Day 19 of Journey Through Mark: THE AGONY & IRONY OF THE CROSS

COMMENTARY Today’s reading tells the account of Jesus’ crucifixion. As we read this story, we shouldn’t miss the agony Jesus would have endured as He died on the cross. Our familiarity with images of the cross can numb us to the brutality of Jesus’ death. The reality is that it was likely much worse than we imagine. Roman crucifixion was an excruciatingly slow, public, and humiliating form of execution. Victims often experienced some form of torture beforehand like flogging (Mark 15:15). After being tortured, they were stripped naked, so as to bring shame (Mark 15:24). Then they were nailed to wooden posts, where they slowly and painfully suffocated as their lungs were crushed under their own body weight. This torturous style of execution was used as psychological warfare to discourage potential rebels. It was considered so barbaric that the word “crucify” became an expletive in Roman society. It’s no wonder Jesus prayed from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). While we should never forget the agony Jesus experienced on the cross, we also shouldn’t miss the dramatic and deliberate irony in this story. While Jesus was on the cross, religious leaders mocked Him, saying, “He saved others . . . but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:31-32a). The irony of this group’s misunderstanding is that the cross was the place where Jesus became their Messiah. Saving others meant He couldn’t save Himself. In the same way, before His crucifixion, Jesus is led to a “palace” where He is dressed in a purple robe, given a “crown,” and hailed as “king” (Mark 15:16-20). This triumphant imitation of victorious Roman emperors was intended by Jesus’ executioners to be a form of mockery. But as the book of Mark has prepared us to see, Jesus’ execution is also the moment of His enthronement and ultimate triumph over evil. This is the moment when Jesus becomes King. The story of the cross is, therefore, a story of agony and irony. The cross was meant to bring torture. God used it to bring triumph. You may respond to this story with tears, guilt, or gratitude, but what Jesus deserves most is our allegiance, for us to hail Him as our Messiah-King. SCRIPTURE MARK 15 CHAPTER 15 JESUS BEFORE PILATE 1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. THE SOLDIERS MOCK JESUS 16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS 21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. 25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews. 27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. THE DEATH OF JESUS 33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. THE BURIAL OF JESUS 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day be- fore the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summon- ing the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. REFLECTION 1. In Mark 15:34, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words come from Psalm 22, a psalm of lament. By quoting this psalm, Jesus showed that He felt let down by God, just as many worshippers before and after Him have felt. When have you felt abandoned by God? How might Jesus’ words be an encouragement to you? 2. It can be easy for us to cast judgment on the various characters who appear in the stories of Jesus’ arrest, trials, and crucifixion. It is more difficult, but perhaps more important, that we consider how we might have fit into the story. When have you acted like Peter, denying Jesus? Like an onlooker, insulting Jesus? Like Pilate, caving to pressure and condemning Jesus?