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: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Chapters: MARK 15-16
Message: Blessed Are Those Who Believe
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, I could not help, but think that we have some modern day Pharisees among not only my church, but churches all around. There is the saying, “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, this is not true at all, because words do hurt, and they can break you. Now, I have learned to accept who God made me as, and boldly proclaim that I am a Christian, not because of some religion or law, but because I have accepted Christ as my Saviour. Well, let me tell you, if you thought that being different from the world brings the bullies, add being a Christian to that, even people claiming they are Christian mock and shame you. This is why Jesus tells us, [Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.]
As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, Mark, gives his account as to what happened when Jesus was sentenced to death and crucified. The next morning after the chief priests, scribes, and other religious Jews had convinced the council, who was a mixture of people, that Jesus was guilty of blaspheming God, they delivered Him to the governor to be sentenced to death. Now, He stands before Pilate in front of a crowd of people.
[Mark 15:2–7 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. 6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. 7 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?]
[Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?] Pilate, had no idea just how much of a hole that he dug with that statement. 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. 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 start to think for yourself and discover some discrepancies in their doctrine that is when they want to squash you before they lose control of you. Nevertheless, we do have a mind and the more we study His Word through the Spirit in us the more we understand this, [Ephesians 4:13-15 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:]
This is exactly what they were doing with Jesus, and in fact, Pilate, had no idea who Jesus was and even knew that this was the reason He was standing there. He tried his hardest to let Jesus go, but the more he tried the more they screamed, “Crucify Him!”
[Mark 15:11-19 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12 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. 16 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.]
[Pilate, willing to content the people,] You see, right there, Pilate was fearing for his life, he feared that if he had kept on any longer with his plea to let Jesus go that they would come after him. It was quite likely that they might have the way they were against anyone who supported Jesus. Therefore, Pilate washed his hands of the situation and delivered him to the soldiers to be crucified.
[Mark 15:22-28 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 23 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. 28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.]
[And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.] This was about nine o’clock in the morning. I did not realize this before, but this would be the time of the daily sacrifice of the morning, at which the priests ought to have been preparing. This makes perfect sense, of course, Jesus, would become the sacrifice that would eliminate the need for every sacrifice, except for one, that those who believe in Him would become living sacrifices, [Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.]
[And he was numbered with the transgressors.] We can find this from Isaiah, [Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.] And it was bad enough that the Romans beat and mocked Him before He was hung on the cross, the Jews started mocking Him while He was hanging there.
[Mark 15:29-34 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. 33 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?]
[My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?] Have you ever cried out to God like this? You were in such pain and agony that the only option left was to ask Him why He left you? Physical suffering is not the only pain and agony that we face, some our pain comes from our heart. Jesus, was not only feeling that physical pain, He felt a lot of pain over their disbelief. If there was any convincing them that He is the Christ, this should have been it, but they refused to believe and I believe that hurt Him more than Him hanging there just like He did all the other times, [Mark 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.]
Did you notice what they called Him, [Let Christ the King of Israel]? The Jews did not want to be associated with Him and rightfully they were not. At this point, the Jews were no longer just Israelites by family heritage, they were a religion, and actually still follow that same religion today, which is not made up of the Law of Moses, but of tradition, which Jesus had already called them out on, [Mark 7:7-8 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.]
Now, as they tried to figure out what Jesus said, their only assumption was that He was calling for Elijah, whom they believed would just appear as he was taken up to the heavens, [2 Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.] That was when one of the men filled a sponge with what was some elixir that was sitting nearby. That elixir was prepared by the women for those who were being crucified as to soften the blow so to speak, it would not only numb them to the pain it would also take away their perception of what was going on. In other words, it was a drug to take away their reasoning. As soon as Jesus realized that there was vinegar in that sponge, that was when He died.
[Mark 15:36-41 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. 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. 40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.]
[Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.] The Jews looked upon Elijah to be the forerunner of the Messiah, and therefore suggest, that should he come to save him. Then if he did then they would believe that Jesus was the Messiah. We all know who the forerunner was, and that was John the Baptist who actually came here in the spirit of Elijah, [Matthew 17:12-13 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.]
Remember what Jesus said to the disciples? [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.] Had He drank that elixir mixed with vinegar, it not only would have took away His reasoning, it would have defiled His body and then all of that effort to save us from hell would have been for nothing. This is why we need to be careful of what we put in our bodies once we are saved as they now have the Holy Spirit inside and if we put anything in it other than what was intended than we would defile the very temple that He indwells, [1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.]
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 disciple of Jesus, 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.]
[and craved the body of Jesus.] Do you crave the body of Jesus? You know, religion may be all about works, but it is nothing about that desire or thirst that you have for God and wanting to please Him. I never understood that until Jesus was prominent in my life, I craved that presence with Him when I first dedicated my life to Him, and I still do. Whenever I miss a day of reading my Bible, fall asleep before praying, or do not pray before I start reading the Bible I crave Jesus just like I do food. Jesus, is not a religion, He truly is our daily bread, [1 Corinthians 11:26-29 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.]
[And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.] Since the actual Sabbath was approaching, which is a Saturday, the Mary’s followed the men who carried Jesus’ body to the borrowed tomb so that they knew where to find Him come the next morning after the Sabbath, which was the first day of the week. That was the third day that Jesus laid in the grave, but that was also the day He arose.
[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.]
[And 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 what the exact date that Jesus was born, we may not know the exact date that He was crucified as the Hebrew calendars and Roman calendars are a little bit off, 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.]
We can also account as to why we also get together Sunday night as well. I do not think that the women fully understood what was going on, but Mary understood it when Jesus revealed Himself to her. However, that did not convinced anyone else that He had risen, in fact, everyone that heard this incredible miracle did not believe that Jesus was alive, including 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.]
[and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,] I believe that they were so ashamed of running when He was captured and grieved at what happened that they lost sight of what He had told them. Nevertheless, their temporary lapse of judgment did not change Jesus’ mind, He gave them a command.
[Mark 16:15-19 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. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.]
[He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;] So many people misinterpret this part of the passage, stating that you must believe in Christ and be baptized in water in order to be saved. Jesus, is not talking about a water baptism here, rather a spiritual baptism, which Peter himself was also careful to point out. In other words, we must believe the entire Gospel of Christ, turn away from out thinking that we can save ourselves, this being baptized with the Spirit of God, [Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.]
Incidentally, water baptism is a public profession of our faith in Christ, which is why they often got baptized in water after they were saved, [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:]
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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