Bible ReadingMark 15:1-47 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 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. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 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. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 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. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
[41:24]Genesis 3:17-18 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
[54:39]Galatians 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
[01:07:03]Philippians 2:10-11 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[01:11:23]Observation questions- In Mark 15, what details show that Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, yet still handed him over? [48:04]
- What does the crowd choose between Jesus and Barabbas, and how does Mark describe Barabbas? [49:50]
- What are the soldiers doing when they put the purple cloak and crown of thorns on Jesus, and what words do they say to him? [01:09:33]
- What two things happen right after Jesus dies, and who speaks up at the cross? [01:17:35]
Interpretation questions- Jesus answers Pilate, “You have said so,” and then stays mostly silent. What does that reveal about the kind of King Jesus is? [48:47]
- Barabbas goes free while Jesus is condemned. Why is that exchange such a powerful picture of the human heart and the gospel? [51:07]
- Genesis ties thorns to the curse, and Mark places thorns on Jesus’ head. How does that help explain what Jesus is bearing at the cross? [01:03:51]
- The mockers say, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.” Why does the cross turn that insult into the truth of salvation? [01:16:39]
Application questions- Crowd pleasing can recognize the truth and still betray it. Where is the pressure of other people’s opinions making it hard to obey Jesus plainly right now? [53:24]
- The Barabbas trade still happens whenever someone wants Jesus as Savior but not as King. Where is the temptation to say, “I’ll follow Jesus, but not there,” or “not that habit,” or “not that money”? [52:24]
- Jesus wore the thorns of the curse so his people would not bear the judgment their sin deserves. When guilt or shame rises up, what helps the heart remember that Christ has already borne what was earned? [01:08:22]
- The true King stayed on the cross when he could have come down. How does that change the way suffering, sacrifice, and costly obedience are viewed in the Christian life? [01:16:44]
- The torn curtain means the way to God has been opened. In daily life, what keeps a person from actually drawing near to God with that kind of freedom? [01:19:07]
- The centurion moved from watching Jesus die to confessing, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Is there anyone in view right now who seems far from faith, but may be closer than it appears? How might prayer and patient hope look in that situation? [01:20:50]
- The stone looked like a period, but it was only a comma. What part of life right now feels sealed, finished, or hopeless, and what would it look like to trust that God is not done writing the sentence? [01:24:38]
