WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.040 Good morning, Church. 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:08.480 Today's reading is from the Book of Mark, chapter 15, verses 21 to 32. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:20.960 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:26.640 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means place of the skull. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:31.679 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:40.960 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.920 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:51.759 And the inscription of the charge against him read, The King of the Jews. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:58.880 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:13.760 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:23.920 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:31.920 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:37.760 Those who were crucified with him also deriled him. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:44.239 It's the word of the Lord, you may be seated. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.239 Thank you for joining us on this dreary morning. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.079 You made it out even in this cold, chilly weather. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:53.280 So thanks for joining us. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.640 It's a pleasure to gather together and worship with you. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:02.640 And we're continuing through Mark, of course, headed towards Easter Sunday, which is fastly approaching. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:10.319 And on Easter Sunday, we'll get to celebrate the resurrection, which is the final section in Mark's gospel where he describes the empty tomb. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:15.039 But today we uh make it finally to the cross. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:20.400 And this sermon is sort of a part one of the crucifixion. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:24.400 This is where Jesus is first mounted to the cross. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:33.840 And uh then uh actually not next week, but the week after, we will look at Jesus' death on the cross and how that takes place. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:46.719 So uh, but today we arrive at that moment, this this central event of world history, the the death of Jesus Christ, as he is crucified, looking forward to his resurrection. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:03:00.159 So let's pray that we might be able to see all that Mark intends for us to see in the scripture this morning, and uh behold that the man upon the cross is the Son of God. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:02.159 So let's pray. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.240 Father, we praise you for your loving kindness. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.199 How deeply could it be shown to us other than the cross? 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:24.560 Lord, it is the most magnificent expression of your love towards us that you would, while we were yet sinners, die for us. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.599 Father, perhaps one would die for a righteous man. 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:37.039 But while we were yet sinners, you show your love towards us and that you die for us. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:52.240 Lord, I pray that we would be given the imagination that Mark has to be able to perceive by all the details that he shows us surrounding the crucifixion that you truly are the Son of God. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:12.159 Lord, we pray that as we see this, that the Holy Spirit would enlighten our eyes to wonder at that, to consider what that means for the world we inhabit, for the lives that we live, what that means for the state in which you find us, and what that means for the hope that we have of a resurrection. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:14.479 Father, we lift this up in Jesus' name. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:15.360 Amen. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:28.319 So as we arrive at the crucifixion itself, you'll kind of notice that the way Mark describes it is uh it's barely even a narrative. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:32.240 It's more like just a list of details. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:47.920 It's like Mark is gathering up every detail he can and everything that that he had perceived and remembered, or and likely that Peter had perceived and remembered about the event of the cross, and he's spare and he barely even links them. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.519 He's just naming them so that we might see them. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:05:00.160 And as we see that, we we must consider what is finally Mark's project in his gospel. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:18.399 And in order to understand that, we have to return to the very first verse in Mark, where he begins this gospel years ago in our preaching here at the church, but he begins the gospel by saying, the beginning, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:26.000 And the whole argument of Mark's book is this: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:41.759 And so he gathers together all of these details surrounding the crucifixion, so that if you have eyes to see it, you would look and see that all of these events mean that the man on the cross is the son of God. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:48.480 Then from that, the implications of that are uh beyond imagination. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:56.399 So, in order to look at this, what we're going to do is we're just going to move through this sort of inventory of details with Mark. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:05.439 And we're we're going to be, in a sense, cut off halfway because uh in the next section that we cover, we'll we'll complete and fill in the picture. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:31.199 And so it might feel like there's some loose ends, but really what's happening is Mark is gathering together the countless loose ends of Scripture and the passages of scripture that have just existed in the text as a mystery or as these events that don't seem to have a reference, and we'll find that at the cross all the loose ends are tied up. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:35.040 And that's not just true of the biblical text. 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:40.879 See, if it's true of the text of Scripture, that means that it's true of reality. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:44.639 And so that means that it's true of your life as well. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:07:01.120 That as we see these loose ends that Scripture had left undealt with throughout the text, as we see them find their meaning in the cross, you will see that your life as well finds its final and ultimate meaning in the cross. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:14.319 So let's go ahead and move into our text today so we can see these loose ends sort of uh spiral together into the thread of scripture, which is which is Christ. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.680 So the section begins in Mark 15, 21. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:28.560 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:35.040 So the first detail that is recounted is that Jesus doesn't carry his own cross. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:49.600 Now, it was typical for the crucified one to carry his cross, but Christ is at a point of such utter exhaustion that he's unable physically to bear his cross to the place where he will be crucified. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:53.040 And if you consider his past 24 hours, this makes sense. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:08:00.639 What we've seen is in the past 24 hours, he's instantiated the Lord's Supper, having celebrated the Passover with the disciples. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.839 He's seen Judas go out to betray him. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:08.319 He uh uh just before that, he had washed the disciples' feet. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:16.879 Then he was uh in utter pain and turmoil and anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.399 Right after that, he is arrested. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:27.680 After that, he is brought to trial before the Sanhedrin, spends his whole night in trial before the Sanhedrin. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.279 He witnesses the betrayal of his closest friend. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:36.799 After that, he is beaten by the Sanhedrin and then sent to Pontius Pilate. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.399 Pontius Pilate interrogates him, sends him to Herod. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.679 Herod interrogates him, sends him back to Pilate. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:48.000 Pilate ultimately condemns him, so he is scourged. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:50.480 And then he is mocked and humiliated. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:09:09.759 And here at the end of this sleepless night, scourged to near the point of death, experiencing utter exhaustion, both emotional and physical and spiritual, he no longer has the strength to bear his cross towards the place of crucifixion. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:17.600 And so what happens is the Roman soldiers have this authority where they can conscript anyone for anything at any given moment. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:21.440 It's an incredible authority that the Roman soldiers had. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:29.519 And so they are able to conscript somebody who has the uh glorious title of a passerby. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:38.159 And so he will forever be remembered as a as a passerby, which is something that any of you can be. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:44.879 Um and at certain points today you probably will be when you if you happen to pass by any anyone. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:10:00.240 The point is that this man, Simon of Cyrene, is just somebody for whom we can't point towards any reason why he was chosen to be the one who bore the cross of Christ. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:08.399 And yet, this man who we we know very little about, for some reason, we're actually told a lot about. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.279 He is Simon of Cyrene, so we know where he is from. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:21.279 He is from uh North Africa uh and probably in town to celebrate the Passover. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:34.480 He's coming in from the country, but that doesn't really tell us much because coming in from the country, the place where Christ is crucified is at a sort of intersection of main roads. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:45.600 And that's because crucifixion is meant to be public, and so for him to just be passing by this area, coming in from the country, is really just saying he was walking down this road. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:50.960 But then we're told that he is the father of Alexander and Rufus. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:01.840 So that tells us that Mark knows that his readers, these members of the early church, would know his sons. 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:14.799 That's all we know about them, but we know that because he references them in this way, that he must understand that they would, they, these are people who would be known amongst the early readers of this text. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:22.399 And so he starts as this figure who's just the person who happened to be there. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:26.080 But that was just where his story started. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:34.159 What it becomes is that his sons become parts of the church and and members of this church who become well known. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:38.639 But it's also worth noting that his name is a familiar name. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:44.879 You know, there's there's a bit of irony that he's it's a Simon who's carrying the cross. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:46.639 Can we think of another Simon? 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:49.039 Simon Peter. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.879 Simon Peter is not carrying the cross right now. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:56.240 Simon of Cyrene is carrying the cross. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:03.759 And there's something that that seems uh peculiar about both of their calls. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:09.519 And this moment sort of calls to mind just right back at the beginning of our gospel. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:15.519 Do you remember how this was it this was in 2020 when I preached this, probably to a camera? 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:27.919 And we uh uh looked at the call of Peter as he's called by Jesus, and it's just as random. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:34.159 It's just as like there's no introduction of Simon Peter when he's called. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:43.200 What happens is Jesus is walking by and he says to these fishermen, Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.360 And they drop their nets and follow him. 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:52.559 Not because of anything in particular we're told in the text about Peter. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.360 It was just Christ's call. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:05.360 But that same Simon Peter, who was told by Christ, Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, is later told by that same Christ, this. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:16.080 In Mark 8, 34, Jesus tells him, now this is right after Jesus had said that he would go to the cross and that he would be crucified. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:25.600 And Peter says to him, No, that's we're not going to let that happen, not on my watch, will my rabbi be crucified. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:35.519 And Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan, to that Peter, because your mind is not set on the things of heaven, but on the things of man. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:41.039 And then he gives this instruction to the disciples in Mark 8, 34, to that Peter. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:52.799 It says, And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.919 Simon is not following Jesus right now. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:04.480 He's not taking up his cross in the way that this other Simon is. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:15.600 And I think part of the reason, you know, we're uh we can see that Mark, as I've explained before, Mark is really Peter's gospel. 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:18.879 And Mark is the one who merely transcribes it. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:21.919 But this is the gospel from Peter's perspective. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:35.840 And I think Peter is showing us by offering this recounting, he's saying, you know, I wasn't the Simon who was carrying the cross in front, or who was carrying the cross following Christ. 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:40.480 But there was a Simon who was carrying the cross following Christ. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:43.279 There was one who gained that honor. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:15:04.879 And in that, I think the scriptures and Mark and Peter and the Holy Spirit working together by calling these names together, they're showing in the sense that there was a hope for Simon, that he would spend the rest of his days following Christ and carrying his cross, even though at this moment he didn't have the courage to do that. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:10.080 But it would be provided for Simon by what happens on the cross. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:19.200 And we cannot separate being a fisher of men, being one who goes out to proclaim the good news of Jesus from carrying the cross. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.200 They're the same event. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:28.159 But then there's more to be said because Alexander and Rufus, you know, Rufus actually comes up later in the scriptures. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:36.480 And in Romans 16, 13, uh, when Paul is greeting the people that he's worked with in Rome, he actually greets Rufus. 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:38.879 It says, Greet Rufus, see? 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:43.360 Chosen in the Lord. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:48.080 How did Rufus become a part of the story? 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:52.159 He was chosen in the Lord. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:54.879 Was it Rufus' great idea? 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:58.240 Well, how was he chosen in the Lord? 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.960 Well, his father was a passerby once. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:17.600 And because his father was a passerby, he followed Christ by bearing the cross, and Rufus' life changed forever. 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:23.840 And not just Rufus, but also his mother, Simon of Cyrene's wife. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:32.559 Because Paul says to also greet Rufus' mother, who's not in this story, but was likely a passerby. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.000 But greet his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:45.039 Christ is on his way to the cross. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.440 And do you see what he's doing while he's on the way to the cross? 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.000 He's building his church. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:58.320 He's building his church by calling this Simon. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:03.360 And then by calling Simon, he's calling Simon's whole family. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:26.319 And by calling this Simon and his whole family, Rufus and Alexander and Simon's wife, then he's caring for Paul, his apostle, who will meet such dire circumstances and will in so many ways be carrying his cross and will need the care and attention of a mother. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:37.759 Christ, even on his way to the cross, is doing what the purpose of the cross is. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:47.200 He's establishing his kingdom, he's building his church, and he builds it by his effectual calling. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:18:05.039 What is it that Simon could say of why he deserved to be the one who would carry the cross of Christ, that his whole family might be brought into the kingdom of God to participate in these glorious ways? 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:10.319 All he could say was, I was a passerby once, and then he called me. 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.799 But Peter, the writer of this gospel, he could say the same thing. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.920 I was fishing once, I was a fisherman, and then he called me. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.440 Christ is doing the rescuing. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:37.119 And then next, it says in 1522, the next detail that Mark tells us, and they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:43.519 Now there are so many details that we don't receive about this moment. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.279 Wait till you hear the vast description of the crucifixion itself. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.960 Mark will handle it by saying, they crucified him. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.200 That's it. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:55.599 That's the description that we'll get. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.799 But what we'll know is the place name, that it's called Golgotha. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:05.599 But then he'll translate it for us so that we don't miss this Aramaic phrase. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:10.480 Instead, we'll be able to understand that that means the place of the skull. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:16.240 Now, why is it that Jesus is crucified at the place of the skull? 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:21.759 That's because Jesus has business to do with skulls. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:34.000 He's fulfilling a very old prophecy at Golgotha, at the place of the skull. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:38.319 One that takes place in the very beginning. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:48.720 After Eve is deceived by the serpent, and Adam and Eve sin together. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:56.079 Then God curses the serpent and Adam and Eve. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.200 You remember this in Genesis 3. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:10.480 And in his curse upon the serpent, he says, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:16.640 He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:27.680 He goes to the place of the skull, because the business that Christ has to do at Golgotha is to crush the skull of the serpent. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:35.839 He is the offspring, the promised offspring of Eve. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:43.839 If you had eyes to see it, Mark is saying, you would look and you would say, We're at the place of the skull. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:54.319 And the one who is building his church along the way is going to finally fulfill the prophecy that that serpent will be crushed. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.160 The head of the serpent will be crushed. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:04.240 If you look throughout scripture, you'll notice there's a lot of skull crushing and head removal stories. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:09.039 I don't know what other types of books you guys read. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:15.759 Actually, if you're anything like my wife, then there's just a lot of that stuff in your books. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.880 She's just exclusively reads murder. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.400 She loves it. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:26.079 Which I don't, you know, I'm sure it's fine. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:27.359 I'm sure it's fine. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:32.079 I think she likes uh she uh perhaps she likes um uh justice. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:33.920 That's it. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:39.839 Um I have noticed she doesn't finish those books though, it's just at the beginning. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:40.640 Sorry. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:47.599 But this promise in the very beginning that the serpent's head will be crushed. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:53.119 Remember in Judges where the woman takes the tent stake and does the that move? 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:59.759 Um uh the dreams that Joseph dream uh excuse me, the dreams that the uh the baker. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:00.880 Dreams. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:05.680 Remember with Joseph, the Baker dreams of dream, his his head will be lifted up. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:09.119 And then Joseph is like, here's what that dream means. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:13.119 Your head will be taken off, is what that dream means. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:18.960 Or uh Goliath, you know, we we think of the sling, but remember what happens right after the sling? 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:21.359 What does David do to Goliath? 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:22.799 He cuts his head off. 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:24.160 That's the cool David statue. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.359 I mean, they're all cool. 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:30.240 But the David statue where he's holding Goliath's head, that's that's pretty sick. 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:36.640 There's these, even like Absalom, you know, he's caught by his hair. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.640 It's like his head is taken off by the tree. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.680 There's this there's this sort of theme running throughout scripture. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:50.559 And what we're what we're being shown there, and the question is the question is like, is this the is this the head that's going to be taken off? 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:55.119 Is this are we finally crushing the head of that serpent? 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.319 But there's this strangeness to the story, isn't there? 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:18.960 Because look at to the to the prophecy, to the promise from the Lord of that serpent, that great deceiver, that Satan, the one who we are enslaved to, that we might finally be freed from his deception and temptation and be freed from our enslavement to his rebellion. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:27.039 Well, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:29.519 They both get bruised. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.079 In fact, they both die. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:38.799 But one comes back. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:47.839 Jesus crushes the serpent by being crushed. 00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:52.160 The serpent. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:57.119 Remember the bronze serpent raised up on a pole? 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.759 If you see ambulances, you'll see this same symbol that we use for health care. 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:06.079 The bronze serpent raised up on a pole in numbers. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:12.160 If you just looked at the serpent that was raised up on a pole, then you'd be cured from all those snakes that were biting you. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:23.839 So there's something about the serpent being raised up and crucified. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:29.279 Do you see how the serpent is killed? 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:36.400 This is this strange, strange mystery of Christ. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.559 You know, it's the serpent that's put on the cross, right? 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:48.960 But Christ is put on the cross. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:50.880 Christ is not the serpent. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:09.359 But he became sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:21.359 Christ crushes and destroys all the power of the serpent by being treated like the serpent. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.880 And what is the hope of our salvation? 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:29.440 That you look to the man on the cross. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:37.519 So Mark grabs our attention and he says, it's called Golgotha. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.799 And we say, Oh yeah, that's an interesting Aramaic word. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:43.680 And then he grabs the skin and he says, Do you know what Golgotha means? 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.920 It means the place of the skull. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.720 All the loose ends of scripture. 00:25:52.400 --> 00:26:05.119 It's like they're the world of the meaning of all of the history of God's people and his covenantal relationship with us, they're all collapsing in on the cross. 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:15.119 It's like this point of singularity of meaning where everything comes in, and it's like if you don't understand the cross, you you wouldn't be able to make sense of any of it. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:22.720 But when you look at the cross, you'll see the all the whole thing comes together because it only makes sense. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:32.720 The only hope of our salvation is that the Son of God himself would be the one who climbs on the cross and defeats the serpent. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:46.799 In Mark 15, 23, and they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:27:04.720 The point that I want to draw our attention to here is that the wine that is offered to him, of course, there's this there's this practical implication of the wine mixed with myrrh in particular, which is that it would it was offered as like a like a pain reliever. 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:23.519 And it's uh of course insufficient for the pain of the cross, but it's something to numb or dull the experience that the victim was headed towards. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:28.559 And Christ at that level, he does not take it. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:34.960 He doesn't take the wine until he's on the cross. 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:40.720 Moments before he gives up his soul. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:45.440 But here, when he's headed to the cross, he doesn't take the wine. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:50.799 One way to think of this is he's drinking from another cup. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:28:07.359 And the cup that he is drinking from is the cup of God's wrath, and he will drink of nothing that would numb it or dole it in any way, so that he might receive the wrath of God completely within himself. 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:32.720 And in his receiving it, he might pay our debt completely, so that we might forever look towards the cross, and the Father might forever look towards the cross and say, It's sufficient, it is paid. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:34.400 That was enough. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:54.720 But also Christ told his disciples, not that long ago, just yesterday, he told his disciples, Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:04.319 And it is next week when we see that Christ is mounted on the cross, and there he will receive wine that's given to him on a sponge. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:16.480 And what he's showing there is that at the moment of his death, his kingdom is arriving. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:20.720 His dominion is being taken. 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:24.880 This is the strange inversions of the cross. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:29.680 But here, before he goes on to the cross, he will not drink it. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.400 Because wine is a drink of celebration. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:39.599 It's a drink of feasting in joy. 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:43.279 You should think of wine like liquid Sabbath. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:46.000 That's what wine is. 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:52.720 But Christ, as he is heading towards the cross, he is not going to a place of rest. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:30:04.319 He's going to a place of turmoil, to be treated as sin itself, the restlessness of sin itself. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:13.039 That famous line at the beginning of Augustine's confessions, our hearts are restless until they rest in him. 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:17.119 And so Jesus doesn't drink the wine now. 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:37.200 Instead, he is drinking the wine of our restlessness, so that one day we might drink with him the wine of his rest, a rest which he purchased for us on the cross. 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:43.279 And then listen to how Mark handles the crucifixion itself. 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:47.920 In Mark 15, 24, and they crucified him. 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:58.799 It's almost like you're reading through the gospel and you're and you're you're like, did I miss it? 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:06.640 You know when you read a when you're reading through a book and your mind is thinking somewhere something else, and then you realize you missed a very key detail. 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:12.319 He handles it in just these and they crucified him. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:28.720 I think Mark is just trying to He's trying to undress the event for us. 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:34.720 So that we might say there's nothing else that could be said. 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:49.519 And then he draws our attention to this detail and divided his garments among them. 00:31:50.240 --> 00:32:02.559 The the why is it why is the like the bartering over Christ's clothes getting far more space than the crucifixion itself? 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:04.720 That's strange, right? 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:14.559 So what is it that we're why why is Mark guiding us to see, you know, you've got a picture like grabbing your head, like, look at this, what do you think that means? 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:16.079 Look at this, what do you think that means? 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:16.960 Look at this. 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:18.160 What do you think that means? 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:19.680 This was all happening. 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:22.880 This all happened at the crucifixion. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:36.240 And one of the things that he draws our attention towards is that they divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:46.400 Now, part of this is that those mysterious texts in scripture are finally finding their referent that we discover what those what those things meant. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:55.680 And in this we see finally, Psalm 22, this strange Psalm of David finds its referent on the cross. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:01.440 Because in Psalm 22, verses 16 through 18, it says, For dogs encompass me. 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:06.079 A company of evildoers encircles me. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:11.599 Says this strange thing, they have pierced my hands and feet. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:16.480 I can count all my bones. 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:21.039 They stare and gloat over me. 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:29.759 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:33.119 David wrote that. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.599 That never happened to David. 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:53.680 When he's first sharing this psalm that he's written is he would teach and instruct the people of God, and he shares this word from the Lord of this psalm. 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:59.119 And he and he and he shares it, they would say, David, when what are you talking about? 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:01.279 Your hands and your feet are pierced. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.400 This is the language of crucifixion. 00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:10.400 And what are you what when were you encircled in this way? 00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:13.199 This sounds like you're describing an execution. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:16.159 David, you you're our king. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:19.920 You will not be executed. 00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:28.719 And then they divide my garments among them, for my clothing, they cast lots. 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:38.880 And David, like the other prophets, would have concluded as he sought the meaning of what the Holy Spirit was revealing to him. 00:34:39.039 --> 00:35:01.679 What Peter tells us that the prophets concluded, that they were not prophesying for themselves, but they were prophesying for us, so that we might look through the lens of Christ as he shows us the fulfillment of the whole word of God, and we would be forced to conclude it was all always about Jesus. 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:09.760 It was all, always heading towards him in this moment of his crucifixion and his resurrection. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:22.079 But there's more to be said about it because there's this strangeness that it's casting lots for the garments of Jesus after they've stripped him naked to hang on the cross. 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:27.519 There's another event of a famous casting of lots. 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:33.440 There's several throughout scripture, but the one that this reminds me of is: do you remember the story of Esther? 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:39.199 In the story of Esther, there's a bad guy named Haman. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:44.880 And Haman sets his mind to destroy all the Jews. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.559 And he's second in command to the king. 00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:51.920 And so he is able to gain the authority to do that. 00:35:52.159 --> 00:36:03.199 And the date that he chooses to kill all the Jews, he decides by casting lots, by rolling dice. 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:06.639 It was called perm. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:11.360 And the Jews to this day celebrate the feast of Perim. 00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:14.239 I know I'm not saying it right, but that's what it looks like. 00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:15.760 P-U-R-I-M. 00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:17.599 Pur Perim. 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:23.280 They actually have a feast day to celebrate the name of the dice. 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:25.199 The name of the dice. 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:37.679 Because what happens to Haman is that he decides to begin his execution with his most hated rival. 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:45.199 And so he builds a gallows for his most hated rival. 00:36:45.360 --> 00:37:10.239 But on that day, the day that he had determined to cast the lots, the Lord would orchestrate the events of this story where Haman himself would be hung, his head lifted up from him, on the very gallows that he made for Mordecai, his chief rival and most hated Jew. 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:14.079 Well, here the lots are cast. 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:23.119 And what the Romans think is that they are casting lots as they are becoming victorious over Jesus. 00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:26.239 But that is not what's happening. 00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:33.760 What's happening is that as they cast their lots, Christ is becoming victorious over them. 00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:41.119 And that the kingdom that they work for and serve now will be conquered by the Lord. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:46.480 It will be transformed into a Christian world. 00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:49.760 They will be conquered. 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:57.760 And what they are casting lots for is, of course, the garments of Jesus. 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:19.039 And there's something more to be said about the garments of Jesus as well, because when Aaron the high priest, having atoned for the sins of God's people on the Day of Atonement, leaves the Holy of Holies, he strips himself of the holy garments that he had worn in the presence of the Lord. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:40.400 And this very word for these garments, these linen garments of the glory of the high priest after he has made atonement for the people of God, is the very same word for back in that old story, back in Genesis 3. 00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:57.360 Before Adam, after Adam and Eve are made to leave from the garden, it says that the Lord clothed them in garments of skin. 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:05.360 Genesis 3 21, and the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin and clothed them. 00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:09.599 What's happening? 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:25.280 The atonement of sins is being offered by Christ, the true high priest, who offers not just on our behalf, but offers his very self. 00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:38.000 And his garments from the Holy of Holies are distributed by lot, meaning by the will of God himself. 00:39:39.440 --> 00:40:07.280 And they are distributed even to the ones who are crucifying him by the divine will of God, so that they will be clothed in garments which are worthy of the holy of holies, garments which are worthy clothing you in such a way where you could walk into the presence of God. 00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:16.000 The ones who crucified the Savior may still be clothed by him. 00:40:18.239 --> 00:40:49.920 In fact, the only hope of our the only hope of our being clothed in glory before the Father, to stand in him and come into his presence, our only hope of being able to do that is that we might be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, which is purchased for us on the cross, because Jesus was obedient even to the point of death on a cross. 00:40:51.519 --> 00:40:59.039 So we too, by the will of God, might be brought in to be clothed in his glory. 00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:16.719 And you would think, how could the ones who crucified himself put on the garments of Christ only if Christ was sufficient to atone for their sin. 00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:25.119 In Mark 15, 26, in the inscription of the charge against him read, the king of the Jews. 00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:33.519 We've touched on this before, but the Messiah, this is the strangeness of the of all these texts coming together. 00:41:35.840 --> 00:42:00.000 Is that the king of the Jews, the Messiah, the promised one who will restore the throne of David, is the crucified one, is the suffering servant, that his kingdom is established by the sacrifice at the cross. 00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:07.360 And so there's this great irony to the sign that hangs above Jesus. 00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:15.280 It is hung there by Pontius Pilate in order to offend the Jews, to say, look at what happens to the king of the Jews. 00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:25.760 And they even request, we're told, that it would say, Don't say the king of the Jews, have it say, this man says he was the king of the Jews. 00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:28.320 And Pilate says, I've written what I've written. 00:42:30.719 --> 00:42:33.679 The irony of the sign is that it is perfectly true. 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:44.079 And this is the incomprehensibility of Jesus, that the Messiah is the crucified Savior. 00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:58.320 The way he saves us, the way he conquers our enemies is by atoning for our sins, by being treated as the enemies of God. 00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:10.400 And with Jesus, verse 27, and with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:25.760 Now Mark doesn't tell their story, but it's the familiar story of the two robbers that Jesus is crucified in between, the one who mocks him and the one who recognizes who he is, the innocent man who is being suffered. 00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:34.159 And Christ tells the one who asks to be remembered by Jesus that he will be with him today in paradise. 00:43:36.400 --> 00:43:48.000 But the detail that Mark is drawing our attention to is that he is counted, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, is counted among the thieves. 00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:50.719 He's counted among the transgressors. 00:43:50.880 --> 00:44:03.920 And Isaiah 53 12 says, Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. 00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:09.519 Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. 00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:10.400 We've all been there. 00:44:11.360 --> 00:44:12.559 We've all been there. 00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:20.159 Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. 00:44:22.079 --> 00:44:23.920 Do you see the dynamic here? 00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:37.360 Jesus is counted as a transgressor, treated as a transgressor, so that he himself might intercede for the transgressors. 00:44:41.519 --> 00:44:49.599 And he ever lives to intercede for us because he went to the cross. 00:44:49.920 --> 00:45:11.440 He was counted among them so that the punishment that they deserved, that we deserved, the very same punishment as the transgressors, he would receive, so that we would be treated as though we were righteous, even righteous unto the cross. 00:45:14.719 --> 00:45:38.239 Likewise in Psalm 22, as we begin to enter this section of the text in which Mark describes all of the uh the section of the text where Mark describes all of the reviling that Jesus receives, we see the fulfillment of Psalm 22, which says, But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 00:45:38.559 --> 00:45:44.480 All who see me mock me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads. 00:45:46.000 --> 00:46:08.480 And we see the fulfillment of this text in Jesus Christ in Mark 15, 29 through 30, and those who passed by derided him, more passers by, wagging their heads and saying, Aha, you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. 00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:10.719 Do you hear the things that they're saying? 00:46:10.960 --> 00:46:20.800 Once again, there's this misinterpretation of what Christ had explained with regards to what he had said about destroying the temple and being raised up in three days. 00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:25.360 The disciples will look back and they will see that's what he was doing on the cross. 00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:27.360 He is not referring to that temple. 00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:33.039 He is referring to the temple of his body, which will be destroyed and then will be raised up again. 00:46:33.199 --> 00:46:39.119 And then he will remake the temple out of living stones, which we are brought into. 00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:41.119 Why are we called the temple? 00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:43.039 Why is the church called the temple? 00:46:43.280 --> 00:46:47.679 Because the temple means the place where God's Spirit dwells. 00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:49.840 That's what the temple is. 00:46:50.320 --> 00:46:53.360 Now the church is the place where God's Spirit dwells. 00:46:53.519 --> 00:46:54.239 That's us. 00:46:56.000 --> 00:47:07.840 And they look up and they see Christ destroying the temple so that it might be rebuilt again, and they say to him, You who would destroy the temple, so that it might be rebuilt again. 00:47:08.079 --> 00:47:14.159 And it says, and they shout up to him, save yourself and come down from the cross. 00:47:14.400 --> 00:47:15.760 What if he did? 00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:21.199 He did not save himself. 00:47:22.960 --> 00:47:25.280 He did not come down from the cross. 00:47:26.639 --> 00:47:34.239 And so also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:39.760 And once again, the chief priests, like the sign that hangs above Jesus, are precisely right. 00:47:42.079 --> 00:47:46.639 If he were to save others, he could not save himself. 00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:50.559 Those are the options before Christ. 00:47:51.679 --> 00:47:55.599 Save himself or save others. 00:47:56.960 --> 00:47:58.559 He saved others. 00:47:59.280 --> 00:48:01.679 Therefore, he could not save himself. 00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:08.079 And the chief priests continue to speak this truth that they do not understand. 00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:16.800 He said, Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. 00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:21.360 Says those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 00:48:22.239 --> 00:48:29.519 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. 00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:32.880 Mark says, look around you. 00:48:34.559 --> 00:48:42.559 You who know the law, you who know the scriptures, look at what you're seeing. 00:48:44.400 --> 00:48:45.840 Where, let me ask you a question. 00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:47.119 Where do you stand? 00:48:48.880 --> 00:48:50.719 At the place of the skull. 00:48:51.920 --> 00:48:53.119 Look up, what do you see? 00:48:53.280 --> 00:48:55.519 His hands and his feet are pierced. 00:48:58.320 --> 00:49:01.199 Look at listen to your own shouts. 00:49:02.239 --> 00:49:04.880 He's surrounded by reviling. 00:49:08.239 --> 00:49:09.679 Listen to the way that he goes. 00:49:09.760 --> 00:49:11.039 Have you heard his protesting? 00:49:11.199 --> 00:49:14.000 No, because he goes like a lamb to the slaughter. 00:49:14.320 --> 00:49:16.800