Crucifixion And Burial: The King Is Dead Series

Crucifixion and Burial: The King is Dead

Mark 15:6-39

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” John R.W. Stott

“Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don’t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross.” C.J. Mahaney

“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Jesus hung on the cross BECAUSE of you, and He hung on the cross FOR you.

Notice what Jesus endured for you and me:

1. Multiple Trials

2. Multiple Mockeries.

3. Multiple Tortures

4. A Singular Act

5. A Single Offer

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” ? John R.W. Stott

Mark 15:6-39 (put this slide up as I begin to read v.6 for 2 seconds, followed by the text, vv.6-39)

Next week is Easter. And like other followers of Jesus we will celebrate His victory over sin and death by walking out of the tomb that 1st Easter morning.

But make no mistake: without the cross there is no resurrection. Surprisingly, the balance of the New Testament focuses, not on the resurrection, but the cross. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” There are more references in the New Testament on the death of Christ, than the resurrection of Christ. In fact, the whole Bible points to the need of a sacrifice that will ultimately and completely atone for, pay for the brokenness of humanity.

The cross was on the heart of God from the moment Adam/Eve rebelled against Him. When you read the Bible you see this in every book in the Old Testament. It was the very reason God became one of us. The great John R.W. Stott wrote, “From Jesus’ youth, indeed even from his birth, the cross cast its shadow ahead of him. His death was central to his mission.” John R.W. Stott

Having stated the centrality of the cross, I want to impress upon you this morning that the reason Jesus died on the cross is because we put Him there. I put Him there. You put Him there. We can shake our heads at the crowd that day crying out “crucify Him; crucify Him, but if we had been there we would have done the same. “Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don’t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross.” ? C.J. Mahaney

Sin is certainly not a word that our contemporary culture likes or accepts. You won’t read it in any contemporary literature. Won’t see it on the small or big screen unless it is done so with derision. But it certainly is central in the Bible and is THE reason for the cross. Romans 5:8 says “ But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It simply means to miss the mark; to fall short. Each of us here this morning have a moral standard we aim at, right? Not lying, not cheating, not speeding, not belittling someone because they are a different color or ethnicity or socioeconomic status. But I have yet to meet anyone who was able to hit their own moral standard. Then we you look at God’s moral standard of moral absolute and flawless perfection—well, no one can honestly say they have no sin. And this is why Jesus came. And this is why Jesus died on the cross.

So get this straight this morning: Jesus hung on the cross BECAUSE of you, and He hung on the cross FOR you.

In this passage we just read, we see what Jesus endured for you and me.

Notice what Jesus endured for you and me:

1. Multiple Trials

We read the final trial of Jesus before Pilate, but you might not know that Jesus was tried six times in the hours before His crucifixion. Three were before the religious leaders at that time: one before Annas, the former high priest, one before Caiaphas, the current high priest, and one before the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish body. Each time He was charged with blasphemy since He was claiming to be the Son of God and the Messiah, the Chosen One prophesied in Scripture. The religious trials showed the degree to which the Jewish leaders hated Jesus because they carelessly disregarded many of their own laws. Each trial was illegal according to their own Jewish law.