King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Chapters: Mark Chapters 15-16
Message: The Eternal Weight of Glory
Hello My Friend,
My husband sent me a link about what happens to people in the last weeks and months before they die and that was not something that I wanted to see right now with what I am going through with my mother. It is not like I do not know consciously that we need to make each day count, but the human side of me does not want to think about that. And I know that when she does leave us she is in good hands, but no one is prepared for death, even those who endure so much more than I or anyone else could as we always hold on to that hope of recovery. Of course, we whom have received Christ as their Saviour do recover, even if it heaven that heals us. That cannot be said for those who are not saved, which is why Jesus sends us all out there to preach the Gospel.
[Mark 16:15-18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.]
The world, meaning those who are not saved, beginning with the people in our homes then, outside in the world. And keep in mind that Jesus does not expect us to grab snakes and drink poison to prove that we will never get hurt physically, that is not He is talking about. The Holy Spirit in us will teach us how to reach people with the Gospel regardless of language barriers and circumstances beyond our control. And to be baptized means to baptized with the Spirit, not water baptism, [Romans 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:]
As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, Mark, gives his account of Jesus being sentenced to death by crucifixion and of death burial, and resurrection. After Jesus had been captured, the entire council of the Sanhedrim showed up, these were a group of chief priests, scribes, elders, and probably Pharisees and Sadducees as well, they had already determined that Jesus was guilty. Since it was still the Passover, they did not want to lay hands on them themselves so they sent Him to the governor.
[Mark 15:1-5 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. 4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. 5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.]
[And the chief priests accused him of many things:] So, here are these men standing before the governor, with Jesus bound in chains like some hardened criminal, shouting out all these things that they thought He was guilty of, and all Jesus did was stand there. For some reason I do not think that any of them were proclaiming Jesus as their King, but Pilate, did not hesitate to keep calling Him that. One does not need to be a scholar or religious person to know that there is something different about Jesus and those who follow Him, if the world does not see Him in those proclaiming Him then they do not know Jesus, [Titus 3:8-9 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Well, it was a custom during the Passover that the governor would pardon one person of the council’s choice so they brought a man named Barabbas before them as well, [Mark 15:7-11 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. 11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.]
[the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done] While none of them technically denied the claim that Jesus was their King, that did not stop the majority of them for wanting Him dead. You see, both the world and religion have one thing in common, they love you as long as you do not have a difference of opinion. The second that you discover some discrepancies in their doctrine that is when they want to squash you before they lose control of you.
[But the chief priests moved the people,] Sure, release the murderer and kill the innocent man. Not only were these religious nuts envious of Jesus, they were down right spiteful of Him because He had taken away their control of the people. Pilate, tried his hardest to let Jesus go, but the more he tried the more they screamed, “Crucify Him!”
[Mark 15:12-15 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.]
[willing to content the people, released Barabbas] You see, things had gotten so heated and intense that Pilate was afraid that they would come after him if he released Jesus. These were ruthless people, they were determined to get their way, and they did not care who was in charge. So he handed Him over to the Roman soldiers, where they mocked and beat Him before they led Him out to be crucified.
[Mark 15:16-22 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. 21 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. 22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.]
[And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian…to bear his cross.] It was not enough that those sentenced to death by crucifixion were nailed to a cross, they had to carry the cross to Golgotha. I often wonder what Simon was thinking as he carried the cross for Jesus, as much as we are given our own crosses to bear, this proves that sometimes we need some help through it, and since Jesus had already endured the most horrific pain for us I am pretty sure that He is there to carry the load for us today, [Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.]
[they bring him unto the place Golgotha,] The reason why it was called the place of a skull was because of the skulls that had been dug up of the people who had been executed and buried there. I just read from some commentaries that it was said that this was the place where Adam’s skull was found buried, and if that is the case then it makes a lot of sense that the last Adam died for the first Adam, [1 Corinthians 15:44-47 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.]
At this point, it was about nine o’clock in the morning, and interestingly enough the time that the first sacrifice of the day in the Temple would be offered. This was when they nailed Jesus to the cross and raised it straight up along with two other men, [Mark 15:23-27 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. 24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.]
[they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh:] This was not the same thing that they tried to give Him when He was hanging on the cross, it was an alcoholic drink that they made to give those who were going to die, to ease the pain of death. The tradition is, that the honorable women in Jerusalem would bring it to them, and if they did not want it, it was provided to the public. This is why Jesus said that He would not drink of the vine again after His passion, while it was commendable, it would have defiled Him, [Mark 14:25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.]
Crucifixion, is probably the cruelest way a person could be executed, think about all the weight of your body being suspended on this cross, with only three nails holding it in place. Not to mention the hot sun beating on you in the desert, and the excruciating pain of your flesh and bones as they try to gravitate to the ground. It is now, noon, only three hours after He had been hung, and all of a sudden darkness covered the entire earth and it remained that way for three more hours before Jesus shouts out something.
[Mark 15:33-38 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.]
[My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?] This reminds me of my mother and the pain she is going through right now. She asks God all the time what she did to have this done to her. And sometimes it does feel like God has left us to deal with all the pain by ourselves, but the truth is that He is always with us. The suffering we face here is temporary and while none of us want to suffer, there is an expected and beautiful end awaiting us whom have trusted Christ as their Saviour, [Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.]
In this case though, God, did turn His face from seeing His Son. All of the sins of every person born, even those yet to come, were covering His broken body and His Father just could not look at Him. Jesus, became the required sin sacrifice needed to redeem and atone for, not one sinner, but all who believe in Him. Now, it was finished; the bruised would be cured once and for all from the sin that covered the body of the one who admitted they were a sinner, [Isaiah 53:3-5 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.]
[the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.] Why was the veil torn from the top down? It was torn from heaven, not earth. Christ, having made atonement and glorified God, tore down the veil that separated God from man, [Hebrews 9:8-9,11-12 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.]
As I think about it, there is something else to consider here, that blood, that innocent blood, as soon as one drop dripped from His body, it sent a sweet savor to His Father, one that I am sure sent tears down His eyes. When Jesus died on the cross the evening and Sabbath drew near, they did not want to leave the body on the cross much longer. Joseph, a secret disciple of Jesus, made his faith known when he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus to bury Him.
[Mark 15:43-47 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. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.]
[waited for the kingdom of God,] The kingdom of God came the second that Jesus arose from the dead, that is why the graves of believers before His passion arose and went up to heaven as well. Before Jesus gave His life for us, any believer that died prior to that went to a place called paradise, or as the Jews call it, Abraham’s Bosom, [Luke 16:22-23 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.]
[Mary Magdalene and Mary…beheld where he was laid.] Now, for three nights; the Jews gloried in what they had done, having thought that they won. And for three nights; Satan himself gloried in what was done, having thought that he defeated the Son of God. And for three nights; all of the disciples as well as all those who had hoped that their Messiah had finally come, mourned. But on the third day, the first morning of the week, these women went to the place they saw Jesus laid and He was gone.
[Mark 16:1-6 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.]
[very early in the morning the first day of the week,] This is why Christ’s believers gather together every Sunday morning to worship God. We may not know the exact date that Jesus was born, we may not know the exact date that He was crucified as the Hebrew calendars differ, but we do know that Sunday is the first day of the week, and no one can argue with that, [John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.]
[he is risen; he is not here:] Jesus could have just died for us and that would have been enough, but God wanted more than that, once and for all, He wanted to break the spiritual curse that the devil caused upon man when he brought sin into the world. Jesus resurrecting proves that even death can no longer separate God and man. Our redemption through Christ gives us victory over death and puts the Spirit of God back into man, which had been taken away with the curse, [1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.]
The angel might have told the ladies to go into town and tell the people that Jesus was alive, but they were scared to death. However, Jesus, shows Himself to Mary Magdalene, who then told it to the people, but no one believed here, not even the disciples.
[Mark 16:9-14 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.]
[he appeared in another form unto two of them,] Jesus, appearing in another form is not to say that He appeared as some angel or changed His appearance in any way, He just appeared as a man. We learn from Luke, that when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene that she thought He was the gardener so it is probable that this is how she described Him. This second appearance should have convinced the disciples as well as the Apostles that He was alive, but they were too grief stricken to realize that it was Him. We get that way too at times, forget the very words that Jesus spoke because of our grief, but we can expect the same response from Him as well.
[upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,] It does not matter how strong our faith, we all have times of unbelief because our hearts harden through our circumstances, but that is what His grace is for, when we lose some of our faith, grace reminds us that Jesus never goes against His Word.
[2 Corinthians 4:14-18 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Mark 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You again for the great sacrifice that You made. You did not have to die, You could have chosen any other way to redeem me, or You could have chosen not to do anything at all and leave me trying to work my way to my salvation. You endured the cross, You took my place, You took the punishment that I deserved, but You took all my sins to the cross with You. Although You died, and that was sufficient enough, you went further after your burial, by raising from the dead, three days later so that I too am more than a conqueror, even death cannot separate us because of Your great sacrifice. Lord, let me always live my life by Your example and never stop preaching the Gospel. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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