Easter: Part 3 – Execution

This Good Friday, Rob Lea brings us the talk in the latest of our EBC services. We encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.
 
The talk will be available via live stream at 9.30am on Friday 15th April, on our YouTube channel.
 
Once you have listened, here are some questions to consider:
 
Readings:

Mark chapter 15 verses 1 to 47 (New Living Translation)

Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
 
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
 
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
 
3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.
 
6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.
 
9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
 
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
 
14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
 
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
 
15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
 
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
 
21 A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.
 
24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
 
29 The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
 
31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.
 
33 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34 Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
 
35 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”
 
37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
 
39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
 
40 Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.
 
42 This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honoured member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) 44 Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45 The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.



Prayer & Reflection
 
Father God, we remember today, the pain and suffering of the cross, and all that Jesus was willing to endure, so that we could be set free. He paid the price, such a great sacrifice, to offer us the gift of eternal life. Help us to be reminded of the cost of it all
Forgive us for being too busy, or distracted by other things, for not fully recognizing what you have freely given, what you have done for us. Help us never to take for granted this huge gift of love on our behalf and help us share that love and hope with our families, our friends, and our world.
AMEN!



Questions to Consider
1) The day that Jesus was crucified is known by Christians as ‘Good Friday’. Do you think that is an appropriate name for the day? If you do, why is that? If you don’t, can you think of an alternative, perhaps more appropriate name?
2) Can you explain the significance of the torn curtain in the sanctuary described in Mark 15:38. Do you think that it really happened?
3) Why did Jesus cry out, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’. What were the reasons for his seeming distress?
4) Can you explain how Jesus could be both fully divine and fully human at the same time? If it does, why does it matter?
5) Do you think that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for your sin? That he took the punishment for you in your place? If yes, how do you respond to that, day by day?
6) What is your response to the idea that death is not an enemy but an escort to something far more wonderful than this earthly existence?