Mark 16:12-13 English Standard Version Jesus Appears to Two Disciples 12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, this is part of the book of Mark that does not appear in some of the earliest texts they've found, but this passage at a minimum refers to a passage that is in the book of Luke (Luke 24:13-35). In typical fashion for the book of Mark, the story is short on details, other than to let us know that there are other witnesses to the Resurrection. Luke actually gives us the name of one of them to make it even easier for others to track them down and get their story.
Mark also included the detail that the apostles who were gathered there did not believe the testimony of these two witnesses. They would not believe until Jesus appeared to them after this and they saw Him for themselves, and even after this, they had trouble believing what they had seen, and He would have to appear to them again. Jesus was patient with them as they came around to understanding what had happened and would breathe on them to give them some of His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to help them understand and to empower them for the mission He was about to give them. That's what we'll talk about next time and it will be the passage that contains the verses that we will have to ask who the promise was made to. Was it only made to the Eleven, or maybe only to those who were called Apostles, or was the promise made to the Church at large and does it apply to all that we would call Christians in all places at all times? I think we run into some problems if we go for the last hermeneutic and don't see this as a specific promise for a specific people sent on a specific mission. We'll get there tomorrow though. Mark 16:9-11 English Standard Version [Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.] Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 9 [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. I left the notation in today's passage that shows that some early manuscripts of the book of Mark stop at Mark 16:8 (the gospel ends with the Resurrection). The existence of such notes does not make me doubt the authenticity or veracity of the Scripture, and I've talked about this issue in some of my earliest "Faith and Culture" blogs. Suffice it to say that admitting there was some slight variance in copies before the existence of the printing press which made exact duplicates is both honest and transparent, so we don't look at only one manuscript or even one group of manuscripts, but a large number of manuscripts and, in this case, the translators are telling you that the majority of the manuscripts agree with what they have printed, but a minority of the manuscripts, albeit some of them were some of the earliest manuscripts we know of, so not include this passage. It is then up to you to choose whether you put more trust in a few "early" manuscripts or the majority "consensus" of the totality of manuscripts that have been found. Then an important question is, "If this passage were not there...." or "If this word were different...." (whatever the footnote indicates), would that actually have any meaningful change in what I believe? I can say that with 100% certainty, in every such instance, the answer is a resounding, "No."
For instance, today's passage which talks about Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene is also recorded for us in John 20:11-18, in the last gospel we know was written, and we are certain of those words in that passage, so there is no reason to doubt the testimony here in Mark that is in agreement with the testimony given by John. In fact, I already made mention of the fact that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first in yesterday's blog. I referred not only to this passage in Mark, but also to the passage in John that said that while the other women were busy looking at the tomb, Mary turned around and was weeping and Jesus was standing right there ready to comfort her. Mark reminds us that God chose people we wouldn't expect to be His witnesses. Not only a group of women, but this woman in particular had been possessed by seven demons until Jesus cast them out of her. She was the one that went and told everyone that was gathered together to mourn the death of Jesus that He was alive. They did not believe her at first, but agreed to send Peter and John to investigate what Mary and the other women who were at the tomb had to say. They at least wanted to see what happened to the body for themselves. Interestingly enough, Peter (who is telling things to Mark to write) didn't include his own interaction with the angel at the tomb, but John tells us about that. No, Peter will focus next on the two disciples on the road to Emaus. They are more clearly identified in the book of Luke in Luke 24:13-31. So, again, we will have confirmation of tomorrow's passage with even greater detail in another gospel where there is no question as to the inclusion of those words in Luke's original letter. After this comes the Great Commission which we know well from the book of Matthew, Luke, and Acts (John ends his gospel in a different way) and Mark's account is mostly in agreement with that of Matthew and Luke (both in the gospel of Luke, and the book of Acts as Luke wrote both volumes). I'll address the one or two verses that are in no other parallel passage when we get there, but for now, I want you to feel certain that what we're studying is real history seen by many eyewitnesses as the book of 1 Corinthians tells us. I hope that explanation of this note was helpful to you today and did not distract too much from the passage itself, which, as we saw was really not in question. Jesus chose to appear first to Mary Magdalene which was counter-cultural because women in general, and especially women with a history like hers would never be believed in a court of law, so don't let anyone ever tell you that Jesus was misogynistic. He encouraged men and women alike to follow Him and be His disciples. He also loved children in a society where they were not valued, and He cared for those who were disabled, sick, and otherwise seen as "a burden on society." Jesus loved all of them, but Mary had a special love for Jesus because of what she had been saved from. We too should love Jesus because of what we have been saved from and our changed lives should be testimony enough that agrees with our words that we too have "met" the Risen Christ, and that He has given us new life. Mark 15:42-47 English Standard Version Jesus Is Buried 42 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. Evening came (before sundown) on the day of Preparation. The Sabbath being referred to here probably is the regular Sabbath that starts on Friday evening for us and goes until Saturday evening. The Gentiles that Mark was writing to would understand that. Remember that the people have, by tradition, changed the command that God had given them in Exodus, and they now kill the Passover lambs on Passover (during the time Jesus was dying on the cross) and they eat the Passover meal that evening (really the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The people in the house had to be prepared to eat the Feast--they could not be ceremonially unclean, or they would have to wait a month to eat the Passover feast. This allowance to eat a month later was specifically in the case that someone had to bury a dead body and became ceremonially unclean from touching the corpse. That's what's going to happen here with all those involved with Jesus's burial and why so few people will be involved in His burial. Anyone who touched him at this point would be ineligible to eat the Passover (now you probably see why He was sure to celebrate the Passover with His disciples before His crucifixion).
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin (probably a Pharisee, since it appears he believes in the resurrection of the dead) along with Nicodemus from John 3 (we believe he was also a member of the Sanhedrin and a Pharisee) both went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus so that they could bury it. They wanted to get Jesus off of the cross and buried before the Passover was celebrated that evening (in fact, the Sanhedrin wanted all the criminals executed and off their crosses, and the Romans broke the legs of the other two criminals to speed up their deaths, but Jesus had already died so they didn't break any of His bones, which fulfilled Scripture). Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus had already died as the process of crucifixion was usually long and grueling. It could take several days, and the soldiers would get in trouble if they beat the criminal so severely that they died too quickly as Rome wanted those on the crosses to suffer for their crimes and to put on a good show for the people. Pilate confirmed with the centurion in charge of the crucifixions that Jesus was indeed dead, and then granted Joseph and Nicodemus the rights to bury the body in Joseph's tome, for it was nearby. They didn't have time to prepare the body as fully as they would have liked--normally they would have taken a long time to pack the body with spices and ointments to help cover up the smell of death, for the Jews did not embalm their dead like the Egyptians did. The Jews buried their dead quickly, before the sun went down, so time was ticking, even if they weren't trying to be ceremonially clean for the Passover meal. They likely only had a few hours to get permission from Pilate, remove and transport the body and wrap it in the linen shroud, and placed in the tomb with the stone rolled in front of it to keep any animals out that may try to come and eat the flesh and take the bones away. The Jews will hear of this and go to Pilate to demand that he seal the tomb with a royal seal and post a guard because they remember Jesus said He would rise from the dead and they thought the disciples might try to steal the body to make it look like a resurrection happened that was fake. I think they were actually trying to keep the Resurrection from happening, but there was no chance of that--this is as silly as the people that have put a graveyard near the entrance to the gate and locked the gate that Jesus is supposed to return through when He comes into Jerusalem for His Second Coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Do they really think the lock isn't going to fall off or that Jesus is going to be made unclean by some dead bodies and will be afraid to walk over the graves of those that were probably His enemies? Certainly not! God's sovereign plan is not going to be thwarted by the schemes of men and demons. The forces of evil think at this point that they have won, but they are mistaken. The Resurrection is coming, and they will not be able to stop it. Mark 15:33-41 English Standard Version The Death of Jesus 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!” 40 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. I'm adding a few hymns today that may help you ponder and meditate on this passage and the others that we studied recently--there are many, many more as well, so please don't think I tried to include everything as I didn't even include most of my favorite Good Friday hymns. Last time the text told us that Jesus was hung on the cross at the third hour. Three hours later, at the sixth hour (which would be high noon), there was complete darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3pm). This was a physical response of all creation to what was going on. It was at the ninth hour when Jesus had been on the cross for six hours that He cried out with a loud voice the beginning words and the title of the hymn in Psalm 22, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?--"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" This Psalm is prophetic in nature and perfectly describes everything that was going on there that day. Jesus was experiencing the feelings expressed in that Psalm, but He also wanted Israel to realize, "That Psalm is about Me and what's going on right now." Unfortunately, the people didn't even recognize what He was saying. They instead thought He was trying to call on Elijah to save Him. The soldiers didn't understand for sure, but they tried to give him some sour wine (vinegar) to put some moisture in Him mouth to deal with the issue described in Psalm 22 where He was so thirsty that His tongue was sticking to the roof of His mouth (that's likely one of the reasons that people didn't understand what He was saying). Jesus took a sip of this vinegar (this was not the wine mixed with myrrh that He rejected earlier that would have dulled His pain). The crowd of Jews continue to mock Him saying, "Let's see if Elijah comes and saves Him," not realizing that Jesus was the one that was saving them from sin, death and themselves. The centurion in charge of the crucifixion saw and heard all these things, especially how the sky grew dark and the earth quaked in response to His death, and that (we assume pagan) Roman soldier offered testimony, "Surely this was a son of the gods," (I don't think he meant to use the title Son of God as it is often translated in English, but it is possible that the Holy Spirit used him to speak these words that he didn't understand in much the same way that Caiaphas spoke of one man dying for the whole nation and didn't understand the spiritual implications of what he was saying). This centurion may have only thought Jesus to be a demigod like Hercules, but he recognized the divinity in Jesus that the Jews in the crowd did not see. Mark wants us to see that a Gentile saw more clearly than those who had the Law and Prophets to point them to what was going on, yet they were blinded by their unbelief. The Romans loved to make the relatives of those being crucified watch their public executions. Mary, the mother of Jesus was off in the distance along with several other women who had come with her. We also know that the apostle John had returned to follow Jesus to the cross--he was the only one of the Twelve that was there that day, but he was so close to Jesus and his family, that Jesus gave the responsibility of leading His family to John (Jesus was the oldest and, typically, that job would go to the next oldest, but Jesus knew their spiritual condition, and some of His last words from the cross were to make sure that His mother was taken care of not only during the time He was in the grave, but after He ascended back to heaven). With the exception of Mary, the mother of Jesus, these are the same women we will see on Resurrection Sunday going to care for the body of Jesus. They will be the first witnesses to His resurrection in just a few days. Mark 15:21-32 English Standard Version The Crucifixion 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. By the time they were finished with beating Jesus, He could not carry His cross (probably just the crossbeam) to the place of His crucifixion (Golgotha), so they laid His burden on another man named Simon of Cyrene. Apparently, this man and his sons were well-known enough that Mark mentions that Simon of Cyrene is the father of Alexander and Rufus. At least this gave people someone to contact for eyewitness testimony because there were many Simons, and probably more than one Simon of Cyrene, but there was probably only one Simon of Cyrene who had sons named Alexander and Rufus.
When they reached Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where Jesus and the others were to be crucified, they hung Him on His cross between two thieves (again, the word "thief" in Greek is a generic word for one who committed any number of felonies). In order to try to ease the pain, the soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, but He would not drink it, as He did not want the pain to be numbed. Then they divided His garments by casting lots for them, which fulfilled the Scriptures that foretold that this would happen. Mark mentions that it was the third hour when they crucified Him. That seems like a little detail that may only be there to tell us how long Jesus suffered, but this is the exact hour they were killing the Passover lambs in the Temple. Yet, the people who should have been preparing themselves for the Passover celebration were there to mock Him. They were upset by the sign that Pilate hung above Jesus's head with the list of His "crimes" that made Him worthy of a Roman execution. It read, something like, "Here is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The chief priests asked Pilate to change the sign with the charges to say, "He claimed to be King of the Jews," but Pilate answered them saying, "I have written what I have written." Pilate realized that Jesus died because He was the Messiah that the Jews (at least the Jewish leaders) didn't want. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." Mark then describes the others who were there. Jesus died between two robbers, which also fulfilled Scripture, and the people there wagged their heads at Him and ridiculed Him in much the same way that Satan did in the temptation in the wilderness saying, "If you are the Son of God....." The implication there was that The Father would never let something like this happen to His Son and if the Father really loved the Son, then the Father should prove it by putting a stop to this. This too is a fulfillment of Scripture (see Psalm 22, which describes perfectly the manner of Jesus's crucifixion before crucifixion even existed). They also ridiculed Jesus saying to Him, "You who said you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself." They did not understand that Jesus was referring to the body of His Temple, since He was filled with the Spirit. They then continued their mocking saying, "He saved others, but He cannot save Himself," and "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross so we might believe." They had no intention of believing, and He had no intention of coming down from the cross until they removed Him from the cross to put Him in His borrowed tomb, because He had fully surrendered and committed to the plan of salvation that the Father, Son and Spirit had agreed to since before time began. Satan wanted to use these people to tempt Jesus one more time to not obey God in order to stop His own suffering and generate the applause of the people (but such applause would not last). No, Jesus knew that what the people needed this Passover was "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." We'll look at some of the things that Jesus said from the cross next time and how no one took Jesus's life from Him, He gave it up willingly once He knew His purpose and mission had been fulfilled. Mark 15:16-20 English Standard Version Jesus Is Mocked 16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 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. Jesus had been outside for His public trial, but after the people chose to release Barabbas and have Jesus crucified, Jesus was taken inside the palace to be mocked, beaten and humiliated. The soldiers did this in many ways. First, they got the whole battalion of guards together and dressed Jesus in purple robes (probably royal robes that belonged to Pilate). They then twisted together a crown of thorns, and they put the crown on His head. Then, they began to salute Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." They also struck him repeatedly on the head (remember, they had put the crown of thorns there already, so this drove the thorns into His skull), and they were pretending to kneel and bow down to Him all while spitting on Him to show Him disrespect. There was no homage being paid by them, they were just mocking and abusing their prisoner.
Jesus didn't respond to any of this, and they decided after a short time that it was no fun to mock someone who wasn't going to get upset about it. So, they stripped Him of the royal robes they had put on Him and they dressed Him in His own clothes for now--He would be stripped of those soon enough too, as they would divide and gamble for His garments, including His undergarment while He was being crucified. At some point they also flogged and scourged Him, whether it was before this mockery and humiliation or part of it (I'd assume the flogging happened outside so as to not get the governor's palace all bloody, unless they had a room set aside for this kind of thing). I say that because by the time they turned Him over for crucifixion, He was already half-dead and had lost so much blood and was so beaten, bruised, and exhausted, the He wouldn't be able to carry the crossbeam all the way up to the place where He would be crucified. (We'll read about that tomorrow when someone else from the crowd is compelled to bear His cross for Him). Mark 15:6-15 English Standard Version Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified 6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. The "feast" referred to here is the feast of Passover (remember that this is Good Friday, which was Passover, though the priestly class celebrated it that evening after they offered the sacrificial lambs in the afternoon). It was Pilate's custom to release a prisoner to celebrate the feast and help appease the people (he understood that this holiday for them had something to do with freedom and independence, much like our Independence Day here in the United States of America marks the beginning of our nation, but also freedom and independence for us). Pilate really wanted the people to overrule the chief priests, scribes, and Council and ask for Jesus to be released, so he tried to offer them only two choices--Jesus, the one who they called the King of the Jews, or Barabbas, a terrorist, thief, murderer, and probably an insurrectionist--an all-around bad person. Barabbas was likely the one that was going to die on the center cross that day if Jesus hadn't taken his place for all three of the men that were to die were described as "thieves" which is the generic term used in Greek for a felon of any sort. Jesus, however, was innocent of all charges.
There's also another interesting item to note here. Barabbas's name literally means "son of the father." It could mean that no one knew who his father was to give him a traditional name like Simon Barjonas would mean Simon, son of Jonas. Yet, Jesus is the true Son of the Father--the Only Begotten of the Father, to be precise. So, the people decided to do the bidding of their leaders and to ask for Barabbas and told Pilate that they wanted Jesus to be crucified. All of this was part of God's plan, but the people, especially the scribes, priests, and rulers of the Jewish people would not be held guiltless for what they did. Pilate tried to reason with them, but they cried out all the louder and all the more, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" When Pilate saw that the crowd could not be calmed, and he was afraid they would riot (they had a history of rioting during Passover), and that would likely be the end of his being governor if they did, for he was already in trouble with Rome for letting the Jews get out of control one too many times, He ordered that Jesus be beaten and flogged, hoping this would satisfy the people, but they still wanted Him dead. Pilate then "washed his hands of the matter" and the people agreed that Jesus's blood was on their hands and on the hands of their children, and Jesus was turned over to be crucified. We'll talk more about the physical and psychological torture they put Jesus through before the crucifixion next time. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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