He just stood in dignified silence and looked at the guilty king. The third phase of the trial was back before Pilate, which concludes Mark’s account. Pilate knew justice was not being served and Jesus was an innocent man, but “Pilate, willing to content the people, delivered Jesus to be crucified.”
Pilate knew full well that the charges laid against Jesus did not weigh proof of any kind. All of the charges were baseless. He knew envy when he saw it, and he saw it in the accusers. “Art Thou the king of the Jews?” was really an incredulous question directed at one who didn’t look like royalty in His present visible state. Yet, he was under no delusion as to the fact that the person he was dealing with was no ordinary person. He also knew in his heart that what he was doing himself was wrong. His own crime against Roman law was without excuse. He was about to condemn an innocent man to death. Pilate knew Jesus was no threat to Rome. Pilate knew the truth, but he was not of the truth.
The silence of Jesus was the silence of innocence. What can an innocent person say that will change the charges of people who know full well they are lying and are instrumental in getting others to lie and make absurd, ridiculous charges? Thrown mud may make a stain, but it doesn’t stick. Probably one of the best ways to discern a person’s character and spiritual condition is to see how they bear insults, lying challenges, and personally railing speech directed against them.
The silence of the Lord was also holy silence. “Who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not.” The very visible presence and demeanor of the Lord Jesus gave a lie to every accusation made against Him. He was obviously holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. His silence was evidence of the calm serenity of One who is holy in soul and spirit. His life was evidence of the holiness of His conduct. There was nothing of which they could accuse Him of doing that was wrong. He was holy in every way.
There was a third aspect to the silence of the Lord Jesus Christ as he stood there before Pilate. The serious silence of judgment can be sensed when an innocent one looks into the eyes of the guilty. It is very hard to return a gaze of more than a moment or two when confronted with a look of true innocence. Jesus answered no more questions, nor did He say anything. He just looked at those who were looking at Him. He had previously answered the questions of the Jewish leaders, and they had answered Him back with shouts of accusation, calling Him a blasphemer. He had spoken previously to Pilate, who had sneered at the answer Jesus gave to his arrogant statement, “Art Thou (in a demeaning way) the king of the Jews?”
- When the Lord is not listened to but is mocked, He stops speaking, which is now the same as then. He is not going to cast pearls before swine. He was silent before His accusers then. In the future, they will be silent before Him when “every mouth is stopped, and the whole world is [declared] guilty before God.” Every unbelieving person will stand before Him in silence and see the One they rejected. As a flame of fire, his eyes will pierce into the darkness of the unregenerated soul, striking terror into their heart. “Guilty before God!”
To the soul who listens to the entreaties of the Gospel and the striving of the Holy Spirit, takes ownership of their own sins before God, and repents; He will speak peace to that soul through the gracious words of the scripture, and faith comes by hearing. “He is near unto all that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.”
The Abuse and Mockery of Jesus, v.16-22 “They clothed Him with purple,” this One who came from one high to be “lifted up” to “draw all men” unto Himself. In mockery, they scorned Him. They wanted Him to die, the only One who could save them if they cried to Him for mercy with true repentance; but no, they refused Him, this One from on high.
“They platted a crown of thorns,” and on His head, it was pressed while they mockery they bowed before the One who had blessed their children, their sick ones, their lame and oppressed. But no, as the Messiah, they denied Him, nor would His name would confess as Lord.
“They smote Him on the head” with a reed in their hand. In mockery, they spit on Him, that vile Roman band. Bowing their knees with the scorn of the damned, they led Him out, that Holiest of men. “They compel one Simon” to carry His cross and, still in mockery, led Him like a sheep from the slaughter to the place called Golgotha, “the skull,” we are told, and then crucified Him, Christ Jesus, the Lord.
I hesitate to attempt to make any graphic description of the physical sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ because, at best, I am limited to the degree I have actually experienced physical pain. It is enough to know that the horrors of what those soldiers did to our Lord generate an antagonistic mindset toward those men, implying that if I had been there, I would have had nothing to do with it. Perhaps I think I might have tried to stop it. But “as face answers to face in water, so the heart of man to man.” Pilate had Jesus scourged, which is different than being flogged with a rod or whip. Scourging involves deliberate cutting into the flesh of the one being scourged to intensify the pain inflicted on those who are condemned. Pilate may have thought the scourging would satisfy those who accused and hated the Lord Jesus. However, they were not satisfied with anything less than death by crucifixion.
“He delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.” “He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.” Whether we realize it the way we should or not, behind the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ were our sins. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” We might be outraged at what those cruel soldiers did to Jesus when they led Him to the Praetorium. Still, we must remember that behind such abuse and hostility was the necessity of nothing being left undone by the Perfect Servant who was our Substitute. He was the only acceptable Sacrifice that could satisfy the just claims of God against sin. “He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.” The greatest abuse ever put on a person was experienced by the Perfect Substitute, who “gave Himself for me.”
Whether it was the quiet, obvious innocence of the Lord that brought out the deep-seated brutality of those soldiers against a defenseless person or whether it was a last-ditch satanic attack that was unleashed upon the Lord to keep Him from dying on the cross for our sins, is beyond our ability to discern. But whatever the reason behind such evil brutality and maltreatment by those men against the Lord Jesus, it went way beyond what was their duty under the authority of the Roman government. How they could find pleasure in taking their mockery of the Lord to such an extent is beyond comprehension.
They performed a mock coronation of a king, beginning with putting on Him a cast-off purple garment. Then, unsatisfied with a crown of leaves or straw, someone went out to get thorn branches and crowned Him with that. Bowing before Him in mockery and saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” as a take-off from “Hail, Caesar!” when an obedient soldier would kiss the emperor’s ring, as they rose up, they spit in the face of Jesus, and took the reed from His hand and hit Him on the head with it causing the thorns to pierce His head. The awfulness of the whole event is made even more terrible by its brutal simplicity.
Contrasting with the loud noise of false worship and mockery was the meekness, dignity, silence, and moral purity of the Savior. His behavior and demeanor were that of the real King. Even though He was like a silent lamb and sheep, His presence and obvious holiness gave evidence that He was more than a sinful human being. Any soldier who would have looked in Jesus' eyes would have been convicted in his own soul of his sinfulness. If Jesus had cried out, if He had shown Himself indifferent to pain and humiliation, if He had steeled Himself against all they heaped upon Him, they would have considered Him at that moment more than human. In all of that pain, He remained silent.
He felt the pain of every blow. He sensed the humiliation caused by every mocking word. He experienced in His body, soul, and spirit what every human being would experience in a similar situation, but to a far greater extent because of the perfection of His divine nature that was never set aside when he was found in fashion as a man. The terrible, painful crown, the flimsy reed as a mock scepter, and the foul spittle of men instead of the respectful kiss of reverence did not bring any adverse response from the Lord Jesus. “He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Barabbas must have had fear within when he heard them call his name. He probably thought he was about to die when the soldiers came for him. When the shackles were taken off, and he was told that he was free, he probably thought, “I wonder who is the Man who is dying in my place?” Simon, coming into the city, would wonder just what was going on. When the cross was laid on him, he would think, “I wonder what Jesus did wrong?” After that day, he fades from view. As a man of history, he is lost, but millions still remember him as the man who bore Jesus’ cross that day.
The Lord does not constrain or restrain people by force. He was kind to a sinful woman. He was gentle with Peter when He only looked at him after he denied knowing Jesus. His kingship is that of righteousness and truth. Every humiliating insult and every shameful act that they put on Him was felt personally by Him, but in the grace of His own Person and the love in Him, He set His heart and soul to “the joy that was set before Him,” and so “endured the cross and despised the shame.” “And they led Him out to crucify Him.”
A public execution in that hard and cruel place was planned to add to the bitterness of the prisoner who was about to die. The awful indignities put on Jesus, and then bearing the cross Himself, would have made the Lord Jesus Christ the object of public attention as He and the two “malefactors” were led through the streets to Golgotha. Going the opposite direction, one man was compelled to bear the cross after Jesus. God did not forget the service he did for the Lord, and this is specifically mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. When Peter and Mark wrote this book guided by the Holy Spirit for the believers at Rome, Rufus and likely Alexander, sons of Simon of Cyrene, were known to them. Simon was likely a Jew from the large population of Jews in the North African city of Cyrene. Of all the things he ever did in his life, this was likely the most significant, as he was called upon to share in the sufferings of Christ.
Perhaps Simon had shown some sympathy for Jesus's condition, and the fact that he was going against the crowd attracted the soldiers' attention. Jesus was going out, and Simon was going out when they met. Nothing happens by accident with God, reminding us that “the Lord orders the steps of a good man.” Simon will never forget that first meeting with the Lord, and neither will any of us who have met our Lord Jesus Christ by faith and have been privileged to do some task for Him.
Despite all who opposed the Lord Jesus, we also remember those who showed kindness to Him. Mary and Martha, each in her own way, showed kindness to Him. An unknown man who owned a donkey was willing to have his animal taken and used by the Lord when He needed it. An unnamed man had an available upper room that he opened up to the use of the Lord and His disciples. Joseph of Arimathea had a new unused sepulcher. Nicodemus had spices, and Simon of Cyrene – these all are enshrined on the pages of the bible forever. Anyone who follows Christ will bear a cross that links us with His sufferings and has in view each of us being made conformable unto His death.
Because Simon was associated with the Lord for that brief time and purpose, his name is known worldwide as the first one to bore the cross after Jesus; the righteous are held in remembrance forever, so I expect the Lord saved both Simon and his two sons. His two sons are also honored because their father was able to carry the cross after Jesus. A simple act of kindness will often have great and lasting results. When a person is available for the Lord to use, He will allow the privilege to be used in service for Him somehow. The rewards of an act of service are not without recognition by God. How much more important it is for us to take up the cross daily and follow the Lord gladly and consistently.
Honor and blessing are associated with those who loved the Lord and served Him in some special way during those last days of His public ministry. Several people we read about in the four Gospels are mentioned only at that time. They are unknown for the most part, but they were there. A “great company of women” who would not leave the scene will never forget being there when the Lord suffered on the cross even though they were looking on from afar.
When we think of the crucifixion and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ as He suffered to bring us to God, we need to have our eyes fixed on Him, not on the crowd around us and what they might be saying or doing. It is our Lord and Savior who “endured the cross and despised the shame,” who is now sitting at the right hand of God as our Mediator and Intercessor.
The Crucifixion, v.23-41 The crucifixion of Christ reaches the highest pinnacle of holiness and grace, and it reaches down to the depths of hell for the wickedness of human sin connected to it. It is the highest exhibition of love that has ever been known to mankind and the deepest expression of the consequences of human sin. We “glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and we groan in our spirit as we think of the “flames of hell” that got hold of our Perfect Substitute. The light of heaven and salvation makes it the brightest place of hope and joy we can ever experience. The darkness of the pit and hopelessness of all eternity is also at that place where people reject God’s greatest possible blessing. To millions of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, our hopes, joys, and peace are all because of what our Lord did for us at Golgotha, the place of the skull.
Golgotha is the most sacred place in the world because that is where Christ died for the ungodly. Instead of a curse to us, it is holy ground where we worship the Father in spirit and truth. The hearts of those of us who have put our faith in Christ are opened to sing our songs of joy and sweet sorrow when we think of “the green hill far away,” where upon “The Old Rugged Cross” and the “Place where I first saw the light,” “the burden of my heart rolled away.” When our Lord was crucified on the cross at Golgotha, the most important event that ever happened in the world occurred right there. An accomplishment that made it possible for “all men to be saved” was completely done by our Lord Jesus Christ when He made Himself an offering for sin. That awful cross death of shame and suffering, has become the gate to heaven for those of us who know and love our Savior.
When the Savior was physically nailed to the cross, we can only imagine, to a very limited degree, what He actually endured in His body. His clothing became the possession of some gamblers who heard Him say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” One wonders what the soldier who won the “garment woven from the top throughout” did with that blood-stained coat. The scriptures do not state whether the crown of thorns was on His head when He was on the cross. The written statement on the board above His head said, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” may have been written as a scornful statement to remind the Jewish leaders of what they had done, as well as being the stated reason for His death. They wanted Jesus to die because of that charge but didn’t want to be associated with what they had caused to happen. Pilate had inflicted humiliation on an innocent Man and then was pushed to go further and condemned Jesus to death because of the charge made by those Jewish leaders. Now, he wanted them to share the responsibility of that perversion of justice.
Perhaps an even more offensive action was the mockery of the people and their leaders who had instigated the whole open evil event against law and justice. People in the crowd said, “Save thyself and come down from the cross.” Jewish leaders said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save.” To mock and make a joke about the suffering of another human being reveals the depth of sinfulness in human nature. To do this to One who had only done good, healed the sick, cleansed lepers, blessed and received children, received outcasts and those who knew they were sinners, was wickedness beyond description. For those people who were at the foot of the cross with Jesus’ mother and those looking on from a distance who believed in Him, this must have been unspeakable grief.
The Lord Jesus refused the cup of wine mingled with myrrh because He was there to deal with sin to its fullest. As a hymn writer wrote, “Our load was laid on Thee; Thou stoodest in the sinner’s stead, Bear’st all my ill for me.” “That bitter cup, love drank it up; Now blessings draught for me.” He did not avoid death but tasted death and all that it meant. The agony of physical pain in His body, the emotional pain in His soul of rejection by those He came to bless, and the suffering of His spirit when He endured spiritual suffering that only a holy Person could know is beyond our understanding. He was made “sin for us, He who knew no sin.” Our Lord endured everything in His body, soul, and spirit without being clouded in His mind or limited in what His body felt by any deadening substance.
In the meekness of His moral strength under His own control, He never uttered a word of bitterness or anger. There was no malice in His mind, no determination for revenge. “When He suffered, He threatened not.” The power of His meekness is greater than the power of retribution. The self-sacrifice that He was willing to endure became the saving sacrifice for us. “Himself He could not save.” It was physically possible for Him to save Himself, but not if He were to accomplish the task of saving our souls. “Christ died for our sins,” “Christ died for us,” “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me.” “Jesus died for me” are the words of a Gospel hymn that has brought peace to many who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
During the three hours of darkness from twelve o’clock to three o’clock, our Lord was hidden from the eyes of human beings. He was alone before the holy God, whose justice had righteous demands that had to be met. There was never a time when He was more precious to God than during that time, even though the sense of abandonment and loneliness was greater than anyone experienced. He glorified the Father in His life, but never in a greater way than He did in His death, even though He was forsaken. His perfect sacrifice magnified the holiness and love of God. There has never been, or ever will be, a more compelling and competing expression of love than, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”
In the middle of the day, nature sympathized with God by covering the whole land in darkness. The One who was God’s Perfect Servant, the Holy One who was always the delight of the Father, is the only One who knows the fullness of the answer to the question he asked at the end of those three hours, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” He alone knows the extent and demands of holiness that had to be met to satisfy God. He did meet all of those holy requirements that needed to be met to uphold the standards of God. His offering for sin was without a spot and fully sufficient.
The darkness of that day, and the darkness that our Lord Jesus Christ had to experience as our Substitute, was more infinite than we can imagine. The darkness in the world would not compare with the darkness of the “waves and billows” of justice that our Lord went through before He “found His sheep that was lost.” Our Lord did not dismiss His spirit until He knew that “all things were now accomplished.” He did not die because He could not live. He died because He had the “power to lay down His life, and had the power to take it again.” No human being took His life. Weakness did not take His life. Pain and suffering did not take His life. After all of the years of His life and the work He came to do was finished, He could give up His life by His own choice.
The final four cries of our Lord from the cross were not words of weakness and defeat. They were not words of complaint or bitterness. There were no words of regret or remorse. They were not words of anger because God did not spare His Son or withhold the full cup of justice from Him. He knew, and God knew, that the full price of sin was paid during the darkness. The anguish was real, and the sufferings were what we would have had to endure forever. Our Lord knew that our God was His God. He was and is forever “My God.”
When there was nothing more to do and nothing more to say, it was then Jesus who said, “It is finished.” “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” Then, of His own free will, He laid down His physical life and dismissed His spirit from His body. No wonder those fearful soldiers, from the centurion to those who were with him, confessed openly, “Truly this was a righteous man,” “Truly this was the Son of God.” Those of us who have put our personal trust in His sacrifice for us as our Substitute also say, “This Man is the Son of God. This Man is my Lord and Savior!”
Suppose that man Pilate, so morally weak, had been strong in courage, and when he knew that envy was the reason they brought Him there, he had searched out the truth when he heard Jesus speak. Then, as a man of character, he would let that show and deliver a judgment that was true and fair. Suppose He saved Himself from Pilate!
Suppose, standing before the crowd, He decided to do what He had done before. He would walk right through them, and they couldn’t touch nor restrain His path, though all would shout aloud. He walked down the road to Galilee’s shore. Then, He went home to heaven because the price was too much. Suppose He saved Himself from the crowd!
Suppose when those soldiers, so bold and so strong, had fallen down flat as they did that night. Suppose they had worshipped and never had mocked. Suppose they had realized what they did was wrong and stopped, swallowed, and did what was right. Suppose they defended Him, and the trial had stopped. Suppose He saved Himself from the soldiers!
Suppose when He got to Golgotha that day, He decided He had enough and stopped the whole scene. Suppose He never went there as a lamb and told them all there, “Go your own way.” Suppose He used power and wiped the place clean from such people as us. We all would be damned. Suppose He saved Himself from the cross!
There wouldn’t have been life for those who were dead. There wouldn’t be peace for those who have fear. There wouldn’t be hope for the hopeless in sin. There wouldn’t be help for the people in need. There wouldn’t be a welcome from God to draw near. There wouldn’t be truth for the fallen of men. Suppose He saved Himself and came down!
There would be no Gospel, good news, or faith in the Savior. There would be no joy, no forgiveness of sin. There would be no place for the sinner to choose life; there would be no day, only darkness to face. There would be no future for all of mankind. Suppose He had saved Himself and come down!
But the truth of the matter is, He did not come down! He suffered it all, and in His holiness, He brought hope to the world at large—hope for peace made by blood—the blood of His cross! So now all who own Him as their personal Savior can say, “It’s for me that He stayed on the cross; I am bought with a price!” They are brought home to God because He did not save Himself and come down!
Jesus is Buried, v.42-47 When Jesus “gave up the ghost,” several significant things happened. The earth, which He had spoken into existence by the word of His power, shook and even broke. “By Him all things consist.” It is His authority and power that maintains everything. He created it orderly, but at His death, it broke out of that order like when an unnatural calamity strikes. A man-made curtain that took many people a long time to make that separated the Holiest of all from the rest of the Holy Place in the temple was torn from the top to the bottom, indicating that nothing man can make can remain intact if it were not by the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Temple sacrifices were no longer needed to have access to God. We can come to Him in “full assurance of faith.” Christ entered heaven for us so we can enter into God's presence because He “suffered to bring us to God.” We have been “reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, His life shall save us.”
It was a Gentile centurion who first acknowledged audibly at the foot of the cross that Jesus is the Son of God when he saw how Jesus died and what the effect of His death had on nature, let alone on himself. Millions of Gentiles since then have come to accept Jesus, the Son of God, who died for their sins as their personal Savior. Women who had been considered “second class” were freely recognized as legitimate witnesses to both Jesus’ death and resurrection. Since then, they have been included as those who ministered to the Lord Jesus as servants of their Lord. Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret believer but had remained silent even when he had not agreed with what was done to Jesus, now openly identified himself as one of the few rich men who had entered the kingdom of God. To have his own new tomb to be the burying place of Jesus, even though it was only for the weekend, was one of the most significant ways a Jewish person could be identified as a family member. Abraham bought a cave to bury Sarah in, and he and the leaders of the next generations of his family were buried in the same tomb.
The burial of Jesus is an assurance that He was actually dead and was pronounced dead by the centurion to Pilate. The time of His death and the fact of it was clarified as happening at the time of the earthquake and the tearing apart of the temple curtain. The testimony of the women was not asked for by Pilate, but both Joseph and the centurion made it plain that Jesus had really died. The women, however, did what they could, which was an obvious act of witness to His death. They stayed at the cross until His body was taken down, even though all the disciples were gone. They followed behind Jesus’ body as it was carried to the tomb, following the accepted practice of mourning women in a funeral cortege. They stayed at the tomb until the stone was rolled before the opening in the rock-hewn sepulcher. Then they went and prepared spices to anoint His body themselves as a personal addition to the myrrh and aloes Nicodemus had brought. They witnessed the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus in a way no other people did. They had heard what Jesus said and had believed what He said.
God is still blessing devotion and diligence in the things of God and to God in our day. Believers have opportunities to witness for our Lord and serve Him in ways unique to our ability and to His calling. Take advantage of those opportunities whenever they arise and do what you can for our blessed Lord. Do not be too concerned about what you cannot do. We all have roles to fill in the work and service of the Lord. Don’t waste time or emotion comparing what you do with what others do or don’t do. We are who we are by sovereign design, and God can bless what is done for Him.
A group of women had come all the way from Galilee, watched the whole event from a distance, and saw everything that was done to Jesus. They had not left Golgotha when Jesus’ mother and sister had left with John. Mary Magdalene has been close to the cross with the mother of James and Joses and Salome, the mother of James and John. Those women seemed to be the prominent ones of the group, but all of them had ministered to the physical needs of the Lord and His disciples, and He had ministered to their spiritual needs and those of thousands of others.
Similarly devoted women have followed this first group of ministering women throughout the centuries until now. Godly, saintly women devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ and His people have been the backbone of the church of God and each local house of God. All believers owe a great debt to women who sacrifice their time, strength, ability, health, and ambition to meet the Lord’s people’s needs and further the Gospel. The Lord Jesus established an attitude of respect and dignity in the ministry of women when He was here. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, My brethren, ye have done it unto Me” is not limited to men.
Women's ministry is a fundamental part of God's work today, as it was at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. Basic needs are identified and met by those who have their eyes open and hearts fixed on things pleasing to God. There is the open and audible public ministry of evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and there is the gracious ministry of women in their homes and places of employment when they do business and reach out to meet the needs around us. Personal words of encouragement, reading appropriate scripture passages to others, and earnest prayer by the bedside of a sick person are of great value. Acts of kindness without expecting any return are done as unto the Lord. The attitude of compassion and sincere empathy from a caring woman of God is of great importance in any situation in which another person is in need. Intellectual interest in hearing and understanding the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is still as important today by believing women, as it was to Mary of Bethany.
All of us, like those faithful watching women, need to watch and wait for those opportunities to see where the Lord can use us. Then, we need to prepare ourselves and all that we have, take the next step, and have the opportunity to pick up where we left off and go farther in availability to the Lord for service in His kingdom. We all have ways to minister to the needs of the Lord and His people and to be ready to “attend” to whatever opportunity arises to serve our Master.
We will never know who all the Lord has in His family, even in close associations. Likely, the Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin thought there were only a few devoted followers of the Lord. Who of them would have suspected Joseph and Nicodemus to be believers in the Lord Jesus? We might be surprised at who among the people around us are God’s children because many people find it hard to speak out and be open about the reality of their faith in Christ. Even when the Lord was here, there were believers behind the scenes who were never openly identified. Joseph of Arimathea must have been a quiet man who didn’t allow his riches to take control of his modesty. Some “stars” don’t show until darkness falls, and then they begin to shine with dignity, grace, and love.
Joseph knew what happened to the bodies of crucified men after they were taken down from the place of execution. If no one claimed the body and took it for burial, it was cast away along with all the other refuse and burned. Joseph was not about to allow that to happen to the body of Jesus, and none of Jesus’ close disciples were even there. The women were there, but the strength and authority of position, as well as physical strength, were needed. Pilate apparently didn’t need to be bribed to give the body to Joseph, as was likely his usual practice. He “gave” the body of Jesus to Joseph. Perhaps because of a bad conscience, he showed some respect for the body of the innocent person he had delivered to be crucified.
Women were there, they viewed the scene, they’d followed Him for years. Jesus was the One who healed their sick and dried their many tears. In loyalty to Him, they stood right there when He was lifted on the tree and never left until it was all done, and they saw the body of Jesus buried in Joseph’s new tomb. Joseph of Arimathea – did not agree with all those counselors who wanted Jesus dead. He had believed in Jesus, but up until then, he was a secret follower. Now, coming out in the open to claim the body of Jesus, he is remembered as one at the cross who honored Jesus.
Before the day was over, Joseph, helped by Nicodemus, had reverently removed the body of Jesus from the cross, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth with myrrh and aloes, and laid it in his own new tomb. Joseph was an honorable man, a just man who had not consented to the evil actions of the Sanhedrin. He had been looking for the kingdom of God and likely thought Jesus would bring it in then. So, he had remained silent for fear of the Jews but had not denied his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He just remained silent about it.
Rank, position, and wealth strongly hold people with those things. A person can be honorable and just without being willing to pay the cost of true discipleship. Until this time, Joseph was not willing to “count all things but loss,” which is needed for an open testimony for the Lord. However, when one is a child of God and has kept it undercover for a while, the time will come when they are put in a place where hidden faith will be brought out into the open gaze of other people.
If Joseph’s fear initially overcame him, his love for Christ cast out his fear. When all eleven disciples fled, Joseph stepped out openly with courage and faith, resolved to do what was right despite what it might cost. Christ had been scorned, mocked, and rejected by almost everyone and now was dead. It was then Joseph boldly “begged the body of Jesus.” He would have forfeited the right to partake of the Passover because he had touched a dead body, but was resolved that to give Jesus an honorable burial was more important than to carry out a religious practice. Even though he didn’t know that “Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us,” in the hour of His greatest rejection, he was involved with Jesus’ greatest triumph. Others thought they were done with the Lord Jesus, but Joseph was at the beginning of the Gospel message. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Some obscure people and others well-known were at the cross. Some believing in Him there were saved, and others eternally lost. Christ’s death divides between the ones who reject and those who truly believe. To reject Him means God rejects you; God gives sonship to those who receive. I’ve been to the cross by faith in Christ, and God’s grace has brought me new life. It is certainly true that when I received Him, God gave me His own light in my soul. When I read of the cross and those special people identified there that day, I am made to praise God for receiving me and placing me on His Way and in God’s family.
A leader of men said in very few words the truth that must be told to the world. He saw for himself all that went on that day and declared that Jesus was God. There was no doubt in his mind and never should be in mine nor those to whom the Gospel I tell. Jesus is truly who He said He was. He alone is the Savior from hell. When the Lord Jesus dismissed His spirit that day, He used his keys to death and life. By deliberately turning the keys of death He had, He brought to an unknowing humanity - light. Because He died for us, we live. He died so that we might live through Him. He gave everything He had to give so that we might be free from the bondage of sin.
If I had been in the temple that day, I am sure I would have seen great fear. From top to bottom, that veil was rent so that "whosoever" can now draw near to God and know they are welcomed there because of the death of His Well-Beloved Son. We can come right to the presence of God because the work of redemption is done. The stone was rolled to the door by men, but men could not keep the God-Man in. He whose body was laid in that tomb was the One who had won victory over sin. To Him, a grave is no barrier to life - it is a temporary stop on the road to heaven. We do not need to fear that stopping either. Graves don't hinder the blessing of the forgiven.
"Father, I feel like the ground I am walking on here is too holy for me to go any farther. The whole universe seemed to stop when the sun went dark, and the ground shook that day. I have been to the cross by faith, but to speculate on what happened there when Christ died seems out of bounds. So, I worship, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
MARK 16 How is it possible to describe the penetrating of barriers that had always been thought to be impenetrable? The framework of human experience has created limitations that most people cannot get past. Yet there have been those who have perceived things we cannot see as real. Medicines have been developed that can stop the effects of diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. Gravity cannot be seen, but its effect is well-known. Far-seeing scientists have put huge machines into space, not because they could see gravity, but because they could see its effects. Christians who believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead have left unmistakable impressions on the world because they have faith in One; they have not seen but believe He is risen from the dead.
To many, the resurrection of Christ is an impossibility because they limit their thinking to what they have experienced. Huge airplanes carrying hundreds of tons of weight rise on the unseen air and travel around the world carrying something that is real but unseen. When Christ rose from the dead, no one was there to observe the action. However, the reality is seen in the evidence of millions of human beings who have committed to living their lives as Christ taught and dying in the hope of being with Him. It was not the testimony of undisturbed grave clothes that led the women to tell the news that Christ had risen - it was the absence of the body of Christ. Angel messengers were seen and heard, but their message thrilled the souls of those who came to honor Him.