Third Lenten Vesper – Mark 15:20-32 – Crucifixion

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Third Lenten Vesper – Mark 15:20-32 – Crucifixion
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
April 2, 2009

Listen to this sermon.

Mark 15:20-32 20 After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." 27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 28 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!" 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

Tonight we are continuing on our journey with Jesus to the cross and we are very close. Our scripture reading is about crucifixion. As Protestants we usually avoid talking about crucifixion. We like Palm Sunday with the palm branches and kids and a big procession. Then we usually skip to Easter with its big celebration. We pass through Holy Week without noticing what’s going on except for Maundy Thursday when we talk about the Lord’s Supper and Jesus telling us to love God and love our neighbors. Good Friday is something Roman Catholics do. And look at our cross; it’s empty because of our preference for resurrection rather than suffering. Again it is the Roman Catholics who put the suffering Christ on the cross. We would never allow something like that in our church.

But if we totally ignore the crucifixion then Easter loses its meaning. There is no reason to celebrate a resurrection unless a crucifixion preceded it. So tonight we are looking at crucifixion.

The Romans saw crucifixion as accomplishing two goals. First it humiliated anyone who dared to threaten imperial authority. And second it intimidated anyone who might be tempted to oppose the will of the Emperor. They crucified people on the main street just outside the gate of the city where it would have the maximum impact.

But as we read Mark we see a very different picture emerging. First, we see that Jesus is not bowed over carrying the heavy cross bar, an important part of humiliation. Rather Jesus is walking upright with someone else carrying it for him. It is almost as if Jesus is triumphantly walking to the Golgotha as a king rather than as a condemned. This view is confirmed when Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh. The Romans wanted to humiliate not torture so they offered this mixture to the condemned to ease the pain. But Jesus refused the wine because he had said the night before that he would not drink the fruit of the vine until he would do it in the kingdom of God. Obviously Jesus was not yet in the kingdom yet, but he was very close.

When Jesus was crucified he was exalted, lifted up the same way as a king is exalted sitting on a throne. And a king on the throne would have his principle advisers on his right and left. Remember that earlier in Mark we saw James and John competing over who would be on the right and on the left in the kingdom. Both of those have fled and are in hiding, but there are two bandits at the right and left of Jesus. And the king’s subjects are approaching the cross not with their petitions, but with taunts and demand for a miracle of Jesus jumping down from the cross. Even the inscription takes on a new meaning. The Romans were trying to use satire, but Jesus really is “The King of the Jews”.

What we see here is Mark’s keen sense of irony. He has described a crucifixion not as an execution but as a coronation.

There is one last thing that confuses me. Who are Alexander and Rufus? They are sons of Simon and come from North Africa, but they are not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament. You can be certain that the first readers of Mark knew who they were. They were probably early Christians. So Mark is inviting us to look at the crucifixion in terms of the church.

In the church, Christ is our exalted head. At his right and left are his minister and elders, bandit and thieves. The congregation doesn’t really believe and demands a sign. The early church was made up of sinners. And so is ours. We are all sinners and have no right to approach the throne of grace. But the good news is that we can approach Christ because our sins have been forgiven, our relationship with God has been reconciled, and we now enjoy new life in Christ. All of this is because of the grace of Jesus Christ was crucified for us and now reigns in heaven at the right hand of God. Amen.