December 22, 2024
Hopelessness
Mark 15:21-47
Sermon Notes
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 – “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”
1 Corinthians 15:50-57 – “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Q: How do I continue doing the next right thing in moments of hopelessness?
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.”
Rom. 16:13 – “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.”
Mark 15:22-23 – “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.”
“Place of the skull,” Lat. calvus, “Calvary”
Proverbs 31:4-5 – “It is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.”
Proverbs 31:6-7 – “Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.”
Mark 15:24-32 – “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.”
“Derided,” Gk. βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō), “blasphemy”
Mark 15:33-37 – “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.”
“Whole land,” or “whole earth” (Ex. 10:21-23; Amos 8:9)
Psalm 22
Malachi 4:5
“Sour wine” (Ps. 69:21)
“Curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Heb. 9:12)
Mark 15:39 – “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!’”
Mark 15:40-41 – “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. 41 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.”
Mark 15:42-47 – “And when evening had come, 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 looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 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. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.”
Arimathea = “Ramathain-zophim” (1 Sam. 1:1)
How did Joseph serve the Lord?
1. He asked for the body of Jesus (15:43)
2. He purchased a burial shroud for Jesus (15:46)
3. He wrapped the body of Jesus for burial (15:46)
4. He placed the body of Jesus in a family-owned tomb (15:46)
How did the women serve the Lord?
1. They purchased spices to anoint His body (16:1)
2. They risked their lives to anoint His body (16:2)
Col. 3:23-24 – “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Truth: While our love for Jesus enables us to endure the shadow death, Jesus’ love for us will one day swallow the shadow of death (Rev. 21:4).
“Crown him the Lord of life | who triumphed o’er the grave | and rose victorious in the strife | for those he came to save. | His glories now we sing | who died and rose on high | who died eternal life to bring | and lives that death may die.”
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