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Jesus - His Death to SAVE US

Mark 15 – New International Version
Jesus Before Pilate
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."
5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
13"Crucify him!" they shouted.
14"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.[a] 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! 32Let this Christ,[b] this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[c]
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and[d] saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son[e] of God!"
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Gary Aston preached on the above passage from Mark's Gospel last night. It was awesome. He noted many of the following.Sunday 1st February 2009
Jesus's love for us is in his suffering – this is key, think about it and understand. He had the self-control to die for us. For our sin He died so He might save us, if we believe in Him and surrender to Him. From 12 mid-day till 3 in the afternoon there was darkness, which is when there was no light and Jesus spent that time in death and hell. At that moment of his death the temple curtain was torn in two – so there was no need for animal sacrifices anymore. Man had access to God via Jesus. People had no objection about Jesus being a teacher, but when He said he was the son of God – that was blasphemy.
We see all the mockers, and even religious leaders calling Him names – we still have that today. The Roman centurion was significant. He was the first unbeliever to recognise who Jesus was seeing His death physically. Mary was told some time before as Jesus was an infant – by Simeon, that Mary would experience suffering as a mother for her son, so she knew this moment would come. Anna and Simeon recognised Jesus as the promised one.

Prayers - Hebrews 13:20

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everythng good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

learn Leviticus - we are!

Our bible study group has been putting off learning about the book of Leviticus. But when you really analyse it together you can see the holiness of it. See, just at the begining...as soon as the Tabernacle is set in Exodus, we go straight in to the next book, of Leviticus, with: "The Lord called.." So, we have the burnt offering of propitiation (bears the anger of God for us). The Grain offering was 'dedication' - Jesus was perfectly dedicated to His father. The Sin offering - was CLEANSING - which is what Jesus 's blood does for us - Life poured out in death. The Guilt offering was REPAYMENT - He paid our debt to God. Then, finally The fellowship offering (the sweet aroma) and in Jesus, we have the felloship of His Spirit. Each offering is a different aspect of the manisfestation in Jesus. Wow. The repentant person gives his sin via the laying of his hands on to the unblemished animal which in turn takes on the burden of that sin, in order for the man to walk away cleansed. This is what Christ has done for us. Of course, these animals did not solve the ultimate problem of sin. The problems of the universe need a deeper solution than the blood of these animals. These burnt offerings were each a kind of prophecy saying that one day the Lamb of God Himself would come to be the final and ultimate sacrifece, the Lam who would take away the sins of the whole world. See Hebrows 10:1-6. The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifieces repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ..."Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.