Crown of Thorns Oct. 8
Mark 15:16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
The Jews who have cried out for Jesus’ execution are the apparent winners, a rarity for a nation rendered powerless. But they have set a dangerous precedent with their moment of power. They have been instrumental in condemning to death a Jew convicted of a crime against Rome. How can they protest Rome’s crucifixion of any who speak out against the empire?
Pilate gives Jesus to the rank and file soldiers to be scourged and crucified. Again, the powerless are given authority over Jesus. They have orders on what must be done, but are given free rein to amuse themselves with the condemned.
The soldiers’ treatment of Jesus is a sad commentary on human nature.
They ape those with power as they are drunk with the limited power now allotted to them. A robe of royal purple and a crown of thorns are their mocking gifts. They heap insults and abuse upon Jesus, as they have seen those in power do.
Finally, they overthrow Him, removing the purple robe and restoring His worn clothing. They lead Him to exile outside the city walls, the site of His execution.
Bearing His Cross Oct. 9
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Jesus has been beaten and scourged – the lash having literally scoured his back. He probably had no sleep during the night, perhaps some water but no food. He is exhausted, but He is compelled to carry the cross, the instrument of torture on which He must die. He is physically unable.
His loyal followers have vanished, disappeared into the darkness of night and have not returned to His side. He has no one to bear the weight of the cross for Him, which is ironic considering the burden that He bears for everyone.
Impatient Romans compel an onlooker to carry the cross for Jesus. The man is named Simon, the same name as one of Jesus’ missing disciples. He is a Jew from Cyrene, a Greek city on the North Africa coast west of Egypt. Simon is an example of the distance that obedient Jews traveled to be at the Temple for Passover.
Luke (23:26) and Matthew (27:32) mention Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus, but only Mark mentions the names of the Cyrenian’s sons. Mark may mention them because they are workers in the cause of spreading the Gospel later.
Alexander may be the same as the man mentioned in Acts 4:6 and 19:33, but probably not the Alexander Paul condemns in his letters to Timothy (1 Tim. 1:20 and 2 Tim. 4:14). The Rufus of Rom. 6:13 may be Alexander’s brother.
Was Simon of Cyrene just at the wrong place at the wrong time, or was he at the right place at the right time?
Bearing Our Cross Oct. 10
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Matthew (16:24-26) and Luke (14:27) write of Jesus telling His followers that each must take up their cross and follow Him.
Bearing the cross of Jesus is not enduring the trials and tribulations inevitable in a secular life. The persecution for following Christ takes many forms, and this is the cross the Christian bears.
Matthew 10 provides an outline of some of the ways one might experience carrying the cross of Jesus. The chapter tells of Jesus sending out the twelve to carry the Gospel message. He goes into some detail as to the nature of the burden of the cross.
Jesus tells the disciples of what they are to do and how little they should carry with them (vss. 7-10), and how to respond when they are or are not received well (vss. 11-15). He warns them of persecutions (16-20) and family division (21-23). And He says the disciple should expect the same treatment as the Teacher (24-26). He continues with more good advice and warnings.
The point is that Jesus’ followers are to carry His message, to spread the Gospel. Even though it is Good News, not all people will welcome them. There are people with vested interests in the way things now exist in the secular world.
Jesus is offering His followers a realistic view of their journey. Not every minute will feel like joy and freedom, but joy and freedom are the underlying states of being in every step forward.
Choosing or Chosen? Oct. 11
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Jesus chose His twelve disciples. Each accepted the call.
Roman authority chose Simon the Cyrene to bear Jesus’ cross. He had no choice.
Jesus was to literally bear the cross to the place where He was to be executed. He was physically able to carry the burden only so far, and then another was forced to carry it forward.
This was a painful but short literal journey. Figuratively, Jesus had begun lifting the cross and shifting its weight to rest upon His shoulders from the beginning of His ministry. The cross was an unrelenting burden, but one that He chose.
Jesus’ earthly ministry was shortened by physical death, the reality of all mortal beings. His work can be continued only by those who pick up His cross, His message, and spread the Word outward.
Christians bear the cross from the time they are born again, undergoing the trials of being faithful to their new calling, as in Matt. 10. The cross we are to bear is loss - if it can be counted as loss rather than the gain of which Paul speaks in Philippians 3:7. We change perspective and priorities, and then bear the change in attitude of those who depended on us being secular and part of their culture.
Every person is chosen to be saved, but not all will choose to be saved (e.g., Satan). The spiritual cross cannot be chosen for us, but each person must choose it for themselves.
Golgotha Oct. 12
Mark 15:22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. 25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.
Golgotha was a knoll shaped like a skull. The name is from the Hebrew word for skull or head, Strong’s H1538, gulgoleth. Luke 23:33 uses the Latin word for skull, Calvary (calvaria).
Perhaps there is a bit of imagery here from Genesis 3:15: “…He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” The seed of the woman will bruise (the serpent’s) head – the vertical piece of the cross delivering a fatal blow to the skull – and the serpent will bruise (the seed’s) heel – deliver a non-fatal blow.
Mark does not mention John’s cry from Jesus, “I thirst,” but wine mingled with myrrh is given Him to drink. Perhaps this was a custom based on Proverbs 31:6,
“Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.”
Jesus refuses the drink. He has no bitterness of heart, and He did not choose to forget His poverty or pain.
Mark includes the scene of His executioners casting lots for His clothing, His only possession, a reference to Psalm 22:16-18.
Jesus was in front of Pilate ay the sixth hour of the day according to John 19:14. John is using Roman time with the day starting at midnight, so the sixth hour is 6 A.M.
Mark 15:25 states that Jesus was crucified at the third hour of the day. The Jewish day began at 6 A.M. making the Crucifixion at 9 A.M.
King of the Jews Oct. 13
Mark 15:26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
The whole of the Crucifixion is told very succinctly by Mark. All but two of the first 40 verses of Chapter 15 begin with Greek words that can be translated as “And.” (Verses 30 and 32 are spoken by those passing near and by the priests.) Events move relentlessly and painfully toward death.
We feel the barbs of others’ comments amidst the brutal pain of the execution’s torture. Those whom He would save show no mercy toward Him.
Posted with Him on the cross is the title conferred upon Him in mockery: The King of the Jews. The inscription implies a Roman triumph and a Jewish defeat.
There is more to the title. The religious leaders had condemned Jesus for saying He was the Son of God. The Roman authorities condemned Him for saying He was the King of the Jews.
Nathanael had testified to these two titles much earlier (John 1:49). But the titles were understood by all from a physical secular perspective limited in time and space.
God had promised something greater. He had said of the Messiah, “…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…” (2 Sam. 7:13-14). The word “forever” allows us to see beyond the limited reign of the literal son of David, Solomon.
Psalm 2:2-7 affirms this understanding. In Psalm 110:1, David refers to “his son” as Lord. How can this be? Matt 22:41-45 makes the reference clear.
The particular title is less relevant than the identity of Jesus. His identity as part of the Trinity and the Creator of the universe confers upon Him many titles. Like facets on a diamond, each is a part of the whole.
Reviled Oct. 14
Mark 15:27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”
29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.
The ministers of the King of the Jews are two robbers, one crucified on either side of Him. His court is filled with those who abuse Him, revile Him for what they consider His inability to do what He has claimed. His accusers mock Him for His powerlessness.
Jesus on the cross on the eve of the Passover is the sacrificial lamb. As the symbolic lamb offered before achieving freedom so many generations ago, a new sacrifice is being made to open the pathway to freedom.
Isaiah 53, referenced in verse 28, is the description of the Messiah that no one desired, a portrait of the unlikely Savior, and the death of this broken Man. This is the Savior promised, but not the One desired.
God says of His people in Isaiah 54:7, “For a mere moment I have forsaken you (let you loose), But with great mercies I will gather you.”
And so God allows people to do what must be done to move from darkness to light.
Next day
Mark 15:16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
The Jews who have cried out for Jesus’ execution are the apparent winners, a rarity for a nation rendered powerless. But they have set a dangerous precedent with their moment of power. They have been instrumental in condemning to death a Jew convicted of a crime against Rome. How can they protest Rome’s crucifixion of any who speak out against the empire?
Pilate gives Jesus to the rank and file soldiers to be scourged and crucified. Again, the powerless are given authority over Jesus. They have orders on what must be done, but are given free rein to amuse themselves with the condemned.
The soldiers’ treatment of Jesus is a sad commentary on human nature.
They ape those with power as they are drunk with the limited power now allotted to them. A robe of royal purple and a crown of thorns are their mocking gifts. They heap insults and abuse upon Jesus, as they have seen those in power do.
Finally, they overthrow Him, removing the purple robe and restoring His worn clothing. They lead Him to exile outside the city walls, the site of His execution.
Bearing His Cross Oct. 9
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Jesus has been beaten and scourged – the lash having literally scoured his back. He probably had no sleep during the night, perhaps some water but no food. He is exhausted, but He is compelled to carry the cross, the instrument of torture on which He must die. He is physically unable.
His loyal followers have vanished, disappeared into the darkness of night and have not returned to His side. He has no one to bear the weight of the cross for Him, which is ironic considering the burden that He bears for everyone.
Impatient Romans compel an onlooker to carry the cross for Jesus. The man is named Simon, the same name as one of Jesus’ missing disciples. He is a Jew from Cyrene, a Greek city on the North Africa coast west of Egypt. Simon is an example of the distance that obedient Jews traveled to be at the Temple for Passover.
Luke (23:26) and Matthew (27:32) mention Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus, but only Mark mentions the names of the Cyrenian’s sons. Mark may mention them because they are workers in the cause of spreading the Gospel later.
Alexander may be the same as the man mentioned in Acts 4:6 and 19:33, but probably not the Alexander Paul condemns in his letters to Timothy (1 Tim. 1:20 and 2 Tim. 4:14). The Rufus of Rom. 6:13 may be Alexander’s brother.
Was Simon of Cyrene just at the wrong place at the wrong time, or was he at the right place at the right time?
Bearing Our Cross Oct. 10
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Matthew (16:24-26) and Luke (14:27) write of Jesus telling His followers that each must take up their cross and follow Him.
Bearing the cross of Jesus is not enduring the trials and tribulations inevitable in a secular life. The persecution for following Christ takes many forms, and this is the cross the Christian bears.
Matthew 10 provides an outline of some of the ways one might experience carrying the cross of Jesus. The chapter tells of Jesus sending out the twelve to carry the Gospel message. He goes into some detail as to the nature of the burden of the cross.
Jesus tells the disciples of what they are to do and how little they should carry with them (vss. 7-10), and how to respond when they are or are not received well (vss. 11-15). He warns them of persecutions (16-20) and family division (21-23). And He says the disciple should expect the same treatment as the Teacher (24-26). He continues with more good advice and warnings.
The point is that Jesus’ followers are to carry His message, to spread the Gospel. Even though it is Good News, not all people will welcome them. There are people with vested interests in the way things now exist in the secular world.
Jesus is offering His followers a realistic view of their journey. Not every minute will feel like joy and freedom, but joy and freedom are the underlying states of being in every step forward.
Choosing or Chosen? Oct. 11
Mark 15:21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Jesus chose His twelve disciples. Each accepted the call.
Roman authority chose Simon the Cyrene to bear Jesus’ cross. He had no choice.
Jesus was to literally bear the cross to the place where He was to be executed. He was physically able to carry the burden only so far, and then another was forced to carry it forward.
This was a painful but short literal journey. Figuratively, Jesus had begun lifting the cross and shifting its weight to rest upon His shoulders from the beginning of His ministry. The cross was an unrelenting burden, but one that He chose.
Jesus’ earthly ministry was shortened by physical death, the reality of all mortal beings. His work can be continued only by those who pick up His cross, His message, and spread the Word outward.
Christians bear the cross from the time they are born again, undergoing the trials of being faithful to their new calling, as in Matt. 10. The cross we are to bear is loss - if it can be counted as loss rather than the gain of which Paul speaks in Philippians 3:7. We change perspective and priorities, and then bear the change in attitude of those who depended on us being secular and part of their culture.
Every person is chosen to be saved, but not all will choose to be saved (e.g., Satan). The spiritual cross cannot be chosen for us, but each person must choose it for themselves.
Golgotha Oct. 12
Mark 15:22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. 25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.
Golgotha was a knoll shaped like a skull. The name is from the Hebrew word for skull or head, Strong’s H1538, gulgoleth. Luke 23:33 uses the Latin word for skull, Calvary (calvaria).
Perhaps there is a bit of imagery here from Genesis 3:15: “…He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” The seed of the woman will bruise (the serpent’s) head – the vertical piece of the cross delivering a fatal blow to the skull – and the serpent will bruise (the seed’s) heel – deliver a non-fatal blow.
Mark does not mention John’s cry from Jesus, “I thirst,” but wine mingled with myrrh is given Him to drink. Perhaps this was a custom based on Proverbs 31:6,
“Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.”
Jesus refuses the drink. He has no bitterness of heart, and He did not choose to forget His poverty or pain.
Mark includes the scene of His executioners casting lots for His clothing, His only possession, a reference to Psalm 22:16-18.
Jesus was in front of Pilate ay the sixth hour of the day according to John 19:14. John is using Roman time with the day starting at midnight, so the sixth hour is 6 A.M.
Mark 15:25 states that Jesus was crucified at the third hour of the day. The Jewish day began at 6 A.M. making the Crucifixion at 9 A.M.
King of the Jews Oct. 13
Mark 15:26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
The whole of the Crucifixion is told very succinctly by Mark. All but two of the first 40 verses of Chapter 15 begin with Greek words that can be translated as “And.” (Verses 30 and 32 are spoken by those passing near and by the priests.) Events move relentlessly and painfully toward death.
We feel the barbs of others’ comments amidst the brutal pain of the execution’s torture. Those whom He would save show no mercy toward Him.
Posted with Him on the cross is the title conferred upon Him in mockery: The King of the Jews. The inscription implies a Roman triumph and a Jewish defeat.
There is more to the title. The religious leaders had condemned Jesus for saying He was the Son of God. The Roman authorities condemned Him for saying He was the King of the Jews.
Nathanael had testified to these two titles much earlier (John 1:49). But the titles were understood by all from a physical secular perspective limited in time and space.
God had promised something greater. He had said of the Messiah, “…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…” (2 Sam. 7:13-14). The word “forever” allows us to see beyond the limited reign of the literal son of David, Solomon.
Psalm 2:2-7 affirms this understanding. In Psalm 110:1, David refers to “his son” as Lord. How can this be? Matt 22:41-45 makes the reference clear.
The particular title is less relevant than the identity of Jesus. His identity as part of the Trinity and the Creator of the universe confers upon Him many titles. Like facets on a diamond, each is a part of the whole.
Reviled Oct. 14
Mark 15:27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”
29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.
The ministers of the King of the Jews are two robbers, one crucified on either side of Him. His court is filled with those who abuse Him, revile Him for what they consider His inability to do what He has claimed. His accusers mock Him for His powerlessness.
Jesus on the cross on the eve of the Passover is the sacrificial lamb. As the symbolic lamb offered before achieving freedom so many generations ago, a new sacrifice is being made to open the pathway to freedom.
Isaiah 53, referenced in verse 28, is the description of the Messiah that no one desired, a portrait of the unlikely Savior, and the death of this broken Man. This is the Savior promised, but not the One desired.
God says of His people in Isaiah 54:7, “For a mere moment I have forsaken you (let you loose), But with great mercies I will gather you.”
And so God allows people to do what must be done to move from darkness to light.
Next day
