Joseph of Arimathea requests the body of Jesus and arranges to have it buried. Read Mark 15:40-47 Jesus’ execution has happened on a Friday, the day before Sabbath. Properly speaking, the sabbath would commence from the evening of that day. It was not considered good for the bodies to be left hanging or the execution… Continue reading Preparation
Tag: Mark
Forsaken
Jesus’ crucifixion will have lasted several hours and we know from the other Gospels that he has a number of significant things to say. Read Mark 15:33-39 Mark focuses in on one specifically, the cry “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” This is a quote from the start of Psalm 22. … Continue reading Forsaken
A helpless saviour?
Jesus is crucified outside of the city. This means that he is forced to carry his own Cross. When Jesus said that we must take up our own crosses on a daily basis, he wasn’t saying that we must simply put up with difficult days. He was calling upon us to die to self. Weakened… Continue reading A helpless saviour?
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Stuart Townend’s hymn “How deep the Father’s Love for us” says: Behold the man upon a crossMy sin upon His shouldersAshamed, I hear my mocking voiceCall out among the scoffersIt was my sin that held Him thereUntil it was accomplishedHis dying breath has brought me lifeI know that it is finished The aim of Pilate’s… Continue reading Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Who are you?
This is Pilate’s question for Jesus. Not in the sense that he didn’t know the name of the person standing before him or anything about the details of his life. It’s a question about identity. Read Mark 15:1-15 It’s the night before his crucifixion and Jesus has been handed over by the Jewish leaders to… Continue reading Who are you?
Crucified (Mark 15)
Jesus is handed over to Pilate because the Jewish leaders don’t have the authority to order his execution. Given their hesitancy around a public showdown with Jesus themselves, it also neatly hands the problem over to the Romans. Note the cowardice of a night trial and then passing the issue so that they don’t get… Continue reading Crucified (Mark 15)
For me it was in the garden
You know that you are about to face the darkest hour of your life, you are about to be let down by friends and deserted. You know that one of them will even go so far as to turn against you even though you have persistently showed love to them. What are you doing? If… Continue reading For me it was in the garden
A meal with Jesus
Throughout the Gospels, some of the great encounters with Jesus happen at mealtime. We are coming to the close of Mark’s Gospel and the last meal in his account is no ordinary supper. Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem for the Passover. The Passover meal commemorated the night when the people of Israel prepared… Continue reading A meal with Jesus
Extravagent worship
The day of Jesus’ betrayal was getting closer and the Passover festival was only a couple of days away. We saw back in Mark 12 that Jesus’ opponents were becoming more and more agitated and yet they still did not know how to handle him. They continued to plot but they needed a pretext and… Continue reading Extravagent worship
Betrayed, Denied, Accused (Mark 14)
We are now reaching the culmination of the Gospel. Jesus is about to be betrayed and handed over to death. The leaders are hesitant, not wanting to cause a disturbance during the festival, and yet the focus on Passover is exactly the time when God has planned these events to come to pass (14:1-2) It… Continue reading Betrayed, Denied, Accused (Mark 14)
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