Christ crucified
Mark 15:21-39
Main Idea: Christ has turned an instrument of terror and shame into our symbol of salvation and hope.
I. The Paradox of the Cross (15:21-32)
The crucifixion scene has a number of haunting, divine ironies:
Simon of Cyrene vs. Simon Peter
Those acting against Jesus are fulfilling prophecy (cf. Psalm 69:21; 22:18, Gen. 3:15)
The mockery of Jesus as being a “King” who is crucified and a “Savior” unable to save himself
[The cross] is the climax of human blindness and iniquity spilling over in brutal outrage against God’s Son; it shows a world that has gone topsy-turvy. Jesus is a king who died an outlaw’s death. Jesus is the Messiah, who was rejected by the people he came to deliver. Jesus is the mighty Son of God, who did not use his power for himself but died a seemingly powerless death. All traditional symbols have been reversed. Weakness is a sign of power. Death is the means to life. God forsakenness leads to reconciliation with God. The perpetrators who executed Jesus did not realize that they were executing God’s will (14:36) and that Jesus submitted willingly as God’s obedient Son (10:45). They also did not realize that this death would not be the end of him. Instead, it meant the end of their whole order. They could not fathom how such a powerless death disclosed the character and power of God.
~ David Garland
II. The Prayer of the Cross (15:33-37)
A supernatural darkness of divine judgment covered the land from 12pm-3pm, when the sun should be at its brightest; Jesus’ death is ultimately a cursed, sin-bearing, substitutionary death on behalf of a guilty humanity (Psalm 21:1ff)
[Jesus] is not on the cross by mistake… The crucifixion was not just an unfortunate thing that happened to Jesus on his way to the resurrection. It is not a momentary blip on the arc of his ascent to the Father. It is precisely on the cross that the work of Jesus is carried through to its completion.
~ Fleming Rutledge, Three Hours
III. The Power of the Cross (15:38-39)
Immediately after Jesus died, two things occur:
1. The temple curtain is torn in two (15:38; cf. 1:10)
Hebrews 10:19–22a: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
2. A Roman Centurion acknowledges his true identity as the “Son of God” (15:39; cf 1:1)
