MARK 12-16 JESUS IS ALIVE2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Mark 12-16 Jesus Is Alive

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014.

We are here in Mark chapter 12 and we'll be working our way through chapter 16 as we go through the chapters that we read this week going through the Bible in three years. We're finishing up this evening the gospel of Mark, the second of the four gospels, and then we'll be heading into tomorrow morning or whatever time of the day that you read, heading into the gospel of Luke.

and once again looking at the life of Jesus from a different perspective under the things that Luke writes for us and records for us of the life of Jesus.

Well, the Gospel of Mark was written probably around 55 through 60 AD, somewhere in that time period. It was written by Mark, but it was Peter's words. It was Mark recording the sermons of Peter about the life of Jesus and then compiling those and putting them together in the Gospel that we have today.

Mark, we also know him as John Mark in the book of Acts. He was the cousin of Barnabas and he was a companion of Peter. As Peter was in Rome, John Mark was there alongside with him.

The audience really seems to be the Romans. Again, Peter was in Rome and preaching about Jesus and Mark was recording these things. And so its focus is and the emphasis is for Jesus being the servant and the things that he did for the Roman people to understand who Jesus was.

The geography of Mark is pretty simple as he talks about the life of Jesus. Of course, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Although Mark doesn't mention that. That's where he was born. He...

grows up in Nazareth and then moves to Capernaum as an adult. And there's the base of his ministry. And then, of course, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and the place where the temple was and the place where Jesus ultimately is crucified right outside the city limits. And so we'll be spending our time pretty much

in all the chapters this evening, looking at what's happening right there in Jerusalem and then right across the valley from Jerusalem in the Mount of Olives as well. So we'll be focusing on that area in the timeline of the life of Christ.

Well, as we look at our chapters this evening, we are looking at the final days of the life of Christ leading up to his crucifixion. And we often refer to this as Passion Week. It's that final week that Jesus was doing different things each day in preparation for his crucifixion and then ultimate resurrection. And so we finished in chapter 11 last week,

And I saw the Sunday and the Monday of the Passion Week with the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree. But now as we pick it up in chapter 12, we're continuing on Tuesday. And so it's Tuesday. Jesus is in Jerusalem. And he has some encounters with the religious leaders. And he has some different things that he teaches and some prophecies that he gives here on the last day of public ministry.

Then on Wednesday, we'll see Jesus spend some time in Bethany. And Thursday, we'll see him partake of the Last Supper and then ultimately be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Friday morning begins his Roman trial before Pilate. And then his crucifixion early in the afternoon is completed.

On Saturday, his tomb is secured. Mark doesn't talk about that, but that's what happens. And then we finish up on Sunday with the resurrection of Jesus. And so that's what we're looking at as far as, you know, these day by days through the chapters we'll be looking at this evening, these last few days before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Well, we pick it up in chapter 12 then, and verse 13 is the key verse.

It says,

In verses 1 through 12, we see Jesus talking about a man planting a vineyard. Now, this might seem really familiar to you because we just went through this on Sunday morning two weeks ago. And that is, you know, one of the reasons why Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because there's a lot of similarities between the gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

A lot of the same accounts, a lot of the wording is the same. It's slightly different and there's, you know, unique perspectives and such from each of the gospel writers. But we are going through this on Sunday mornings. This is where we're at really in the gospel of Luke, the same time period as we're looking at here in the gospel of Mark.

So the parable is of a man who planted a vineyard. He goes away. He leases the vineyard to vinedressers. And then he sends servants to collect the fruit. And the vinedressers beat or kill the servants. Ultimately, the owner sends his son. They kill the son, wanting to take the inheritance. And Jesus says, what do you think is going to happen? And they say, well, the owner is going to come back and throw them out and get...

And Jesus says, absolutely, you're right. Now, through that, he was speaking about the religious leaders of Israel and declaring that, you know, God had sent prophets to them, the servants, and they had beaten the prophets and killed the prophets all throughout Israel's history.

And now God has sent his son, Jesus, and they are going to put him to death. And so God is going to overthrow the religious leaders for not providing the fruit that is expected from their leadership over the nation. In verse 12, it tells us that the religious leaders respond by seeking to lay hands on Jesus because they knew that he had spoken the parable against them.

And they were aware of what he was saying. They understood the meaning of the parable, but they were afraid of the crowd. And so although they wanted to get rid of Jesus, they were afraid of the people and losing the power that they had in front of the people.

Well, then in verses 13 through 34, we see the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes try to catch Jesus in his words. And this is the passage we just looked at this last Sunday. And so we looked at the version of it in the Gospel of Luke. But the first question is, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?

And so they're trying to trap him because if he says, yes, pay taxes to Caesar, the people won't like that and they'll stop following him. If he says, no, don't pay the taxes to Caesar, then they'll turn him over to Rome and say, he's telling people not to pay their taxes. And so they think they have him trapped. But of course, Jesus is much wiser than they are. And he says, no, you have responsibilities to both. And so they're trying to trap him.

And they don't contradict each other. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God. Well, then the Sadducees come and they deal with the resurrection and they set up this whole scenario with a woman. It's hypothetical. A woman who's married to a man who has six brothers and the man dies without giving any children.

And so the Mosaic law is that then a brother is to take his place and raise up a child in his name. And so they say, well, the first guy died, then the brother married her, and then that guy died, then the next brother married her, and then ultimately all seven brothers were married to her, but they all died childless. And so in the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be?

And so they're trying to say that the resurrection is ridiculous, that it doesn't make sense, and that the Bible doesn't teach it. But Jesus, of course, corrects them in their doctrine. He says, first of all, you don't understand the next life, the resurrection, it's going to be different. There's not going to be marriage like there is here. Marriage is for this life and this life only.

But then he also challenges them about the resurrection and pointing back to how God declares himself to be the God of Abraham and Isaac and the God of Jacob. And he is not the God of the dead, but he's saying they're still alive. I am still their God. And so they are alive. They're resurrected. Well, then finally the scribe comes forward and says, okay, well, which is the first commandment of all? That happens in verse 28.

What's the highest commandment? The first and foremost in priority as far as all the commandments are concerned. Now, he's not just looking at like the 10 commandments, but the religious leaders, the Pharisees, they had, you know, hundreds of commandments that they had recorded and expected the people to keep.

And so Jesus summarizes all of God's law and all of their traditions as well, saying the first commandment is to love God. The most important thing in your life is to love God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength. That's what Jesus says. And then he says the second commandment is like it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself.

And he says, there is no commandment greater than these. And so as you think about what things you got to do each day, remember these are the two most important things that you are to do each day. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

Well, then Jesus challenges them with a question in verses 35 through 37. He says, how is Christ a son of David? And he recounts the passage from Psalm 110, where it says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

And so there Jesus shows that David declared that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, but also would be David's Lord. And so he's indicating here that what they were expecting of the Messiah to be just, you know, a normal man like anybody else was not what the Bible declared and that he actually was going to be Lord. In verses 38 through 40, Jesus warns the people to beware of the scribes.

He says, watch out for them. They're pretenders. They put on a good show. They look religious, but they are not right with God and they're going to be greatly condemned. Then in verses 41 through 44, Jesus points out a woman who is giving at the temple treasury and he says, this poor woman has put in more than all. There was...

this place for giving at the temple. They had these kind of like big trumpet things and people would give what they were giving, you know, into those things. And so it would be this central place and Jesus is sitting there watching people give. And there's a lot of people with a lot of fanfare giving lots of, you know, money, big sums of money and everybody's impressed. But there's this poor little widow who gives two little mites.

And basically that's the smallest currency that they had, a mite. It would be like a fraction of a cent in our currency. And so it was, you know, she gave a penny or less than a penny into the treasury. And Jesus nudges his disciples and says, check this out.

She gave more than everybody else who gave their big old sums of money. She only gave two little mites, but she gave more than they all because they gave out of abundance and she gave out of what she actually lived on. She gave of her livelihood. And that's the passage we're going to be looking at, only Luke's version of it on Sunday morning. And so I'll leave it at that and encourage you to come on Sunday morning and hear the rest that God has in store for us then.

All right, chapter 13 now, verse 29. He says,

Now in Mark chapter 13, we're looking at what is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse. That is this time when Jesus shares with his disciples about the things that are to come, about end times events. In verses 1 through 4, the disciples ask Jesus, when will these things be?

Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple. Because in verse 1, it tells us the disciples are pointing out to Jesus...

Hey, look at the big stones. Look how beautiful the temple is. Now, they are on the Mount of Olives, which is right across from Jerusalem. And from the Mount of Olives, you have like a perfect like front row view of the temple. And so they could just see clearly the temple in all of its glory. And it was glorious. Herod had spent...

Well, at this time, it would have been about 40 years, I think, building up the temple. The construction would continue for a little bit after the time of Christ as well. But he had been building up and beautifying. It was incredible, incredible work. And so this temple was beautiful. And the disciples are looking at it and saying, look at that, Jesus. That's just amazing. And Jesus tells them, hey,

That might be impressive, but you know, not one stone is going to be left upon another. Now that was a big statement because these weren't like, you know, if you put blocks, you know, like you think about cinder blocks or, you know, block walls today or anything like that. These stones were huge. We don't have, you know, the stones that were actually part of the temple today, but you can see the retaining wall, which is like the western wall, you know, of the temple mount.

And some of those stones are just absolutely incredible, like 50 feet long and 25 feet high and then 15 feet deep. I mean, like almost as big as this building, some of those stones are. And that's just impressive and huge. And even to this day, we're not really sure how exactly they did that so perfectly, you know, and were able to manufacture and put them there. It's really impressive.

And so they're looking at this and they're impressed by it, rightfully so. And Jesus says, not one of those stones is going to be left upon another. And so that causes the disciples to say, well, when is that going to happen? What's going to be the signs of the end of the age? And so Jesus now goes on to talk about some of the future events. In verses 5 through 13, he says, you will be hated by all for my name's sake.

As he's giving some of the signs that are going to come, he talks about nation rising against nation, the different wars and rumors of wars. We definitely see that happening today. Earthquakes in various places. And he's talking about the deception that will come. And then he concludes with,

Hey, these are the beginnings of sorrows. This is just the beginning. You're going to be handed over. You're going to be put on trial for my name's sake. You're going to be hated by people for my name's sake. But then he gives the real sign of the end times in verses 14 through 27. He says, flee when you see the abomination of desolation.

So the previous verses are things that are kind of like leading up to that. Those are the beginnings of sorrows. Those are, you know, the beginnings of signs, but that's not the end.

The end will be triggered, the sign of the end times, is the abomination of desolation. And so he says, when you see that, the thing that Daniel prophesied about, that's when you are to flee. Now, Jesus is really speaking to Jewish people here. He's talking about if you're in Judea, that

That's in Israel, you know, around Jerusalem. If you're in Judea, then flee to the mountains. He says, pray that it's not in winter or on Sabbath because that'll make your journey very difficult to get out of there when that happens. The abomination of desolation that Daniel prophesied about is going to take place when the Antichrist goes into the temple. Now, we don't have a temple right now, but there will be a temple that is rebuilt and

And the Antichrist is going to go into that temple and he is going to proclaim himself to be God and demand that the world worship him. And Jesus says, when that happens, that's how you know the end is imminent. It is right there. And if you're in town, you better get out of town because trouble is coming.

He says in verse 19, The world's gone through a lot of tribulation, but Jesus says, what's going to happen at that time doesn't compare to anything that has ever happened in all history.

And that is the final three and a half years of the tribulation period, which will be greater in intensity, greater in tribulation than anything else the world has ever experienced. And then he says in verse 26, So,

The abomination of desolation marks the middle of the tribulation period. The end of the tribulation period is when the Son of Man returns in great power and glory. And that's when Jesus will come back to establish his kingdom here upon this earth for a thousand years. But then he goes on in verses 28 through 37.

And he says, take heed, watch and pray. And he gives this warning saying, there's nobody who knows the day or the hour. He says, not even the angels nor the son, but only the father. Take heed and watch and pray for you do not know when the time is. He says, it's kind of like a man who goes away to a far country. He tells you to get to work.

When he comes back, you want to make sure that you're doing what you were told to do and that he doesn't come back and find you sleeping. And so he concludes in verse 37. He says, and what I say to you, I say to all, watch. Now, this is important because

He started out talking about the signs that show that the end is near. He talked about the sign, the abomination of desolation, that shows, hey, this is right here. That's when the tribulation, you know, is going to be at its peak, its worst. And then the return of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, will come again. But there's also another event that we also know about, that the Bible talks about, prophecy is given of the rapture of the church.

And that is the time when Jesus will return, but he won't touch base here. He won't land on earth. He will be in the clouds and then the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Now, what's significant about the rapture is the timing is unknown. The day or the hour, Paul makes it very clear. Nobody knows that. Jesus makes it clear here. Nobody knows that.

Now, when you talk about the second coming of Jesus Christ, it's very easy to calculate that. Once you have the abomination of desolation, Daniel tells us the exact number of days. The book of Revelation gives us the same number of days, gives us the number of months, you know, different ways to calculate it. It's the same amount of time, three and a half years. And so there's that time that we know Jesus will return. That's the second coming. But there's also this unknown time.

And for this unknown time, this is the rapture of the church, here's what Jesus says. Watch. He says, what I say to you, I say to everybody.

As opposed to, you know, what he was talking to the people of Judea. Hey, if you're in town, flee when you see the abomination of desolation. Now he broadens his audience and says, I'm talking to everybody now. Watch, be ready, be alert for the return of Jesus Christ, for the rapture of the church. In verse 36, he says, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And so Jesus' encouragement to you and I this evening is to be alert, to watch and be ready for him to return. It's an unknown time, but he will come unexpectedly. Chapter 14 now, verse 53. It says, There's a lot happening here in chapter 14.

It begins with verses 1 and 2, the priests seeking how they can take Jesus. That is how they can grab him and get rid of him. It says in verse 1 that they are seeking how they might by trickery take him and put him to death.

So they're not as righteous as they, you know, show before the people. They're plotting, they're scheming, and they're trying to figure out some trick they can pull to get Jesus aside and to put him to death. So they don't pretend amongst themselves. They're only pretending in front of the people to be righteous. And so they're seeking how to take Jesus, but they're afraid of the crowds. And so they're trying to do it quietly and without anybody finding out.

In verses 3 through 9, we see an account where a woman pours costly oil on Jesus. We know from the Gospel of John, this is Mary, and she pours this costly oil upon Jesus, and the disciples are a little bit disturbed by it.

Because they say, hey, that could have been sold and it was worth a lot of money. They say 300 denarii and you could have given that to the poor. Again, we also know from John's gospel, this was Judas who was giving this objection. And it tells us, John tells us with some insight that...

He didn't really care about the poor. He helped himself to the money that was in the money bag. And that's why he was saying these things. But it is a beautiful thing that Mary does for Jesus here. She...

the flask, this container that has this costly oil. And the value, it says, is 300 days wages or 300 denarii. So you can think about, you know, a normal year's income is roughly the value of this costly oil. And

that she pours onto Jesus. And although the disciples grumble about it, Jesus defends her. He says, leave her alone. She did this for my burial. In verse 8, he says, she has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial.

And so she's done this beautiful thing, believing in Jesus, worshiping Jesus, and anointing him with oil. And Jesus says, she's going to be talked about wherever the gospel goes, because this is a wonderful thing that she has done in giving such a great, priceless, precious gift unto Jesus in preparation for his burial. In verse 10 and 11, we see now Judas seeks to betray Jesus.

And so we don't know exactly his motivations here. It's interesting that it follows, you know, right after this. And so, you know, he's upset by this breaking of this costly oil and he doesn't get a piece of the money from it. And so possibly that fed into, you know, whatever was in his mind or heart. But he goes to the priest and

And he agrees. They set a price. And they're all happy whenever they find out about it because now they have an opportunity. They've got a guy on the inside. And so they're going to be able to find out where Jesus is at when it's a good time, when the crowds aren't around, so they can sneakily come in and grab Jesus and get rid of him without a lot of people finding out.

You know, they didn't have like we have today, you know, itineraries and things. You know, they couldn't, you know, hack Expedia and find out Jesus's travel plans. They didn't know exactly where he was going to be, but now they do. Judas knows he's going to be with him and he's going to tip him off and find out, you know, where Jesus is and when's a convenient time for them to come and get Jesus without all the crowds around. It's interesting. I haven't noticed before this.

But as we've been going through it on Sunday mornings and then reading through it as well in the Bible in three years, I just see over and over again how much fear the religious leaders had for the crowds and for the people and how so much of this was motivated by that fear, trying to get rid of Jesus and the way that they got rid of Jesus was motivated by their fear of the people and losing their power, losing their position that they had.

Well, then in verses 12 through 31, Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Passover together. As he celebrates the Passover with them, there's a lot of things going on. He's spending really his last evening with them. And he tells them in verse 18, one of you who eats with me will betray me. And so he announces to them there is a betrayer in their midst.

In verse 19, it tells us that they were really sorrowful. They were upset about this, but they also were challenging their own hearts. They were saying, is it me? Am I the one who's going to betray you? And so they weren't quite sure, you know, what Jesus was saying and perhaps if they were going to be the one who did it.

Then in verses 22 through 26, Jesus institutes what we refer to as communion today or the Lord's Supper. He says, you know, this is the cup of my new covenant. This is my blood which is shed for many. And so he says, take and drink. He gives them the bread. He says, this is my body which is broken for you.

And then he goes on to warn them about what is about to happen. In verse 27, he says, all of you are going to be made to stumble because of me this night. You're all going to stumble. You're all going to run away tonight. And of course, this is the famous words of Peter, right? Verse 29, even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. Now,

We always pick on Peter, but in a couple of verses, it also tells us all the disciples said kind of the same thing. You know, hey, we're not going to leave you. We're not going to be caused to stumble. But Peter is highlighted here and said, no, I will not be caused to stumble. Even if these guys run out on you, I will stick by your side no matter what.

well then they go out into the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus spent some time there in prayer in verses 32 through 52 we see ultimately that he's arrested there in the garden of Gethsemane as he goes there to pray in verse 34 he tells the disciples my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death stay here and watch

And Jesus is now going to spend some time in prayer. And three times he goes before the Father. In verse 36, it records his prayer. He says, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.

And so it records this prayer of Jesus and we get to see really a little bit of a glimpse of what Jesus was going through as he was headed towards the cross. First of all, he says, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. Jesus was a man. Of course, he is God.

But he also was a man. And as a man, he did not look forward to what he was about to go through physically, spiritually. I mean, he was going to go through some very traumatic events. Not just that the physical, you know, death of crucifixion is horrendous, but then also bearing the sins of all the world, of all history, of all humanity. He was, well, it caused him to be exceedingly distressed.

sorrowful. This wasn't an easy thing for Jesus to do. This wasn't a light thing for Jesus to do. He wasn't skipping around and knowing that, hey, everything's going to be fine. So, you know, I don't have to be sorrowful. It was real emotions. It was real heartache. It was real hurt that Jesus was experiencing in preparation for the cross.

And he calls out to God. I love how it says Abba Father. It's that personal relationship. Daddy, you can do all things. You can do anything you want, Father. So if there's another way, if we can bring salvation to people, another way, if it's possible, then take this cup from me. But then, of course, that important part of the prayer. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.

And so he's wrestling with this. It's hard. It's troubling. The burden is great. He's exceedingly sorrowful, but he's submitted to the Father's will. And he says, God, I want what you want, and I will submit to your will, your plans. I'll be obedient to what you call me to do. Well, as Jesus goes off to pray with his disciples, he comes back and

to his disciples each time in between the three prayers or the three times that he prayed this. And he finds Peter, James, and John sleeping. And he says, hey guys, wake up. Can't you watch and pray with me for one hour? And so apparently Jesus is there, you know, for a little bit of time and they

We're having a hard time, you know, staying awake and paying attention and being in prayer. He tells them, hey, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. You got to pay attention. Discipline yourself. Spend some time in prayer because there's some rough seas ahead. And he does that three times, but they keep falling asleep. In verse 44, we see Judas enter the scene. It says, his betrayer had given them a signal saying, whomever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him and lead him away safely.

And so Judas brings this little army that he has gathered and he's collecting Jesus and he gives them a sign that this is going to be the one that you want to arrest. It's the one that I kiss. And so he goes and he kisses Jesus and betraying him and Jesus is arrested and led away.

Quick side note in verse 51 and 52, many people believe that this is a reference to the author, John Mark, because it's not included in any of the other gospels. And it's kind of a curious little portion where it tells us that there was a certain young man who was there.

And he just had a linen cloth over his body, his naked body, it says. And then when the disciples took off and the young men grabbed hold of him, he left the linen cloth and then fled naked there from the scene. And so it seems curious to add in those details. And so many people speculate that that's probably John Mark and him saying, hey, I was there and that's what I did. So interesting, not proven, but it's possibly John Mark.

Verses 53 through 65, you have the high priests and elders gathered together and they condemn Jesus. They lead him away. Verse 54 tells us that Peter follows from a distance and they gather him or they gather together and try him now. And they are seeking again to bring an accusation against Jesus, but they're having a hard time doing it. It's almost a little bit comical because

Because, you know, they're trying by trickery. Then they get this break and Judas wants to betray him. Now they get him. But they're having a hard time getting their witnesses to match up their stories. And so they can't get, you know, accuse him of something worthy of death unless they have two or three witnesses. Verse 56 says, "...for many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree."

And then it gives another example about the, you know, him saying he'll tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days. But even those witnesses didn't agree in their testimony. And so finally, the priest asked Jesus in verse 60, he says, hey, what are these guys testifying against you? And finally, the priest says, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? That's another way to say the son of God. And Jesus said in verse 62, I am.

Verse 63. Verse 63.

This is important to pay attention to because they are trying to find false witnesses that will agree, that will, you know, have the same testimony against Jesus to put him to death. They can't find any. And so finally, the high priest says, are you the son of God? Are you the Messiah? And Jesus says, yes. He says, I am the son of God and you will see me.

Me, sitting at the right hand of the power, or the right hand of God, coming with the clouds of heaven. And so he says, are you the son of God? Jesus says, yes, I am the son of God. And this is what gives them what they've been looking for. The opportunity to put Jesus to death. In verse 64, he says, this is blasphemy.

And everybody agrees, yes, that's blasphemy. It's blasphemous to say that you are the Son of God. That is, that you are equal with God. That's blasphemy, unless, of course, it's true. And with Jesus, it was true. He is the Son of God. But they considered it blasphemy, and so now they have condemned him and say that he is deserving of death. This is important because

The Jewish people understood, the high priests, the religious leaders understood that Jesus claimed to be the son of God, equal to God, that he being God became man. They understood that claim and that's why they put him to death. They crucified him for blasphemy. Well, then in verses 66 through 72, we see that Peter denies Jesus and goes away weeping.

Jesus warned him ahead of time. And isn't it amazing how many times God warns us and then we don't realize till afterwards that we failed to take heed to the warning. A little girl comes to him and says, hey, aren't you a disciple? No. Another girl comes to him, aren't you a disciple? No. A little later, a couple of people around the fire say, hey, surely you are. Your accent gives you away. You're from Galilee.

Verse 71 says, he began to curse and swear saying, I do not know this man of whom you speak. And it was at that time the rooster crowed and he remembered the words of Jesus. And when he thought about it, he wept, it says. But it's a beautiful story because although he denied the Lord, Jesus reaches out to him, appears to him after the resurrection, re-enlists him and uses him mightily for good. And so,

Even when we've messed up and denied the Lord like Peter, we still have opportunity for God to work in our lives. Well, Mark chapter 15, now verse 24 is the key verse. It says, And when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. And verses 1 through 5, the elders delivered Jesus to Pilate.

And they now begin to accuse Jesus. This begins his Roman trials. They begin to accuse Jesus before Pilate. But Jesus, like in the previous trials, he doesn't say anything. And Pilate's wondering, like, what's going on? Aren't you going to say anything? In verse 55, well, in verse, not 55, verse 4, he says, do you answer nothing? See how many things they testify against you? But Jesus still answered nothing. So that Pilate marveled. And so as a sheep,

In verses 6 through 15, Pilate releases Barabbas. Verse 6 tells us that it was Pilate's custom to release a prisoner to the Jewish people on the day of the feast. And so whoever they requested, he would release to them Barabbas.

And so he thought, hey, this is a good way to kind of, you know, handle this issue because I can just ask the crowd, who do they want released? And surely they're going to ask for Jesus to be released because he hasn't done anything wrong. That tells us also that Pilate knew that the religious leaders handed Jesus over because of their envy of him.

And so he's thinking the crowd's going to save me. The crowd's going to say, release Jesus. And then I can just follow my custom. And, you know, I'll be, I won't have to make the decision. I won't have to be the bad guy. But it tells us that the religious leaders stir up the crowd and ask, you know, ask Pilate to release Barabbas. Now, a little bit of a side note. There's some speculation here. Remember, this is very early in the morning.

And this is happening in secret. I mean, this is all happening very, very fast. It's very likely that this crowd that is gathered was already gathered there to petition Pilate to release Barabbas. That they had nothing to do with the whole arrest and, you know, trying to get rid of Jesus. That's what they were there for, is to get Barabbas released.

But Pilate's thinking, you know, they'll call out for Jesus instead of Barabbas when they see the options. And the religious leaders stir up the crowd and that's what they're there for is to get Barabbas released. And so they quickly say, yeah, release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. And so in verse 15, it tells us, so Pilate wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them and he delivered Jesus after he had scourged him to be crucified.

So Jesus at this point is scourged. That is, he is whipped. His back is whipped with this cat of nine tails. It's a very gruesome and terrible process in which they would get people to confess all the crimes that they had committed by continuing to whip and continuing to be at full strength.

But if they would confess things, then they would reduce. It would be a little bit softer, a little bit softer. And the more they confessed, the softer it would be. So there was great incentive to come clean of all the crimes that you had committed. But of course, Jesus hadn't committed any crimes. And so he would have endured the scourging at full strength for the whole time.

And now he's delivered to be crucified. But before that happens, verses 16 through 20, the soldiers mock Jesus. So he's been scourged. Now they put a purple robe on him. They put on the crown of thorns. They give him a reed. Then they take it back and they beat him over the head with it. And they bow down and pretend to worship him and spit on him. And so they're mocking Jesus and making fun of him and making fun of his claim to be the king of the Jews.

Then in verses 21 through 32, Jesus is crucified at Golgotha. It says in verse 24, when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. And so they crucified him and crucified

Divide up his garments among them. While he's on the cross, there's more mocking. The people who are passing by are mocking Jesus. The chief priests are mocking Jesus. There's a lot of shame that's going on here as Jesus is hanging upon the cross. Then in verses 33 through 41, Jesus breathes his last breath.

It says, when the sixth hour had come, in verse 33, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. So this is looking at Roman time, and I'm going to walk through the timeline in just a moment, so we'll come back to that. But at this time, Jesus cries out with a loud voice. He breathes his last breath. The veil of the temple is torn in two from top to bottom.

There was a great earthquake at this time as well. And it tells us in verse 39, when the centurion saw this, he cried out, or saw what happened when he cried out and breathed his last. He said, truly this man was the son of God. He recognized this is not an ordinary death. There is something very unique here. This guy is who he claimed to be. Verses 42 through 47 says,

Joseph of Arimathea comes and gets Jesus' body and he buries him in a tomb that is hewn out of rock. And it's a tomb that had never been used. It was nearby in a garden in the property that Joseph owned. And so he requests the body of Jesus. It tells us in verse 44 that Pilate marveled that he was already dead.

Because typically, crucifixion was a very slow and gruesome death. And this was all within a couple hours. And so he was surprised at how soon Jesus had died. Now they...

the soldiers we read about in other gospel accounts break the legs of the other two guys who were crucified so that they would die faster. But they didn't have to do that with Jesus because he was already dead by that time. And so it was something that happened very quickly. And so I want to kind of walk you through

the timeline and just kind of give you a sense of how quickly these things happened. So Jesus would have celebrated the Last Supper somewhere a little bit after six o'clock. Again, these times are not exact, but just to kind of give you a sense of

So Jesus has dinner around six o'clock. After dinner, he goes with his disciples to spend time in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. So that would be around nine o'clock or so. He spends a couple hours in prayer. Remember, he challenges Peter, can't you watch and pray with me for one hour? And he goes and prays three times. And so he spends a few hours in prayer. So estimating around midnight is when Jesus is arrested.

in the garden of Gethsemane. That's when Judas leads in the army to arrest Jesus and take him away. And then he goes through a series of trials. First of all, he appears before Annas, who is the high priest.

And then from Annas, he's taken to Caiaphas, who was also the high priest. And there was a lot of political things behind that. But they were related to each other. They were both high priests. One was appointed by Rome. One was recognized by the people. And so there was kind of a little power struggle. But he has, you know, he's questioned, first of all, before Annas. Then he's taken to Caiaphas and he's questioned some more. He's mocked and beaten there by the Jewish people.

that are holding him while they're waiting for the morning to break. And so he goes through that. And then around five in the morning, he has his third trial. This is kind of the final one before the Sanhedrin where they decide, yes, we have enough evidence. We have, you know, what we can accuse him of and we're going to now deliver him to Rome. And so around six in the morning, he is taken to Pontius Pilate.

And he stands before Pontius Pilate. He's questioned. He's accused. He doesn't say anything. Pilate finds out that he's from Galilee...

And so that brings him to the fifth trial. Herod is, you know, has jurisdiction over Galilee. And so he sends Jesus to Herod who was in Jerusalem because of the Passover feast. And so he stands trial before Herod. It is questioned. Not much comes of that. Herod sends him back to Pontius Pilate. So that's for his sixth time of questioning and accusations.

And so there he's accused. There Pilate, you know, tries to get Barabbas released. But instead they say give us... I'm sorry, he tries to... You know what I mean. That's when Barabbas gets released. But Pilate tries to offer them, you know, Jesus instead. And so after that he's scourged. He's mocked and beaten. And then nailed to the cross around nine in the morning. So this is all happening...

You know, within a very short time period. So before really, you know, the population of Jerusalem and the people would have really been knowing what was going on, Jesus is already nailed to the cross at that point. Then around three o'clock is when Jesus breathed his last. He was on the cross for about six hours.

And that was, you know, the duration of his time that he hung upon the cross. And then he died. Then the soldiers pierced Jesus' side. And it would have been around 5 o'clock, maybe 4 o'clock, when Joseph collected Jesus' body and then puts him in the tomb because he would have wanted to do that before 6 p.m. sundown whenever the Sabbath would start, you know, in the evening.

And so within a 24-hour time period, all of this happens. Jesus has dinner. He's arrested. He's tried a bunch of times, accused of all kinds of things. He's beaten. He's mocked. He's scourged. He's crucified. He's laid in the tomb within 24 hours of the Last Supper. Well, the final chapter is chapter 16. Verse 6 is the key verse.

It tells us, but he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. So in chapter 16, verses 1 through 8, there's the women who visit the tomb very early Sunday morning. It's on the first day of the week. They come to the tomb. The sun had not yet quite risen yet.

And they're talking, who's going to roll away the stone for us that we could anoint his body? And of course they find the stone is rolled away. In verse 6, as they go inside, an angel speaks to them and says, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who is crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Verses 9-11 says,

We see that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. In verse 9 it tells us, when he arose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. And so he appears to Mary Magdalene first. Then he appears in verses 12 through 13 to two others who are on the road to Emmaus. Luke gives us a lot more details. But he appears to those two as they walked.

Then he appears to the 11 in verse 14. And in verses 14 through 18 we have the account there of go into all the world. That's kind of condensed. You know there's a lot of things that happen in between the resurrection of Jesus and when he ascends into heaven. It's kind of just summarized here in the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark.

Verses 19 through 20, we see that Jesus is received up into heaven. And verse 19 says, and he has sat down at the right hand of God, his rightful place at the right hand of God, because of course he is God and he is God the Son.

I wanted to finish up the evening looking at the resurrection appearances of Jesus. Sometimes the order can be a little bit confusing. And so this is a suggestion for, you know, kind of the order of when Jesus appeared to the different people. So the first person we know for sure Jesus appeared to was Mary Magdalene. And we read about that here in Mark. We also see it in John chapter 20.

Then there was the other ladies. It was another Mary, Salome, and Joanna. These were ladies who were there when Jesus was crucified. They were followers of Jesus. And they were ladies who went to the tomb that Sunday morning as well. And Jesus appears to them in Matthew chapter 28 verse 1.

We also know that Jesus appeared to Peter in Luke chapter 24 verse 34. It tells us that. And so he appears to Peter specifically. He appears to two disciples who are on the road in Luke 24 verses 13 through 34. We read about that. That's the two guys on the road to Emmaus. And when they come back, they say, hey, he has risen. We've seen him. And he's also appeared to Peter. So that's how we know that Jesus appeared to Peter personally as well.

Then he appears to them as a group, the 11 disciples, except for Thomas. So remember, Judas has already been out. So there's only 11 left, but now there's 10 of them gathered together. Thomas isn't with them. And in Luke 24, we read about that.

And then a week later, Jesus appears to them again. This time, Thomas is there. So it's the full 11 disciples. There's other people with them as well. And that's in John chapter 20. It gives us those details. And remember, that's when Thomas says, my Lord and my God. He worships Jesus at that point.

Then in John chapter 21, Jesus appears to seven of the disciples who go fishing. And so they spend some time out on the lake. And remember, Jesus says, cast your net on the other side. And then they catch a bunch of fish and they realize, hey, it's the Lord. And so he appears to them, has breakfast with them. We know at some point he appears to over 500 brethren at one time. Paul tells us about that in 1 Corinthians 15, 6.

He also appeared to James, that is his brother, the brother of Jesus. Paul tells us that in 1 Corinthians 15. He also appears to the disciples on the Mount of Olives. That's the famous, you know, go into all the world message that Jesus gives is there on the Mount of Olives. Matthew 28, here Mark in 16.

And then lastly, he appears to Saul of Tarsus. We know him as the Apostle Paul. And he tells us that in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 8. And so, lots of witnesses. The point is, Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. That he is alive. He is not dead. That proves that he is who he claimed to be. That proves that salvation is found only in him as he claimed. It proves that he is the Son of God, the Savior. Okay?

He is the one that we ought to be worshiping. He is the one that we ought to be serving and seeking. He is the one that ought to be the pursuit of our lives. Once and for all it's proven, he appeared to these people, they testify, Jesus Christ has risen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that we have you in our lives, that you're not dead, but you are alive.

And that you're at work. And that you're in control. You're on the throne. You're seated at the right hand of God where you belong. In glory. And you've invited us to join you and to spend eternity with you by believing in you. And so Lord, I pray that you would help us to do that. Help us, Lord, to believe you at your word. To allow you not just to have a little part of our lives, but help us to allow you to consume our lives. Because you are alive.

Help us, Lord, to walk with you and to enjoy a real relationship with you because you are alive. Help us, Lord, not to just try to live on our own, not to forget about you, not to just allow this to be some kind of religion or rituals that we practice. Lord, help us to really know you, to follow the greatest commandment that you declared, to love you with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength, and also to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Help us, Lord. And you can, because you are alive. We thank you. We invite you to work. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.