This week's Bible Study - October 25, 2009
The Hero Victorious
 Background Scripture:
Mark 15:1-39; 16:1-7
Quote of the Week:
“There is no substitute for victory.”
-- Douglas MacArthur
How do you feel after a crushing defeat? Likely, we all have felt the blow of defeat. Sometimes, I wonder if those people that don't follow sports have it easier than those who really enjoy following a sports team. If you are a sports fanatic, you may find that your mood can vary greatly based on the success or failure of your team. It really doesn't make any difference if your team wins or loses in the grand scheme of things. It may matter more if you are on the team, but I've seen people get a huge sense of pride because their team wins and others that are devastated at a loss. I've been around long enough to be happy about my team winning and somewhat depressed at a loss.
While having your favorite team lose a big game or being knock out of the playoffs can be unsettling, it is nothing like what happens when you're hopes and dreams have been shattered, which is something most of us know something of. Life may not have ended up quite the way we had planned. There are a multitude of reasons why that may be the case, but whatever the reason, we've all experienced that or know someone that has.
I would submit that we know very little of what went through the minds of the disciples and the friends of Jesus when he was taken captive and then crucified. Many had drastically altered their lives to follow him and then their lives were certainly shattered. They had put their faith in Jesus, and he would have seemed to let them down. When Jesus was with them, they were fearless, but when Jesus was arrested, they became afraid and hid. Their lives were in turmoil and they had no idea of what it was that they would do.
After Jesus had been taken captive, the chief priests, elders, teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin reached a decision on what to do with Jesus. It would appear that they had consensus opinion from everyone to move forward (or others just kept quiet). This is somewhat troubling to me, as I think back to the teacher of the law who asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, and the teacher was in agreement when Jesus said it was to love God with all you have and to love your neighbor as yourself. Although the vast majority of the religious elite seemed to be against Jesus, there were some that stood by him, however quietly. There is no mention of those who dissented with this public opinion. Either they were absent, swayed by the opinions of the others, or drowned out by an overwhelming majority. It can be very hard to go against the flow
There was very little that they could do with Jesus, legally, so they decided to use the governing bodies to take care of their 'problem'. This is sometimes a common thing that happens today. Many people rail against the government when it goes against their views, but then they try and use that same body to push their own agenda. Most who read this are blessed to live in a nation where we have freedoms to dissent, but many here are far from consistent in how they view the governing bodies.
Pilate, the Roman governor who was assigned to this region asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. In part, Pilate did this to incense the religious leaders and the Jewish people at large, for whom he felt no allegiance. Jesus only said that it was as Pilate had said. Although the chief priests accused him of many things, Jesus made no reply. Surely, any of us who were being falsely accused, over and over, would want to clear our name or set the record straight. Silence often implies guilt to many people. Pilate had to realize that these charges were trumped up. The passage stated that he was amazed that Jesus made no reply. This would indicate that the charges were perhaps outlandish.
The custom was to release a prisoner who the people requested. Pilate knew it was the chief priests behind Jesus' arrest, so he asked the Jewish people if he should release Jesus or another prisoner. However, as he referred to Jesus as the king of 'you' Jews, he likely incited them more to side with the chief priests. Whatever loyalty they may have felt to Christ was outweighed by their disgust and hatred of the Roman government that was over them. So, perhaps it isn't so difficult to see how the chief priests stirred up the crowd to release Barabbas, who was a genuine threat to people.
Many people today are like that crowd. They may not be antagonistic towards Jesus, but when pressed, they choose just about anything else, rather than giving their lives to him. As believers, we see the many reasons why we believe. Those who don't believe are less enthusiastic about making a change in their lives, so they often will put their faith and trust in something else that makes no sense at all. Enter the release of Barabbas.
So, the people wanted Barabbas released, which made no sense to Pilate. As much as he disliked the Jewish people, he knew that his own job was dependent upon not allowing a riotous situation to take place. So, he asked them what it was that he should do with Jesus, the one they called king of the Jews. His words likely incited them all the more, and surprisingly they shouted that Jesus should be crucified.
Pilate asked them why, but they continued to shout. Rather than take a stand to do the right thing and wanting to satisfy them, Pilate handed Barabbas to them, had Jesus flogged (maybe that would be enough), and then handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Jesus was mocked by the soldiers, as they placed a purple robe on him, suggesting mock royalty, and they placed a twisted crown of thorns on his head. They struck him over and over and spit on him. They fell to their knees to mockingly pay homage to him. After their "fun" was over, they put his own clothes back on him and led him out to crucify him.
Jesus was brought to Golgotha and was crucified. He took nothing to deaden his pain. He endured tremendous amount of ridicule from not only the soldiers, but also from those who passed by. The chief priests and teachers of the law also mocked him among themselves. To them, this was the true test. If he was really coming to save them, he would come down off the cross. They concluded that he was not the real deal and became even more certain that they felt that they had done a service for their religion. Others said that if he came down from the cross, they would see and believe. Even those who were crucified with him hurled insults on him.
Several people stood by and watched the things that were happening. There is a strange fascination that some people have with the macabre. They heard the mocking and ridicule that was being heaped upon Jesus. But, as they watched, they saw darkness come over the whole land for a period of about three hours. If it was the middle of the afternoon where you live, what would you think if darkness descended for three hours? That would be headline news. Then, they heard Jesus cry out to God, and some people assumed he was calling for Elijah. Still, they waited to see if Elijah would come to take Jesus down off the cross. Some wanted to believe, or maybe they just wanted to see something amazing.
As the people watched, Jesus cried out with a loud cry and breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was also torn in two from top to bottom. This was no small feat and was very significant, as that curtain divided people from God. This would not have been something seen from Golgotha, but those in the temple would realize that something happened and it was more than coincidental. As modern day believers, we may tend to gloss over this, but the implication is huge. If you've grown up in a Christian church, you may have always taken for granted the ability to have a relationship with God. For their entire history, the Jewish people could not approach the throne of God, except through the priests. Jesus provided access for each of us to God.
The centurion, who had witnessed all that had happened, and had been standing in front of Jesus, heard Jesus cry out and saw how he had died. As he thought about what he had seen and heard, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God". Some people today will see things happening around them, but will not choose to believe anything about Jesus. However, God will often use many different circumstances to reach others and convince them of the truthfulness of Christ's redeeming power.
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council who was waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned a centurion to go and check. When he found out that Jesus had died, Pilate gave the body to Joseph, who took the body of Christ, wrapped it in linen and placed it in a tomb that was cut out of rock. If the story ended here, you wouldn't be reading this lesson. I wouldn't be writing it, and we all would be doing something different. The life and death of Jesus is interesting, but it is nothing that would change anybody's life.
Joseph surely didn't realize it, but he was only lending the tomb to Jesus - he would get it back. The women saw where the body of Jesus had been laid. It is important to note that the women noticed the location, as some people have tried to say that they went to the wrong tomb to debunk the story of the resurrection, but there are many more proofs that need to be examined.
After the Sabbath, some women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. All that they had hoped for was over, but they still wanted to go and honor the body of Christ. Perhaps that would put closure to something, so that they could get back to life as they had known it before. The disciples, on the other hand, had holed themselves away, fearing for their own safety.
As the women headed to the tomb, they surely began to ask themselves how they would get in. They had seen where the body had been laid and saw the large stone in front of the tomb. However, when they got there, they saw that the very large stone had been rolled away. Were they disappointed, thinking that someone had broken into the tomb? Were they excited, thinking that Jesus had actually risen?
They entered the tomb, which took some amount of courage. When they got there, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side. They were alarmed. I'm not sure what they were expecting - and empty tomb, seeing the body of Jesus lying there or something else, but I doubt they were expecting somebody wearing a white robe sitting in the tomb. I can't imagine a lot of people that would be wearing white robes in those days. When I wear light colored clothing today, I always seem to find a way to spill coffee or write on myself. I can only imagine the issues with keeping a robe white, while wearing it then, so even that by itself was somewhat amazing.
The man told them that they should not be alarmed. I am sure a lot was going through their minds, and alarm was probably one of those things. He told them that they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. This helped bring them back to reality. Then, he said, 'He is risen! He is not here" He pointed to the place where he had been and then told them to go tell the disciples that he was going ahead of them into Galilee. In the previous lesson, Mark 14, Jesus had told his disciples that after he had risen, he would go ahead of them into Galilee. I doubt they recalled that at the time, as the words following "after he had risen" were words that they disregarded. However, the disciples would find Jesus in Galilee, just as Jesus had told them.
Closing
We need to ensure that we don't get too tied to consensus opinion in our world. While it appeared that all the religious elite were against Jesus, there had been some that had sided with him in the past. But, it appears that their tie to Jesus was more philosophical and nothing that they based their life upon. It is easy for some people to be in church and hear the words and implicitly agree with what is being said, without ever really changing their lives to match. As you live your life, surround yourself with others who have the same aspirations. This will help to keep you on track and can become a mutual encouragement to really live for Christ.
One of the issues of those who had turned against Jesus was that he just didn't match their preconceptions. This is something that can be common in the lives of people today. Some people care less for who Jesus is or even who the Bible says he was going to be, and want to make Jesus match what they want in life. Some people will simply refuse to trust in Christ because he just isn't who they think he should be. Are we looking for what we want or are we looking for who Jesus really is?
Other people may have trusted in Christ, but life didn't turn out the way that they had planned. Life didn't get easier, as they had figured it might. Trusting in Christ is for eternity and not just for this life. I was reading Revelation 5 earlier this week. John, the writer, was weeping because nobody was worthy enough to open the scroll. Then, Jesus appeared and he was able to open the scroll. For worried and fearful believers, this is a great occurrence. It would be quite different if the scroll couldn't be opened and then walked up one resembling Buddha and he opened the scroll. Hearts of believers would truly sink. But, in Jesus Christ, we have the victorious savior, our redeemer, who is worthy to open the scrolls.
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