Reflective Bible Study

As Mark winds down the events surrounding Jesus’ time on the cross, he describes in our passage for this episode, the events surrounding Jesus’ body being removed from the cross and what happened to it to keep it from being lost. In many ways, we have a previously unknown person in the Bible record to thank for this.

Let’s read our passage for this episode and discover what we can learn from what Mark’s gospel tells us about this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 15, and we will read from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 42:

⁴² It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day. ⁴³ A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God’s kingdom to come.

⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he called in the army officer to find out if Jesus had been dead very long. ⁴⁵ After the officer told him, Pilate let Joseph have Jesus’ body.

⁴⁶ Joseph bought a linen cloth and took the body down from the cross. He had it wrapped in the cloth, and he put it in a tomb that had been cut into solid rock. Then he rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb.

⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body was placed.

In these last verses describing the day Jesus was crucified, we discover several details Mark wants to draw our attention to. When I look over this passage, I count no less than five big details that are significant for us to pay attention to.

First, Mark transitions into this event by telling us this was the evening before the Sabbath, and this Sabbath was a sacred day. Other gospels and translations describe why this wasn’t an ordinary Sabbath. This was an extra special Sabbath where the weekly Sabbath intersected with the annual Passover celebration, which was one of the most important Jewish celebrations.

This celebration marked the angel of death passing over the Jewish and Egyptian homes where the blood of a lamb was put on the doorposts of the home. This event, as the people of Israel were about to leave Egypt, foreshadowed what Jesus would ultimately accomplish for them on the cross. Jesus would be that lamb who died, and Jesus’ sacrifice, when welcomed into our hearts and lives, protects us from the angel of death.

Mark draws our attention to the detail that after Jesus has finished sacrificing Himself for humanity and God’s people, He rests in the grave during that special Sabbath day.

Next, Mark introduces us to a new character in the gospel story: a man named Joseph from Arimathea. Joseph steps in as being the perfect middleman for every group present and interested in what would happen that weekend.

While I doubt any of those present would have let Jesus’ body be thrown in the heap of dead bodies, which would have been the fate of the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, Joseph steps in as the perfect middleman. Joseph was a respected person among the Jewish leaders, he was someone who had influence with Pilate, and he was someone who was not hostile towards Jesus’ followers. Some gospels even call Joseph a secret disciple of Jesus.

Joseph also had exactly what this situation needed; Joseph had a nearby tomb where Jesus’ body could lay, and it was a tomb that was easy to access while also being easy to seal and guard. In this event, I believe God had prepared and placed Joseph of Arimathea into the exact place and position that was needed for this weekend. In many ways, Joseph from Arimathea saves Easter because of his involvement this Friday evening.

Another detail worth noting in this event is that Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly. Crucifixion was a death that was designed to last a long time and it was designed to be painful, humiliating, and public in order to remind any potential rebels that it wasn’t worth trying to fight against Rome. Jesus’ death in six hours was very abnormal. The way to speed up death was to break the legs of the person on the cross, and this happened to both criminals who were with Jesus.

The reason this detail stands out in my mind is that it is one more piece of evidence telling Pilate that Jesus was different. Jesus was not like anyone else who had been nailed to a cross, and to everyone present, it was very clear that Jesus was different. In our last passage, we even read that one of the soldiers present for Jesus’ last breath exclaimed that Jesus really was God’s Son after witnessing Jesus’ death.

I don’t know, and Mark doesn’t tell us the details surrounding what prompts Pilate to let Joseph have Jesus’ body. It is possible that Joseph paid Pilate for Jesus’ body, or perhaps something in Joseph’s request prompted Pilate to agree. It is also possible that Joseph was not present for any of that morning’s condemnation, and this gave weight to his request since he was not among Jesus’ accusers. Regardless of the details, God was ultimately behind Pilate agreeing to Joseph’s request.

Mark concludes this event by describing how Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching where Joseph took Jesus’ body. While this detail doesn’t sound significant at this point, it becomes significant because these women would be the first to witness an empty grave when they go to the tomb the following Sunday.

God was behind everything Joseph of Arimathea contributed to this point in history. God had brought Joseph to this point, and Joseph steps into history with everything needed to make this weekend glorify God in unprecedented, unexpected, and momentous ways.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue to seek God first in your life and be ready to step into God’s plan when He calls you to. While I don’t know what God is preparing your life for, I do know you are alive on this earth for a reason, that your life is significant in God’s eyes, and that He has something significant for you to accomplish. When the time comes for God to reveal His plan to you, be ready to jump into what God has prepared you for.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to continue learning and growing closer to God. Through the pages of the Bible, discover just how much God loves us and what God was willing to give up to open the way for us to have a restored relationship with Him!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or leave where God is leading you to in your life with Him!

As we near the end of our year podcasting through the miracles Jesus did in the gospels, most lists of miracles only have one miracle left, specifically a miracle that John’s gospel includes that happens after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. However, if we held real closely to the standard list of miracles, we’d miss some amazing miracles that are not often thought of as miracles.

The first of these amazing events comes to us in Matthew’s gospel as Jesus takes His last breath. While the idea of God becoming human, and God as a human actually dying is miraculous in itself, what happens when Jesus gives up His life is nothing short of miraculous.

Let’s read about what happened, and about what we can learn from the moment Jesus gave up His life. Our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, and we will read it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 45, Matthew tells us that:

⁴⁵ At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶ About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” ⁴⁷ When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ One of the men ran at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. ⁴⁹ The others said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ Then Jesus loudly cried out once again and gave up his life.

⁵¹ Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.

In this passage, at the moment Jesus cried out and gave up His life, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom, and there was a massive earthquake that split open graves. These things are miraculous, but Matthew then describes the bodies of many holy people returning to life. While it isn’t clear if they were resurrected at the moment Jesus gave up His life or at the moment when Jesus returned to life, there is no denying that those present in the first century would have this date fixed in their minds.

Matthew’s gospel leading up to Jesus’ death isn’t as descriptive as some of the other gospels. Luke’s gospel described how Jesus has a conversation and promise for one of the criminals hanging next to Him. John’s gospel includes details surrounding Jesus connecting His mother with John the disciple. However, Matthew’s gospel includes a powerful theme related to who Jesus is that none of the other gospel writers included here at Jesus’ death.

When we look at what happened on the cross, we see the life of a Life-Giver. When we look at Jesus, we see how His death brings resurrection. Jesus’ death is a source of life. Through the cross, Jesus gives life.

Jesus is the ultimate Life Giver.

Through the Godhead, we have been blessed with this thing called life. We have breath in our lungs because God gave it to us. While some people believe all this happened through random chance, no amount of random chance could result in what we have today. We are alive today because of God, and whether you believe God is simply responsible for starting this thing called life, or whether you believe He is instrumental in every life that is created, God gives life. Because God gives life and because Jesus is a member of the Godhead, there is a strong case that Jesus is responsible for our current life on this earth. As a member of the Godhead, Jesus the Life-Giver gives us our first life.

But Jesus didn’t stop giving. When the first life was messed up with sin, Jesus stepped into our history. Jesus gave up His life in heaven to come to earth as a human. Jesus could have easily recommended that humanity should be abandoned, but that choice is not within God’s character to make. Jesus, the Life-Giver, gave up His heavenly life because He wanted us to know what God truly is like.

However, even after giving up His heavenly life, Jesus didn’t stop giving. In this passage, Jesus continues giving by giving up His life for you and for me. Jesus gave up His life on the cross for us. Because Jesus loved us so much, and because He knew what the consequences of sin are, He chose to come to take the penalty we deserve to give us the opportunity of the reward He deserved. Through the cross, the Life-Giver gives us a second chance because He gave His life for us.

At His death, Jesus the Life-Giver’s death rippled through the earth and supernaturally returned the lives of holy people who had died nearby. We don’t know who, how many, or really anything beyond what Matthew shares with us here, but we cannot escape the amazing theme that Jesus the Life-Giver’s death brings His people new life. As followers of Jesus, we not only have a new life in our current situation, but we also have the promise of a perfect, eternal life when Jesus returns.

With this promise, we look forward to heaven, and with whatever happens between now and then, we can trust that with Jesus, our lives will be saved for eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, be sure to intentionally seek God first and place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the cross. Jesus is the Giver of life and because Jesus is so focused on giving, we would be wise to accept the gifts that He offers to us. One great way of saying thank you to God is by accepting the gifts that He offers to us.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus. While a pastor, speaker, author, or podcaster can give you ideas to think about, never let someone get between you and God. God has made a way for us to come to Him, and because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we are invited to come before God with our questions and requests directly. Don’t let anyone get between you and God.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

During the past couple of podcast episodes, we have been looking at how Mark describes the time Jesus spent on the cross. For this episode, we will conclude looking at what Mark tells us happened during the hours Jesus spent on the cross, and discover what we can learn during the last portion of this event.

Our passage for this episode is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 15, and for this episode, we will read from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 33, Mark tells us that:

³³ At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “Listen! He’s calling Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. The man said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. ³⁸ The curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.

³⁹ When the officer who stood facing Jesus saw how he gave up his spirit, he said, “Certainly, this man was the Son of God!”

Without any question in my mind, the moment Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died is the darkest point in the entire Bible. For three hours, darkness covered not only the entire region but specifically Jesus on the cross. I wonder if this darkness was caused by supernatural forces, if there was some type of eclipse that blocked out the sun, or if this happened because of a thick cloud cover. It was as though the last three hours of Jesus’ life were aimed at prompting Jesus to feel like He was all alone.

Mark doesn’t describe anything that happened during these three hours, and I wonder if nothing noteworthy happened, perhaps except for Satan trying to mock and taunt Jesus that His death was for nothing and that His sacrifice would not be accepted by God.

Whether the darkness ended immediately after Jesus gave His last breath, or whether the darkness ended at the point Jesus cried out about feeling like God had abandoned Him, the last hours leading up to Jesus’ death gave Jesus time to reflect on His sacrifice. These three hours likely felt like an eternity, but it was an eternity where Jesus was able to reflect and resolve that His death would open the way for our salvation.

In my mind, it is significant to pay attention to what Jesus cries out here in Mark’s gospel. After three hours of darkness, Jesus cries out in verse 34 saying, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

This cry of Jesus is a cry we all may be tempted to believe when we go through dark points in our lives. In our lives, we all will have times when things go our way and when life is looking up, and we will all have times when it seems like everything is going wrong. It is tempting to think God is with us in the good times and that He has abandoned us in the bad times, but if we choose to believe this, we may be believing a lie Satan wants to trick us with.

I have no idea whether the darkness during the last hours of Jesus’ time on the cross was caused naturally or supernaturally. I don’t know whether it was something symbolizing God turning His face away from Jesus or whether it was a move by Satan to try to break His spirit.

However, I believe that regardless of the source of the darkness, and regardless of Jesus’ cry out to God about feeling abandoned, I have no doubt in my mind that God was 100% focused on this moment in history. Even though Jesus felt like God had left Him, I don’t believe for a moment that God turned His back on Jesus’ sacrifice.

One of the most famous verses in the Bible tells us that God loves humanity to the point that He sent His Son to face death for us. Jesus took the punishment we deserved onto Himself because God loves us that much. God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice because Jesus returned to life the following Sunday morning. The weekend of the cross was what the entire Godhead had been directing history towards.

However, with God’s focus present on this moment, I don’t believe God felt joy during this moment. Instead, in ways that would be hard for us to imagine, I believe God felt pain during the hours Jesus hung on the cross. Regardless of whether a skeptic could rationalize God’s perspective and say that He knew Jesus would be alive days later, God knows what it is like to watch someone you love die. God understands one of the greatest pains we can experience in our human lives.

In this event, we discover that Satan wanted Jesus to feel as though He was alone, and in this regard, it is possible that he succeeded. However, Satan wasn’t strong enough to convince Jesus that His cries to His Father would not be heard.

This means that for us living today, Satan can try to trick us into believing that we are all alone and that God is uninterested in our lives. Satan can try to trick us into believing that our prayers fall on deaf ears, or no ears at all. However, Satan is powerless to stop our prayers from being heard by the Father, and Satan is powerless to stop the Father from being passionately in love with us!

The best Satan can hope for is tricking us into not praying and seeking God, because he knows that if we turn to God, God is more than willing to help us in our time of need.

When Jesus gave up His Spirit, the curtain in the temple ripped in two from top to bottom. This spiritual and significant act opened the way for sinners to come before God directly and ask for forgiveness, ask for help, and ask God for answers to our prayers and requests. Jesus’ death makes coming to God possible, and Jesus’ death bridges the gap sin had created between humanity and God.

Everything worth anything in life hinges on Jesus’ death, and because Jesus died on the cross, we are able to accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus that extends into eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Resolve today to never let Satan trick you out of praying and seeking God. Satan’s best chance is tricking you into thinking that God doesn’t care about you and letting your mind resolve to give up on God. This is because Satan knows that God is unwilling to give up on us. Jesus came to prove to us that God loves us with all His heart and that He wants us together forever with Him in heaven!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and fall in love with the God who gave Himself for you and me. Through the pages of the Bible, discover just how much God loves you and what He was willing to give up in order to redeem you and I for eternity.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him – even when Satan tries to convince us we are living alone and God has forgotten. God never forgot Jesus, and He will never forget you!

During the night Jesus was arrested, Luke’s gospel records a powerful miracle that shows us just how much love Jesus has for humanity. This miracle is special because it happens simply because a miracle is needed to show God’s love. When we look at the circumstances surrounding this miracle, those who had faith in Jesus likely didn’t want this healing to happen, and those arresting Jesus probably didn’t want to show or demonstrate any faith in the one they were arresting.

However, Jesus uses this opportunity to demonstrate God’s love, and He does this in an amazing way.

Let’s read about what happened. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 22, and we will read it from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 47, Luke tells us what happened:

⁴⁷ But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹ When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵² Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? ⁵³ Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”

This passage and miracle is amazing every time I read it. This event was likely what the disciples imagined would be the start of their rise to prominence. Every time before this, Jesus successfully evaded being arrested or trapped, but this time, the religious leaders’ mob had found Jesus with the help of the traitor.

The disciples knew the mob wasn’t interested in discussing or debating, and that the numbers of people present at this point favored the mob that had circled them. This looked like the point in time they had been preparing for in their minds when Jesus would step up into the leadership role they believed was coming.

However, this miracle is amazing, because while the disciples are preparing to fight, at the first hint of blood, Jesus calls for the situation to stop and He heals the member of the mob who was just injured. In essence, Jesus healed someone who was there as His enemy. Jesus healed someone whose goal was helping to bring about Jesus’ death.

This event, probably more than most others, demonstrates Jesus’ love, and God’s love, for humanity. While humanity was caught in a rebellion against God and more interested in sin that salvation, Jesus steps in as God’s representative and as a light in the spiritual darkness. While Jews, gentiles, and even one of Jesus’ own followers orchestrated the arrest that led to Jesus’ death, no one present for this event even suspected that Jesus chose the cross.

At the point Jesus described as the “time when the power of darkness reigns”, Jesus is more interested in healing those who are against Him than on trying to save Himself or escape. This event demonstrates God’s love for us because Jesus walked the path leading to death and all along the way, His focus was not on Himself, but on others. Jesus’ focus on others is clearly seen in His arrest, and when you are looking for it, you can see it in most every stage leading up to His last breath.

John calls Peter out as the disciple who began the defense and as the one who struck the high priest’s slave’s ear. However, while Peter seemed to be the first disciple to speak or act, it’s likely that most, if not all of the others would have done the same if given the chance.

By stepping up to defend Jesus, even while Jesus stopped the specific action, Peter displays an attitude that we all should have. Too often today, when faced with ridicule or hostility from the secular crowd in today’s world, we are too quick to back down, give up, or abandon our faith simply because the situation is challenging. A faith that is abandoned when challenges come is worthless. The only faith worth having is one that pushes back against the challenges and one that is strengthened when challenges come.

Jesus does not challenge Peter on his faith or on his desire to defend Jesus, even if Peter might feel like this is what Jesus did. Instead, Jesus challenged Peter on using a method of defending Jesus that does not demonstrate God’s love. In a fascinating way, through Jesus’ challenge towards Peter over using a sword, Jesus challenges every follower of Jesus throughout history regarding how they will choose to defend their faith.

Christian history has many examples where violence was used to defend the faith, and because of what Jesus challenges Peter about in this passage, I get the idea that Jesus would challenge every one of His followers who would lean towards violence as a way to defend their faith.

The last amazing thing I see in this miracle on the night Jesus was arrested is that Jesus let Judas Iscariot betray Him. It would have been easy for Jesus to have hidden, but that was not Jesus’ goal.

Jesus came to face the cross and death because His focus was on saving people for eternity. Jesus’ fight was not against humans or humanity, it was against the powers of darkness. While death doesn’t appear to be the way to win this fight, Jesus’ sees a bigger picture than we do and death in this case is the only way to justify God’s laws about sin while also opening the way for God’s merciful nature.

Jesus focused on helping and healing those who were intent on bringing Jesus to the cross, and this amazing miracle proves God’s love for all of humanity – including those who reject God and are hostile towards Him.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, seek God first and choose to place your love, hope, faith, trust, and belief in Him. Choose to show God’s love to the world around you and do so in a way that uplifts humanity like Jesus uplifted humanity. Jesus didn’t put people down. The only people Jesus challenged were those who felt like they were spiritually superior to others. Jesus loved those who were honestly searching and seeking God.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God. While other people have ideas, always filter what you learn through the truth of God’s Word. If an idea runs counter to the Bible, it is not an idea that will stand the test of eternity.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!