Day Sixty-One with Mark: Mark 15:42-47

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today we are going to look at the burial of Jesus in Mark 15:42-47:

42 When evening had come, and 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 waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

We see here in this passage Jesus’ burial. Lots of things that were common in the culture and that set the tone for the resurrection are here, that we may not see at first.

First, notice the layers this passage jumps through to prove that Jesus was actually dead. Pilate had to sign off. The centurion told Pilate that He was dead. This text establishes for everyone to see that Jesus was actually dead. We even see Pilate wondering, was Jesus really dead. And the text answers, yes. Yes he was.

So, what happens next is even more amazing. Mark wanted you to know that yes, Jesus had died.

We see as well Joseph taking Jesus body and burying it in him tomb. This is one of those things as Westerners we don’t really get, a tomb in that tradition would have been a cave. But within that cave, there would have been different sections where the body would have been laid in preparation for final burial.

If you have a minute, take a look this video, it’s from our recent trip to the Holy Land, and my friend Mackey Yokum explains more about what this process would have looked like.

But to me, one of the significant parts is this. Jesus didn’t have his own tomb. And Joseph allowed Him to use his. In other words, Joseph was saying Jesus was family. Joseph came by night to hear Jesus teach. Now he is declaring: Jesus is family.

Jesus changed his life. That’s what Jesus does. He changed Joseph’s life.

And Monday we’ll look at Mark 16:1-8.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

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Day Sixty with Mark: Mark 15:33-41.

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today in Mark 15: 33-41 we look at the death of Jesus:

33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

matthias_grc3bcnewald_-_the_crucifixion_-_wga10710 One of the things it’s easy to do, and frankly you want to do, is skip through this part and get to the good part. Get to the resurrection. We know it’s coming. We know it’s almost there. We know what happens.

I think because we know it, it’s easy for us to forget, they didn’t. I mean, yeah, Jesus told them He would rise from the dead, He told them that He must die and be raised again, so they “knew” but they didn’t get it.

Can you imagine being them? Can you imagine seeing Jesus breath His last before your very eyes, without really believing what is to come?

We see here so much. We see the curtain torn within the Temple. With that happening, no longer must you go to God through the priest, but now all of us, you, me, everyone, we have access to God. Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, we all have access to the throne room of grace.

We see the fact that Roman centurion saw all that happened, and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. No one does what Jesus did. We all fight for our life, no one lays it down like Jesus did, to save the world. If you ever want to know what love looks like, this right here. If you ever doubt that you are loved, this right here. If you ever feel as though no one cares, this right here.

One other thing, that to me, is truly beautiful about Christianity. Look at who remained? John’s Gospel tells us that he was there as well, but look. It was the women. They stayed. When everyone else fled, they stayed. And look what else the text tells us, they followed and provided for Jesus.

They were part of the team. They were valued. They were important. In that culture, that just wasn’t so. That wasn’t the way that it worked. But in Jesus’ kingdom, that’s the way that it works. All are loved. All are valued. All have a place. Jesus died for all. He died for the world.

And we see that today.

Yes, I know in a few days we’ll read about Easter. But stay here for a while. Remember what He did for us. Remember what He endured for us. Remember.

And be thankful.

Friday we’ll look at Mark 15:42-47.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Nine with Mark: Mark 15:21-32

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today we look at the crucifixion of Jesus in Mark 15:21-32:

21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the 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 clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

There are so, so many things that we could look at in this passage, so many different things of great import here, things that changed the course of human history.

We see here Simon of Cyrene, being forced to carry the cross. He was just standing there, when this was thrust upon him. We never know when life may come to us in ways that we don’t understand and that we are not ready for.

We see them dividing Jesus’ clothes, taking what would have been considered His only real possession of value and picking over it.

We see Jesus being mocked, one last insult.

But to me, and this is something I learned from my trips to the Holy Land, the thing that speaks so much to be me, is the place where Jesus is crucified. Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.

Why was it called “the place of the skull?” I always thought it must have looked like a skull. I may have been taught that some point in my life. But I always believed that it was a reference to the appearance of the place.

12466137_10156386423985043_7373605738327891786_o That’s not true. I wanted to share with you a picture of from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. This mural shows Jesus on the cross, but look what you see beneath the cross. You see a skull.

Golgotha, in Jewish tradition and legend, was the burial place for Adam. So, within tradition, when the earthquake came and the earth was split open, the blood of the second Adam (Jesus) washed over the skull of the first Adam.

Now, this is just legend, there’s no proof that any of this happened. But here’s the deal. That’s exactly what happened. Paul writes about it in his letters. Through Adam, all died. Through Jesus, all live (1 Corinthians 15:22). Through Adam, all of us are fallen. His sin, his betryal of God, it is passed down to all of us.

You, me, all of us. We are all broken. We all choose wrong. We all rebel. We all push against God, we all blow it. Each of us. We all stand in need.

Through Adam, all die.

And through Jesus, all can live. Jesus died for the world. His blood washes away the affects of fall. As we sing in “O For a Thousand Tounges” – He breaks the power of canceled sin!

Just as through Adam, all suffer and die, through Jesus, all live. Through Jesus, all are forgiven.

All are forgiven.

You are forgiven.

Through Jesus.

Today.

The blood of Christ washes away the effects of the Fall. Through Jesus Christ you are forgiven.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 15:33-41.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Eight with Mark: Mark 15:21-32

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today in Mark, we look at Jesus being abused and mocked, as found in Mark 15:16-20:

16 Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters; and they called together the whole cohort. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18 And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. 20 After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

12513776_10156386421290043_2022810508822942294_o The image to your left is one that I took while we were in the Holy Land a few weeks back. It was taken at the Lithostrotos. That was the site of the Roman fortress in Jesus’ day. Anyway the picture you are looking at is something carved into the street, or what was the street in Jesus’ day. It’s a game that the soldiers played called Game of the King.

This game was pure torture. The soldiers more or less rolled dice and where ever it landed was the abuse that they would deal out upon the prisoner. They would mock, beat, abuse and in many times, killed the prisoners before they could be formally excused.

One of the things that I always take away from going to the Holy Land is seeing that these things, they actually happened. This isn’t pretend. This isn’t a fairy tale. These things, they happened.

Wow. Read that text again, seeing what happened. And know it is fact, not pretend.

One of things that is most striking to me about the crucifixion was the abuse that Jesus took. He suffered so much, not just physical, but suffered mockery, abandonment, betrayal, He suffered so much.

And He never complained. He never said that He was wronged. He never protested His innocence.

Would you or I have done that?

Yet He did. Because He was driven by His love. His love for me and you. His love for all the world. His love even for those that were mocking and abusing Him.

He laid down His life out of love, to save the world. Oh, the love that that He has for us.

Today, may we not take that love for granted.

And may we not forget all that Jesus endured for our sake.

May we remember.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 15:21-32.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Seven with Mark: Mark 15:1-15

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today we look at Mark 15:15, Jesus handed over to be crucified:

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 3 Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified
6 Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7 Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8 So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9 Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14 Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Jesus-before-Pilate-1500x One of the interesting things to notice in this passages, at least to me, is the response to the pressure of others. Look at Jesus. Here is Pilate saying basically, who are you? Jesus didn’t feel the need to respond. He wasn’t going to play games, He wasn’t there to bargain for His life. His life was truth, His life was life.

He wasn’t there to bend His knee to Pilate. Remember, no one murdered Jesus. Jesus willing laid down His life for the forgiveness of the world.

When Pilate saw one unafraid, someone that knew truth, that was following truth, that wasn’t giving into or living by the powers of this world, as the text says, he was amazing.

Pilate was used to being big and bad and in control. And Jesus didn’t care. He had a higher purpose, one that Pilate couldn’t stop and didn’t even understand.

Jesus wasn’t playing by Pilates rules. And that amazed Pilate.

Then, look at Pilate. He through (as he tried to “prove” to Jesus) he was in charge, he backed down when pressure came. He didn’t want trouble. He wanted peace. He wanted everything easy. He didn’t want anyone to stir up anything.

So when faced with pressure, instead of doing what he knew be right, he traded a murderer for an innocent man.

Today, this weekend, sometime in our life, we will face pressure. We will know what is the right thing. We will know what we should do. We will have that conviction of what is right.

And we will face pressure. It may be internal temptation. It may be pressure from the outside. It may be pressure from friends, from strangers, from culture, from who knows where or what.

We will face pressure.

What will we do? Will we stand in truth like Jesus? Or will we wilt like Pilate?

We each will face pressure. What will we do it?

Monday we’ll look at Mark 15:16-20.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Six with Mark: Mark 14:66-72

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

Today in Mark we look at Mark 14:66-72. This is where Peter denies Jesus:

66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. 69 And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” 72 At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

One of the things, that to me, is always important to remember about this text is that it isn’t just Judas that betrayed Jesus on this night. Yes, Judas was the one that led them to Jesus, but here, we see Peter, three times deny Jesus. He had the chance to stand up for Jesus in this moment. What can we learn from this?

First, know this. We all fail. Everyone one of us. Here is Peter. The leader of the Apostles. The one that preaches on Pentecost. The one that everyone looks to. Peter. The rock. And he fails. He fails worse than any of us probably ever will.

So, when you blow it, remember. Peter did too. He failed. We all failed. It’s part of our human condition. That’s not to say that we want to fail or that we desire to fail. It is to say that it will happen to each of us.

But, second, your worst mistakes don’t define you. Yes, we see Peter fail here. But fast forward to Acts. It is Peter that is the leader. He is the speaker. He is the one that everyone looks to, to explain what is happening, to point everyone to Jesus. Peter did leave and grieve, but Jesus restored him. And when Jesus forgave him, he was able to forgive himself, and return back into leadership, return back to the family.

Peter failed, yes. But through the grace of God, Peter’s failure didn’t define him. God’s grace did.

And last, the disciples didn’t hold Peter’s failure over his head. The forgave him. They didn’t keep bringing up his mistake. They let it go as well.

We need to forgive ourselves, but we do not need to hold the mistakes of others over their heads. God doesn’t define us by our mistakes. Let’s not define each other in the same way. God has shown us grace and mercy. Let’s show that same grace and mercy to each other.

God doesn’t hold our mistakes over our head. Let’s not hold other’s mistakes over their heads.

Grace is the only answer, it’s the only thing that truly and forever changes lives.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 15:1-15.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Five with Mark: Mark 14:53-64

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Andy Stoddard

I’m back from the Holy Land and our devotionals will return on their normal schedule. I hope you all had a Happy New Year as well. One question for you, we are close to finishing Mark, what would you like to do next? I am either going to return to the format that I have done for years, reflecting upon a passage from the Morning Office (or some other daily lectionary) or I may do another book of the Bible. Any feedback? Let me know what you think!

Today we are going to look at Mark 14:53-64:

53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. 56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 Jesus said, “I am; and
‘you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power,’
and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65 Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

Giotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-32-_-_Christ_before_Caiaphas One of the things that you always take away from going to the Holy Land is the reality of all that Jesus went through for our sake. You see the places where He was abused, where He was mocked, where He was spit upon.

You see places, just like what is described here, where these things happened.

We like to skip ahead the good part. The resurrection, the victory, all that is to come. But, in doing that, we cause the “good part” to lose part of its power. When you see all that Jesus went through, the power of the empty grave is even more amazing! He overcame ALL of this! Don’t rush through the tough parts to get to the victory.

When confronted with the reality of Jesus’ suffering, it’s easy for us to look past it. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked here, we tell ourselves.

But it was. It was as tough as it seems here. In fact, it would have been even worse than we could have imagined. And that hurts. That’s painful. We don’t like to think about what Jesus went through for us, it’s too painful.

I think, for me, one of the reasons it can be difficult is when I see the lengths of faithfulness of our savior, I compare it to how easy I want everything to be. I don’t want to struggle. I don’t want these challenges. I want it to all be calm waters.

But that’s not the way that life works. The challenges, the tough times, that’s most when we see the power of Jesus.

Don’t rush through the tough parts of the Bible. And don’t rush through the tough parts of our lives. In those valleys, in those trials, that most often when we see the power of God.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 14:66-72.

What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!