“Faces of Calvary,” A message based on Mark 15, by Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford

INTRODUCTION

It is Good Friday once again. And as is my custom on the Good Friday “sermonette”, the “Today’s Special” is reverently silent. Perhaps next week, and the coverage of the Resurrection, will bring two specials for our enjoyment.

Good Friday. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14: “But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Profound thought in a verse – that the whole of eternity centers around just one moment in time: the cross of Calvary.

Throughout this series of messages from each chapter of the Gospel of Mark, it has been my desire to highlight one incident, one person, one theme from each chapter. But Mark 15 is unique. As lengthy as the narrative is over Chapters 14 and 15, Mark develops in the chapter before us today the special viewpoints of several people, several faces if you will. They are what I call “Faces of Calvary”. Let’s look at Calvary through their eyes today. Prayer.

1. BARABBAS (vs. 6ff)

For all of eternity, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and Barabbas will be connected. For it was Pilate who made the decision to release Barabbas and allow the Savior to be crucified. The Apostle John tells us of Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, ““You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” The Savior’s life was not taken from Him. He gave it as a sacrifice for our sins.

Barabbas. The early church historian, Origen, stated that Barabbas’ full name was “Jesus Barabbas”. “Jesus”, Savior. “Bar”, “son”. “Abbas”, father. We’ve seen this before, when the Savior prayed in the garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14, “Abba, Father.” “Abba” is an intimate Aramaic term for “father”. And Barabbas’ true name meant, “Jesus, son of the father.” He represented all that the world has to offer, and all that it strives to gain by deceit or even murder. And the Savior? “Jesus, Son of The Father” [capital “T” and capital “F”]. He represents the love of God for the sins of the world. Both figures clashing at Calvary.

And Barabbas is released so that the Savior can willingly go to the cross for us.

2. SIMON (vs. 21ff)

He will always be known as “Simon the Cyrene”. The other gospels identify this fellow’s origins as being from North Africa. He was perhaps on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover, unaware of the goings on of the cross. Perhaps he had heard of the many executions that the Romans had on a regular basis. He would have paid no heed, except for one small detail.

“They forced him to carry the cross.” This is an amazing statement. The Savior was in the prime of his life. For many of us in our early thirties, we remember how strong we felt – and how we felt we would be this rugged forever. Perhaps not like Tom Brady at 41. But we felt like we could perform in top shape for a long time.

Our Savior was in His prime of life. So why couldn’t He carry His own cross all the way to the Hill of Golgotha? In verse 13, Mark gives us the insight: “Pilate had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.” Added to this were the crown of thorns, and the mockings, and the repeated striking on the head with a staff, and the spitting – all the humiliation.

But the floggings was the center of Roman punishment prior to their crucifixion. The flogging, or “scourging”, was the repeated lashing of a whip – a stick with leather straps which had attached to them pieces of glass or broken stones. The ones whipping the victim would lash across the back and then pull skin off with the pulling of the chards across whatever part of the body to which they happened to attach. Isaiah says that the bruised Messiah no longer would look like a man as a result of the entire process of the crucifixion.

In 2 Cor. 11:24, Paul writes “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.” For the Jew, the 40th lash was the death lash, the death blow. 5 times Paul received the 39 lashes, what the Jew realized was one lash shy of the death blow. But the Romans knew no such rule, no such courtesy of punishment. Who knows how many lashes our Savior received? The Romans did not care – for to them the Lord Jesus was just another criminal.

The One Who hours earlier was a picture of health and strength hours later could not carry His own cross.

But there is one further note that Mark makes. Simon is noted as “the father of Alexander and Rufus”. No other gospel gives this insight of the lineage of the cross bearer. No doubt Simon’s experience at the cross was passed on down to his children. It is not a light thing that the Scriptures have little mention of an “Alexander” or a “Rufus”. But the mentions are worthy of note. Alexander was noted by Paul in 1 Timothy 1:20 as having a faith which was shipwreck due to his willingness to blaspheme the only Name worthy of his trust. In 2 Tim. 4:14, Paul’s final words before his own death, he refers to Alexander as a coppersmith who had done him much harm. On the other hand, in Romans 16 Paul gives a detailed account of those dear saints who were of great help to him. Noteworthy among them is “Rufus, chosen in the Lord”. Simon had two known sons – one a blasphemer, and the other a precious saint. Eternity will record that each one of us has to make his own choice as to whether or not to follow the cross of Christ, which cross Simon no doubt followed for the rest of his life. His one son did as well, the other didn’t.

Choices. What is your choice?

3. THE CENTURION (v. 39; see also Matthew 8:5ff)

A Roman centurion is an officer over 100 soldiers. The unnamed officer of Mark’s account was an eyewitness to many crucifixions. They were all the same. The victim – whether innocent or not – would holler, scream, complain, curse, fight, fidget right to the death. Perhaps this centurion had heard much of this One called Jesus. And so he watched as the Savior endured the punishment, despising the shame. He did not holler, scream, complain, curse, fight, fidget. In fact, He even encouraged the arrangement of His mother’s care into John’s oversight, as shared in John’s gospel. He called out the agony of the separation from “My God.” And when He died, He simply “gave up the ghost.” He didn’t die a martyr – He gave His life. His death was different. And immediately, immediately, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion understood. And in his heart and from his lips he proclaimed his faith, “surely this man was the Son of God.”

There is one other centurion mentioned in the gospels, and it is a good possibility that he is the same one of Mark’s account at the cross. In Matthew 8 a centurion came to Jesus seeking His healing of the centurion’s servant. The centurion’s request was an unique one: he simply wanted the Savior to speak a word of healing without visiting the servant’s home. The Roman officer voiced his faith through these words, “I myself am a man under authority.” He recognized that his position as a soldier was the same as the Savior’s position of submission to His heavenly Father. And to that bold statement the Savior said to all who would hear, “I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

Could this not be the same centurion of our story in Mark? Could this man’s faith have become sight at the cross? Could this hardened soldier’s journey have taken him from trusting in the Savior being but a man into believing that He is the Son of God? Eternity will tell, but Mark’s gospel gives a fresh vision, a fresh hope, of the journey each one of us must take.

Is Jesus the Son of God, or just a man? Our eternity rests on the answer to that question.

4. JOSEPH (OF ARIMATHEA) (v. 43ff)

Our final face – of the many faces of Calvary – is that of Joseph who hailed from the region of Arimathea. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling authority of the Jerusalem. He had trusted in Jesus, but for fear of his fellow Jews he kept his faith to himself. He was “waiting for the kingdom of God” – an huge statement of faith in light of his current events. Many had thought that if Jesus was truly the Messiah, He would overcome the rule of Rome and put the Jews of Israel back in charge. But Joseph’s faith was such that he waited for the true kingdom, the one proclaimed by the prophets in which the Messiah will reign on David’s throne forever.

The cross made the difference in Joseph’s life. Mark details that Joseph came “boldly” to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Mark also shares Pilate’s thoughts, startled that the Savior was dead without the help of further Roman cruelty. The soldiers would often break the legs of the ones hanging on the cross. This would then keep them from being able to lift themselves up to get one more breath of air, one more breath of hope. The Savior gave Himself. He had no bones broken.

And Joseph gave of himself for the Savior. He was a rich man whose riches did not own him. He bought valuable linen cloth. He himself lovingly, tenderly took the Savior’s body down from the cross. He wrapped the Savior in the cloth and placed Him in Joseph’s own expensive tomb. This tomb had a purposefully placed rock, sitting in a trench which rolled down a short incline so that the front of the tomb would be sealed.

Joseph’s faith, once secret, was now public. He would ask us, “is your faith a secret faith? Or are you not ashamed of the gospel of Christ?”.

CONCLUSION

The central eyewitness of the events of the cross, of course, is the Lord Jesus Himself. There was His agonizing cry, a fulfillment of Psalm 22, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” For the first time in eternity, the Father turned from His Son when His Son became my sin – our sin.

“With a loud cry, He breathed His last.” The simplicity of the Son becoming sin.

And then “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Again, Paul comments, in Heb. 9:12, “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” The high priest needed to enter the holiest of holies once a year, to make atonement for his own sin as well as for the sin of the nation. The Savior went into the heavenly temple with His own blood, thus enabling all who love Him to enter into the Holiest of Holies boldly through Him.

More comment is made on the details of the cross than are made of any details of the resurrection. We are given NONE other than “He is risen; the stone is rolled away”.

He bore our sins on Calvary’s tree. Are you a Barabbas – a rebel to the cross? Are you a Simon, whose children may be influenced by your following the Savior? Are you like the centurion, an eyewitness to the Savior who finally declares your faith in the Son of God? Or are you a Joseph of Arimathea – a disciple who comes forth and outwardly shows to the rest of the world that you do not belong to yourself but to the King of kings?

Close in prayer

November 11, 2018

First Baptist Church, Earlville, NY, Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

“THE HOUR HAS COME” (Mark 14:32-42)

November 4, 2018 10:30 AM

First Baptist Church, Earlville, NY

Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

TODAY’S “SPECIAL”: A Big Fall Dance Funny

It was approaching the big Fall Dance at John’s school. He decided that he wanted to try his luck and ask out the most popular girl in his school. So he got in line to ask her, and he waited, and he waited, and he waited. When he finally got to the front of the line, he was amazed because the girl said yes! She also handed him a long list of criteria he would have to meet for her to go with him.

The first criterion was a limousine. So he went to the limousine shop and, as it was near the time of the dance, he waited and waited and waited to get to the front of the line and hired a limousine. The second criterion was a suit from the most prestigious clothes maker in the city. So John went to that shop and waited and waited and waited to be fitted. Once he got his suit he looked at the list and chased up the next criteria on the list (roses, tickets, chauffeur, etc.) and at each one he had to wait for a very long line.

Finally it was the night of the Fall Dance! John went and picked up the girl in his limousine, had the chauffeur drive them to the dance, picked up his roses, and arrived at the dance venue. To get in to the dance they waited and waited to get in. When they finally got to their seats, John’s girl asked him to get her a glass of punch.

When John got to the punch table, he was surprised, because there was no punch line.

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes personal illustrations are helpful; often not. So let me take a try: when you were growing up, did you know what you wanted to be in life, what you wanted to do with your life? My one brother was sure he was going to be a doctor – and he did become one. My middle brother didn’t know until his senior year in college that he had a strong desire to become a lawyer – and he did become one. Their youngest brother, at age 5, wrote in the class essay, “when I grow up I want to be a copper”. And 26 years later, he was one – with a catch. His desire was fulfilled by being a non-gun toting parking enforcement officer. And they paid him for writing parking tickets. Wow.

Our text is fascinating. It relates that the Savior knew His calling in life, even from before He came to earth! And what was that calling? PRAYER

MARK 14 (& 15): THE FULFILLMENT OF THE SAVIOR’S MISSION!

This chapter is loaded, and I encourage you to read chapter 14 coupled with chapter 15 which give the entire passion of the Christ unfurled. In the scene before us this morning, the disciples (minus Judas, who has left to get a “gang” to arrest Jesus) went to a familiar spot. The spot was very familiar to Judas, and he knew to go there. With one last lesson, as it were, the Savior takes Peter, James, and John with Him to a place of prayer. They, of course, did not so much praying as they did sleeping, overwhelmed with the thinking that they were coming here to die themselves!

In this passage are at least two classic lines which even the world uses at times. The first is found in v. 36, “not what I will, but what You will” (or as in our KJV, “not My will but Thy will be done.”). This simple line shows us two profound truths. First, we must ask ourselves: was the Savior “chickening out”? He had just asked the Father, “everything is possible for You – please take this cup from Me.” What? The Savior relinquishing what He came to earth to do? Yet here we have, not a cowardice, but an identity. He was identifying with the human spirit. The book of Hebrews emphasizes over and over that “though He was weak, He became strong”. He became weak for us – so that He could identify with us. So when He encourages us to come to Him just as we are, we can – because He really does know how we feel. Great empathy. Great line for the ages.

But the second is as powerful as the first. He returns to the disciples three times – and each time finds them sleeping. They are overwhelmed. And what does He say here? V. 38 says, “the spirit is willing, but the body (flesh/KJV) is weak.” The world uses this line all the time! And so should we, for it identifies us with our disciple friends who were right there. Just when we can say, “well, if I were there, I’d be really strong”, the Savior and the disciples know that is not so. Their spirit was indeed willing – in fact, they said they were willing to die for their Savior. Of course, at this time, they had not grasped by faith that His mission was not to start His kingdom on earth. Rather, His mission was to die for the sins of the world. The flesh, the body was weak. And yet Paul reminds us, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us! When we are weak, we need to see our weakness in light of the strength of the One standing before the disciples. That’s quite a line, “the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

But note please the 3 times that the word “hour” is used in a few passages. V. 35 our Savior prayed that “the hour” might pass from Him. This is the hour of surrender of the will, the resignation to His Father’s eternal plan. The Father answered that prayer. The hour passed with His line, “not My will but Thine.”

But the second usage is also interesting! In verse 37, He returns and sees His disciples not praying but sleeping. What were His choice words? “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” Isn’t that something? The Savior, Who is eternal, has limited Himself to human time! And because of that limitation, so that He could be one of us, He knew that our world is measured by units of time – and here, one hour. One hour is probably figurative for “a few moments”. But the point is huge! He understood His limitation. And He understood and grieved for their hurt and weakness.

And the last usage is found in v. 41, “the hour has come”. Note, it wasn’t intended to be a series of 60 minutes put together in one unit of time. No, no! It was His purpose, His mission, which, according to Revelation 13:8, was decided before the foundation of the earth! In eternity past, the Savior knew His mission: the cross, to die for the sins of the whole world for all eternity!

But the hour was more than that. It was a fulfillment of all those moments that were not “the hour”. Seven times in the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus uses this words, “My hour has not yet come.” To His own mother at Cana, before He changed the water to wine, His words perhaps reminded her very abruptly of those words He said at age 12 in the temple, “don’t you know I must be about My Father’s business?”. She knew! And so she responds, “whatever He says, do it.”

And in John 12:23,27, 13:1, and 17:1 – all passages surrounding Gethsemane – the Savior reminds those that were there, as well as His Father, in essence, that “for this very hour I have come to earth.”

In that John 17:1 verse, believed to be the very passage He prayed at Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus prays, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.”

All this is before one blow is struck, one thorn is piercing His brow, one broken chard is whipped into His back, one nail is pierced into His hands and feet. His hour has come.

CONCLUSION

And in that hour, He was condemned to death for blasphemy by His Jewish peers. Next week, we’ll see the Roman condemnation that allowed Him to go to the cross.

I don’t think it would be belittling the theme of the cross to make another application. We, too, who love the Lord Jesus as Savior have our own “hour.” Perhaps we have many hours!

* The hour of decision to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives.

* The hour when we hungered to read His word and pray on a daily basis

* The hour when we realize His calling upon our lives.

* The hour when we prayed with our Savior, “not my will but Thine be done.”

* The hour when He called us Home to Himself, and we hear those words, “well done, My good and faithful servant.”

Have you surrendered to the cross? Have you surrendered to His hour in your life?

Close in prayer

Rev Jeremy with wife Thuvia Stopford