Our text for today is going to be Mark chapter 15 verses 33 through 47.
It's a bit of a chunk for today.
I must admit that I'm pressing a little bit through the text so that we can preach in a verse-by-verse expositional manner as we've been doing throughout Mark on Easter, the resurrection.
I think we'll find that the themes are very well connected here and can be done quite readily.
Let me begin, though, with an exhortation to you and an apology from me.
I'm growing increasingly frustrated by the trend in America and our consumer-driven churches, by the need to be entertained in all things, including preaching.
All across our country this morning, businesses are opening up their doors and clicking on their open signs and people are coming in and they're consuming.
People are looking for churches or they're floating from place to place to place and they're coming in and they're getting a snapshot of a presentation given to them and passing judgment on it.
The church is a people.
It includes things like this, getting together, the preaching of God's Word.
But I think that because of this growing trend, the standard of good preaching has shifted.
It's no longer enough that a man simply speak the truth on any given text, but that he'd rather speak in such a way that he keeps the attention of everybody and leaves you feeling really good.
And it is very possible to do this without saying much at all.
In fact, this is happening in many places this morning.
Very little is being said and many times heresies are being uttered, but everyone is so very entertained.
Now, I'll say that this is much less the case among you.
Case in point, you're here this morning and I don't believe that I make much of an effort to entertain,
but I still feel this pressure to get up and give a presentation of the Word of God rather than just telling you what it says.
And this is as much my fault as it may be yours, and it may be even that I'm making it all up in my own mind.
I want to be sure that you guys understand that the preaching of God's Word is not meant to be entertainment.
It's supposed to be good for your souls.
Preaching is probably 10 to 20% of my week, both in preparation and in the presentation.
There are many, many other things I do as a pastor, but I know that this is the major thing that you guys see.
What does Nathan do all week?
He prepares a 45-minute sermon.
It's loose.
45 to an hour.
Right?
It's what he's up to every single week.
But there's so very much more that goes into this.
And I carry with me throughout the week, while it may be 10 to 20% of the work I'm doing,
the pressure of presentation.
And I'm making some corrections in my own heart to this degree.
But I want to encourage you all, as a part of a culture, a subset, Christ Family Church,
as part of a greater culture, to have a right understanding of what good preaching is.
A great place to go and see that.
You don't need to turn here.
I'll read it to you carefully and clearly.
1 Corinthians 2, 1 through 5.
Paul's writing to the Corinthian believers.
The Corinthians were people who consumed Greek oration in high degree.
They loved, loved grand speeches.
And many of these speeches, I read a few of them, say very little.
But boy, do they sound so good.
The Corinthians worshipped the silver tongue.
And Paul says this to them.
1 Corinthians 2, 1 through 5.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God
with lofty speech or wisdom, which Paul was certainly capable of doing.
Read any of his epistles.
Verse 2,
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.
And my speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God.
He intentionally spoke simply to them that the Spirit might work
and that they would have to give all credit and praise to Him.
Earlier on in 1 Corinthians, he says,
verse 27, chapter 1,
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.
And we're presented with a bit of a challenge in our day
because we have access to so much preaching.
In fact, I think, and this is not your fault at all,
but the fact that I'm being recorded right now places a pressure on me.
I hate that my sermons go out on the World Wide Web.
It causes me to tremble.
That people who are going to potentially visit our church,
whether they do or not, I don't know,
probably go and preview the preaching.
Last week's sermon may not have been a very good sermon.
I've said this to you continually.
I'm just hoping to get on base most of the time,
much less hit a home run.
Oh, if we could just get a score home,
that would be fantastic.
I hope for this.
I long for this.
And I pray for it.
There's so much access out there.
A hundred years ago,
you would have just been so happy to get to come
and hear the Word of God preached.
You would have visited the church
that gathered closest to your home.
So my exhortation to you this morning is
ask yourself,
by what standard do you measure
quote-unquote good preaching?
What is the standard for you?
Is it the truth is proclaimed?
Or is it that you were entertained?
You must ask yourself this question.
So if I were to pause and stop
and take a long drink of water,
is this awkward to you?
Are you feeling nervous for me?
Could be because you think I'm giving a presentation.
And how could I dare pause?
When I fumble with words,
did your heart tighten?
It shouldn't.
I encourage you to ask that question.
How do you measure good preaching?
And become an active listener.
Become an active listener.
And what I mean by that is
a passive listener is just going to sit.
And I'm hoping that I say enough things
in the right way,
that I use my hands in an exuberant fashion,
that I raise my voice at the right time,
and I lower my voice at the right time,
so that something will get through
whatever else is happening inside of your head.
We're so easily distracted as a people.
I'm the same way.
Become an active listener.
This will help you.
Pick a pen up in your hand
and write down notes.
It's such a massively helpful way
to stay on point with what's going on.
I try to lay sermons out
in an organized fashion.
I don't always,
but I certainly try.
Now, participate a bit in this.
We're a Baptist church,
and there is never an amen in our church.
And I think that's in large part
because most of you are students,
and so you're studious,
and you would never amen a professor
in the classroom.
And you shouldn't.
Amen?
A head nod now and then would be great.
I've got to tell you,
there's usually three things going on in my brain
at one time when I'm preaching.
There's typically the next thing that has to be said.
I'm trying to get my head going in the right direction.
There's what's actually coming out of my mouth,
and when I do mess stuff up,
that's usually because I switch to the future,
and what's coming out of my mouth
just doesn't come out of my mouth,
and I get yanked back to the present.
And then there's also the,
what in the world is everybody thinking?
Many of you have the strangest listening faces.
Usually look mad,
like I've really, really said something wrong,
so then my head goes into the past
to figure out what I messed up
and if I need to correct it.
So an occasional nod my direction
to let me know that you agree,
and you're being changed by the Word of God preached
is helpful.
And then take what's preached
and go talk about it.
Not all of you,
but most of you came with somebody,
you know somebody here,
you're going to see them throughout the week.
Carry on a conversation
about what was preached,
even what I may have erred in,
because I may,
and I need to be told of these things,
but have conversations about it
and be sure you as the congregation
are accountable for what I preach.
I need your help in that.
And I want your help in that way.
So pen in hand,
participate,
and discuss later.
That's the exhortation to you.
The apology on my part,
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones,
who is a phenomenal preacher,
I would encourage you to read his sermons.
He's a 20th century Welsh Protestant.
He said,
Preaching is theology on fire,
which I think is a fantastic definition.
Simple, but fantastic definition
of what preaching is.
And I'll tell you that I need to spend
more time catching fire each week.
Less time concerned about presentation.
Really, I just need to say,
damn presentation,
it doesn't matter.
And I need to be catching fire
and coming and preaching to you.
Because the embers of my heart
often grow cold.
Just like you.
I am a man.
And they often grow cold
and they need to be fanned into flame.
And I need to spend more time
doing that in my weeks.
I apologize that I haven't always
done this well.
I want to process sermons in this way.
It's a fantastic quote,
Charles Spurge,
on how to best prepare to preach.
It's been a habit that I often read this
every single week.
It's been a few weeks since I've read it.
Let me read this to you.
Let us, dear brethren,
try to get saturated with the gospel.
I always find that I can preach best
when I can manage to lie a soak in my text.
I like to get a text
and find out its meaning
and bearings and so on.
And then after I have bathed in it,
I delight to lie down in it
and let it soak into me.
It softens me or hardens me
or does whatever it ought to do to me.
And then I can talk about it.
You need not be very particular
about the words and phrases.
If the spirit of the text has filled you,
thoughts will leap out
and find raiment for themselves.
Become saturated with spices
and you will smell of them.
A sweet perfume will distill from you
and spread itself in every direction.
We call this unction.
It's not a word we use these days.
Do you not love to listen to a brother
who abides in fellowship with the Lord Jesus?
Even a few minutes with such a man
is refreshing.
For like his master,
his paths drop fatness.
I love that.
Dwell in the truth
and let the truth dwell in you.
Be baptized into its spirit
and influence that you may impart
therefore of to others.
If you do not believe the gospel,
do not preach it
for you lack an essential qualification.
But even if you do believe it,
do not preach it
until you have taken it up into yourself
as the wick takes up the oil.
So only can you be a burning
and a shining light.
And with that,
I say to you and to me,
this is God's word to us.
It's written for His glory
and our good.
We would all do well
to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and obey its commands.
Let's read together
Mark 15.33-47.
And when the sixth hour had come,
there was darkness
over the whole land
until the ninth hour.
And at the ninth hour,
Jesus cried with a loud voice,
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,
which means,
My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
And some of the bystanders
hearing it said,
Behold, He is calling Elijah.
And some ran and filled a sponge
with sour wine,
put her on a reed,
and gave it to him to drink,
saying,
Wait, let us see
whether Elijah will come
to take him down.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry
and breathed his last.
And the curtain of the temple
was torn in two
from top to bottom.
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.
There were also women
looking on from a distance,
among whom were Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of James,
the younger,
and of Joses and Salome.
When he was in Galilee,
they followed him
and ministered to him,
and there also were
many other women
who came up with him
to Jerusalem.
And when evening had come,
since it was the day
of preparation,
that is,
the day before the Sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathea,
a respected member
of the council
who was also himself
looking for the kingdom of God,
took courage
and went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus.
Pilate was surprised
to hear that he should
have already died,
and summoning the centurion,
he asked him
whether he was already dead.
And when he learned
from the centurion
that he was dead,
he granted the corpse
to Joseph.
And Joseph bought
a linen shroud
and taking him down,
wrapped him in the linen shroud
and laid him in a tomb
that had been cut
out of the rock,
and he rolled a stone
against the entrance
of the tomb.
Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother
of Joses
saw where he was laid.
Pray with me.
Father, I would ask
this morning
for the preaching
of your word
to be blessed
by your spirit,
and for all of us
who are hearing it,
even me as I speak,
and that you would
work through me
that certainly today
preaching would be
theology on fire.
And we pray this
in Christ's name.
Amen.
Kind of stealing once again
from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones.
Many people call him
the doctor.
He did have a format
for the way in which
he preached,
which I've always
really appreciated,
and I tend to do this,
although it's often
a little more hidden,
but he has this kind
of pattern where he
would do exegesis,
doctrine, and application.
So that's the way
we're going to walk
through this text
together this morning.
So first, exegesis.
If you don't know
what that means,
it means literally
to lead out of.
It's a critical
explanation of a text,
simply that.
It means that we
get out of the text
what God intends
to say to us,
which would be
the opposite of
eisegesis.
If we read into
the text,
to apply something
here that I have
some idea I want
to prove to you,
and therefore I go
to the text to prove it,
but rather that we
look at the text
and we pull the
teaching out of it.
So simply,
we'll exegete the
text together.
I looked back
before we jump
heavily into that,
just for the joy of it,
to see when it was
we started Mark's
gospel.
We did so on
September 22nd
of 2013.
How about that?
So we've been
now,
we'll have two
more Sundays
in Mark,
and it'll be
a year and a half,
plus a little,
about 21 days,
to finish it
all up.
And we have
noted across
that time,
as we've seen
the life of Christ,
leading up now
into the Passion Week,
this is Friday
of that week,
the day,
obviously,
that He is
crucified,
His active
obedience.
Jesus Christ
was commonly
called His
active obedience,
and that was
Him submitting
His will
to that
of God
the Father.
Doing the things
that God
had asked
Him to do,
His active
obedience.
John 8,
28,
Jesus said,
I do nothing
on my own
authority.
He just did
whatever God
the Father
told Him
to do.
Mark 8,
34,
we get this
passed along
to us,
in this charge
He gives
to a crowd,
if anyone
would come
after me,
let him
deny himself
and take up
his cross
and follow
me.
This is the
way in which
we follow
God the
Father,
is in
active
obedience.
Last week
and some
Sundays before
and this
Sunday,
particularly,
we're going
to be looking
at Jesus'
passive
obedience.
And that
was what
He suffered
on our
behalf,
the way in
which He
was obedient
to the
Father
in His
suffering,
which was
something He
did throughout
His life.
He suffered
as He
lived in
the world,
but certainly
is highlighted
the great
high point
of His
passive
obedience
is in
His
suffering
and death
on the
cross.
And I'll
share with
you shortly
why the
two types
of obedience
are absolutely
necessary
for our
salvation.
Let's look
at verse
33.
When the
sixth hour
had come,
there was
darkness
over the
whole land
until the
ninth hour.
Last week
in 1525,
we saw that
it was the
third hour
when they
crucified Him,
which would
have been
hour 9 a.m.
Beginning
of the day,
6 a.m.
The third
hour was
9 a.m.
So He's
on the
cross at
9 a.m.
And then
at noon
until 3 p.m.,
Mark says,
there is
darkness
over the
whole land.
We don't
know how
exactly this
came to
pass.
I read
some things
this week
that said
that it
was impossible
for there to
be an eclipse
at this time.
I don't know how
people know
these types of
things,
but this is
what they
said.
So likely
some cloud
cover,
something else.
It doesn't
really matter,
but ultimately
there was
darkness,
which is
symbolic of
God's
displeasure
and His
judgment.
Listen to
Amos 8,
9,
And on
that day,
declares the
Lord God,
I will make
the sun go
down at
noon and
darken the
earth in
broad daylight.
You can look
at some other
texts concerning
this,
Deuteronomy
28,
29,
Jeremiah
15,
9 are some
examples of
those places,
symbolic of
God's
displeasure
and judgment.
It's likely
that Mark
wanted his
readers to
recall the
final plague
at the time
of the first
Passover,
the way in
which he
has written
this.
Exodus 10,
21-23,
you can take
a look at
that,
but the
final plague
before the
Passover
happened,
when the
Israelites
were captive
in Egypt,
was the
plague of
darkness.
For three
days,
there was
absolute
darkness.
In Exodus
chapter 10,
we see that
they couldn't
even see
each other.
It was so
incredibly dark.
It would
seem that they
couldn't even
light lights.
For three
days,
it was dark,
but the
Israelites
had light
in their
homes.
And this
was the
last judgment
given before
the Passover
came to be,
that when the
angel of death
came and the
posts of the
door were
painted with
the perfect
spotless lamb,
this whole
celebration
that's happening
in this week,
the Passion
Week,
is about
celebrating
that,
Jesus,
or God,
leading the
people out
by the blood
of the lamb,
and that is
who Jesus
is.
This is
likely why
Mark is
recording it
in this way,
that people
would see
that and
remember who
Jesus is.
Verse 34,
this three
hours of
darkness,
we don't know
if the
darkness lifts
or if it
still exists,
it does not
really matter,
but Jesus
cries out with
a loud
voice,
Eloi,
lama sabachthani,
!
which means
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
This is a
quote,
he draws
this directly
out of
Psalm 22,
1.
Last week
we talked
a bit about
the physical
pain of
the cross.
As far as
capital punishment
is concerned,
the divisement
of death
on a cross
was one
of the most
heinous
capital punishments
that exists
in all
of history.
Certainly
our Lord
suffered
greatly
on the cross.
He was
beaten
beyond
recognition
even before
he was there.
There were
punishments
added on
top of
the punishment
of him
hanging on
the cross.
But we
cannot
forget,
beloved,
we cannot
forget about
his spiritual
suffering.
The spiritual
suffering is
the most
important thing
that he
accomplished
on the cross.
And I can
say this to
you with
a confidence,
although I
would do it
with a great
deal of
trembling,
and actually
presented with
the case,
it would be
hard to
say it
out loud,
but I
would suffer
physically
what Jesus
suffered for
you all.
There's some
guarantee of
great good
for you all.
I would
suffer
physically
the way
Jesus
suffered,
but I
could not
the way
he suffered
physically.
Isaiah 53,
6,
all we like
sheep have
gone astray,
we have
turned everyone
to his own
way,
and the
Lord,
that's God
the Father,
has laid
on him,
God the
Son,
the iniquity
of us
all.
Galatians 3,
13,
Paul writes,
Christ redeemed
us from the
curse of the
law by
becoming a
curse for
us.
For it is
written,
cursed is
everyone who
is hanged
on a tree.
Really incredibly
difficult for us
to even understand
what he may have
experienced on
the cross.
The only perfect
man to have
ever lived,
living without
sin,
living in
perfect union
with the
Father.
None of us
can relate to
this in any
way whatsoever.
Also,
the only one
to have had
all of that
fellowship,
and all of
that perfection
stripped from
him,
and all of
God's wrath,
all of the
punishment given
to him,
poured out on
him.
There are
times in our
life when
we're punished
unfairly,
unjustly,
something may
happen.
I try to
intervene with
my two boys
when they're
fighting about
stuff,
and sometimes
I'm really
afraid that I
made the
wrong call,
like who
actually had
the toy
first?
Sometimes I
don't know.
I take a
gamble and go
with it.
I'm sure at
times I deliver
justice
unjustly.
We don't
have any
idea what
it would
be like to
be completely
free of
guilt,
and yet have
wrath and
punishment poured
out on us.
Jonathan Edwards
wrote of
Christ's
atonement and
his suffering.
Besides what
our Lord
endured in
this excruciating
corporeal death,
which means
bodily death,
he endured
vastly him,
and to put
him to grief,
now he poured
out his soul
unto death,
as in Isaiah
53.
And if the
mere forethought
of this cup
made him
sweat blood,
remember Christ
actually sweat
blood considering
what was to
happen to him
on the cross,
how much more
dreadful and
excruciating must
the drinking
have been.
Many martyrs
have endured
much in their
bodies, while
their souls have
been joyful and
have sung for
joy, whereby
they have been
supported under
the suffering of
their outward
man and have
triumphed over
them.
So see what he's
saying, all the
martyrs, many,
many martyrs
have had a great
deal of joy as
God gave them
grace to suffer
well in those
times, but this
was not the
case with
Christ.
He had no
such support.
The Father
turned his back
on him even as
he poured
wrath out on
him, wrath
that was due
us.
Charles Spurgeon
wrote,
Isn't that
good?
Verse 35,
And some of
the bystanders
hearing it said,
Behold, he is
calling Elijah.
And this just
points to the
ignorance of the
Jewish people.
The Jewish people
had been led by
religious leaders
that had built
a whole system
that was not
proper worship
of the true
God.
They had
developed an
eschatology,
kind of a growing
eschatology,
which is a
theology of the
end times,
with a view
that Elijah
would return
to restore
all things,
which included
the hope that
he might appear
from heaven to
help in times
of need.
In one sense,
he had kind of
become the
patron saint
of sufferers,
that they had
hoped that Elijah
would come and
rescue in times
of need.
This is entirely
false,
not true
whatsoever.
The Old Testament
doesn't speak in
these terms at
all.
That ignorance
is not an
excuse for
disobedience.
Acts 3,
17-19,
which is when
Peter's delivering
the second of
his wonderful
sermons at
the temple.
They've healed
a man who
was a cripple
from birth,
and a great
crowd has
gathered around
him.
I'd encourage
you to read
that.
And then at
the beginning
of chapter 4,
we see 5,000
people come to
faith at this
time.
And he says,
starting in
verse 17,
And now,
brothers,
I know that
you acted in
ignorance,
as did also
your rulers.
And he gives
credit to them.
You acted in
ignorance,
but this is no
excuse.
He goes on,
but what God
foretold by the
mouth of all
the prophets,
all of that
great grand
literature that
you had at
your fingertips,
that his
Christ would
suffer,
he thus
fulfilled.
Repent,
therefore,
and turn
back that
your sins
may be
blotted
out.
Ignorance
is not an
excuse for
disobedience.
So they
thought possibly
he was calling
out to this
Elijah.
And in
verse 36,
we see,
And someone
ran and filled
a sponge with
sour wine,
put it on a
reed,
lifted it up to
where he was
and gave it
to him to
drink,
saying,
Wait,
let us see
whether Elijah
will come
to take him.
It's likely
that they were
trying to
prolong his
life to see
if maybe
Elijah would
come,
right?
Keep him
alive long
enough to
see if that
is something
that would
come to
pass.
And this
sour wine
would have
been like
a vinegar
that they
lifted up
to him.
And he
drinks of
it.
We see
in other
texts,
and this
is a
fulfillment
of prophecy.
Psalm 69,
21 says,
They gave
me poison
for food,
and for my
thirst they
gave me
sour wine
to drink.
So we see
Jesus,
in last week's
text,
not drink
the wine
mixed with
myrrh,
which we
think was
possibly some
type of
light drug
that would
have eased
the pain.
But he
does drink
this,
and he
does so
because of
Psalm 69,
21.
And then
verse 37,
And Jesus
uttered a
loud cry
and breathed
his last.
Verse 38,
and the
curtain of
the temple
was torn
in two
from top
to bottom.
John 19,
30 records
that in
that final
cry,
he cries
out,
It is
finished.
It is
finished.
And there
are so many
implications that
we don't even
have the time
for today,
but his
work was
done.
It is
finished.
Your salvation
and mine
were accomplished
in this
moment.
The work
was completed.
The temple
curtain
is torn.
This is
the curtain
that would
have separated
people from
the presence
of God
in the temple.
Now,
interestingly,
historically,
the presence
of God
had left
the temple
long before
these days.
The whole
worship was
a huge
farce.
The high
priest going
into the
presence of
God
wasn't
actually
happening
in this
day,
but it
still
symbolically
separated
people from
God
through this
sacrificial
system.
One man,
one day a
year,
got to
pretend
to enter
into the
presence
of God.
And this
curtain
is torn,
symbolically
showing us
that we
now can
have full
access.
It's been
granted to
us full
access to
God
through the
sacrifice
of Jesus
Christ.
A great
text that
speaks to
this is
Hebrews 10
19-22.
Therefore,
brothers,
since we
have confidence
to enter the
holy places
by the blood
of Jesus,
you hear that?
We have confidence
to enter the
holy places
by the blood
of Jesus,
by the
new and
living way
that He
opened for
us through
the curtain
that is
through His
flesh.
And since
we have a
great priest
over the
house of
God,
let us
draw near
with a
true heart
and full
assurance
of faith.
You see
all that
language
there?
We've
now been
given
full
granted
access.
No
longer
have to
go
through
some
intermediary
because
Christ
is now
the
perfect
high
priest.
He
makes
propitiation
for us.
And when
Jesus dies
in this
way,
the
centurion
in verse
39
stands
facing
him,
saw the
way he
breathed
his last
and he
says,
truly,
this man
was the
Son of
God.
Now it's
interesting in
Mark's
account,
Mark is
so bullet
point as
he moves
through
things.
Sometimes
you just
go,
come on
Mark.
And it
makes me
so thankful
that we
have other
gospel
accounts,
which isn't
to say
that Mark's
is a
lesser
account.
But you
wonder when
you read
this,
you say,
the way
he breathed
his last,
here it
just says
that he
cried out
with a
loud cry.
So you
go,
so he
was loud?
And the
centurion
said,
truly,
this was
the Son
of God.
But we
do get
some detail
in Matthew's
account,
chapter 27,
verse 51,
verse 54,
when the
centurion
and those
who were
with him
keeping
watch over
Jesus
saw the
earthquake
and what
took place,
they were
filled with
awe and
said,
truly,
this was
the Son
of God.
So something
cataclysmic
happens.
You've got
this darkness
over all
of the land.
Jesus cries
out this
last cry.
He dies
and then
there was
a massive
earthquake.
These
centurions
didn't see
the temple
curtain
torn,
but they
certainly
felt the
earthquake
that
happened
and it
turned
their
doubt
to
faith.
Truly,
this was
the Son
of God.
And praise
God,
he is
the Son
of God
today.
And then
Mark goes
on in
verse 40,
verse 41,
to speak
about the
women,
the women
looking on
from a
distance.
We talk
about the
two different
Marys,
who they
are,
and how
we can
notify
them as
we go
through,
note
them,
I should
say.
They
followed
him
around,
they saw
his life.
We see
these women
again in
chapter 16,
verse 1.
And Mark
is likely
recording their
presence as
they were
witnesses to
the life,
the death,
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ.
You note
that they
traveled with
him,
they ministered
to him
when he
was in
Galilee,
they observed
his life,
they were
there,
they observed
his death,
they saw
where he
was buried,
Mark records
that for
us,
and later,
chapter 16,
they're also
witnesses to
his resurrection.
They witnessed
all of the
central facts
of the gospel.
He's giving
them credibility
in who they
say Jesus
is.
A moment
ago,
Wes sang a
song based
on the
Apostles'
Creed,
that Jesus
suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
dead and
buried.
The third day,
he rose again
from the
dead.
They saw
all of
these things.
And then Mark
goes on,
beginning in
verse 42,
to give us
this account
of Joseph
of Arimathea,
who was a
respected member
of the council.
And the council
that's being
referred to here
is the Sanhedrin,
this group of
people that
would have
passed the
judgment on
Christ to
have him
crucified to
begin with.
We saw
back in
chapter 14
these trials
that take
place before
the council.
Some people
have guessed
that maybe
Joseph of
Arimathea
wasn't there.
Mark's account
in verse 43
says he was
also himself
looking for
the kingdom
of God.
And so they
say maybe
he was
absent that
day,
but Mark
says that
the whole
council
was gathered.
So it
would seem
to me,
at least,
my opinion
on the
matter,
is that
Joseph
has now
changed
his tune.
He has
seen and
witnessed
Christ
crucified,
and has
now realized
that he
is in
fact the
son of
God.
And I
want you
to note
two things
as he
goes to
Pilate.
First,
awkward
water-drinking
moment.
It's not
awkward,
it's okay.
Note first
the doubt
of Pilate.
Note first
the doubt
of Pilate.
Verse 44,
notice Pilate's
attitude,
doubting that
Jesus had
died,
and he
does so
because it
usually took
two days
for a man
to die
on the
cross.
Jesus died
in six
hours,
not because
he was
weak,
not because
he couldn't
bear the
punishment,
although his
physical
punishment
had been
so much
greater than
most people
hung on a
cross,
but because
he bore
the wrath
of God
for our
sin.
That is
what
killed
him.
Mark 15,
15,
look at the
attitude of
Pilate.
Pilate,
wishing to
satisfy the
crowd,
released for
them
Barabbas,
and having
scourged
Jesus,
he delivered
him to
be crucified.
Kyle Webb,
a couple of
weeks ago,
said very
well that
Pilate,
for fear of
the crowd,
in order to
please the
crowd and
make them
happy,
to make
men happy
rather than
God happy,
because Pilate
knew that
this man had
no fault in
him whatsoever,
yet he
condemned him
to death.
So notice
first this
doubt of
Pilate.
Note,
second,
the courage
of Joseph.
Joseph
risked
everything to
be associated
with Jesus.
Everything.
Likely,
Joseph no
longer sat
on the
council.
All of
his power
and prestige,
all of
his financial
gain,
he risked
in going
and claiming
Christ's
body to
be buried
probably in
his tomb,
probably the
tomb that
he had
prepared for
his own
burial.
He is
very bold
in this.
Seems like
a massive
turnaround.
If he
was in
fact at
the council
that condemned
Jesus to
death,
maybe hesitant,
maybe not
knowing,
is this man
who he
says he
is,
but he
didn't speak
up then,
but certainly
now he
has been
bold in
approaching
Pilate and
claiming the
body of
Christ and
having him
buried in
his tomb.
We'll look
at some
application for
that in a
moment.
So now the
doctrine.
What doctrine
should we be
learning from
this text
together?
I know I've
already been
going fast.
I'm going to
speed up a
little bit
for the
sake of
time.
What you
need to
see here,
one doctrine,
there are
many we
could talk
about,
but I
want you
to really
focus your
gaze in
on the
atonement
of Christ.
The atonement
of Christ.
Atonement is
reconciliation.
In this case,
between God
and man,
the greatest
version of
atonement
there is.
We call it
the atonement
for that
reason.
Wayne Grudem
in his book,
Systematic
Theology,
defines the
atonement in
this way.
I really like
this definition.
The atonement
of,
boy,
I didn't
type it out
right at
all.
The atonement
of Jesus
is the
work Christ
did in
his life
and death
to earn
our salvation.
The atonement
of Jesus is
the work
Christ did
in his life
and death
to earn
our salvation.
And I love
these phrases,
the work
Christ did
to earn
our salvation.
Christ's work,
it is finished,
accomplished work
on our behalf.
Before we talk
a little bit
about what
the atonement
is,
first we should
ask the question,
was it necessary?
Was the atonement
necessary?
Was Jesus'
death necessary
to save us?
And I'm going
to answer the
question in this
way,
yes and no.
Firstly,
no.
God did
not have
to save
anybody.
And I really
think you need
to get this
clear in your
mind,
that the
sin that you
have committed,
past,
present,
the future
sin that you
will commit,
is enough,
it's right
and proper,
that God
damn you to
hell forever,
punish you
forever because
of that sin.
If you don't
get this,
if you can't
wrap your mind
around this,
you really
don't understand
the holiness
of God.
You don't
get how very
far removed
he is from
sin.
That he has
set up a
standard which
we are to
live by,
and we
have failed
at it in
every possible
way.
We are his
enemies because
of sin.
We have set
ourselves up
as king
in our life
rather than
him.
We have
messed up
the created
order.
He is creator,
we are creation.
We have said,
no, we are creator
as well.
We will rule
over our own
lives.
He does
not have
to save
anybody.
2 Peter 2.4
Peter writes,
for if God
did not
spare angels
when they
sinned,
but cast
them into
hell and
committed
them to
chains of
gloomy
darkness
to be
kept
until
judgment.
See that
the angels
themselves
weren't
saved.
Certainly if
he had to
do it,
he would
have,
but he
didn't.
Nobody
tells God
what to
do.
But,
God tells
God what
to do,
so I
would also
say yes
to the
question,
due to
God's
divine
attributes.
God is
just,
but he
is also
loving.
He is
also
forgiving.
So in
that sense
then,
yes,
but not
because we
deserve it,
not because
we're his
creation and
therefore he
has to
redeem us,
that there
had to be
an atonement
on our
behalf,
but because
of who
he is.
Because he
desired to
express all
of his
character into
his creation,
right,
and this
was the
way that
he could
best express
his love
and his
forgiveness,
his forbearance
toward us.
Romans 3,
25-26
says,
Christ Jesus,
whom God
put forward
as a
propitiation
by his
blood to
be received
by faith,
this was
to show
God's
righteousness,
because in
his divine
forbearance
he had
passed over
former sins.
It was to
show his
righteousness
at the
present time
so that
he might
be just
and the
justifier
of the
one
who has
faith
in
Jesus.
This is
why the
atonement
was necessary
for God's
great
glory.
Always keep
in mind
that we
are the
recipients
of the
benefit of
the gospel,
but the
gospel is
ultimately
and finally
about God
and his
glory.
Praise
him,
we're part
of that.
that he
says,
I must
show
forth
who I
am
to my
creation
and he
uses us
as an
object
lesson
for that
very
thing.
Praise
him
forever
for that
beloved.
The letter
to the
Hebrews
makes
explicit
because
this is
true
that
Christ
had
to
suffer
for
our
sins
if
we
were
to
be
saved
at
all.
Hebrews
2
17
reads,
Therefore
he had
to be
made
like
his
brothers
in
every
respect
so
that
he
might
become
a
merciful
and
faithful
high
priest
in
the
service
to
God
to
make
propitiation
for
the
sins
of
the
people.
The
author
of
Hebrews
continues
by
saying
that
since
this
is
true
it
is
impossible
for
the
blood
of
bulls
and
goats
to
take
away
sins
That's
Hebrews
10
4
a
better
sacrifice
!
is
required
Hebrews
9
23
Because
God
is
infinitely
holy
perfect
in
every
respect
forever
then
our
sin
against
that
holiness
is
infinitely
offensive
the
two
counter
in
that
way
our
sin
is
infinitely
offensive
so
we
needed
an
infinite
sacrifice
to
be
made
on
our
behalf
the
atonement
of
Jesus
is
the
work
Christ
did
in
his
life
and
death
to
earn
our
salvation
and
notice
that
Grudem
says
in
his
life
and
in
his
death
here
you
have
again
this
idea
of
active
and
passive
obedience
so
why
were
both
necessary
why
were
they
both
necessary
on
our
behalf
Jesus
passive
obedience
checked
off
dismissed
all
of our
wrongs
placed
our
faith
in
him
it
takes
all
those
things
that
we
have
done
and
it
wipes
them
away
but
this
is
not
enough
we
would
then
just
be
neutral
but
we
also
must
be
righteous
we
also
must
have
kept
the law
of the
Lord
not
just
sinned
against
him
but
also
kept
those
things
not
!
not
!
not
!
not
!
in that way, active obedience in that regard.
So our record is made clean in Jesus' passive obedience,
and a deposit has been made to our credit in our active obedience.
We get all of His righteousness.
Our wrongs dismissed, Jesus' perfect obedience given to us.
2 Corinthians 5.21 sums this up in the most beautiful of ways.
For our sake, He, being God the Father, made Him, Jesus Christ,
to be sin who knew no sin, perfect sacrifice, infinitely perfect,
able to become sin on our behalf,
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is what Martin Luther called the great exchange.
We take on Jesus' righteousness.
We give to Him all of our sin, or rather He takes it from us.
So the atonement is the doctrine you must see in the death of Jesus Christ.
And so what is the application for this?
In closing, three quick things.
What is the application?
Number one, be a Joseph and not a Pilate.
Be a Joseph and not a Pilate.
When the question Pilate poses in Mark 15.12 is presented to you,
and it is, it's being presented to you now.
There's no getting around it and away from it.
Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?
What will be your answer?
You must do something with the Jesus that's being presented to you.
The Son of God.
The claims that we make must be dealt with.
Those of you who have been with us for a while,
for the sake of time, I won't go into it completely,
but remember Mark 3.20-34.
The liar, lunatic, or Lord conundrum.
There's these various accusations being made of Him.
And many people these days want to give some type of credit to Jesus.
They want to say that He was a prophet.
They want to say that He was a good teacher.
But He Himself said that He was a son of God.
So He's a liar.
He's an absolute madman.
Or He must be who He said that He is.
What will you do with this question,
what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?
Be a Joseph and not a Pilate.
Be willing to give everything away,
to sacrifice it all,
to gain that thing that you cannot lose,
the person of Jesus Christ.
So number one, be a Joseph and not a Pilate.
Number two,
as you reflect upon Jesus' active and His passive obedience,
take confidence in His accomplished work.
As you reflect upon His perfect righteousness
and the fact that He suffered
and took all of our sins away from us,
dwell this week on John 19.30.
It is finished.
All of your sin, past, present, even future,
has already been paid for by Christ
if you have placed your faith in Him.
Romans 8.1.
I love Romans 8.1.
There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
This means that we get to take all of the guilt
and the weight of that and cast it off
because Jesus has already paid the price for it.
We don't go on sinning so that grace will abound.
But when we do sin,
grace certainly does.
D.A. Carson, in his book entitled
Scandalous, The Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus,
wrote this,
This is Satan's tactic, right?
That we are separated from God,
having placed our faith in Christ.
Now there's just division,
this rift that's put between us
because Satan's constantly being an accuser, right?
Constantly piling back on us our guilt.
We pick it up so readily.
D.A. Carson then says,
What can we say in response?
Will our defense be,
Oh, I'm not that bad.
All these accusations you're making
are not quite an accurate representation of me.
I'm not that bad.
You will never beat Satan that way.
Never.
What you must say is,
Satan, I'm even worse than you think.
But God loves me anyway.
He has accepted me
because of the blood of the Lamb.
So that's secondly.
As you reflect on Jesus' active and passive obedience,
take confidence in his accomplished work.
And then thirdly,
share his accomplished work with others.
Christians and non-Christians alike,
we all need to hear the gospel all the time,
preached to us constantly.
I mentioned at the very beginning of this
how my flame grows dim sometimes
and I need it fanned.
I need to hear the gospel preached to me.
Tell me about the things that are happening in your life,
the ways in which God has working in you
the gospel truths
and causing you to act differently
than you might have previously.
Tell me about the good things that are going on.
Preach to me the gospel.
Anytime any of you wants to call me and say,
Nathan, I want to preach the gospel to you,
I'll go, alright.
I don't grow tired of hearing this great truth.
I hope you're the same.
Let me say specifically,
those of you who are found in the faith,
know the gospel,
who understand the gospel,
who can meditate on it,
who can preach it,
can have it preached to you,
you'll get it.
Preach the gospel to non-Christians.
Consider their eternal damnation.
Have hearts for them,
pity for them,
and preach to them the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5, 16-20.
This is in closing.
Paul writes,
From now on, therefore,
we regard no one according to the flesh.
Even though we once regarded Christ
according to the flesh,
we regard Him thus no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold, the new has come.
All this is from God,
who through Christ reconciled us to Himself
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
He made things right between us
and He gave us that job
to go make things right between others and Him.
That is, in Christ,
God was reconciling the world to Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us
the message of reconciliation.
It's been entrusted to you,
the gospel message.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.
God making His appeal through us.
You feel the weight of that?
God making His appeal to mankind
to be reconciled through us.
And then Paul concludes, verse 20,
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
And this ought to be the great message on our lips.
As we go from this place
and everywhere that we go throughout this week,
we implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
Let's pray together.
Thank you.