My tears are a mixture of emotion. Tears of sorrow - that I caused Him to suffer, tears of gratitude - that He paid the penalty for all of my sin, and joy - that some day I will be in the Prescence of God's Glory.
This sounds silly, I know, but I pray that I will always be moved by the Gospel of Christ. It is my desire that everyone could feel the power of the overwhelming love that God has bestowed on us.
Catch the Spirit of Calvary
Rev. Ward Taylor (ULC)
Mark 15:21-39
Introduction
The Gospel writers present the story of Calvary's love in
such a way that the reader feels uniquely present and somehow strangely
responsible. For what happened that day was bigger than history. The
Gospel writers put the accent not on the gore of the cross but on the
eternal realities that took up time and space that day. If we discern
those spiritual realities we will really catch the spirit that
motivates Calvary.
A. There were some things that God had to do by Himself He could have called 10,000 angels, but He didn't. This emphasizes the great self-limitation of God. The subject of the sentences in this paragraph is they.
B. There are many ironies in this paragraph:1. He was helped by an ethnic whose agenda got interrupted (v. 21).
2. He was crucified on a skull of a hill where He would bruise the enemy's head (v. 22).
3. He was offered a narcotic in an hour of trial, but unlike so many He refused to take it (v. 23).
4. He was saving the world while it played a game of chance (v. 24).
5. He was crucified at an hour of prayer (v. 25).
6. He was charged with being who He was as His crime (v. 26).
7. He was crucified between two thieves, the kind of people He had spent lots of time with in His ministry (v. 27).
II. He Refused to Save Himself so We Could Be Saved (vv. 25-32).
A. This wonderful truth is announced by the crowd. In words very close to Psalm 22 people shook their heads, taunted Him about the temple, cried out for Him to save Himself. Sometimes the gospel comes out of the strangest places.
B. This wonderful truth is also announced by the religious leaders such as the chief priests and teachers of the law. Their mockery is indicative of their inability to see the connection between what they really see and what they are willing to believe.
III. He Refused to Forsake Us so He Was Forsaken by God (vv. 33-36).
A. Nature seemed to know that its Creator was being forsaken. Darkness from noon until 3:00 p.m. In the spring of the year?
B. Jesus seemed to know He was being forsaken. In a great hour of trial He quoted the Bible for strength and perspective. The old gospel preachers would say that God turned His back on His own Son.
C. The bystanders do not seem to know what is going on. They wrongly assume that Jesus is calling for Elijah, when He really is quoting the Bible.
IV. He Refused to Live so We Could Believe and Live Forever (vv. 37-39).
A. He really died. Think of it? The Son of God died. Albert Camus said, People are never convinced of what you believe until you die. The loud cry was a victory shout that John 19:30 records, It is finished. Even the temple seemed to be aware of the significance of that.
B. He really was God's Son. At least the centurion confessed this. This Gospel had begun, The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now to a Roman audience, a centurion gives the classic confession.
Conclusion
More than an innocent man died that day. God was turning a new page in the history books. Eternal realities were taking place in the real world above us.
Rev. Ward Taylor (ULC)
I received this as a "Sermon of the week" from ULC.