Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

Mark 15:42-47

King James Version

42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.

45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.

Jesus left His home in Heaven, invaded this world, His arch enemy’s own territory, to redeem His people from their sins. Jesus Christ, Who was, is, and ever shall be God, came to this world and became a man, Phil. 2:5-8; John 1:1; 14. He lived a sinless life, perfectly keeping the Law of God for those who could not keep it. Then, He was rejected by the very people He came to save, John 1:11.

Jesus came to this world to provide a way for the lost to be saved. In order for Him to open this way of salvation, He had to die. He had to be nailed to a cross and executed, the innocent dying the guilty, 1 Pet. 3:18.

Jesus was rejected by the Jews. They accused Him of blasphemy and declared that He was worthy of death. They beat Him, bound Him and took Him to Pontius Pilate. Pilate refused to free Jesus and upheld the death sentence, turning Jesus over to his soldiers so that they could execute Him. Those soldiers took Jesus and they mocked Him, they beat Him with a scourge, and they led Him away to a place called Calvary, where they nailed Him to the cross.

The scene has been set. All the actors are in their places. Everyone knows their lines even though they have never rehearsed their parts. The greatest act in human history is about to be played out.

These verses talk about the aftermath of our Lord’s trial before the Jews and then Pilate. Both the Jewish leaders and the Roman governor have condemned Jesus and declared Him to be worthy of death.

The Jews did it because they hated Him. They hated Jesus because He claimed to be their Messiah. He was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting, so they rejected Him and sent Him away to His death.

Pilate condemned Jesus to death to save his position with Rome. Pilate violated every conviction he held. He convicted a Man against Whom no one had been able to lodge a valid charge. Pilate sinned against truth, conscience, integrity and principle in condemning Jesus. He allowed an innocent man to be crucified to ensure earthly security. In so doing, Pilate condemned his eternal soul to Hell!

Today, we will follow Jesus Christ from Pilate’s judgment hall to Mount Calvary, where He will die for the sins of His people. As Jesus makes His way from Pilate’s hall to Golgotha, several scenes are played out in the tragedy of His death.

Our study of the Gospel of Mark is bringing us ever closer to the moment when the Lord Jesus will give His life for sin and sinners on the cross. As Jesus approaches that hour, events in His life begin to move forward at an incredible pace. As these last events unfold in our Lord’s life, we are allowed to witness some of the most heinous and most holy events being played out side by side. The passage before us today is one of the most holy.

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

In our text today, the Lord Jesus Christ gathers with His disciples to partake in His last meal. He does not have the privilege of requesting what He will eat for His last supper, but the meal He eats may just be the most important meal ever eaten.

The meal Jesus Christ eats on the eve of His death is a meal that was designed by God the Father to exalt God the Son. It is a meal that preaches the Gospel. It is a meal that displays the grace of God. It is a meal that signifies the creation of a new spiritual covenant between God and repentant sinners.

I want you to see with me the kind of love that every redeemed heart should have for the Savior. I want you to see Extravagant Love on display. I want us to see this love in action so that we might be motivated to express that same kind of unconditional, selfless, all-consuming, boundless, extravagant love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genuine, biblical faith is a miracle! Faith in God is something we do not possess naturally. Eph. 2:8 tells us that faith is “the gift of God.” God enables us to believe in Him for salvation, then He gives every believer some “measure of faith”, Rom. 12:3. That is, God empowers His children to believe Him, to serve Him, to glorify Him through the power of the faith in Him that He gives to us!

This outworking of faith in God’s people has allowed them see demonstrations of God’s power that boggle the mind. It has allowed them to receive answers to prayers for things that appeared impossible. Consider the following:

· Joshua 10:12-14 – Joshua commanded the sun to stand still so Israel could defeat the Amorites.

· Isaiah 38:1-6 – King Hezekiah was told that he would die. He prayed to the Lord and God added 15 years to his life.

· Genesis 22:1-14 – Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac, who was the son of promise. He obeyed by faith and God spared Isaac, providing a ram in his place.

· Joshua 14:6-16 – 85 year old Caleb believed God for the power to defeat a mountain infested with giants. God gave him that mountain.

· 1 Samuel 17:1-54 – A teenage boy named David believed God for the power to defeat a giant named Goliath. God gave him the victory.

· Daniel 3:1-30 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God to keep them from the power of a pagan king and a fiery furnace. God met them in the furnace and protected them there.

Many, many more examples could be given, Ill. Heb. 11:32-35, but these are enough to teach about the power of biblical faith in God. The passage before us today magnifies the power of biblical faith.

On Monday morning of the Lord’s Passion Week, as Jesus his disciples walked toward Jerusalem, Jesus cursed a fig tree, 11:12-14. When they passed by the next day, the fig tree was dried up. Jesus uses this experience to teach His disciples a lesson about The Power Of Biblical Faith.

We are walking with Jesus and His disciples through the last week of His earthly life. It is amazing that Jesus was able to pack so much activity into a seven day period of time. He accomplished much during those seven days and not a single moment was wasted by our Lord.

In this message, we are going to look at an event that occurred early on Monday morning of our Lord’s Passion Week. This single event was designed to teach us about the judgment of God that was coming on the nation of Israel. They had rejected their Messiah and they were about to pay a terrible price.

While this text speaks primarily to Israel, there is also a word of warning here for all people. The Lord Jesus wants us all to know that He is examining our lives. He wants us to know that He is looking for genuine spiritual fruit in our lives. When He finds that fruit, we are blessed. When He does not find it, there is a high price to pay.

Let’s follow Jesus and His disciples through these verses today. I want to preach about The Fruitless Fig Tree. I want you to see with me The Lord’s Desire; The Lord’s Disappointment; The Lord’s Declaration and The Lord’s Demonstration. Let’s consider these thoughts together. Let’s also be sure that we hear His message to our hearts. It is an important message that we cannot afford to miss.

Today is a day when we take the time to honor the one human being who unselfishly gives herself to her children time and time again, without asking for anything in return. If your life has been blessed by the touch of a godly mother, then you have enjoyed one of this world's greatest treasures and blessings. Not everyone has enjoyed this great blessing but those who have will go to their grave remembering the love of their mother. We set aside one day a year to honor mothers. The majority of them deserve it, and they truly are VIPs. Abraham Lincoln declared, "no man is poor who has had a godly mother." A Spanish proverb reads, "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest." Someone else has said, "The instruction received at Mother's knee, together with the pious and sweet souvenirs of the fireside, are never effaced entirely from the soul."

The Lord’s disciples were already reeling from the His revelation that He would be put to death and rise again, 8:31. On the heels of that stunning statement, Jesus called His followers to a life of total commitment and absolute separation. His words must have come as a shock to their system. They had left every aspect of life as they knew it to go with Jesus. They did so, expecting Jesus to destroy Rome, deliver Israel and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Now, Jesus tells them that following Him is a costly business. He has given them the negative side of being His follower.