Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Thursday
August 13, 2020
Pastor Rick Kabrick
The Gospel of mark. Part 7. CH 15-16. Pastor Rick Kabrick.
The Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pilate because they did not have the legal right to execute their own criminals.
Since he was constantly suspicious of the Jews, when they brought him a prisoner for execution he immediately suspected there was a hidden agenda at work.
The plaintiff indictment against the accused.
The judge – examines.
Two sources of evidence: The statements of the accused, evidence by witnesses, either for or against the accused.
When all evidence was received, a court official declared all evidence was in.
The judge was free to consult with advisors, then announce verdict. The sentence was usually executed immediately.
This man is guilty of treason because HE claims to be the king of the Jews in opposition to Caesar.
Ironically, Jesus stood accused of doing exactly what He refused to do: taking a political stand against Rome.
Jesus was indeed the king of the Jews, but not in a political or military sense.
No doubt, Pilate had seen many men grovel for their lives before him. He also stood in judgment of many men as the governor of a Roman province. Yet there was something different about Jesus that Pilate marveled at.
He had the choice between doing what was right (free an innocent man) or what was politically correct (execute a man brought before him b
y the Jews for treason).
In the midst of this, Pilate believed he found a way to do what was right, yet not pay a political price for it. Pilate thought Jesus could escape death if HE were released according to the custom of releasing a prisoner every Passover season.
Yet if anyone was able to say, “Jesus died for me,” it was Barabbas. He knew what it was to have Jesus die on his behalf, the innocent in the place of the guilty.
With both the people and the Jewish rulers demanding the death of Jesus, Pilate was unwilling to oppose them both, and so he began the process of execution by having Jesus scourged.
By quoting PSA 22, Jesus declared that HE fulfilled that passage, in both its agony and its victory. Jesus knew great pain and suffering in HIS life but never knew separation from HIS Father. Now HE knew it.
However, during a full moon, which Passover always occurs on a full moon…a total eclipse of the sun is impossible. So, this indeed was a miraculous event in the Heavens.
The tearing of the temple veil signified that man now had free access to the throne of grace. As the wall of separation between GOD and
man was removed, the veil was torn from top to bottom
The earliest the women could go to the tomb and properly prepare the body of Jesus was just after sunrise on the first day of the week, what we would call Sunday.
The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. JOH 20:19, tells us that Jesus, in HIS resurrection body, could pass through material barriers. It was rolled away so that others could see into t
he tomb and know that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead.
This shows that the invitations of Jesus are filled with grace. The disciples had completely failed Jesus. Most of us would have been done with them, but in grace HE extended this kind invitation to them.
Jesus singled out Peter because He had special hope, special forgiveness, special restoration for the one who denied HIM the worst.
