The Murder of the Great King

They stripped our Lord of His clothing and gambled to see who would go home with these meager prizes (cf. Ps 22:18). It is possible our Savior died completely naked. Maybe He was allowed to retain His loincloth. Either way, He was humiliated. John Calvin captures something of the theological import: “The Evangelists portray the Son of God as stripped of His clothes that we may know the wealth gained for us by this nakedness, for it shall dress us in God’s sight. God willed His Son to be stripped that we should appear freely, with the angels, in the garments of his righteousness and fullness of all good things” (Calvin, Harmony, 194).

Jesus was crucified at the third hour, that is, around 9:00 a.m. As an act of further mockery, they nailed the charge against Him above His head: “The King of the Jews.”

“They crucified two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left.” As Isaiah 53:12 had promised, He “was counted with the rebels.” Ironically, James and John had asked to be on Jesus’ right and left “in Your glory” (Mark 10:37). Jesus informed them they did not know what they were asking. This is the hour when the Father will glorify the Son and the Son will glorify the Father (John 17:1). This is not the glory James and John had in mind.

Jesus is again subjected to mockery and verbal abuse. Those walking past Him or hanging around for the show “were yelling insults at Him” continuously. They were also “shaking their heads” at Him in ridicule and sarcasm, and they taunted Him for His claim to “demolish the sanctuary and build it in three days.” Before He takes on that assignment, He might first consider His immediate problem: “Save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

353This temptation to come down from the cross is the same one Satan threw at Him in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). It is the same temptation He faced just a few hours earlier in the garden of Gethsemane to forego the cup of suffering (Mark 14:36). Up to the last moment, the evil one is trying to persuade Jesus to reject the cross. He did not want Him there! He knew it would be his ruin and our redemption.

The religious leaders could not resist getting in one last dig at the great King: “He saved others; He cannot save Himself!” They too challenged Him to come down from the cross; then they would believe. How ironic. If our Lord was to save others, Himself He could not save. And save Himself He would not do. These men claim they would have believed if He had come down from the cross, but we believe precisely because He stayed on it!

The two robbers who were crucified with Jesus “were taunting Him” repeatedly (v. 32). However, one of them will have a change of heart before the day ends (Luke 23:39-43). He saw something in Jesus that moved him from insulting Him to trusting Him. He would not be disappointed. He would meet the Lord after death in paradise. We must never forget: no sinner will be disappointed who flees to the crucified King. It is never too late!

Mark 15:33-41

Mark highlights six events as Jesus died: (1) the darkness (v. 33); (2) His cry of anguish (vv. 34-36); (3) a final cry and His death (v. 37); (4) the tearing of the temple curtain (v. 38); (5) the confession of the Roman centurion (v. 39); and (6) the witness of women (vv. 40-41).

When you consider all four Gospels, Jesus uttered “Seven Sayings from the Cross.”

354Mark will only record the words of one (15:34) and the “cry” of another (15:37). His focus is the forsakenness of the great King.

Jesus has been on the cross for three hours. Suddenly at about “noon,” darkness engulfed the whole land “until three.” This was not a solar eclipse, since the Passover was held at the time of a full moon. This is a miracle of God, a cosmic sign of God’s judgment on sin poured out on His Son (Isa 5:25-30; Amos 8:9-10; Mic 3:5-7; Zeph 1:14-15). The ninth plague in Egypt was a three-day period of darkness followed by the final plague, the death of the firstborn (Exod 10:22-11:9). Wiersbe notes, “The darkness of Calvary was an announcement that God’s firstborn and Beloved Son, the Lamb of God, was giving His life for the sins of the world!” (Be Diligent, 148-49).

The cry of verse 34 may be the most heart-wrenching one in the whole Bible. It is a quote from Psalm 22:1, and it identifies Jesus as the righteous sufferer of that psalm. Our Savior cried out in Aramaic, His mother tongue, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The cry was not one of physical pain, psychological confusion, or dread of death. No, it was the cry of the Son of God, who was now experiencing something He had never known in all of eternity: separation from and forsakenness by God. Tim Keller captures beautifully the transaction of the moment:

This forsakenness, this loss, was between the Father and the Son, who had loved each other from all eternity. This love was infinitely long, absolutely perfect, and Jesus was losing it. Jesus was being cut out of the dance.

Jesus, the Maker of the world, was being unmade. Why? Jesus was experiencing our judgment day. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It wasn’t a rhetorical question. And the answer is: For you, for me, for us. Jesus was forsaken by God so that we would never have to be. The judgment that should have fallen on us fell instead on Jesus. (Keller, King’s Cross, 202; emphasis in original)

Jesus’ cry and the darkness that covered the land declared the same truth: there was real abandonment from the Father as Jesus took on every sin of every man, woman, and child. As Isaiah 53:6 teaches, “The Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” This was the price He paid as “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

355And why “My God” and not “My Father”? Because in this one moment in all of time and eternity, He views Himself and knows Himself not as the Father’s Son but as the sinner’s sacrifice.

Some standing by mistakenly thought He was calling out to Elijah. They waited, probably with additional ridicule, to see whether Elijah would come to take Him down. However, if the Father would not intervene to spare His Son, it is certain Elijah would not come. The great King would die alone as the sinner’s substitute.

God separated from God—who can understand? I may never understand it, but I will forever praise Him for it.

“Jesus let out a loud cry” and died (v. 37). Almost certainly it was the cry recorded in John 19:30, “It is finished!” Atonement has been made, and the work of salvation is done. As tangible evidence, “the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two”—and do not miss this—“from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). This was God’s doing. The significance of the tearing of the curtain that separates the holy place from the holy of holies is rich in symbolic allusions. Pastor Sam Storms notes at least three:

(1) It points to the complete, perfect, and altogether sufficient sacrifice for sins that Jesus has offered in himself on the cross. The sin that had created a barrier both spiritually and naturally between God and man has been atoned for. (2) It also points to the end of the Mosaic Covenant and its laws, which have been fulfilled in Christ. The “old order” has passed away! (3) It points to the fact that God in all his glory is now freely and fully accessible to all men and women who come to him by faith in Jesus Christ. For centuries before the coming of Christ, God had confined the revelation of his glory and majesty to the Holy of Holies. Now he bursts forth to dwell no longer behind a veil in a house built with wood and stone and precious jewels, but to dwell in the hearts of his people. See Hebrews 10:19-22. (Storms, “The Cross and the Cry”)

Now we arrive at the destination Mark has intended since 1:1. On the lips of a Gentile Roman Centurion, we hear the confession, “This man really was God’s Son” (15:39). It was not one of His marvelous miracles or tremendous teachings that evoked this confession; it was His passion. Like the centurion, Mark wants his readers to confess Jesus as the Christ. The question is, have you? Will you? It is a question only you can answer.

While no men are mentioned by Mark, he does note three women who were there: Mary of Magdala whom Jesus had delivered from demonic possession (Luke 8:2), a second Mary who had two sons named James and Joses, and Salome who is only mentioned by name in Mark (15:40; 16:1). This last was the mother of the disciples James and John, and probably the sister of Jesus’ mother (Matt 27:56).

Their presence establishes eyewitnesses to His death and burial (Mark 15:47). Further, they were true disciples who had followed Him and ministered to Him (v. 41). They, along with “many other women,” were faithful to Him to the bitter end. They may have watched the brutal events of the cross “from a distance,” but unlike His male disciples their devotion was not marked by absence. Their love and devotion to Jesus would not go unrewarded (16:4-8)!

Mark 15:42-47

Jesus is dead. John 19:34 tells us “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear” just to be certain. Normally, a man who died by crucifixion would be left on the cross to rot or be eaten by dogs or birds of prey. What was left of the corpse would then be thrown into the Valley of Hinnom (see comments on Mark 9:43-48). Jesus, however, would be spared this humiliation because

(1) Jewish law demanded that even executed criminals receive a proper burial and that those hanged on a tree be taken down and buried before sunset (Deut 21:23), and (2) Joseph of Arimathea “boldly went in to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body” (Mark 15:43).

It is late Friday afternoon. Preparation for the Sabbath would already be underway so any decision as to what to do with the body of Jesus must be made quickly (v. 42).

Joseph of Arimathea, who (1) was “a prominent member of the Sanhedrin” and (2) “was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God ... asked for Jesus’ body” (v. 43). Luke 23:51 informs us he did not support the Council’s decision to seek Jesus’ execution. He may have even thought Jesus was the Messiah (John 19:38). As far as he and the others could tell, such hopes had now been lost. Still, his love for Jesus moved him to go public and make clear his affection for Jesus.

357Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus “was already dead.” Often, a man would suffer several days on the cross. Receiving confirmation from the centurion that Jesus was in fact dead, “he gave the corpse to Joseph.”

Joseph purchased “some fine linen,” wrapped the Savior in it, and put Him in his own tomb. Then “he rolled a stone against the entrance.” Once again the Scripture was fulfilled, “They made His grave ... with a rich man” (Isa 53:9).

In addition to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (see John 19:38-42), Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses “were watching where He was placed.” Thus the only people at His grave were two Pharisees and two women. The apostles, who had professed proudly that they would die for Him (Mark 14:31), are in hiding. By contrast those who once remained in the shadows or were hardly noticed by the “really important” people are there by His grave. They do not care who knows of their loyalty and love for Jesus.

And so it is over. He is finished. Or ... is He? I know it’s Friday. But Sunday is coming! S. M. Lockridge (1913-2000) was a powerful and passionate African-American preacher. He captured so well what just happened ... and what’s coming in just a few days.

It’s Friday. Jesus is praying. Peter’s a-sleeping. Judas is betraying. But Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. Pilate’s struggling. The Council is conspiring. The crowd is vilifying. They don’t even know that Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The Disciples are running like sheep without a shepherd. Mary’s crying. Peter is denying. But they don’t know that Sunday’s a-comin’.

It’s Friday. The Romans beat my Jesus. They robe Him in scarlet. They crown Him with thorns. But they don’t know that Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. See Jesus walking to Calvary. His blood dripping. His body stumbling. And His spirit’s burdened. But you see, it’s only Friday. Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The world’s winning. People are sinning. And evil’s grinning.

358It’s Friday. The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the cross. They nail my Savior’s feet to the cross. And then they raise Him up next to criminals.

It’s Friday. But let me tell you something: Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The disciples are questioning, what has happened to their King. And the Pharisees are celebrating that their scheming has been achieved. But they don’t know it’s only Friday. Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. He’s hanging on the cross. Feeling forsaken by His Father. Left alone and dying. Can nobody save Him? Ooooh, it’s Friday. But Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The earth trembles. The sky grows dark. My King yields His spirit.

It’s Friday. Hope is lost. Death has won. Sin has conquered. And Satan’s just a-laughin’.

It’s Friday. Jesus is buried. A soldier stands guard. And a rock is rolled into place. But It’s Friday. It is only Friday. Sunday is a-comin’! (Lockridge, “It’s Friday”)