Welcome to episode 95 of Grasp the Bible.  In this episode, we continue our study in the Book of Mark, covering chapter 15:16-32.  The series is called “Get in, buckle up, and hold on!”  Today, we look at Jesus’ mocking and crucifixion.  We will cover: 

• The contempt (vv. 16-20) 
• The cross-bearer (v. 21) 
• The crucifixion (vv. 22-32) 

Key takeaways: 

• Jesus is mocked, beaten, and spat upon repeatedly.  These actions were predicted by Isaiah as how the Lord’s suffering servant would be treated (Isaiah 50:6-7) 
• The skull-like outcrop known as Gordon’s Calvary and the adjacent Garden Tomb, though popular devotional sites, have little corroborating evidence as the site of the crucifixion and were first identified as possible sites in the nineteenth century.  Nowhere is it stated that Golgotha was a hill, but it may have gotten its name from being a low-lying hill in the shape of a skull. 
• All four Gospels describe a written notice, or “inscription,” identifying the charge against Jesus (the king of the Jews). 
• The religious leaders view Jesus as a failure because he is unable to save himself from Roman crucifixion. The irony of Mark’s drama is that by staying on the cross, Jesus is fulfilling the role of the Messiah, bringing salvation to Israel by offering his life as a ransom for sins. 
• The upside-down values of the kingdom of God are subversively bringing transformation and renewal to a fallen world. 

Quotable: 

• No challenges we face in life are outside of God’s control or sovereign will. 

Application: 

• The death of Jesus is an act of reconciliation, God’s sacrificial gift to the world, an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 
• In our world today we see and hear of unspeakable acts of evil.  We wonder, “Where is God?” The answer we see here is that he is on the cross, experiencing and absorbing the hatred and evil of humanity—refusing to lash back and instead offering God’s forgiveness. 

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