MARK 15:1-32 "THAT WE MAY SEE AND BELIEVE" The Gospel as recorded by Mark is a crisp, precise recording of events without a whole lot of explanations. The things he wrote about are to give by the Spirit's direction, an account of incidents without referring to fulfilled prophecies or human interests. For a person who is searching for truth, the comment by those mocking priests and scribes, "that we may see and believe," resonates with the purpose of the Gospel.
When the Lord Jesus stood before Pilate, again He was questioned, and again answered the honest one that needed to be answered. He did not hesitate to identify Himself as to who He truly is. When it comes to fabricated accusations and misleading questions, He remained silent. The wise person who intends to "live godly in Christ Jesus," will follow that same practice. The whole purpose of propagating the Gospel message is that others "may see and believe." Faith does not grow and produce fruit of salvation if one wins an argument and is not willing to pay the cost of reaching out to others with compassion.
Jewish people in those days had learned that if they created a fuss and stirred the whole locality, Pilate usually backed down from such a confrontation. Pilate had developed a weak man's response to difficult situations. He was "willing to content the people." The chief priests who were the religious leaders, the scribes who were the moral leaders, knew this and stirred up the people against the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps some of those same people a few days earlier were shouting Hosanna's when He came into the city on a donkey. They may have thought He was going to lead them to victory over Roman rule, but were now against Him. Others who had followed Him when He was popular, now were hidden and silent in the face of opposition. This is not uncommon among people all over the world and in every generation. Pity the man who depends on a crowd for his popularity and effectiveness. God has His own way of accomplishing His purposes and it does not depend on a crowd. It depends on obedience to the Word and will of God.
In the accounts given in the four Gospels, there are very few words used to describe the act of the crucifixion of Christ. Movie makers and artists have used their imaginations to fill in what the Spirit of God has deliberately left out. How can a description be made of excruciating pain by mere words or the stroke of a brush? How can the abhorrence of an absolutely sinless Person who bore "the iniquity of us all" ever be described? Holy ground should always be allowed the privacy of being kept holy. Vain attempts to reach one's heart and soul should be abandoned so the Holy Spirit and the Word can bring life.
The facts surrounding "the Act" are that the Lord Jesus was falsely accused and though He was innocent and declared innocent by Pilate, He was condemned to die because of the envy of religious leaders. Even today similar people will seek to stop a work of God if they think it is going to be a threat to their position and comfort. The feet that walked for miles to bring the message of hope and salvation, that went out of the way in order to bless those who were despised, were pierced by the nails that sought to hold Him to the cross. Hands that were held out to receive children, to dispense bread and fish, that touched the leper, that blessed thousands, were pierced - fulfilling scriptures that had been written long before. Eyes that had seen people as sheep without a shepherd and had compassion as they were fixed on people, now saw evidence of rejection of His own people He had come to bless. Ears that had heard the call of the blind, the words of the penitent, and the persistent calls of the needy, heard the voices of mockery and derision.
When one is acting in conformity to truth and in cooperation with divine justice, this goes beyond the actions of a natural man to the spiritual man. The Lord Jesus did not cry out for help. He made no appeal to God because He was on the cross for the sake of "saving others" so consequently "Himself He cannot save." He was acting under the will of God. "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him." There will be a cost to pay for following the Lord Jesus. Many thousands of believers have paid the ultimate price that others "may see and believe." The Lord was "separate from sinners" it is true. He did not then, nor does He now, lead by compromise or expediency.
Divine authority is based on simple truth, not on half-truths. Any deceit is apt to find one out, and all that has been done by commitment to the truth can be wiped out quickly by a half-lie. A fundamental principle for the furtherance of the Gospel is that others will be saved at our expense. The priests that saw Jesus die would not forget what happened that day. A great number of them believed later when they heard the preaching of the Gospel by the apostles. True, the mockers said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." And they challenged Him to come down from the cross that "we may see and believe." Instead, the outcome of the "determinate counsel of God" has brought blessing to mankind.
"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 on that day. I have been to the cross by faith, but to speculate on what happened there when Christ died seems to me to be out of bounds. So, I simply worship, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."