Village Church Annandale (Sydney) sermons

When I first read that line about the tearing of the Jerusalem temple curtain I thought that reporter Mark (sitting at his laptop writing down the account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection) had accidentally pressed paste at the wrong moment - and had carelessly inserted a line about the tearing of the temple curtain (15 kilometres away).

But in Mark’s case it wasn’t sloppy editing.  It was theological gold!

Mark15:37 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 

You can never look too deeply at the cross.

Mark 15:33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “See, he’s calling for Elijah.” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink, and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

At this key moment in all of history Jesus dies in our place, as the Father's wrath is poured out on the son.

Mark 15:33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Those who mock Jesus do mean the lines they say.  When they say ‘he saved others’ they mean that ‘he healed others.’ 

But Mark as he writes these words down, intends us to understand these words, as Lane says, in their full Christian sense…. in that if Jesus was to fulfil his mission on behalf of humanity - he cannot save himself from the sufferings appointed by God.

There’s an enormous irony in each of the lines used to mock the Lord Jesus. 

In fact all the lines that are used mockingly of Jesus by those people around him while they are meant as derisive mocking put downs, they all turn out to be true. 

Mark 15:31 In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

Mark 15:25 Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge written against him was: The King of the Jews. 27 They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross!”

The Roman legal texts confirm that the execution squad had the accepted right to claim the minor possessions of an executed man. 

The squad that crucified Jesus, would not have known that in their lot casting, they were fulfilling Psalm 22:18.

Mark 15:24 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get.

The place Jesus died was outside the city wall. Now of course, the city of Jerusalem has expanded. And it's likely part of a busy built up area.

Mark 15:20-22 They led him out to crucify him. 21 They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull). 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

Mark 15:16 The soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called the whole company together. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”  19 They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage.  20 After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him.