Crucified

If you would open up your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark, Mark 15, it's on page 1013 of your Pew Bible.

You know, in just a few days, many of us will be sitting down for a Thanksgiving meal.

And let's just pretend the host of that Thanksgiving meal, as the meal gets underway, asks this question.

What are you thankful for?

Now, I'm guessing that what comes right to your mind is probably, I am thankful for my family.

I'm thankful for my spouse, my children, grandchildren.

I mean, in our congregation, we have some young couples who just got married, and we have some young couples who are about to be married.

That's things to be thankful for.

But what happens if you don't have family to be thankful for?

Maybe you think of health, you just got through a health scare.

You're on the other side of it, or making progress.

You're thankful for that.

But what happens if you don't have anything to be thankful for, in terms of your health?

A job-related, something to be thankful for, a new job, a promotion, a bonus on the way.

You're just thankful to have a job.

But if you don't have a job?

If you're a Christian, this Thursday, you're going to have an opportunity to give thanks.

Can I just encourage you on the outset of the sermon, you have something to share, a thanksgiving to give, that is of most importance.

And it's got everything to do with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

It's more important than family.

It's more important than health.

It's more important than jobs.

And you can give thanks at any time.

We've reached the climax of the Gospel of Mark.

And Mark has been repeatedly showing us how extraordinary Jesus is.

I mean, just think about it.

At His baptism, in chapter 1, the heavens open up.

God the Father says, this is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased.

Who is this guy?

That God speaks of him like that.

We've seen multiple demons.

Jesus confess him as the Son of God and then He says, silence.

Who does that?

Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic.

Only God can forgive sins.

Who's this guy?

Mark 4 and 5.

Jesus exercises authority over the deeps, over the demons, over the disease, and over the death of a 12-year-old girl whose father's name is Jairus.

He's transfigured.

Extraordinary.

He feeds the 5,000.

He feeds the 4,000.

He's transfigured.

Who is this guy?

Today in Mark 15, 1-39, we're going to see Jesus breathe His last on the cross.

And we're going to hear a confession.

A surprising confession.

Truly, this man was the Son of God.

Who is this guy?

By the end of the sermon, I'm hoping that you all have a compelling reason to give thanks this Thanksgiving.

Mark 15, 1-39 has a number of scenes with Jesus dying on the cross as the climax.

And here's what I want you to see.

Behold your crucified King, the Son of God, your salvation.

Behold Him.

Behold your crucified King, the Son of God, your salvation, and give thanks.

Okay, if we look at scene 1, it has to do with Pilate, chapter 15, 1-5.

Let me read it.

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council.

And they bound Jesus and led Him away and delivered Him over to Pilate.

And Pilate asked Him, Are you the King of the Jews?

And He answered Him, You have said so.

And the chief priests accused Him of many things.

And Pilate again asked Him, Have you no answer to make?

See how many charges they bring against you?

But Jesus made no further answer so that Pilate was amazed.

The Sanhedrin, the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes,

had no authority in the first century region they were in to execute anybody.

So they consulted and they brought Jesus, because they've just condemned Him to death, to Pilate.

Because Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, does have the authority to execute Jesus.

This is outside Pilate's palace.

It's early on that first Good Friday morning.

First thing that Pilate says is, Are you the King of the Jews?

To Jesus.

That's really interesting.

He must have already heard some of the accusations being made.

Jesus says, You have said so.

Which is a very interesting answer.

Non-committal.

It's neither yes or no.

I'm guessing that made Pilate a little uncomfortable.

We learn in verse 3 that the chief priests are making many accusations of Jesus.

Surely they are saying, He has blasphemed.

He's claimed to be God.

And the consequence is death.

They're pushing for execution by crucifixion.

Jesus must not have said anything.

Because, look what Pilate asks in verse 4.

Have you no answer to make?

See how many charges they bring against you?

Essentially what Pilate is saying is,

You do realize that they're making a case to me against you so that I kill you.

You do understand the weight of these things.

Jesus responds in silence to him.

It's Isaiah 53.7 playing out again.

He is a lamb being led to the slaughter.

And he's silent before those who will kill him.

Pilate's amazed.

He's not amazed that Jesus is the Son of God and bows down and gives thanks.

Not that kind of amazement.

He's amazed that Jesus isn't making a defense.

He's amazed that Jesus seemingly is allowing himself to be condemned.

The thing I want you to notice is twofold.

This is a step towards the cross.

And second, did you see the title?

Are you the King of the Jews?

We're going to see that title show up multiple times in this passage.

It's for a reason.

Second scene.

The crowd.

In verses 6 through 15.

Let me just summarize it for you.

Again, we're outside of Pilate's palace.

It's early that first Good Friday morning.

A Jewish crowd arrives.

We see that in verse 8.

They came and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did.

And that brings us to verse 6.

Here's what's going on.

Pilate had this great PR gig going on.

Public relations.

He is a Roman governor occupying a Jewish land.

And so he, who knew who thought it up?

But he's like, every year I will go to the Jewish people.

And I will say, who would you like me to release from my prison?

And he will present them to him.

It's just great PR.

So they come.

They ask him, hey, can we do the kind of prisoner exchange thing?

And Pilate says in verse 9,

do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?

Yes.

And him asking that, he's zinging.

He's getting under the skin of some people.

He knows the chief priests have delivered up Jesus out of envy.

And envy is evil.

Those chief priests in verse 11,

they stir up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

Who's this Barabbas guy?

Look at verse 7.

Barabbas was a murdering insurrectionist.

And so what the chief priests are saying,

hey, okay, everybody,

request Barabbas, not Jesus.

It's very ironic

because Barabbas is a murdering insurrectionist

and Jesus is an innocent King of the Jews.

Pilate asks in verse 12,

well, what should I do with this man you call,

Zing Zing,

the King of the Jews?

That's the second and third time now we've seen that title.

What do I do with him?

Crucify him!

Yells the crowd.

Brutal way to die.

Humiliating way to die.

It is intentionally horrifying way to die.

14, Pilate says,

why, what evil has he done?

It gets to the innocence

of this one being called the King of the Jews.

In contrast to the chief priests

who are envious.

Why?

What evil has he done?

And they don't give him a reason.

They just shout all the more,

crucify him!

And because he's a consummate politician

who wants to keep his,

you know, contingency happy,

he falls like a cheap suit.

Wanting to satisfy them.

He doesn't want them wrathful at him.

He satisfies them,

releases the murdering insurrectionist,

and has Jesus scourged.

I'll explain that in a little bit.

Another step to the cross,

and what I want you to see

are those two titles,

the King of the Jews.

Do you want me to release to you?

Want me to release you,

the King of the Jews?

What shall I do with this man

you call the King of the Jews?

And that brings us to scene three.

Scene three and four

are both having to do with Roman soldiers,

but they're having to do in different places.

Look at scene three.

It's in verses 16 through 20.

Let me read it for you.

And the soldiers led him away inside the palace,

that is, the governor's headquarters,

and they called together the whole battalion.

And they clothed him in purple cloak,

and twisting together a crown of thorns,

they put it on him,

and they began to salute him,

Hail, King of the Jews!

And they were striking his head with a reed,

and spitting on him,

and kneeling down in homage to him.

And when they had mocked him,

they stripped him of purple cloak,

and put his own clothes on him,

and they led him out to crucify him.

Okay, so these are Roman soldiers.

Jesus has been handed over by Pilate to them

to get them ready for crucifixion.

They're going to scourge him.

And what that means is,

there is this whip.

It's called the cat of nine tails.

It's got nine lashes on the back of it.

And at the end of the lashes,

there were like bits of bone,

bits of rock,

bits of glass,

bits of metal.

And the design is,

you whip someone,

and rake it across their back.

And the design is just to fillet somebody's back.

Just to open it up.

It's horrific.

And so as part of this mockery,

certainly that happened.

We're going to see its effect in just a little bit.

So they're inside the palace,

and they call for an assembly.

Who's been to a school assembly?

All the teachers and students come together.

Hoorah, rah!

These Roman soldiers are calling the battalion of 600 together

for a mock assembly.

A mocking assembly.

Look all the mockery.

You ready?

They strip him naked

and put on him clothes of purple.

It's the color of royalty.

Do they think he's royal?

No.

This is mockery.

They crown him with a crown of twisted thorns.

Press it on his head.

It's mockery.

He's climbing.

They...

Him a king?

Huh?

Crown of thorns.

They salute him,

shouting,

Hail, King of the Jews!

Do they mean it?

Absolutely not.

This is mockery.

They strike his head with a reed,

and they spit on him.

And then they kneel down in homage to them.

Do you think they really reverence him?

No.

They're mocking him.

Who knows how long?

But what happens in this scene

is the fulfillment of Mark 10.33

when Jesus says

he's going to be handed over to the Gentiles

and they will mock him.

Spit on him.

It's exactly what happens here.

It's right according to plan.

And after all this mockery,

they strip him again.

Naked in front of 600.

And then clothe him back with his garments.

And then they lead him out to crucify him.

Another step towards the cross.

Did you see the title?

Hail, King of the Jews!

Scene 4.

Another scene with the soldiers.

Part 2.

It's in 21 through 26.

And they compelled a passerby,

Simon of Cyrene,

who was coming in from the country,

the father of Alexander and Rufus,

to carry his cross.

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha,

which means place of a skull.

And they offered him the wine mixed with myrrh,

but he did not take it.

And they crucified him

and divided his garments among them,

casting lots for them

to decide which each should take.

And it was the third hour

when they crucified him.

And the inscription of the charge against him read,

The King of the Jews.

So these soldiers are now on their way out

to Golgotha.

We also call that Calvary.

And what's going on here is

they're bringing him to be crucified.

Now did you notice

they commandeer Simon of Cyrene

who's coming in from the outskirts

minding his own business

and they force him to carry Jesus' cross.

Do you wonder why?

Why would they need someone

to carry Jesus' cross?

It's because

Jesus is physically incapacitated.

He's at the end of his rope physically.

He is barely able to walk himself.

He's been scourged.

He's been beaten.

This has been the longest all-nighter ever.

He is just at the end of his rope.

He's not going to be able to carry his cross.

So they say,

Hey, Simon, come.

You bring it to Golgotha.

Now there's two things about this

you need to know.

The first one is this.

It's...

Jesus is a bloody mess.

He can't bear the weight of a cross.

And then you're left asking,

Wait, Simon, Simon, that rings a bell.

Where's Simon Peter?

Here.

And it reminds you that he's been abandoned.

They bring him to Calvary.

Golgotha.

Mark translates it.

It's the place of a skull.

It would be like when you see a pirate ship

and you see the cross and skull bones

or the skull and cross bones.

And it's like floating death.

When you would hear Golgotha,

you would think death place

where people die.

Where Jesus will die.

They offer him mixed wine with myrrh.

It was a narcotic.

It was designed to take the edge off the pain.

He refuses it.

He wants to have all of his faculties about him.

In verse 24,

as a matter of fact,

Mark records they crucified him.

They don't go into the details.

We know from the other gospels

they nailed him to a cross.

What we're shown is

the dividing of the garments.

Also in verse 24.

And that is an allusion

to Psalm 22.

This is the first of three in this passage.

In Psalm 22.18,

we read,

They divide my garments among them

and for my clothing they cast lots.

This is right according to plan, gang.

This is God's will being carried out.

In verse 26,

we read of a plate

that they inscribe with a title,

nail it to the cross above its head,

the King of the Jews.

That's the fifth time

we've seen this title.

And then we're given a time stamp

in verse 25.

Time stamps are important

in your Bible

because they start to slow the story down.

It starts to kind of raise

the tension a little bit.

And the time stamp is

the sixth hour,

which is 9 a.m.

And so what I want you to see

is that

Jesus is now

nailed to the cross

and the horizontal beam of the cross

has been dropped into a hole

on the top of Calvary

and up on top

is inscribed

the King of the Jews.

There's that title again.

And now we come to scene

scene 5.

Scene 5

is we're introduced

to three groups of spectators.

Let me read it

and you will see them.

And with them

they crucify two robbers,

one on his right

and one on his left.

And those who passed by

derided him,

wagging their heads

and saying,

Aha!

You who would destroy the temple

and rebuild it in three days,

save yourself

and come down from the cross.

So also the chief priests

with the scribes

mocked him to one another

saying,

He saved others.

He cannot save himself.

Let the

quote-unquote

Christ,

the King of Israel,

come down now

from the cross.

that we may see

and believe.

Those who were crucified

with him

also reviled him.

This was a

reviling group

of spectators.

We were at Calvary.

It's now

just after

9 a.m.

And the first group

are these robbers.

Verses 27 and 32.

They are reviling him.

We know from Luke

that they are saying,

If you are the Christ,

save yourself

and us.

We know one of them

is going to change his mind.

But there's two things

you need to know

about those robbers.

The first one is this.

One's on the left,

one's on the right.

That should ring a bell.

Because if you flip back

to Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Jesus is pulled aside

by James and John,

the sons of Zebedee,

and they ask him,

grant us to sit,

one at your right hand

and one at your left,

in your glory.

Here is Jesus

in his glory

on the cross.

And neither are there.

Amen.

What also is going on here

is Isaiah 53, 12.

It's the suffering servant

is to be numbered

with the transgressors.

And he has been numbered

with two robbers

on either side of him.

Which means this is

all according to plan.

We go from verse 27

to verse 29.

And if you notice

in your Bibles,

there's no 28.

And you're like,

what?

What's going on?

There's nothing to fear.

What is happening there

is verse 28

was believed to be

put in by scribes.

It's not in the earliest,

most reliable manuscripts.

In verse 28,

that showed up

in later manuscripts,

just simply said

that this is the fulfillment

of Isaiah 53, 12.

But in verse 29,

we're introduced

to the second group

of people,

of spectators,

passerbys,

and the deriding Jesus.

Look what they're doing.

They're wagging their heads.

And those who pass by

derided him,

wagging their heads.

If you flip back,

if you're just in Psalm 22,

it's on page 540.

This is the second allusion

to Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:7

verse 7.

All who see me,

mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

It's all according to plan.

Psalm 22 is about

an innocent man

who suffers

and then is vindicated

by God.

Well, they're saying something.

They're saying something

with an earshot of Jesus.

They're saying,

uh-huh, see?

See?

You who would destroy

the temple

and rebuild it

in three days?

It's what he was accused of

in chapter 14.

They have no idea

what they're talking about.

Because Jesus was referring

to his body

being raised

on the third day.

They totally miss it.

They see,

but they don't perceive.

They're kind of like saying this,

hey, if you're all that,

like,

if you were able to do that,

save yourself, buddy.

Come down from the cross.

And they're missing it all

because

he's not going to come down

from the cross.

He's not trying

to save himself.

He's at the cross

and will remain on the cross

not to save himself

but to save others.

Totally missing it.

He's on the cross

as a ransom for many.

In 31 and 32,

the chief priests

get in the mocking.

They're mocking him

to one another.

It's almost

self-congratulatory.

It's like,

you don't mess

with a Sanhedrin.

If you mess

with a Sanhedrin,

that's what happens.

He saved others.

He cannot save himself.

We know otherwise.

He cannot save himself.

If he wanted to,

he could call upon

legions of angels

to come and deliver him.

But he doesn't

because he's unwilling

to come down

from the cross.

Out of love,

he has gone to the cross.

Out of obedience

to his Father's will,

he's on the cross

because he's giving himself

as a ransom for many.

Not to save himself

but to save others.

What they say

contains the sixth reference

to king.

Let the quote-unquote

Christ,

the king of Israel,

these are Jews speaking,

so they're not saying

king of the Jews,

they're saying

king of Israel,

come now now

from the cross

that we may see

and believe.

Again,

the irony is so thick

that they're calling him

Christ,

king of Israel

but they obviously

do not believe that.

And they're saying

if you would come down,

we'll believe.

But he's not going

to come down.

The king

is not coming down.

The king is going

to stay on the cross

and breathe his last.

Not to save himself

but to save us.

They do not see it.

Now,

if they did see it

and believed,

they didn't.

They didn't.

They are looking

at God's salvation

and they don't

see it.

So,

all of these

spectators

are deriding Jesus

while he's on the cross.

And there's that title,

the king of Israel,

the Christ.

And now,

we've come to the climax.

Scene six.

The crucified

son of God.

We've seen Pilate,

crowds,

soldiers,

spectators,

all interacting

with this Jesus,

all calling him

the king of the Jews.

But they don't see him

for who he is.

We've got another

time stamp

in verse 33.

And when the sixth

hour had come,

there were darkness

over the whole land

until the ninth hour.

So,

the sixth hour,

well,

that's noon.

The ninth hour

is 3 p.m.

What's all this darkness?

This is God

showing up

in a particular way.

It's like

when God,

the plague of darkness

on Egypt

of judgment.

This darkness

is God's judgment.

It's just

judgment.

gathering

over

Jesus,

filling the whole

land with darkness.

All of God's wrath

is being gathered here

to be poured out.

Do you know

on whom?

The one on the cross.

Do you know who for?

For all who would believe.

Verse 34,

we have another time stamp.

And at the ninth hour,

Jesus cried

with a loud voice.

Again,

so at 3 p.m.,

Jesus cries out.

Now,

Jesus,

Mark has recorded

Jesus saying nothing

since he was with Pilate.

And he said,

you say so.

Jesus has said nothing.

He's been like

a sheep

before being led

to a slaughter.

And here we have it.

Jesus from the cross.

This high point

in the book,

3 p.m.

on that first

Good Friday.

And Mark

records what Jesus

says

in the original

language,

in Aramaic.

And it's to

emphasize

what he said.

It's to sear

in your mind

what Jesus

actually said

at this moment

from the cross.

Eloi, Eloi,

lame sebechtani.

And then he translates it.

He says,

my God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

From the cross,

darkness gathered,

nailed,

the King of the Jews

above his head.

This is the

third

reference

to Psalm 22.

It's actually

verse 1

of Psalm 22.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

It's all according

to plan.

It was the will

of the Lord

to crush Him.

It's the word forsake.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Jesus is experiencing

something at this moment

that all of us,

all of us need to understand.

Jesus is experiencing

at this moment

the wrath of God

for all sin

of all who would believe.

He's experiencing

all of God's wrath

for all of your sin,

for all of my sin.

He's experiencing

that in full

on the cross.

My God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

It registers

as forsakenness.

And He grabs hold

of Psalm 22.1

to express it.

This is the only time

in the eternal existence

of the Trinity

in which the Father

was wrathful

towards the Son.

Unbelievable.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

We know the answer.

Jesus,

the second person

of the Trinity,

the Son of God,

willingly bore God's wrath.

He was forsaken

so that we would be forgiven.

All of God's wrath

for your sin and mine

poured out on Jesus

on that afternoon.

In verses 35 and 36,

there are more bystanders

kind of there listening.

They hear Jesus say,

Eloi, Eloi,

and they think

it's Elijah, Elijah.

They think He's calling Elijah.

Totally misses it.

They have eyes

that do not perceive.

They have ears

that do not understand.

Blessed,

they turn

and be forgiven.

Isaiah 6, 9.

They do not understand

that immediately before Him

is salvation

being accomplished

by the Son of God.

Verse 7,

Jesus utters a loud cry.

The Gospel of John

records it as,

it is finished.

Payment made.

He breathes last.

And He dies.

And so in verse 37,

Jesus is dead

on the cross.

On the Passover.

The greatest sacrifice

ever made

for human sin.

And what happens

in verse 38 and 39

are two immediate results.

Jesus breathes His last

and then something happens

to a curtain

and then someone

makes a confession.

In verse 38,

the curtain in the temple

is torn in two.

The curtain in the temple,

there's actually two.

They separated sinful people

from being in the presence

of a holy God.

He breathes His last

and the curtain

is rend in two.

Torn apart.

And what it's a picture of

is God has made

access available

to all sinners

through the death of Jesus.

Salvation accomplished.

Did you notice

it was from the top

to the bottom?

This is God's doing.

Not our doing.

God has made a way.

The second result

is in verse 39.

Standing across

from Jesus,

watching Him

suffer

is a Roman centurion.

Most likely a Gentile.

Most likely an officer.

He is charged

over the kill squad.

In verse 39,

we read,

and when the centurion

who stood facing Him

saw that in this way

He breathed His last,

He said,

truly this man

was the Son of God.

And He means everything

by that.

Truly this man

is the I Am.

Truly this man

is God in the flesh

dying for humanity.

truly,

surely

this man

was the Son of God.

Of all the human beings

that we've seen,

of all the human beings

we've seen

in the Gospel of Mark,

all the chief priests,

all the disciples,

everyone healed,

everyone raised

from the dead,

there is only

one human being

that confesses

Jesus to be

the Son of God.

Surprise, surprise.

it's one of the Romans

who killed Him.

In His death,

in His glory,

He's revealed

as the Son of God.

What's the point?

What's the point

of Mark 15,

1 through 39?

It gets us

facing the cross,

doesn't it?

Just like that centurion.

Behold your crucified King,

the Son of God,

your salvation,

my salvation.

Behold your crucified King,

the Son of God,

our salvation.

salvation.

This passage,

it makes that point

in three ways.

It uses irony.

Do you remember

that Jesus,

that Barabbas

was chosen

in front of Jesus?

Do you remember that?

That's irony.

Do you remember

these kind of

allusions

to His missing disciples?

but the irony

that stands out most

is

person after person

calling Jesus,

referencing Him

as the King of the Jews,

but not meaning it.

And the irony is

He is the King of the Jews.

He's the King of all.

They're saying it,

but not meaning it.

He is

the crucified King.

Behold Him.

It uses irony

to get that out.

But there's also

fulfillment.

Throughout Mark,

we have allusion

after allusion

to Isaiah 53,

three references

to Psalm 22,

not to mention

the fulfillment

of Jesus' own words

in 831

and 931

and 1033

and 34

in Mark

where He's saying

I will be rejected,

killed,

and on the third day

raised.

All of these

are addressing

suffering Messiah,

forsaken.

it was God's plan all along.

It was the will

of the Lord

to crush Him.

It's fulfillment.

This is God's plan.

And not just irony,

not just fulfillment,

there is surprise.

The only human being

to confess Jesus

as the Son of God

is a Gentile

centurion

who's been overseeing

who's been overseeing

his killing.

Surprise!

Surprise!

Mark,

the narrator,

says this

at the beginning of Mark.

In the beginning

of the Gospel

of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

So Mark is arguing

that Jesus,

he wants to show us

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God.

God says,

this is my beloved Son.

Twice,

baptism and transfiguration.

Demons call Jesus

the Son of God.

Even a chief,

the chief priest

comes so close

in 1461.

Are you the Christ,

the Son of the Blessed,

the Son of God?

But the only one

to confess

and believe

that Jesus,

only human,

is the Son of God,

is the centurion

facing the cross.

seeing Jesus

in his death

as the greatest king

who has done

the greatest act

of love ever.

Dying

for his rebellious people

to make him their own.

Through irony

and fulfillment,

surprise,

behold your crucified king,

the Son of God,

your salvation.

salvation.

This passage

has two ways

to respond.

Response number one,

see Jesus

but not believe.

See Jesus

but not believe.

Pilate,

soldiers,

crowds,

robbers,

passerbys,

chief priests,

bystanders,

they see

but they don't believe.

Do you know

what this means?

It's possible

to be real close

to Jesus

even to use

the right titles

but not believe.

It's possible.

And if you're not

a Christian in the room

and you've been giving

Jesus lip service

but you know

you're not a follower

of Jesus,

you've got to ask

the question this morning,

is this true?

You need to face

the cross.

You need to face

the one hanging

on the cross.

And you need to ask

the question,

is it true?

Is he God in the flesh

hanging on the cross

for your sins?

Is it true?

And for us Christians,

here's what this reality

says for those

who see Jesus

but don't believe.

There will be people

in our lives

that we love dearly

who see Jesus

but they don't believe.

They will be our children

and our grandchildren.

They will be parents

and friends,

fellow workers,

even spouses.

What this does

is it ends up

tempering us.

heartache

lies ahead

followers of Jesus

for those people

we love

who see

but don't believe.

We pray,

we speak boldly,

and we wait

on our Lord.

The second response

to seeing

and not believing

is seeing

and believing.

Face the cross,

you see the one

hanging on it

and you believe.

You see Jesus

mocked by Pilate

and you realize

he endured that

for me.

You see Jesus

rejected

by the crowds.

They chose

a murdering

insurrectionist

over

the innocent king.

He endured that

for me

and for you.

Jesus mocked

by soldiers.

Hail

king of the Jews!

He did that

for you

and for me.

crucified,

reviled

by passerbys.

For you

and for me.

We believe it.

But as we face

the cross,

what is most striking

is that Jesus

would bear

God's wrath,

breathe his last

for you

and for me.

We believe it.

He was forsaken.

God's wrath

poured out on him

to have all

of our sins

forgiven.

When we see

this crucified

Messiah,

we believe

he's our salvation.

When we hear

Golgotha,

we hear

place of the skull,

dying place,

and it's

good news.

this is what's

of first

importance.

So if you

believe,

confess him

as the

son of God.

Confess it

to him.

You are the

Christ.

You are the

son of man.

You are the

son of God.

You are the

I am.

You are my

king.

Confess it

to him.

Not just

confess it,

follow him.

If he's done

all this for

us,

deny yourself,

take up your

cross,

and follow

him.

We proclaim

him.

We proclaim

a crucified

king.

For some,

it's utterly

scandalous.

It's

disgusting.

To others,

it's just

ridiculous.

But for those

who like us

are being

saved,

it is the

power of

God unto

salvation.

Let me

close by

saying this.

This

Thanksgiving,

Christian,

you're going

to have the

opportunity to

share what

you're most

thankful for.

And when you

face the

cross,

and you see

what this

king did

for you,

oh,

you've got

more than

enough to

share.

And it

doesn't limit

it to a

feast this

Thursday.

You've got

something to

share all

the time.

Despite your

circumstances,

you have

something that

God has

done for

you.

So,

this

Thanksgiving,

when you've

been given

the opportunity

to share

what you're

thankful for,

here's what

you can say

without apology

and without

qualification,

I'm thankful

that Jesus,

my king,

died for me.

I'm thankful

that I'm

forgiven.

Behold your

crucified king,

the son of

God,

our salvation,

and give

thanks.

Next Sunday,

we will

behold our

risen king

who's reigning.

Let's pray.

God in heaven,

thank you so

much for

Mark 15,

1-39.

Thank you,

Father,

for giving us

a line of

sight once

again to

face the

cross of

what you've

done.

Father,

thank you for

making a way

through the

death of your

son for us

to come into

your presence.

Thank you for

forgiving us of

all of our

sins,

past,

present,

and future.

At that

moment,

he paid it

all,

and we are

so grateful

so thankful.

Lord,

we confess

you as the

Son of God,

and we

recognize

Golgotha as,

yes,

a killing

place,

but our

place of

salvation.

In your name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's grace

see you as the

peace

of you as the

holy

communities.