16 Jun The Sinner’s Substitute
Read: Mark 15:21-16:8
Last Sunday Pastor Jeremy preached the message, “Jesus Is King,” from Mark 15:1-20. This Sunday Pastor Jason will close out our series of Mark: Who Do You Say that I Am?, as we consider Mark 15:21-16:8 together. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, pray that the Lord opens our hearts to taste and see His extravagant love for us demonstrated through his sacrifice on the cross. Further, let these words from Dr. Akin encourage you and move you to further consider the state of your heart before God.
Heart Preparation
The Great King Died in Darkness (Mark 15:33)
Jesus has been on the cross for three hours. Suddenly at about “noon,” darkness engulfed the whole land “until three.” This was not a solar eclipse, since the Passover was held at the time of a full moon. This is a miracle of God, a cosmic sign of God’s judgment on sin poured out on His Son (Isa 5:25-30; Amos 8:9-10; Mic 3:5-7; Zeph 1:14-15). The ninth plague in Egypt was a three-day period of darkness followed by the final plague, the death of the firstborn (Exod 10:22-11:9). Wiersbe notes, “The darkness of Calvary was an announcement that God’s firstborn and Beloved Son, the Lamb of God, was giving His life for the sins of the world!” (Be Diligent, 148– 49).
The Great King Died Alone (Mark 15:34-36)
The cry of verse 34 may be the most heart-wrenching one in the whole Bible. It is a quote from Psalm 22:1, and it identifies Jesus as the righteous sufferer of that psalm. Our Savior cried out in Aramaic, His mother tongue, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The cry was not one of physical pain, psychological confusion, or dread of death. No, it was the cry of the Son of God, who was now experiencing something He had never known in all of eternity: separation from and forsakenness by God. Tim Keller captures beautifully the transaction of the moment:
This forsakenness, this loss, was between the Father and the Son, who had loved each other from all eternity. This love was infinitely long, absolutely perfect, and Jesus was losing it. Jesus was being cut out of the dance. Jesus, the Maker of the world, was being unmade. Why? Jesus was experiencing our judgment day. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It wasn’t a rhetorical question. And the answer is: For you, for me, for us. Jesus was forsaken by God so that we would never have to be. The judgment that should have fallen on us fell instead on Jesus. (Keller, King’s Cross, 202; emphasis in original)
Jesus’ cry and the darkness that covered the land declared the same truth: there was real abandonment from the Father as Jesus took on every sin of every man, woman, and child. As Isaiah 53:6 teaches, “The Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” This was the price He paid as “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
And why “My God” and not “My Father”? Because in this one moment in all of time and eternity, He views Himself and knows Himself not as the Father’s Son but as the sinner’s sacrifice.
Some standing by mistakenly thought He was calling out to Elijah. They waited, probably with additional ridicule, to see whether Elijah would come to take Him down. However, if the Father would not intervene to spare His Son, it is certain Elijah would not come. The great King would die alone as the sinner’s substitute.
God separated from God— who can understand? I may never understand it, but I will forever praise Him for it.
Excerpt from Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark, by Daniel L. Akin, pp. 354-355.
Song List for Sunday
- God Is Able, by Hillsong Live
- Shout Hosanna, by Kristian Stanfill
- Hallelujah, What a Savior, by Breakaway Ministries
- The Power of the Cross, by Stuart Townend
- In Christ Alone, Arr. by Adrienne Liesching & Geoff Moore