What Happened To Jesus At The Cross?

Reading

Mark 15:6-39

Introduction

Our reading is a powerful account of what happened to Jesus Christ in the events surrounding his death.  Many films have also been made about the life of Jesus.  I was once in a service where an excerpt from one of them was used as a backdrop to a song about the victory of the cross.  I found it impossible to sing that rightly joyful song and at the same time watch images of my Lord and Saviour being dragged through the streets of Jerusalem and then nailed to a cross. 

I was too choked up to sing something I found completely incongruous with what I saw.  And though the visual imagery of that film was itself powerful, the film has not yet been made which truly depicts the events of that day.  If it were to be made it would be strongly censored, if not totally banned, for the portrayal of the mindless and gratuitous violence and degradation inflicted on Jesus.

Piecing together the descriptions from the four gospels, and allowing ourselves to take in the enormity of the events, we can reconstruct a truly awful sequence of events.

The Events

After a mockery of a trial, Jesus was blindfolded, spat upon, slapped, and struck with fists by the Sanhedrin guards; was mocked and ridiculed by Herod’s men; was flogged by the Romans so that his back was torn to shreds; had a crown of vicious thorns rammed on his head, and then was beaten about the head with a staff by Roman soldiers, who mocked him and paid false homage to him.

He was made to carry his own cross but was so weak by now that Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it for him.  The gospels seem to gloss over the shame and agony of crucifixion.  As Mark puts it, “And they crucified him.”  What an understatement!  In fact, Jesus was stripped completely naked and stretched out by three Roman soldiers while a fourth drove iron spikes through his wrists and ankles.

Once the cross was hauled aloft and the full weight of Jesus’ body hung from those spikes in the heat of the day, he was mocked by his countrymen, the soldiers divided up his clothes and cast lots for his undergarment.

Finally, six hours later, he died.  Later than evening, just to make sure he was really dead, a Roman soldier drove a spear through his side into his heart.  Blood and water flowed from the wound, probably blood cells and plasma which had separated in the chambers of his heart, indicating that he had been dead for a long time.  Jesus did not swoon on the cross, as some would have us believe.  He died!

In the crucifixion of Jesus, we could easily see the triumph of evil.  Jesus went about doing good and healing the sick, but now it’s all gone pear-shaped and his ministry has ended in disaster.

In reality, everything happened according to God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.  All that Jesus experienced was a deliberate and purposeful act of God, and Jesus knew that it was what he came to earth for.  We shall see evidence of that when we look at OT prophecy in a moment.

It is no small wonder that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”  Who would relish the prospect of what lay before Jesus.  But His Father’s will was that the cup should not pass from him.  Jesus had to drink the cup to its dregs.  But why did this have to happen?  What was the point?  Before he died, Jesus cried out, “IT IS FINISHED”.  Did he mean, “That’s it, I’m done for”?

The Reason for the Cross

I have just related the physical events of what happened to Jesus at the cross.  Shocking as these events are, I have not recounted them to shock you, or to stir your emotions, or to make you feel sympathy for Jesus.  But I do want you to understand the full measure of what it was necessary for Jesus to endure.

The horrible execution he underwent was really only the tip of the iceberg.  Beyond the physical, something much deeper was going on. Those final words of Jesus contain the most significant meaning that any words could ever convey.

As Christians, we know that mankind has a deep, deep problem, summed up in the word ‘sin’.  Sin is the transgression of God’s Law.  His Law shows us the way he wants us to live, the right way to live, but we have failed.  Sin has terrible consequences for us.  When we break his Law, we are subject to the curse of the Law and come under God’s judgement: that we are worthy of death.  Sin separates us from God and, unless something is done about it, that separation is forever.  The scriptures tell us about these things.

Is 59:1 “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God;  your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”

Gal 3:10 “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

Ro 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”

If you want to know what God thinks of sin, look at the cross.  If you want to know what God thinks of you, look at the cross.

Sin is a deeply serious thing, and we cannot do anything to save ourselves from its penalty.  But you are of inestimable worth to God.  Even so, there was only one way to save you, and Jesus willingly took that way for you.  Jesus Christ, God made man, the only one who could help us, went to the cross because of our sin and because of his love for us.

If we could save ourselves by our own efforts, do you think that God would allow his only Son, whom he loved, to endure the physical torment of crucifixion?  Jesus died for you so that you could know peace with God and live forever in his presence.

His death on the cross was not the end of a failed mission.  It was the triumphant culmination of God’s plan of salvation.  Jesus’ cry was not “I am finished.”  It was a declaration of success: “It is finished!”, or, “Mission accomplished!”

The Cost of Salvation

The scriptures tell what was happening at the cross because of our sin and because of his love for us.

2 Cor 5:21 “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.”

Is 53:4-6 “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each one of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Is 53:8b “For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.”

Is 53:12b “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

1 Pet 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

2 Cor 5:19 “...God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”

Heb 2:9 “...he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Gal 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”

Col 2:13b-14 “[God] forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

Ro 5:6-11 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  … God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”

Ro 3:25 “God presented [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

In our reading from Mark’s gospel, we read that darkness fell from the 6th to the 9th hour.  From 12 noon until 3 pm the sun refused to shine.  Perhaps this was symbolic of what was happening to Jesus.  On the cross, the full horror of our sins fell on Jesus.  He took to himself the guilt of all our wrong acts, all our failures to act, everything that makes God angry with us.

At that point Jesus became so abhorrent, because of our sin, that God the Father turned away.  The unthinkable happened, far worse to Jesus than any of the physical pain: for the first time in all eternity there was a separation between God the Father and God the Son.

Can you feel the pain in his desperate words,  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  He bore the full penalty of our sins. He felt the utter despair that should have been ours.  When he died there was an earthquake, symbolising for us the broken heart of God at the loss of his Son.

At the point of his death, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, showing us that the way into the presence of God was opened for all who trust in Jesus Christ and his saving work at the cross.

Yes, if you want to know what God thinks of sin, look at the cross.  If you want to know what God thinks of you, look at the cross.  See how much he loves you!  At the cross, God’s own love satisfied all the demands of his own justice.

The Response

I have set Christ and him crucified before you.  It is good to remind ourselves about these things.  It is easy to become familiar with them and forget the tremendous cost of our salvation.  The cross is something we should never forget.  The cross is something that we can rejoice in forever.  Yes, we can rejoice in something so terrible, so awesome as Christ’s sacrifice at the cross.

1 Cor 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

What is your response to the message?

Perhaps you have never heard this message before.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you about your sin.  Have you realised your desperate need of a Saviour?  Have you realised that Jesus Christ is that Saviour?  Will you turn from your sins that took him to the cross and give yourself to him completely?  Will you depend on Christ alone to save you?

Christian, have you realised again the consequences of those sins that you hold on to?  Do you want to turn away from them forever?  As we meet around the communion table, confess those things and repent of them; receive his mercy and forgiveness and walk in the freedom from sin that he died to win for you.

The bread we share at Communion reminds us of his body broken for us; the wine of his blood shed for us.  Let us marvel again at his love.  May our hearts burst with overflowing thankfulness and praise for his sacrifice for us.  And let us go out and live like the new creations he has made us to be.