So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself."

Mark 15:21-32

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself." Mark 15:31

I continue my study of Mark, focusing on Mark 15:21-32.  

Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: v21 - it appears that Jesus was beaten so severely and scourged so harshly that Simon of Cyrene must help carry the cross where Jesus will be crucified; v21 - Jesus is offered wine with myrrh (one of its uses is as as an analgesic) but He refuses - suggesting that He did not want to "dull" the pain or otherwise not completely accept the will of the Father which was for Him to be the final sacrifice for all sin; vv23, 25 - the soldiers crucified Jesus and fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 22:18 (of David) which describes David's agony as Saul hunts him down - this Psalm more broadly mirrors many aspects of the gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion; v24, 26, 29-32 - Jesus is mocked, taunted, derided, and reviled by those crucifying Him, including the soldiers and the chief priests with the scribes, even by those who passed by; v32 - the two robbers crucified with Jesus also reviled Jesus.   
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: v31 - the chief priests with the scribes all but admit that Jesus has saving power and that He "saved others," yet their envy drives them to murder Him.    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Envy is a destructive sin that we should avoid - do not covet is one of the Ten Commandments. We should see that Jesus IS King but that His Kingdom is eternal.  He is King of Kings. We should endure suffering as Jesus did and allow others to see how God works through our suffering to give us strength to endure. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves - thank You for saving me while still hostile and an enemy to You.  I am not deserving of my salvation nor of the mercies You pour out for me daily that never cease.  My sin is great and it continues...please forgive me Jesus - for impatience, anger, etc.  Help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

Mark 15:21-47

And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Mark 15:23

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 15:21-47, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. 

Outline of the text and observed divisions based on timings in the text:

1. Jesus suffers on the cross; up to sixth hour (vv21-32)
2. Jesus dies on the cross; up to ninth hour (vv33-41)
3. Jesus is buried; evening (vv42-47) 

Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Jesus refuses wine mixed with myrrh (v23) and the use of myrrh in its historical context suggests that He did not want to "dull" any aspect of His death but instead He sought to "fully" experience the pain and suffering of His death;  Jesus does not save Himself and He is mocked for it (vv29-32, 36); Jesus cries out to God in agony as He feels forsaken by the Father (v34); Jesus dies (v37) and He is buried (vv46-47).    
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Simon of Cyrene is compelled by the Roman soldiers leading Jesus away (to be crucified) to assist in carrying the cross upon which Jesus will be crucified (v21); two robbers are crucified with Jesus - one on left and one on right (v27) and Mark's account describes how these two robbers reviled Him (v32); Jesus is mocked by the soldiers and bystanders - they taunted Him to save Himself (vv26-32, 35-36); the centurion who faced Jesus sees Jesus as Son of God (v39); women followers witness the crucifixion - Mary Magdelene, Mary (Jesus' mother), and Salome (wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John - Matthew 27:56); Joseph of Arimathea is described as "looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus," and Pilate grants this request (vv43, 45); Joseph of of Arimathea buys a linen shroud then wraps Jesus' body in the shroud, lays in a tomb of rock and seals the entrance of the tomb as Mary Magdelene and Mary observe (vv46-47).   
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We should claim the promise that there is a New Covenant based on Jesus' blood that does away with OT ceremonial law where only the high priests can fellowship with God in the inner tent - v38 describes how the temple curtain is torn from top to bottom giving us direct access to God through Jesus; like Joseph of Arimathea, all believers should be "looking for the kingdom of God" and acting with courage based on this pursuit - while the text does not share that Joseph of Arimathea became a believer, the text does identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin and his actions likely would have been "frowned upon" to say the least (v43). 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves as You willingly suffered an excruciating death on the cross - taking my place for my sins and the sins of all humanity for all of redemptive history.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such an act and gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sins are great and they continue...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sins toward You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.

Mark 15:1-20

And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. Mark 15:17-19

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is, per the commentary, the second division of the text from Mark 15:1-20 - vv15-20.  

• Using the Sword Bible Study Method focusing just on the text for today - vv15-20: (1) God in the text: Further along the story arc of His arrest, Jesus is scourged (v15) and led away from the Jewish elders, scribes, chief priests and Sanhedrin and brought inside Pilate's headquarters where ~600 soldiers were gathered to be at the ready in case of civil unrest (v16); Jesus is beaten and mocked and then led away to be crucified (vv17-20); (2) People in the text: Pilate's struggle over what to do with Jesus ends as he satisfies the Jewish crowd to crucify Jesus (v15); Barrabas is released (v15); the soldiers lead Jesus away, mock and beat Him before leading Him away to be crucified (vv16-20); (3) Sins to avoid, promises to claim, examples to follow, and commands to obey: We should not mock Jesus, instead see Him as King of Kings with an eternal kingdom not of this world - who takes upon Himself the sin of the world and God's wrath for this sin to save all of humanity; in the face of persecution, we should be steadfast in our faith.    

Excerpts from the commentary's third (of three) division: 

• The title of the third division is "Our Great King’s Suffering: The Pain and Shame."   
• "Mocking is clearly highlighted, but the focus is much more on the spiritual and psychological agony. Still, we would be negligent if we passed over too quickly the scourging and physical abuse He suffered."
• "Completely alone, humiliated, naked, and beaten nearly to death, our Savior endured yet again ridicule, shame, and pain at the hands of sinful men, at the hands of those He came to save."
• We are reminded how Jesus redeemed us from the curse set in motion during the Fall (Genesis 3).  He becomes the curse for us.  See also Deuteronomy 21:23.     

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that willingly sent His Son to die on the cross, and Jesus willingly submitted to Your Will so that I could have life now to the full and for eternity in Heaven.  Thank You!  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 14:26-52

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38b

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is per the commentary, the second division of the text from Mark 14:26-52 - vv32-42.  

• Using the Sword Bible Study Method focusing just on the text for today - vv32-42: (1) God in the text: Jesus prays (vv32, 35, 36, 39) and he encourages Peter to pray (v38); He is greatly distressed, troubled and sorrowful (vv33, 34) "even to death" and He fell on the ground as a result of his emotions that brought Him to a point of obvious significant turmoil; He admonishes the disciples for falling asleep and not watching as He instructed them - alluding to how we are to be alert and not fall into temptation (v38); (2) people in the text: disciples fail to heed Jesus' instructions to watch and pray; (vv37, 40, 41); (3) Sins to avoid, promises to claim, examples to follow, and commands to obey: We should obey Jesus' words to watch and pray v38 as "[t]he spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Excerpts from the commentary's second (of three) division: 

• The title of the second division (vv32-42) per the commentary is "The King Would Agonize over His Passion Alone." 
• "This is the third and final time Mark records our Lord praying alone (cf. 1:35; 6:46). Each occasion was a time of significant importance, but none more than this one."  
• "In spite of the exceptional trauma of the moment and the certain future that lay ahead, He trusted in God as His loving Father and in His will. What’s more, the “cup” that He prayed might be removed was not the physical pain He would endure endure on the cross. Indeed many Christian martyrs have gone to their death with thanksgiving and joy with no evidence whatsoever that they wished to avoid the hour of their martyrdom. No, the cup that so distressed and troubled Him was the spiritual suffering He would endure as He would bear the sins of the world and drink to the last drop the fierce wrath of God as our substitute."  
• "Gethsemane was “hell” for Jesus, but [we should be] so thankful He went through it. You see, if there is no Gethsemane, there is no Calvary. It there is no Calvary, there can be no empty tomb. And if there is no empty tomb, there is only hell for us."

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that suffered in ways that are unimaginable to me, including dying on the cross...for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.