Serving the Saviour - Studies in the Gospel of Mark - 12
The Servant Saviour
We are studying chapter 15 of the Gospel of Mark and looking at Christ as the servant of the Lord. We are to follow his example and serve God in the way Christ did. Jesus is the “Servant-Saviour”. We can follow Him as the servant but we cannot follow Him as Saviour. This is where He is unique. Here is the heart of the Gospel. Christ is the Saviour of sinners. We should always remember what it cost the Lord to bring us salvation. This chapter vividly brings it to mind.
Chapter 15 deals with the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. We see here what the Lord endured for us as the lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In verses 1 to 15 we see that Christ faced the Roman authorities. He was brought before Pontius Pilate. Pilate had to make a decision about what he was going to do with Jesus. That is an issue everyone has to face. What have you done with Jesus? Have you accepted his lordship over your life, or have you rejected Him?
In order for the chief priests to be successful in their attempt to get rid of Jesus by the Romans, they needed to show that he was a threat to Caesar. They knew that then Pilate would have to take action. Pilate asked Jesus in verse 2, "Are you the King of the Jews? Roman law would not allow the Jews to execute Jesus. His enemies needed to accuse Him of a capital crime. If it could be proved that Jesus was asserting himself as king it would be seen as a threat to the rule of the Roman Emperor. We have an interesting insight into the politician and the people. Politicians go with popular opinion. They go with the crowd. They pacify the crowd to win support. Politicians will do what is expedient regardless of what God requires in his word. Christ is rejected on the whims of the majority. Pilate knew that Christ was innocent so he makes use of a custom hoping that Jesus would be set free.
We read in verses 6-11 "Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man named Barabbas was in prison ... who had committed murder. 'Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?' asked Pilate, but the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead" Pilate asked in verse 12, "What shall I do then with the one you call king of the Jews?", The crowd replied in verse 13, "Crucify him!"
In the exchange of Jesus and Barabbas we have a lovely picture of what the cross was all about. The name Barabbas means 'son of father'. So, we are sons of father Adam. He was our first parent. He sinned and we were born with a sinful nature. A nature in rebellion against God. We're sons of father Satan. Barabbas was a murderer Jesus said to his enemies in John 8verse 44, "You belong to your father the devil and you want to carry out your fathers desire".
At the cross Jesus took our place. He changed places with us, just as He changed places with Barabbas. He took our punishment on the cross so that all who will believe may be saved. He delivers the believer from sin, death, Satan, and the grave. Jesus loves you. He proved it by dying as your substitute on the cross. He wants to set you free! Ask Him to forgive you your sin and become your Saviour today.
In verses 16 to 47 Christ faced the Roman cross. The suffering of Jesus on the cross was three-fold. Christ experienced mental suffering. He suffered the taunts of the crowd. We read in verse 29, "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So, you who are going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself"'. Christ experienced physical suffering. He endured the pain of scourging. A historical writer described the scourge like this "The Roman scourge was usually made of
leather thongs loaded at intervals with bone or metal.” In 1 Peter 2 verse 24 the words "By whose stripes we are healed", not only indicate that Christ fulfilled prophecy, they also give us a vivid picture of how our Lord's back looked after the scourging The word refers to a bloody stream. Our Lord's back was so lacerated by the scourge that it was open raw quivering flesh filled with blood, not a series of stripes or cuts, but a mass of torn flesh" He also suffered the physical pain of the cross itself. History testifies that the worst ever form of execution was Roman crucifixion. They nailed his hands and feet to the rugged wood. They placed a crown of thorns on his head.
Verses 23 and 24 say, "Then they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh but he did not take it. And they crucified Him". They lifted up the cross and dropped it into the socket wrenching the body. In crucifixion death came as the body weight slowly pulled down onto the rib cage. This eventually caused suffocation. He did not accept the myrrh because it was an anaesthetic It was necessary that he bore every bit of the pain for your sin. He drank all the bitter cup, along with the dregs, for you.
Christ experienced the suffering of separation from the Father. We read in verse 34, "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’, which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". Why had the Father forsaken his beloved Son'? We read in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us." At that critical hour Christ was the sin-bearing Lamb of God. All your sins were laid on him. W. H .Monk says in his hymn, "All my sin of every kind, all the thoughts that stain the mind, all the evil designed, laid on him".
What was the purpose for this? We read in verses 37 and 38, "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom". Now the believer may enter into the very presence of God. Christ purchased our reconciliation to God by his blood. We read in Hebrews 10 verse 19, "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that
is, his body, let us draw near ". He was buried in a tomb. In doing so he sanctified the grave for believers. Christ changed a dark hole into a bright open door. The cross should draw from our hearts a deep love for the Saviour who died for us. Isaac Watts puts it well, "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small, love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all".