Mark 15:21-32

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Crucifixion

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The physical sufferings of Christ were secondary to the spiritual sufferings of Christ.

  2. In order for Christ to save others He could not save Himself.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. We have an option to carry the cross.

  2. We have an option to believe and see.

QUESTIONS

  1. What was required of those who were condemned by crucifixion? Why was Jesus exempted from this?

  2. The place of the crucifixion is called by different names. What are they?

  3. The Lord was offered a drink that would deaden His pain. Why did He refuse it?

  4. What time was the "third hour?"

  5. Why didn't Mark dwell on the physical sufferings of Christ on the cross?

  6. Could Christ have come down from the cross and still saved others? Could He have come down from the cross and saved Himself?

  7. What does it mean to take up the cross?

  8. Discuss, "...that we may see and believe." (Mark 15:32). What is God's order concerning seeing and believing?

ANSWERS

  1. To carry their own heavy crossbeam to the place of the crucifixion. Because of His weakened physical condition after the Roman scourging.

  2. Golgotha, the Aramaic word for skull, and Calvary, the Latin word for skull.

  3. Because He chose to be fully conscious with all His senses intact when He would suffer and die for our sins.

  4. 9:00 A.M., according to Jewish reckoning

  5. Because they were secondary to the spiritual sufferings of Christ. It is not that the physical sufferings were insignificant (quite the contrary), but the spiritual sufferings, involving the judgment of the wrath of God against the sin of the world, were of crucial significance because of God's love for us as sinners in need of a Savior.

  6. No, in order to save others, Christ could not save Himself. It was the only way, and He chose to stay on the cross for you and for me. Yes, He could have come down from the cross. He could have called twelve legions of angels to fight for Him, but He chose to stay on the cross to redeem us.

  7. It means to deny yourself, to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. It does not mean sharing in Christ's suffering for sin, for that work was finished on the cross. Nor does it mean to suffer through physical infirmities or problems in our lives. It means to put self to death, and to put Christ first in your life. It has to do with discipleship, not salvation.

  8. The "show me" attitude is typical of the unbeliever. The unbeliever says, "Let me see, and then I'll believe." Unbelievers at the cross wanted to see the Lord come down from the cross. God's order is the reverse, "Believe, and you will see." The irony of this concept at the time of the cross and the resurrection was that the believers at the cross got to see the Lord after His resurrection. 500 believers saw Him at one time. Those who said they would believe if they could see, saw nothing.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Put yourself in the crowd at the cross. How might you have responded?

  2. Are you taking up your cross daily? How?

CHALLENGE

  1. What is your orientation -- "Let me see first, then I'll believe, " or do you believe first?

KEY VERSES

  • "Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)



Mark, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsMark 15:21-32