Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Mark 15:20-47

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.

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. 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. ²⁶ And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

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.

³³ Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

³⁵ Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” ³⁶ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

³⁷ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

³⁸ Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, ⁴¹ who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴² Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

In our Bible lesson today, as the Apostles’ Creed says,  Jesus “was crucified, died, and was buried.” As we look at Jesus on the cross, we know that He is not dying for His own sins, because He did not have any. We who did sin are the ones who deserve to be punished. Instead, Jesus dies in our place.

As we come to Him confessing our sins and clinging to Him in faith, something wonderful happens! Luther called it the “blessed exchange”: Jesus exchanges His righteous and holy life for our sin and death. He goes to the cross to pay for our sin, and we get His righteous and holy life—a forgiven life, a restored life, an eternal life! That is not a particularly good deal for Jesus, but an incredibly great deal for us! Therefore, as Christians, we keep our life’s focus on that cross. Remember that the cross signifies that blessed exchange with Jesus, which includes His atonement for your sin and its spiritual consequences. All this is exchanged at the cross and received in faith.

That is what Jesus did for you! That is what the Gospel means—Christ Crucified for you means that your sins are forgiven, that you have a holy life now, and an eternal life with Christ in heaven forever! That is what Jesus means when, on the cross, He says, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30). His work of salvation for us is now accomplished. We receive that work in faith, and we are saved, forgiven, justified with God, and now live in peace with God. “Truly this Man IS the Son of God!”

Let us pray: O almighty God, mercifully look on Your people, and by Your great goodness govern us in body and preserve us in soul; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Mark 15:1-19

15 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. ² Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”

³ And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. ⁴ Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” ⁵ But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

⁶ Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. ⁷ And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. ⁸ Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. ⁹ But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. ¹² Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³ So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴ Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵ So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

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.

Morning has arrived, and the whole Jewish council—the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes—have condemned Jesus, bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Among other things, Pilate then asks three questions: “Are you the King of the Jews?”; “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”; and “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” Answers: Yes, Jesus is the King of the Jews; the crowd asks for Barabbas to be released, instead of their King; and then they demand that Jesus, their King, be crucified.

Then Jesus the King is scourged, struck on the head, spat on, and mocked as a King: clothed in a purple robe and crown of thorns, mockingly bowed to and worshiped, and saluted with “Hail, King of the Jews!” All in all, it’s a very rough day to be the King of the Jews, and the day is not over. It only gets worse for this particular King.

Fortunately, we know that for this King, His kingdom is not of this world. Good thing too, because with subjects like this, who needs enemies! But then, that’s the point, isn’t it? We who should rightly receive Jesus as King have been born into the same sinful world that despises Him and lives in rebellion against Him. All of fallen humanity would continue in this rebellion against the rightful King if nothing had been done. So, Jesus our gracious Sovereign did what needed to be done for His subjects—He took on human flesh Himself, subjected Himself to God’s holy Law, fulfilled it for us, and then paid the penalty for breaking that Kingly Law with His own life… for us! The King takes the penalty for the rebellion of His own subjects—where else in this world does such a thing happen? It does not. In faith we proclaim, “Hail, King of God’s Kingdom!”

Let us pray: O almighty God, mercifully look on Your people, and by Your great goodness govern us in body and preserve us in soul; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Mark 14:43-72

⁴³ And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”

⁴⁵ As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶ Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. ⁴⁷ And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? ⁴⁹ I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰ Then they all forsook Him and fled.

⁵¹ Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, ⁵² and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

⁵³ And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. ⁵⁴ But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. ⁵⁶ For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” ⁵⁹ But not even then did their testimony agree.

⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶¹ But He kept silent and answered nothing.

Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶² Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

⁶⁵ Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

⁶⁶ Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. ⁶⁷ And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹ And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it again.

And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”

⁷¹ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

⁷² A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Years ago the Army recruiting slogan was this: “In the Army, we do more before 9AM than most people do all day.” Jesus is not most people. Before the rooster even crows twice (which is long before 9AM), Jesus is betrayed by Judas, arrested by an armed crowd, abandoned by His supporters, tried by the Sanhedrin, slandered by false witnesses, condemned wrongly as deserving death, spat on, blindfolded, beaten, mocked, and denied by Peter. The day is still young, and this is only Mark chapter 14; we know what follows in chapter 15: Jesus’ trial before Pilate, His crucifixion, and His death. The recruiting slogan for Jesus’ army at this point could only be this: “Come suffer with us”—“Take up your cross and follow Me.”

From the betrayal of Judas to the denial of Peter, we clearly see that even the very best of humanity—those specifically chosen by Jesus Himself for this very task—are woefully inadequate, unreliable, and untrustworthy. By contrast, Jesus proves Himself fully adequate for the task, fully reliable, and fully worthy. Despite all that is thrown at Him in opposition, nevertheless He continues His course, to complete the task assigned by the Father—that Jesus fulfill all righteousness for us by keeping God’s holy law in complete and total perfection, and then by being the sacrifice paid for us, for all the sins, for all the times when we too proved to be woefully inadequate, unreliable, and untrustworthy.

Judas “goes his way” because he dies apart from faith in Christ, but Peter is later forgiven and restored, as he receives that in faith. We too look to Christ who forgives and restores us any time that we fail Him, by our own types of denials. We come to Him in repentance, admitting our sins, and He is quick to forgive, fully and completely, which we receive in faith.

Let us pray: O almighty God, mercifully look on Your people, and by Your great goodness govern us in body and preserve us in soul; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Revelation 13:5-10

⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰ He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

“If anyone has an ear to hear, let him hear” (9). This is a phrase found in prophetic writings. Jesus says it on five separate occasions in the Gospels and seven times in Revelation, once to each of the seven churches. It might sound a bit odd, but the meaning is clear: “Pay attention; this is important.”

And the thing that is important here—the statement that one shouldn’t miss—is the encouragement to the saints that comes in the next verse: “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (10). In the face of tribulation, small or great, one thing remains the same: God is still in control, His plan is still moving forward, and His saints are still loved and cared for in Christ. The message to the saints in persecution here is the same message Jesus told His disciples in the upper room: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

“Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” That is, by their patient endurance in tribulation, the saints give witness to their faith in Christ, that He is their Savior both from sin and ultimately from the evils of this world as well. Although things will happen to show that our physical safety is not secure, our eternal security remains firm in Christ our Lord, “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” for us. Nothing can change that fact, as we cling to Him in faith. And, because of that, our names are forever written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

“If anyone has an ear to hear, let him hear.”

Let us pray: O almighty God, mercifully look on Your people, and by Your great goodness govern us in body and preserve us in soul; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.