Gospel of Mark - Christmas: Jesus Dies

So, page 1023.

So, from verse 33,

At the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabaxanai,

which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

When some of those standing near heard this, they said,

Listen, he's calling Elijah.

One man ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar,

put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

Now, mate, leave me alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down, he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,

and when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus,

heard his cry, and saw how he died, he said,

Surely this man was the Son of God.

Some women were watching from a distance.

Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,

and the younger of Joseph and Salome.

In Galilee, these women had followed him and cared for his needs.

Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

So Christmas is all about Jesus being born, right?

Well, look at verse 37.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

Here we find Jesus not in the cradle, but dead on the cross.

Well, you say, where's the story about Jesus being born in a stable,

wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger?

Let's do that story.

We like that story.

Please, can we do the Christmas story?

Well, you may have noticed that Mark's Gospel doesn't include anything about Jesus' birth.

There's no mention of angels appearing to Mary and Joseph.

There's no account of the shepherds and the magi who brought gifts.

We read nothing about the escape from King Herod,

who had ordered the killing of all the baby boys.

Mark has nothing to say about the birth of Jesus.

Instead, he jumps straight to the last three years of his life.

In fact, he dedicates almost a third of his book to the death of Jesus.

Why does he do that?

Does Mark not like Christmas?

Was he a bit of a Christmas scrooge, a bar humbug?

I'm not going to write anything about the Christmas story.

No, Mark wants us to see that the reason Jesus was born was to die.

For Mark, the centre of the story is not the cradle, but the cross.

You see, the crucifixion, the death of Jesus, is the climax of the Christmas story.

Without the death of Jesus, there is no Christmas story.

So as we come to see the death of Jesus,

we're going to look at three things that will help us to celebrate Christmas better.

Instead of the light coming into the world,

we're going to see darkness over the land.

And instead of finding a baby wrapped in cloths,

we're going to see the tearing of a curtain.

And instead of shepherds coming to worship,

we find the confession of a soldier.

So three things, darkness, the curtain, and the soldier.

First of all, the darkness.

As Jesus was dying, something extraordinary happened.

Verse 33.

At the sixth hour, that's twelve midday,

darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

That's three in the afternoon.

So for three hours, when the sun was at its highest,

and when the sun was at its brightest,

the whole land went completely dark, pitch black.

One moment bright shining sun,

the next complete and utter darkness.

Why?

What did it all mean?

Well, we don't have to think very hard

to associate darkness with evil and disorder.

Do you remember the creation story?

This is what it says at the very beginning of our Bible.

Now the earth was formless and empty.

Darkness was over the face of the surface of the deep.

The earth, in its unformed shape,

was covered in darkness.

Literally, it's telling us the earth was in chaos and disorder.

And then God spoke into that darkness.

And he said,

Let there be light.

And there was light.

By God's power,

the darkness was dispelled.

And in its place,

creation came about.

And we see harmony.

We see beauty.

We see creation in all its perfection.

And that's a picture of what we see happening at the cross.

Because again,

at this moment,

as Jesus dies,

for three hours,

darkness descends again,

look at verse 33,

over the whole land.

Evil and disorder seem to rule.

We have witnessed the false charges.

We've seen the unjust trial,

the beating and the mocking.

The guilty Barabbas is released.

And now the innocent Jesus dies.

And as we look in on this event,

as the darkness comes down,

it's as if darkness has won.

Satan and the evil powers of darkness

seem to have defeated and destroyed God's King.

The light that came into the world

has been extinguished.

Chaos and disorder rule.

But look what happens on the cross.

At the ninth hour,

the darkness is lifted.

The light returns.

The sun begins to shine.

You see,

just as God spoke into the darkness

of the disorder

and created light,

so at the cross,

Jesus dispels the darkness

of evil and disorder.

To all looking on,

this seems the end of a life.

But at the cross,

Jesus shows his mighty power.

He shows his victory

as he defeats Satan

and the powers of darkness.

Through his death,

the Bible tells us

that he overcomes the chaos and disorder.

Through his death,

he defeats Satan

and evil and disorder.

and in its place

and into people's lives

who trust him,

he brings about harmony

and beauty.

Literally,

it tells us

that he brings about

a new creation

into the life of each person.

And he brings about

a new creation

that is to come.

Jesus dispels

evil

and disorder.

But that's not

the only darkness.

As Jesus dies

on the cross,

something else

terrible happens.

Verse 34.

At the ninth hour,

Jesus cried out

in a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi,

lama sabbatani,

which means,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

Why have you

left me?

Why have you

rejected and

abandoned me?

The Father

who had said,

you are my Son

whom I love.

Now,

at the moment

of his greatest need,

the Father

turns his back

on the Son

he loves.

and Jesus

is left

alone

on the cross,

isolated

and shut out.

Why?

What did it mean?

Well,

listen to the

prophet Amos.

Here,

the prophet

is speaking

of God's

coming

judgment.

And this is

what he says.

You can see it

on the screen.

In that day,

declares the Lord,

I will make

the sun go

down at noon

and darken

the earth

in broad

daylight.

Centuries

before

Christ

came,

Amos

spoke of

God's

coming

judgment

and these

are the

kinds of

words he

uses

to describe

what that

judgment

would be

like.

He is

describing a

day when

God will

judge the

sin in

this world

and the

rebellion

against him.

It's a

picture of

God's

judgment

against

people like

you and

me.

And now,

as Jesus

dies on

the cross,

the darkness

falls in

broad daylight.

At noon,

there is

complete and

utter darkness

and Jesus

cries out

from the

cross,

My God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Jesus is

absorbing the

darkness of

God's

anger and

judgment.

Jesus is

taking my

sin and

your sin

on himself

and as a

result,

he is

shut out

from God.

He has

been abandoned

by God

and rejected.

One author

has helpfully

put it like

this.

He describes

it, he says,

at the ninth

hour,

when the

darkness

lifts.

We'd

expect that

God's

judgment

will have

fallen on

the people

who are

killing his

son.

But when

the light

returns,

only one

person has

experienced

God's

wrath,

his own

son.

Jesus

suffers the

anger and

judgment of

God for us,

so as the

darkness

falls,

Jesus is

saying,

I am the

one who

has come to

absorb the

darkness for

you.

You see,

we think of

the Christmas

story,

we think of

the lights,

we think of

the angels

coming in the

brightness to

announce the

story.

Well, at

the cross,

the light of

God shines in

its most

brilliant and

awesome way.

and here

the light

comes down

and Jesus

dispels the

darkness of

evil and

disorder and

he absorbs

the darkness

of anger

and judgment.

This is

what we are

celebrating

at Christmas.

Second,

there's the

curtain.

for those

watching Jesus

die,

well, they

can see

nothing good

in the

death of

this man.

Verse 35,

when some

of those

standing near

heard this,

when they

had heard

Jesus cry

out,

Eloi,

Eloi,

they thought,

oh, listen,

he's calling

Elijah.

They didn't

quite hear what

he said.

Elijah, you

remember, was

the great prophet

from the past

who they

thought, well,

if he cried

out to him,

he might

come and

rescue him.

Verse 36,

so one man

ran and he

filled a sponge

with wine

vinegar,

that would be

something to

try and

waken Jesus

up a little

bit,

and he put

it on a

stick and

he offered

it to

Jesus to

drink.

Now, let's

leave him

alone, let's

see if

Elijah comes

down to

take him

down, he

said.

But Elijah

doesn't come.

Jesus must

die.

There is

no rescue

for Jesus.

Verse 37,

and with a

loud cry,

Jesus

breathed

his last.

The creator

of the

universe

dies.

He's

and as

he dies,

to everybody

who's looking

at him,

they see it

all as

useless and

pointless,

a complete

waste of

time.

But only a

few hundred

yards away,

something

supernatural

happened as

Jesus breathed

his last.

Look at

verse 38,

the curtain

of the

temple was

torn in

two from

top to

bottom.

Why?

What did

that mean?

Well, two

things.

First, this

curtain in

the temple

was a

constant reminder

to people

that they

were separated

from God

because of

their sin.

You remember

back to the

story in

creation,

to the

garden of

Eden?

Do you

remember what

happened to

Adam and

Eve when

they rebelled

against God?

They were

literally shut

out of

God's

presence.

They were

banished from

the garden

of Eden.

And two

angels with

flashing

swords were

put at the

gate to stop

them getting

back into

the garden.

And it

acted as a

huge sign

that said

to them,

no entry,

stay away.

And so

throughout

time, the

temple curtain

was a

reminder of

all of

that.

You see, at

the centre of

this great

temple was

a building,

not unlike,

if you could

imagine, this

building here,

or this hall

that we're in.

It was called

the most

holy place.

It was

beautifully

decorated

with colours

and images

that reflected

the garden

of Eden.

And together

this holy

place

represented

God's

presence.

It was

somehow to

take people

back in

their memories

and their

thoughts to

the perfection

of the

garden of

Eden where

God lived

with his

people.

But at the

entrance to

this most

holy place

was this

large big

curtain.

So if you

could imagine

a big

curtain

stretching all

the way

across this

room.

It was a

huge curtain,

an inch

thick, solid

material,

30 feet

long by

30 feet

high.

And decorated

all across

this curtain

were images

of angels.

The symbolism

again was

crystal clear,

reminding them

of the angels

that guarded

the way

back into

Eden.

No entry.

It read

like a big

sign to

the people,

keep out,

stay away,

you're

separated

from God.

Sinful

people can't

meet with

a perfect

and a pure

God.

Darkness

can't come

into the

light.

You see

the consequences

of rebelling

against God

means we

can no longer

live with

him and

enjoy him.

In fact,

to meet

with God

as we

are means

we would

die.

His purity

is so

great,

his light

so brilliant

it would

consume us.

And there

is nothing

that we

can do

about that.

God

is

to

God

but look

what

happens

when Jesus

dies.

Verse 38

the curtain

of the

temple

was torn

in two

from top

to bottom.

This is

something

supernatural.

No human

being could

rip open

this curtain.

It was too

big,

it was too

thick,

it would

take days

to get

some kind

of cutting

implement

to try

and tear

this curtain.

But all

of a sudden

it is torn

from top

to bottom,

ripped apart.

This is an

act of God.

This is an

act that is

coming down

from heaven,

from top

to bottom

and it all

happens just

as Jesus

dies.

And we've

got to

remember

that as

we see

Jesus

die.

He is

taking the

place of

you and

me.

Remember

what he

cried out?

My God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

On the

cross he's

taking my

sin and

your sin.

And as a

result of

becoming like

us, he

is shut

out from

God's

presence.

He is,

if you like,

put beyond

the curtain.

Jesus was

the only

one who

was pure

enough,

the only

one who

was good

enough to

live with

God.

He was

the only

one who

could enjoy

that intimate

and perfect

relationship

with the

Father.

But now

as Jesus

dies, as

Jesus takes

our place,

he is the

one separated

from God

for us.

And his

cry of

agony from

the cross

reflects the

torment of

hell itself.

Jesus is

plunged into

the darkness.

But

wonderfully,

incredibly,

as Jesus

dies, the

curtain is

torn open.

The symbolism

is crystal

clear.

As Jesus

has been

shut out by

the Father,

so the way

is now

opened up

for us.

The sign

that read,

keep out,

stay away,

is now

ripped apart

so that we

can enter

in.

Remember

back to the

beginning of

Mark's Gospel

when Jesus

was baptised?

This is what

we read.

As Jesus

was coming

up out of

the water,

he saw

heaven being

torn open.

Heaven being

torn open

and the

Spirit

descending

on him

like a

dove.

Literally,

the presence

of God

coming

down.

And that's

the same

image that

we have

here with

the curtain.

It's the

same words

that Mark

is using.

He is

saying the

curtain is

torn open.

Heaven is

being ripped

apart.

The entrance

into the

presence of

God for

all eternity

is made

available.

God is

coming down

to you.

Where once

we were

separated,

we are now

welcomed.

Where once

we stood

in fear,

we can now

come without

fear and

enjoy God

and live

with him

in all

his purity.

at Christmas

we so

often think

of

Emmanuel,

God

with us.

At the

cross,

Emmanuel,

God

with us

becomes

a reality.

The

Spirit of

God

comes to

us to

dwell

amongst

his

people.

God

is with

us

now.

He is

present in

the lives

of those

who love

him and

trust him

and heaven

itself is

torn open

so that we

can live

with the

Father

forever.

This is

what we

are celebrating

at Christmas.

and then

third we

have the

soldier.

Many

people

witnessed

the death

of Jesus.

Over the

weeks we've

been looking

at the

soldiers who

beat him,

the crowds

who insulted

him,

the religious

leaders who

mocked him

and then the

women,

verse 41,

who had

cared for

him.

But as

Jesus dies

on the

cross,

there is

only one

who has

been changed

by Jesus

and that's

the soldier,

verse 39.

And when

the centurion

who stood

there in

front of

Jesus heard

his cry

and saw

how he

died,

he said,

surely this

man was

the son

of God.

Here's

this

great

commander,

the one

who's in

charge of

all the

soldiers.

He's the

one who's

in charge

of this

execution.

He's been

there many

times up

to this

hill.

He's

witnessed

many other

people die

these terrible

deaths.

But for

this time

it's

different.

he has

heard the

cry of

Jesus,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

He has

seen how

Jesus died

as the

darkness fell

for three

hours over

the whole

land and

as he

stands in

front of

this bloodied,

beaten and

dead body,

as he gazes

at this

body in

front of

him,

stretched out

on the

cross for

all to

see.

He says,

surely this

man was

the Son

of God.

His

confession

is a

statement of

belief.

He has

come to

see amongst

all the

crowds who

shout and

roar and

mock him,

he sees

who Jesus

really is.

Do you

remember how

Mark's

gospel opens

up?

The very

first verse

of Mark's

gospel,

it says

this,

the beginning

of the

gospel about

Jesus Christ,

the Son

of God.

Mark has

been telling

us the

whole way

through his

story that

Jesus,

the Son

of God,

the God

man,

is the

good news.

Jesus is

the good

news.

He is

the Son

of God,

but for

him the

good news

reaches its

climax,

not in

the cradle,

but on

the cross.

This is

where we

see Jesus

in all

his glory,

in all

his magnificence,

in all

his beauty.

So this

Christmas,

my

encouragement

to us

all is

this,

is to

come like

this

soldier,

and not

to look

into the

cradle,

but to

stand as

this soldier

did in

front of

the cross.

Look at

that bloodied,

beaten,

and dead

body.

Look at

him with

his arms

stretched out.

And as

we do,

see the

darkness

that has

been

dispelled.

see the

evil that

has been

defeated.

See Satan

destroyed.

And see

the curtain

torn in

two.

See heaven

being ripped

apart,

and his

people being

welcomed in.

Stand

before the

cross.

And like

the shepherds

and the

magi who

came to

worship

the Jesus

who was

born,

stand at

the cross.

and worship

the Son

of God

who was

born,

but died.

This

is what we

are celebrating

at Christmas.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.