Spend a Day at the Cross

FAITH ADVENTURE  "Spend a Day at the Cross" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Learn more about Jesus through the eyes of those who were there at the cross. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series. 
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Transcript

SPEND A DAY AT THE CROSS

 Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that e should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away; that He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering. He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. 

Mark 15:33

And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?” And when some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud dry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn n two from top to bottom. 
And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” And there were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. And when He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who had come up with Him to Jerusalem. 
And when evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 
And Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 
And Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linenen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 
And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid. 

Prayer: “Father in heaven, I do pray we will hear and understand the Word. I pray, Lord, you’ll show us new things, so we might be new people in Christ. For I pray it in His Name, Amen.” 

Coconut Cream Pie Analogy 

How many of you like coconut cream pie? I mean, a really good coconut cream pie? With that rich, thick sweet tasting filling and whipped cream on top with plenty of toasted coconut laying there and flaky, delicate crust underneath?  

Can you remember how many pieces of coconut cream pie you’ve ever had in your life? Not if you like it, you can’t. Can you remember the first piece you ever tasted? I can’t. There’s been too many since then.  Or think about your favorite pie, if that doesn’t happen to be it. 
But today, after you’ve had your nice lunch, if somebody would bring to you one of those great pieces of coconut cream pie, would you eat it? I’d eat it right now, if I had it, even though I’ve had lots of other pieces over the years. And I’d enjoy it. 
Now I want to talk about a subject you have all heard about, just as often as you’ve tasted your favorite pie or more. 

Get Your Spiritual Life Going  

There are a lot of things you can do to get your spiritual life going. 
You can remove some roadblocks to your faith. You can let Jesus lead. And respond to His Word. You can turn on the power and increase results. You can destroy the enemies. And sharpen your vision. You can do something drastic. Or imitate the Savior. You can assert your authority and give up something. You can plan for the future. I also mentioned you can stick close to Jesus through the embarrassing times, through the separation and betrayal, through the confusion and denial, distress and danger, accusations and guilt.  

Now, let’s do some contemplation. Let’s spend a day at the cross by going through Mark 15. If you do that, and see from the eyes of those who were there at the cross, you’ll get your spiritual life going like you hope it should be. 

What do we learn about Jesus from an astonished Pilate? What did Pilate learn about Jesus?  

Mark 15:5, “But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate was amazed.”  

Jesus had been turned over to Pilate and the government by the Jewish leaders and accused of a crime punishable by death. Yet, He made no reply to them at all. We learn that religious men can violently oppose Jesus. Otherwise reasonable men will set aside facts and plot to kill.  

Jesus is easy to hate . . .  

He’s so narrow. He tells everyone, “I’m the only way. And He’s so opinionated. He doesn’t mind telling anyone they’re wrong.  

Jesus is easy to hate because He’s so independent. He doesn’t need anyone else. He’s so demanding, saying, “You have to follow Me on the narrow way.” It seems to me we kill Jesus anytime we know Him and then consciously remove Him from having any effect in our lives.  

We toss out solid facts and act like unreasonable men, just like the religious leaders who brought Him to Pilate. 

5 Ways We Toss Out Solid Facts 

First, we make facts relative. We say, “There are no absolutes.” We say, “All knowledge is progressive. It used to be the right thing to do, but it’s not the right thing now.” So we toss out facts, even if this means removing Jesus from our lives. 

Second, we toss out facts by making them apply only to other people. It can be easy to read in Scripture how that applies to others. It’s easiest to listen to a sermon you wished someone else heard. But you forgot to receive it for yourself. We say, “My present situation is such that I am an exception to what God really wants.” 

Third, we question the source. We say, “Well, that’s unreliable—that translation, that interpretation, that commentary.” 

Fourth, we attempt to disprove them. In our own minds we determine, “That’s not really what that means.” And we dismiss the facts we have.  

Fifth, we present and encourage tension, so to consider either side as valid. That’s a great thing to do with Scriptural interpretation. If you have trouble with this passage, find one that you can interpret to mean the opposite. Put them in tension together. “Well, it could be six of one or half a dozen of the other, so I support this one.” Which is what you wanted to do all along.  

But Jesus is King 

Mark 15:2, “And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And answering He said to him, “It is as you say.” 

Jesus replied, “You’re right, I am King,” but Pilate misunderstood. For him, that meant ruling the land when Jesus came to rule all of creation. To the people, a king meant someone to whom you owe taxes. To Jesus it meant someone to whom you owe everything. Instead of bringing peace in the land, Jesus would bring peace in your heart. To them a king meant helping you live a happy life. Jesus would enable you to live forever.  

Jesus is truly king when you bow down to Him alone, when He’s the only one who receives your honor and worship. And Jesus is truly king of your life when you champion His causes, when you’re the one fighting His battle. Jesus is king when you obey His edicts, His law, His Word. And all three are needed. If you bow down to Him and never once champion His causes or obey Him, He’s not your King. 

Another Mark 15 Lesson 

Jesus does not try to get out of His punishment. That shows us some things, such as, Jesus is in control, in the midst of chaos. He could get out of this. He knew what was going to happen. He was in charge of the situation. But it also teaches us that surrender to God’s will isn’t always pleasant or fair. Jesus’ own surrender circumstance certainly wasn’t pleasant or fair. There are times to be silent as the events unfold around us.  

So Pilate learned a lot about Jesus on a day at the cross. But others learned about Jesus too. What about the fortunate Barabbas?  

Mark 15:15, “And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.” 

In that paragraph we learn Jesus was hated out of envy (Mark 15:10).  

Jesus Envy 

Jesus was popular. Crowds thronged around Him. In fact, at one point the religious leaders said, “It looked like the whole world gathered around Jesus.” On one day in Jerusalem, the people lined the streets and threw palm branches at His approach and shouted hosannas.  

He was easy to envy because He was perfect. The very best in any profession incur the most envy because others wish they excelled more. He was also too happy and satisfied, not continually anxious, working to please God.  

And He seemed free not to follow the rules. He didn’t have to ceremoniously wash His hands or watch to not pluck grains of wheat on the Sabbath day. Or worry about healing the sick on the Sabbath.  

He also had an independent message. He had no need for a commentary to repeat. His message was His own, yet authoritative. His power was also envied. When He spoke demons departed. The blind could see. Bread loaves were multiplied.   

Same Motives Today 

Envy still motivates people to attack Jesus.  

The wife gets up on Sunday morning, dresses well, and goes to worship. And the husband attacks Jesus. The professor attacks Jesus because he wants to be more perfect. A psychologist attacks Jesus because He was satisfied besides His environment, His upbringing, and His religious training.  

The cultist attacks Jesus because He’s free from a system of works. A philosopher attacks Jesus because of His authoratative message. The dictator attacks Jesus because of His power. They all deliver up Jesus out of envy.  

It’s Not Fair 

Another thing we learn from the situation with Barabbas: the price Jesus pays is not fair. He does not deserve this. Jesus who did nothing will be crucified. And the murderer Barabbas who started a rebellion will be set free. We do not live in a fair world. And you wouldn’t want it any other way. Aren’t you glad we don’t live in a fair world? 

In a fair world, every time you lusted after the opposite sex in your heart, your spouse would leave and divorce you. Every time the spedometer went over 55, you’d automatically get a ticket. That would be fair. And every time you were angry with someone in your heart, you’d go on trial for murder. Or anytime you’d lie, a video played back to those people you talked about. Or you’d die whenever you sinned because “the wages of sin is death.” But it’s not a fair world. 

We learn from the scene with Barabbas that crowd pleasing brought Jesus to the cross.  

Mark 15:15, “And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabas for tyem, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.” 

Reasons Crowds Make Lousy Counsellors 

1.    Crowds don’t care about individual people. Some in a crowd don’t even know what everyone’s cheering about at all. Whether it’s a sporting event or political rally or anything else, crowds don’t care.

2.    Crowds aren’t very principled. They’re filled with mixed motives and usually unreasonable. For instance, they cheer if a guy hits a home run and wins the game and then ‘boo’ him if he makes an error the next night.

3.    Crowds stirred are seldom sincere. They don’t have your best interests in mind. They don’t care much about you at all.  

4.     Crowds loyalty is short lived. They’re fickle. They won’t stand by you in tough times. 

5.    Crowds desire only action, whether morally right or wrong. People have a good time at a hockey game but if there’s not lots of goals scored, there’s a fight. As long as there’s action.  

Jesus was sent to the cross because Pilate listened to the crowd.  

About the Soldiers 

Mark 15:17,18, “And they (the soldiers) dressed Him up in purple, and after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; and they began to acclaim Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” 

Then, they continued to beat Him, spit on Him, and mocked Him. 

Jesus and Volunteer Humility 

Jesus exhibited so clearly what I call ‘volunteer humility.’ He did not have to be there. As the Son of God He was all powerful. Jesus volunteered for this assignment and at one point said, “That’s it! I quit! I don’t want to go any further!”  

Now sometimes humility is imposed on us. But we need to strive for volunteer humility instead. Imposed humility is telling those at the restaurant just who you are and why did they give you a lousy table? Volunteer humility is being willing to take the table next to the swinging kitchen door even though you could have the best table in the house.  

Imposed humility is when your masterpiece at the flower show makes second place next to a hastily concocted wildflower arrangement entered by a ten-year-old girl. Volunteer humility is when you invite the ten-year-old girl to your Garden Club to give you a demonstration in wildflower arrangement.  

Imposed humility is when you visit all your wife’s relatives during vacation because she’ll make you sleep in the garage if you don’t. Nothing humble about that. Volunteer humility is when you visit all the wife’s relatives even when she has to stay with the sick baby at home and you have to visit them on your own.  

Most of the humility we face is imposed. We don’t have a choice. Or you can volunteer to get into a bind. Jesus did that. 

The Self-Control of Jesus 

Do you realize what He could have done to those Roman soldiers who mocked Him? Ever watch a horror movie? Or perhaps you’ve seen Star Wars. A character like Jabba the Hutt drops the hero into a pit with the monster. Can you imagine what Jesus could have done? The torture He could have put them through. Or the revenge or anger shown. He could have spoken a word and they’d no longer exist. He showed self-control instead. 

Clues For Self-Control 

You can strengthen show self-control if you know where you’re going. It’s harder if you don’t have much direction in life. You don’t know what to control or where to point your action. Jesus knew exactly where all this was headed and where He was going.  

You can obtain self-control if you put the present into a long-range perspective. Jesus could have done away with the soldiers and walked away from it all. But He wouldn’t have had faithful people to love Him and enjoy the fellowship of His Father forever. And that’s the whole purpose of creation. In the long run, that purpose would have been diverted.  

First Rate Methods 

We can strengthen our self-control when we use first rate methods. We sometimes give in with second rate methods that don’t glorify Christ and don’t dignify our Christian behavior.  

It’s important to not make any big decisions outside pre-established procedures. Make sure we pray about it. Then, make decisions that will last.  

Mark 15:21, “And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and rufus), to bear His cross.” 

We learn about Jesus humanity here. Jesus was 100% human as well as 100% God. And Simon had to carry the cross because Jesus couldn’t go any farther with it. His back had been whipped raw by leaded, embedded leather thongs. He’d been beaten by the soldiers. He’d been up all night in a painful position. He couldn’t carry the cross. He stumbled and fell. Jesus was human. 

If Jesus Wasn’t Human  

Otherwise, we’d never know how to express our feelings to God. We’d say, “God up there, perfect God with all power. I know You don’t know what it’s like to hurt, but I’m in pain.” But now we can say, Jesus did know what it’s like.  

If Jesus wasn’t human,  we wouldn’t know how to describe our sorrow. But Jesus felt that emotion as tears came down His face at the death of His good friend, Lazarus. If Jesus wasn’t human, we wouldn’t know how to describe our anger. But Jesus got angry in the temple. We wouldn’t know how to describe our depression, but Jesus was wrought with anxiety in Gethsemane. He also knew all about hunger and thirst and weariness.  

If Jesus weren’t human, we’d have no idea how or who to follow. Minus His humanity, Jesus is an impossible dream. I could never expect to do anything He did. After all, He is God. If Jesus was not human, then I’ve been tricked by a grand charade, by a God who was trying to be one of the boys but He didn’t have to take any of the blows like you and me. And I’d still be lost in my sin because it was His humanity that conquered sin.  

And if Jesus were not human, then resurrection and eternity are only for God, not for us people. But Simon experienced His humanity firsthand when he had to carry His cross. 

The Chief Priests 

And now we learn about a love that endures. 

Mark 15:31, “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him along themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself.’” 

A love that endures sacrifices. Jesus gave up some of those heavenly qualities to come down here on earth. His love endured limitations. He came not as an adult but an enfant, not as a teen but a poor baby in a manger.  

His love also endured human frailty. He was tired, thirsty, hungry. He struggled with relationships. His love endured disobedience in us. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. His was a love that endured rejection as he was betrayed. He was denied by those closest to Him.  

And in the Mark 15 passage we see a love that endures shame. “There You are on the cross, Jesus. If You are such a great Savior, why don’t you come down and save Yourself.” So many of the religious leaders of the land ridiculed Him. But His love endured it all. 

That’s what Paul meant when he said, “I’m convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels or principalities, nor things or things to come, nor powers or heighth or depth or any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

When we look at the cross, we know He has endured so much for us that He’ll never stop loving us. He’s not going to quit now. Love that endures means to me the most important quality of love. Our love for God. His love for us. Our love for each other. A love that endures doesn’t just mean lasting a long time. It means lasting through tough times.  

Our love is never fully tested until we voluntarily endure the shame of other people—our friends or our children, our spouse or our church. Jesus endured the shame because of His love for us. 

The Centurion 

What do we learn about Jesus through the centurion? 

Mark 15:39, “And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” 

What happened on the cross was a cosmic event. In the sixth hour to the ninth hour, darkness fell over the whole land. For three hours, it was dark. When Jesus died, the whole universe shuddered. He’s not king of one little planet but of every planet, every galaxy, every universe. 

It was a historic event. He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” At one moment in the history of the world the fellowship between Father and Son was broken. Once and only once. It was broken for you and me.  

This event was unique. “Truly this was the Son of God.” A man used to seeing men die on a cross looked up at this one man and said he was different than anyone else.  

Unique, Historic, and Cosmic 

This should motivate us to tears, to awe, to thankfulness as we view the cross. We should shout for joy. We should be motivated to action, to let others know of the importance of what Jesus has done. 

 Joseph of Arimathea 

We learn of the courage of making a stand for Christ from Joseph of Arimathea.   

Mark 15:43, “Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.” 

It takes courage to stand by the crucified Christ, to stand against totalitarian governments, or belittling professors, or hedonistic friends, or skeptic family members. “You believe all that crucifixion stuff, Jesus dying for your sins?” they say.  

We can make a courageous stand when we’re convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that our stand is godly, biblical, and just. We can make courageous stands when we’re convinced that we gain is more important than what we might lose. We can make courageous stands that we’d want history to record because in all likelihood it will. Courage makes a stand independent of others without apology.  

At The Cross 

A day at the cross sounds like a quiet and contemplative thing. Read carefully through Mark 15 and review the old, old story about Jesus and His love. And if you allow God to open tearful eyes, the agonizing scene of the cross can be powerful to get your spiritual life going again. Amen and Amen.  

“Dear Father, I do pray that we’re always open to new truth. And Father, I pray that we’ll take the time to really understand and experience Mark 15. We’d like to see Your Son, our Savior, dying for us. We all know how the story ends. We know of the glory and the shouts of joy at the resurrection. But help us not miss the message of the crucifixion. We give ourselves to that. Work in our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

STEPHEN BLY
Circa 1990s