The Triumph of Evil and The Defeat of Sin
Public Meeting, Week 6, Semester 1, 2022
Mark 15:21 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. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 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, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 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.
33 And 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 with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 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.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 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!”
Our passage today centers on the cross of Jesus and it’s interesting in the way it’s written. The actual act of crucifixion itself is hardly mentioned at all. It just says “and they crucified him” (v.24). If you think what will make a good movie about the cross, it’s the crucifixion – that’s why Mel Gibson’s Passion has such long and gory scenes of the crucifixion. But the Bible doesn’t. Instead, it’s the stuff that happens around it. In particular, the people. And it teaches us, through the people’s perspective, the 4 things the cross of Jesus can be.
The cross can be an obligation
21 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.
We don’t know who Simon of Cyrene is, except that he’s from Cyrene, North Africa. It was common at that time for soldiers to compel people to do stuff, especially if you remember the Romans had conquered the whole region at that time. Mark tells us he’s the father of Alexander and Rufus, which kind of indicates that the original readers knew them at least. It’s like if I told you about Cameron Mitchell, Andrew’s dad. It’s almost like you don’t believe me? Go ask Alexander and Rufus. Ask them what happened to his dad.
The point though is how Simon was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Maybe he’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like how some people just so happen to grow up in a house that forced them to go to church. Think about the people in your church, not just the youth, older people too. You can always tell when someone comes because their parents forced them to, or because they think that’s what God expects of them. The cross can be an obligation.
The cross can be an opportunity
23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.
Do you guys know what they call Good Friday in China? Friday. For these Roman soldiers, Jesus is just one of hundreds of people they executed each year. It’s just a job for them, but it’s not a bad job because you get to keep whatever is left behind. That’s what they did.
It’s exactly like the prosperity gospel. It’s no different to people who say become a Christian and God will bless you. God wants you to live the life you were meant to live and he will give you the power to change your circumstances and live your victory life. Who doesn’t want that? It sounds Christian, but all it is, is you come to the cross just for what you can get out of it. Casting lots to see if you’ll have your prayers answered. If God will give you what you want.
The cross can be an obstacle
27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 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, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 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.
Everyone had heard or seen the things Jesus did when he was alive. The people saw how he challenged the religious elite and the upper class. The priests saw how Jesus healed the sick and saved the poor. But if he is really who he says he is, why is he now hanging on the cross? If he really is the King, why didn’t God protect him? And why should we trust someone to save us if they can’t even save themselves? Who wants a lifeguard that can’t swim?
And so for many people the cross can be an obstacle. We can’t underestimate how offensive the cross is. If you ever stop and think about it, Christianity is a weird religion. We believe that a Palestinian carpenter who lived 2,000 years ago is the divine manifestation of God. Not only that, he was condemned by his own people and crucified. What kind of a weak God is that? The cross can be an obstacle.
The cross can be an offering for sin
33 And 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 with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 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.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 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!”
From the sixth hour, which is roughly 12pm, there was darkness over the whole land. It’s a sign of God’s wrath – judgment is coming. I know most of you are Christian but stop and think about this. What would you expect God to do, reading this for the first time? God is going to come and rescue Jesus, right? He saves the righteous and punishes the wicked. Think of Pharoah in Egypt and what happened when darkness fell and the last angel came. Think of Elijah confronting the priests of Baal, 3000 of them against him alone. Afterward God took him up to heaven, protecting him from the evil queen Jezebel.
So you wait. Until Jesus cries out Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani. It sounds like Eli, which makes sense to people who assumed God is coming to save Jesus. But Jesus died. No Elijah, no fire from heaven, no rescue. It’s anti-climatic. Except that the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The curtain that symbolised the barrier between humans and God, between our sinfulness and God’s righteousness. The curtain that opened once a year for the high priest to enter right after an offering for sin. Apparently what they used to do was tie a rope around the priests waist because people have gone in there and died. Sin stood in such opposition to God that people have died going in without true repentance. It’s almost like the offering wasn’t accepted. And this curtain was torn in two from top to bottom.
What does that mean? It means that the way has been opened. An offering has been made and accepted. An offering so potent that no more further offering is needed. It covers the sin of not just one priest if he’s lucky, but all priests forever. In fact, not just priests, everyone everywhere. The cross can be an offering for sin.
The cross can be an obligation.
The cross can be an opportunity.
The cross can be an obstacle.
The cross can be an offering for sin.