The Triumph of the King
Mark 15:42-47
Introduction: One year ago, on Palm Sunday 2018,
we looked ahead two chapters from where we were in our Mark series to look at
Mark’s account of the Triumphal entry ( https://boothbaybaptist.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-coming-of-servant-king-mark-111-11.html ).
We actually got to that point of the Gospel, a couple of months later,
in June 2018. It has taken as that long to get from Palm Sunday to Good Friday
in our study of the Gospel of Mark! (Either we’re being really thorough, or I
am more than a little slow. Probably some of both!). Rather than going back to
that scene this morning, I want to stay on track so we can look at Mark’s
report of the resurrection next week, in its context. So, I’ve decided to look
at our current passage in Mark 15, the burial of Jesus, in the Light of the
Triumphal entry.
Think about the
unfolding of the story: On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered the city to the cheers of
the crowd: the King is coming! He
entered the Temple that day and Mark says He looked around at everything before returning to Bethany (Mk
11:11). Now, five days later, He has been crucified, the veil of that same Temple
has been torn from top to bottom, and He lay dead in the tomb. From Triumph
to the Tomb? The King is coming! The King is dead? What did this mean?
This is not the
unfolding story that anyone had expected earlier that week. Well the religious
leaders did want to put Him to death, but not during the feast, they
didn’t want risk a popular revolt. And yes, His admirers might have been a
little surprised by His lowly entrance into the city, riding on a donkey’s
colt. But they still hailed Him in messianic terms as their coming King and Savior.
They may have expected a messianic entrance more like we read in Revelation 19:11-16,
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on
it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes
war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and
he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped
in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven,
arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp
sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod
of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the
Almighty. 16 On his robe and
on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
That is more like it! That is the kind of
power and reign we can relate too! A white horse, a sharp sword, ruling the
nations with a rod of iron! At least if this was my plan (or maybe yours) we
would write it that way. That day is coming, but that day is still future. He
came the first time to make a way for humans to be included in His future
kingdom. God had a plan. He was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He came first as the
Passover-King, the King who is also the Lamb.
His first coming
was as a Suffering-Servant and God had already embedded the details of His plan
in the Scriptures through the ages. On Palm Sunday they quoted Psalm 118:24-25,
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the
name to the Lord!” Only later, when their minds were opened, when they were
given the Spirit to illumine their understanding, only then would they see and
put it all together, and look back a couple of verses to 118:22, “The Stone that the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone.” Ironically, the word “King” is applied to Jesus
only here in chapter 15. Six times. In Pilate’s questioning, in the mocking of
the soldiers, and it is the charge that is nailed to the cross, the charge for
which He is executed: The King of the
Jews (15:26). Even as He died, we’ve seen that He was in control, as He
fulfilled the Scriptures and carried out the plan of God.
The Maine* Idea: Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures and was buried…
fulfilling the Divine plan, and confirming His identity as Messiah.
I. The Courage
of Joseph: He took courage, and at great risk stood
and asked for the body of Jesus, planning to give Him a respectful burial
(41-43).
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is,
the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected
member of the Council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took
courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
The Day of
Preparation before the Sabbath was a time of great care being taken to maintain
kosher, and to prepare for worship. That would seem to be even more diligent
during a Feast. You would not want to do anything that would exclude yourself
from worship. The Sabbath would begin at sunset and it was already afternoon.
When Herod had killed John the Baptist, John’s disciples at least came to claim
the body and give him a proper burial (Mk 6:29). The disciples of Jesus are not
mentioned in this scene in Mark. From John’s account, we know that John had
been there at least part of the time Jesus was on the Cross, but even there we
read nothing about his disciples stepping up to claim and bury the body of the
Lord. Strike the Shepherd and the sheep
will be scattered. They had scattered, and it seems were still in
self-preservation mode. But someone steps up, from an unexpected direction.
Joseph of
Arimathea, a respected member of the
council, that is, the Sanhedrin, comes forward. Mark doesn’t give us a lot
of information about Joseph, it seems that in his usual fashion, he is allowing
the man’s actions to speak for itself. Mark doesn’t tell us if Joseph had been
present when the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus. It seems unlikely, since no voice
of dissention is mentioned. We get a clue to his authentic faith in that Mark
simply says He was “also himself looking
for the kingdom of God.” Luke gives more information,
“Now there was a man named Joseph, from the
Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous
man, 51 who had not
consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom
of God…” (Luke 23:50-51).
So, Joseph was the minority opinion, and did not see Jesus as
a threat. But is that all? Matthew tells us even more, saying that Joseph had
become a disciple of Jesus (Mt 27:57), and John adds that he “…was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly
for fear of the Jews” (Jn 19:38). Now think about what Joseph does in
asking for the body of Jesus. First of all, from a political perspective, he is
aligning himself in some way with this man who had just ordered executed, coming
before Pilate himself. Would it put him at risk with the civil authorities?
Maybe. What He was doing, and would do, would also be done in broad daylight in
a public place. There is no doubt that word would get back to the rest of the
Counsel. His standing in the council,
maybe his position, maybe worse, would have been in jeopardy.
It was also the
eve of the Sabbath, during a religious feast. Going into the home of a gentile,
not to mention handling and burying a body, would have rendered him ceremonially
unclean, and so unfit to participate in the Temple worship. Even so, despite the risk from the civil
authorities, from His colleagues in the Sanhedrin, and even the risk to his
personal readiness for worship, Joseph of Arimathea “took courage,” and he seems determined to give Jesus a respectful
burial. It was the least he could do for this righteous man who had been
treated with such injustice! John tells us another member of the council,
Nicodemus, who had come to Jesus at night (Jn 3:1-9) and had spoken up before
the council saying that He should be given a fair hearing (Jn 7:51), went with
Joseph, bringing along spices to put on the body for burial (Jn 10:39). Mark is
giving us the Reader’s Digest version, and doesn’t mention Nicodemus. Did servants
go with them? Maybe, but we are not told.
It seems there is
a lesson here for us. Are we guilty of trying to be a secret disciple of
Jesus? We know who He is, we’ve trusted Him, but we don’t want to stand up
and step out and say, “I am a follower of Jesus!” We are here for a purpose, to
be a witness. He calls us to be ready, with gentleness and respect, to give a
reason for the hope that is in us. Take courage! It probably won’t cost you
your life. And because He arose, no matter what, if you know Him, you are going
to be alright! He’s got you! After all, Jesus
died for our sins according to the
Scriptures and was buried… fulfilling the Divine plan, and confirming His
identity.
II. The Concession of
Pilate: Who was surprised, and after inquiring of the centurion released
the body to Joseph (44-45).
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And
summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the
centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.
Pilate was
seemingly a man doing his best to maintain peace, with little attention to
justice or to doing what was right. He had clearly seen no threat in Jesus.
Even when the crowd, manipulated by the leaders, called for his execution,
Pilate asked “Why? What evil has He done?”
(Mk 15:14). The clear indication is that Pilate’s examination of Jesus
produced no charge worthy of execution. Though he accedes to their demands, he
knew their charges were without merit (15:15). This context confirms that. If Pilate
thought Jesus really was an insurrectionist and rebel, there is no way He would
have granted the body to Joseph. Such criminals who challenged the rule of Rome
were made an example of, and usually left for an extended period on display
after death, to be picked at by animals, until the stench required that they be
thrown into a common grave, in a place set apart for criminals. That doesn’t
happen here. God had a plan.
Pilate was surprised to hear that He was
already dead since crucified men lingered much longer normally, typically
at least a day or two. It had only been six hours! Remember, a brutal
scourging preceded the crucifixion of Jesus, with the result that He was too
weakened to carry His cross the full distance to Golgotha. Even so, He was in
control of what was happening as He carried out the Father’s plan. The darkness
and despair gave way to a cry of triumph, recorded by John: “Tetelestai!” That is, “It is finished… [the debt is paid…]” And
then He committed his spirit to the Father, and breathed His last. No one took
His life, He laid it down of His own accord (and He would take it up again, but
that story is for next week!)
Remember that the
soldier, who had seen many die before, was so taken by the way He “breathed His last” that He said “Surely this man was the Son of God.” And
so, Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus had already died, so much so that
he summoned the Centurion and inquired if it were so. The Centurion knew
death when he saw it. Carrying out these executions was a part of his
responsibilities. Though he might still have been shaken by what He had just seen,
the way Jesus died which led Him to confess Him as the Son of God, he
told Pilate is was so, (time of death 3 PM, more or less) the “King of the Jews” hung dead on the
Cross.
Only with that
confirmation does Pilate release the body to Joseph. He was a respected member
of the Sanhedrin after all, so it would not be a problem with the Sanhedrin.
And even if it was, Pilate knew their motives, their jealousy, and perhaps He
viewed this as a way of affirming that he was not guilty of this man’s blood.
But Pilate was not guiltless. Knowing Jesus was innocent he ultimately gave in
to the leaders who cried out for His blood. Ironically, Pilate would be
forgotten to history except for being mentioned in the gospels, and a line
preserved by the church in the so-called Apostles’ Creed that says Jesus was “…was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of
the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and
was buried…” But nothing was going to interfere with God’s plan. And
so, at this Passover of the Jews, Jesus died
for our sins according to the Scriptures and was buried… fulfilling the
Divine plan, and confirming His identity.
III. Confirmation
by the Witnesses:
The witness of the Centurion, and the actions of Joseph in preparing the body
and sealing the tomb, the witness of the women, all confirmed He was dead and
also fulfilled Scripture (46-47; Isa 53:9).
When Paul
summarized the gospel message he had preached to the Corinthians, he said that
“…Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, and was buried, and was raised again the third day according to
the Scriptures.” The fact that Jesus died and was buried—sealed in a tomb,
was confirmation of His death, which would also testify to miracle of His
resurrection.
46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in
the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And
he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Once again, without giving a specific citation, Mark’s
telling of the story of Jesus invites us to think back to the Old Testament,
specifically Isaiah 53:9. The translation of the NASB is helpful, “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet
He was with a rich man in His death…” The first phrase indicates the expected
disposition of the body of someone condemned for insurrection… the body left on
the cross to be scavenged by animals, until it was removed and cast into the
smoldering fire at the garbage dump, or at best thrown into a common grave,
usually not much more than a ditch, along with other executed criminals. Truly,
“His grave was assigned with wicked men…”
But that was not the plan of God.
Joseph of Arimathea laid Jesus in his own
tomb, a tomb that had never been used. How do we know that? Well who else’s
tomb would it have been? He didn’t buy it that day! He didn’t just come across an empty tomb and
take it! But we also have the other Gospels to fill in the gaps for us. We read
for example in Matthew 27:59-60,
59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and
placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a
big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Think about this: this was Joseph’s tomb, intended one day
for His own burial, and Christ took Joseph’s place in the tomb. And in a
real sense, He took your place and my place and the place of every one through
the ages who would one day put their trust in Him. Paul said in Romans 6:23
that “…the wages of sin is death…” He
wrote in Romans 5:12 that, “…sin came into the world through one man, and
death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” All
but one that is. The God-Man, Jesus Christ, was without sin. He was righteous
and holy. Yet He died for us, and was buried. Did Joseph see Jesus as His
substitute? Did Barabbas? Do you? He died, so that we could have new life.
That’s the Maine* idea in this passage…
What is God saying to me
in this passage? Jesus
died for our sins according to the
Scriptures and was buried… fulfilling the Divine plan, and confirming His
identity.
What would God have me
to do in response to this passage? Joseph of Arimathea had clearly been drawn to Jesus.
Mark tells us he was looking for the kingdom of God. Matthew and John call him
a disciple, albeit a secret disciple,
of Jesus. I believe the message Mark wants us to take from this is that we too
should stand up and speak up for the Truth. He has placed each of us where we
are. He is the Lord of the Harvest. There are people that God has sovereignly placed
in our lives, and He has strategically us in theirs. They need to know the
truth. Do they know you know Jesus? Next week we celebrate the
resurrection. Can you invite someone to hear the message of the Gospel? It
could be the day they see their need, and put their trust in Jesus. The King is
coming! Let’s be faithful! AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment