20/09/2024
SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON
TRIED AND CRUCIFIED
MEMORY TEXT: Mark 15:34, NKJV
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ”
A .) Pilate declares Jesus “King of the Jews.” Mark 15:1-15.
Pontius Pilate was the Roman official who had to authorize the death of Jesus. Everyone knew of his cruelty and unscrupulousness ( Luke 13:1). However, he publicly acknowledged: “I find no crime in him” (Jn. 18:38). The Sanhedrin's plan seemed doomed to failure.
They had found Jesus guilty of blasphemy for declaring himself the Messiah (Mark 14:61-64). Since the Messiah was destined to be the King of Israel, that was the accusation they presented before Pilate.
Jesus neither denied nor accepted the accusation, but he made it clear to Pilate that he did not aspire to rule an earthly kingdom (Mark 15:2; John 18:33-37).
Pilate used this accusation to mock the Jewish leaders: “Do you want me to kill your king?” However, he capitulated before them by punishing Jesus and freeing a real evildoer (Mark 15:8-15).
B .) The soldiers prostrate themselves before the “King of the Jews.” Mark 15:16-20.
Before being crucified, the prisoners were stripped naked and subjected to a cruel flogging. The soldier beat until he was tired.
Knowing the accusation against Jesus, the soldiers decided to carry out a parody to ridicule him. They placed a “crown” on him, put a “royal mantle” on him, gave him a “scepter,” sat him on a “throne,” and made “obeisances” to him as if he were Caesar (Mark 15:17-19). ; Mt. 27:28-29).
For them it was a game. A cruel game. Although they could not see a king in Jesus, some ended up recognizing him as the Son of God. Without knowing it, they were paying tribute to their true King.
C .) The crowd calls Jesus “King of Israel.” Mark 15:21-32.
Exhausted by fasting and scourging, Jesus was unable to carry his own cross. A compassionate foreigner was forced to carry it in his place (Mark 15:21).
Like a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse, Jesus, without any complaint, allowed himself to be led to Calvary; they would undress him; they placed him on the cross; They will nail their hands and feet; and they would lift him up high.
As an act of mercy, a soldier offered him a drug to cloud his mind. But Jesus rejected this gesture. He would not let anything prevent him from consciously and voluntarily surrendering to the redemptive act (Mark 15:23).
Once again, he was the victim of ridicule. Like the soldiers, the Jews ironically recognized Jesus as the Messiah. They accepted that He was able to save (Mark 15:31), and seemed willing to believe in Him if He saved Himself (Mark 15:32).
But, if Jesus was saved, both they and we would be condemned (Mark 15:30).
D .) The centurion declares Jesus “Son of God.” Mark 15:33-41.
Jesus was crucified at 9 in the morning. Around 12 noon darkness came over the land. At 3 p.m., Jesus died. But, shortly before he died, Jesus cried out to his Father with the words of Psalm 22 (Mark 15:33-34).
Few realized how Jesus fulfilled this messianic psalm to the letter. The majority decided to misinterpret his words, confusing the Aramaic “ Eloi ” with a call to Elijah (Mark 15:35).
E .) Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body of Jesus. Mark 15:42-47.
The evangelists make it clear that Jesus really died on the cross. It wasn't a faint or a catalepsy. The Romans knew how to differentiate a crucified person who was apparently dead from one who was really dead (Mark 15:44-45). As if that were not enough, the Jews themselves incited a soldier to pierce their heart with a spear (Jn. 19:33-34).
After death, a rich, influential man and respected member of the Sanhedrin appears on the scene: Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). He did for Jesus what his disciples were incapable of doing: he asked Pilate for the body; bought a new shroud; and offered his own tomb to house the body of Jesus (Mark 15:46).
Several women (Matthew and Mark only mention two) were eyewitnesses to the burial (Mark 15:46-47; Luke 23:55). They would also be the first witnesses of his resurrection (Mark 16:1-2).