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Mark 15 "The Way to the Cross"

"Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered and said to him, "It is as you say." And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!" But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. anbd there was one named Barabas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chiefe priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again. "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?" So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!" So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified."

Today I would like to talk with you about the cross. It is one of the most persistant symbols around the world. We see it constantly. Of course Christian churches and organizations use it, but there is also the Red Cross, and here in Japan, the Green Cross. I cannot ride the train or go into a jewelry store without seeing crosses of gold, silver, diamonds or even pearls.
I wonder if due to our constant exposure to the cross our understanding of its message is weakened? I wonder what is the right way to understand the cross, what is the best way to come to the cross of Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you what you think of when you look at a cross? Perhaps you think of beauty, or hope, or peace, or grace? The cross definately means all these things. But for Jesus it meant something else first, and if we are to really understand these aspects of the cross we must first look at the cross through eyes of our suffering savior.
Last month I went to Cambodia, and one of the most unforgettable parts of our trip was a visit to the Museum of Genocide in Phnom Penh. It used to be a school built by the French, but in the 1970's Pol Pot turned it into a torture camp. He surrounded it with razor wire and built small cells into the classrooms. And systematically tortured and executed thousands of people, men, women and children in that place alone. In the museum they had display cases that showed some of the instruments of torture. I won't go into what they were, but they showed just how wickedly inventive man can be in inflicting pain on other human beings.
When Jesus first looked at the cross, this is what He saw. He saw an instrument of torture. He saw what would mean hours of physical suffering and finally death. When the crowd cried out, "Crucify Him" They were condemning Him to a long, and terrible death.
Last week as we read about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane I shared with you that every part of Jesus, cried out to God for deliverance. His physical body, cried out against the pain. His mind cried out against the injustice of it. His emotions cried out against the shame and rejection of the cross.
If you have ever worn a cross around your neck as a thing of beauty. Know this, that at first this cross was as ugly as the torturer's tools or the murderer's gun.

"Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiipped Him. And when they had mocked HIm, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of the Skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."

Isn't it incredible that the only Man to ever walk righteously before God, the only one who ever lived a sinless life, should be tried and executed as a criminal by the very ones that He came to help? And that as he was hanging on the cross, the ones who should have been keeping the law, had stolen his clothes and were gambling to see which one could keep them. Let us turn to the Scripture that Mark quoted, Isaiah 53:12, "Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors." God explained through Isaiah why Jesus suffered, why he was unjustly tortured and killed. 53:4 "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
Perhaps you have looked at the cross in hope, maybe of help, maybe of healing. But before Jesus Christ, noone looked to the cross for hope. When they saw the cross, they knew that they were doomed, hopeless. But because our Lord was willing to bear our sins, we do have hope.

"And those who passed by blashemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!" Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down." And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last."

Jesus was the son of God, but He was born with a human heart and human emotions. On the cross, He was made to endure, every kind of emotional torment as well as physical. He was teased. They made Him look like a liar and a bragger. They made it look like not He but they were the ones sent by God. What made it worse is that in an instant, Jesus could have come down from the cross. In an instant a legion of angels could of rescued Him. If only Jesus would disobey the Father, then He could show them all how wrong they were. But Jesus would not disobey the Father. And this is what made the last part so difficult. Because at the end, not only was Jesus rejected by the crowd screaming "Crucify Him!" and the soldiers mocking and the chief priests gloating and the disciples who had all ran away. Not only was Jesus rejected by the ones that He had come to save. But as He took on the sins of the world, He also became the object of the wrath of God. God, the Father, also turned His face away from Jesus Christ. And in that awful moment, as Jesus, in total obedience, became disgusting and evil in the sight of God, He cried out, "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"
David wrote a Psalm (22) many years before this, perhaps he received a terrible vision of what would happen to the Son of David. He starts the Psalm with the very same words, "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" And in verse 16, "For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked have enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all my bones. They look and stare at Me. they divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."
Perhaps you have looked at the cross as a symbol of peace. Know this, our Lord literally went through Hell, to secure for us that peace.

You see the cross, before Jesus Christ, was ugly. It was an instrument of physical torture, used by an unjust regime to execute political and religious prisoners. But Jesus has turned it into something beautiful, because through it he has taken the punishment for our sins. When we come to the cross, we can now see in it the beauty of acceptance by God. The beauty of holiness, purity.
The cross, before Jesus, was a dead end. It was a symbol of hopelessness. But Jesus has turned it into a symbol of hope. We look to the cross and know that we have been bought with a price. And that Jesus surely will not forget to save, those that He paid so dearly for.
The cross, before Jesus, was emotional torment, rejection and shame. But Jesus has turned it into forgiveness, love and finally peace. We look to the cross and know that it is finished! We have been received into the family of God, never to be rejected again.
Our Lord Jesus transformed this ugly, cruel, shameful thing, the cross, into a symbol of beauty, hope, peace and most of all love. He can do the same thing with your heart if you will let Him. All you have to do is receive Him. And Jesus will.

"Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the Kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some tim. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid."