The Gospel of Mark is an action-packed account of Jesus’ life. In 16 brief chapters, Mark reports the significant claims and actions of Jesus, giving special attention to the events leading up to his death. Mark shows us that Jesus isn’t just unidimensional, but the fulfilment of the greatest hopes for all of humanity. In this 12-week series, we’ll be exploring the identity of Jesus and his relevance for today.
Three women returned to the tomb in which Jesus’ body had been laid. Just as women had provided for Jesus’ needs when he was alive, they remained faithful after his death despite the potential danger and the physical challenge of moving the stone from the entrance of the tomb.
When they arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled away and a young man in a white robe. Understandably, they were shocked. They must have thought of the possibility that Jesus’ body had been stolen. The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out, but to announce that Jesus had risen for those who visited the tomb.
The angel tells the women the good news that Jesus was not there because he had risen. If the testimony of the angel was not sufficient in itself, the angel shows the women the place where Jesus had been laid. When we see the place where they laid him is now empty, we see that the Father did not forsake Jesus, death is conquered and that we have a living friend in Jesus.
The angel gives the women a message for the disciples. Even though they had deserted Jesus and Peter had denied him, Jesus demonstrates the forgiveness we all receive in him through the plan to meet them in Galilee. Here, Jesus meets with them and commissions them to continue his mission in the world. All who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection are reconciled to God and sent out to share the gospel on their frontlines. DR
Questions
How can we be sure that Jesus is alive?
Why is Jesus’ resurrection so important?
How do we meet the risen Jesus and be sent out to proclaim the good news?
Prayer
Almighty Father, we thank you that Jesus’ resurrection shows us that he defeated sin and death. Help us to meet him and be transformed by him, so that we, too, might go out into the world and share the good news of salvation in Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen.
1 Oct 2020
MARK: Jesus #Unfiltered - Day 75
As Jesus endured the physical agony of crucifixion and the spiritual weight of sin, causing darkness to come over the land, he cried out the opening line of Psalm 22. Perhaps, someone misheard him and thought he was calling on Elijah. Some thought that Elijah might come and rescue Jesus, because it was believed that Elijah’s return would signal the coming of the Messiah. But, just as many had misunderstood Jesus’ life and ministry, they misunderstood him here, too.
Jesus died, but this was no ordinary crucifixion and no ordinary death. It should have taken much longer for Jesus to die even accounting for his physical beating leading up to his crucifixion. When Jesus died, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The curtain was a sign of the separation between humanity and God that sin caused. Only the High Priest could enter through the curtain once each year on the Day of Atonement to seek forgiveness for the sins of Israel. The curtain was torn from top to bottom to indicate that this was God at work and only God could deal with the problem of sin once and for all.
The centurion, who witnessed Jesus’ death, had most like seen many people crucified before, yet there was very different about Jesus that he said something he could not say about anyone else. The centurion saw Jesus for who he was and is an example of all who come to Jesus through the cross. The crucifixion appeared to be a terrible defeat, but, on the cross, sin is defeated. DR
Questions
What was significant about the darkness which covered the land?
What was significant about the tearing of the curtain in the Temple?
How do we help others to see Jesus the same way as the centurion at the cross?
Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you that Jesus became sin for us even though he did not sin. We thank you that Jesus endured the humiliation, shame and agony of the cross. Help us to be truly thankful for the cross and shape our lives by Jesus’ sacrificial love. In his name, Amen
30 Sept 2020
MARK: Jesus #Unfiltered - Day 74
Psalm 22 was written by King David at a time when he felt abandoned by God, and experienced great danger and deprivation. It begins abruptly, with a disturbing scene: someone who knows and trusts God is forsaken, and cries out to God in agony. We may readily imagine a situation in the life of King David where he experienced this. Many times he found himself in seemingly impossible circumstances and wondered why God did not rescue him immediately.
The real significance of this Psalm though is that it points to the Messiah, and the suffering Jesus would endure on the cross for our salvation. Jesus deliberately chose these words to describe his agony on the cross (Matt 27:46). It seems certain that Jesus was meditating on the Old Testament during the hours of his suffering and saw his crucifixion as a fulfilment of this psalm.
On the cross at that moment, a holy transaction took place. God the Father regarded Jesus as if he were a sinner who carried the sin of the whole world. As Paul would later write, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21). Martin Luther wrote that this psalm describes the deep and heavy sufferings of Christ when agonising in the midst of the terrors and pangs of divine wrath and death which surpass all human thought and comprehension. Jesus’ agonised cry and the intentional identification of himself with these words are some of the most intense and mysterious descriptions of what Jesus experienced on the cross. DR
Questions
Why does Jesus quote Psalm 22 on the cross?
Why did Jesus feel forsaken (abandoned) by God?
How do you feel that Jesus became sin for us in order to save us?
Prayer
Almighty God, we thank you that the Psalms point towards the Messiah and the suffering he would willingly endure for us. Help us to grasp the cost of our forgiveness, the cost of our salvation. May this knowledge help us to be truly thankful and willing to share this on our frontlines. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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