Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for June 17, 2012
Series in Mark
“The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ” – Mark 15:1-34
Psalm 22:1-2
David assumes God has forsaken him.
Psalm 22:3-5
David reflects on God’s past deliverances of his forefathers, wondering why God doesn’t come to his rescue.
A problem with reading the Old Testament is that you can become frustrated because of reading all the miraculous deliverances by God and wondering why God hasn’t come to your rescue.
Psalm 22:6-11
Again David pleads with God to deliver him, feeling emotionally exhausted.
Psalm 22:12-15
When David says that God has laid him in the dust of death, that is another way of saying, “Why have you forsaken me?”
David must decide if he will turn against God because God has not delivered him or to remain faithful to God even though God seems to be completely disinterested in his situation.
Psalm 22:22-31
God does come to David’s rescue and the rest of the psalm is in praise and worship of God.
David’s rescue came suddenly. That is the way it is. You can be in your tenth year of pleading to God for help, then all of a sudden the needed help comes. One moment, the Red Sea will be there barring your crossing, then in the next moment there will be a Moses standing there with a staff and it will split. You have a decision to make: Will you endure in faithfulness until that day arrives? For some of you, your prayer may not be answered until the day of resurrection. Others may be surprised tomorrow. But the decision is still yours: Will you remain faithful?
This is the background for Mark’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion. He is going to tell the story against the background of David’s experience described in Psalm 22. Jesus is David’s son. All that David spoke in Psalm 22 describes not only what he, himself, experienced and felt but also what Jesus experienced and felt in His crucifixion, even to the point of uttering David’s same words spoken in Psalm 22:1.
Mark 15:1-5
Pilot is amazed that Jesus does not defend Himself, even seeming to be disinterested.
Mark 15:6-11
Barabbas was a man being held for murder and rebellion and the crowd demanded that Pilot follow custom and release one of the prisoners. Pilot offered to release Jesus because he knew it was out of envy that the priests had turned Jesus over to him. But the priests stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released instead.
Mark 15:12-15
When Pilot asked the crowd what should be done with Jesus, they shouted, “Crucify Him!” Pilot then chose to satisfy the wishes of the crowd and released Barabbas and handed Jesus over to be crucified. Pilot knew that it was unjust to hand Jesus over to their demands and he knew Barabbas was a murderer and undeserving to be released but Pilot is overwhelmed with the desire to please the crowd. Under the pressure of the crowd, Pilot made the wrong decision. What are you going to do on the day you have continuously prayed for deliverance and the Lord says one more day? What are you going to do about the silence of God? Are you going to do what is right?
Mark 15:33-34
Here Jesus cried out the same words David uttered in Psalm 22:1. Jesus deliberately chose to be crucified; He made no defense of Himself; and He did not call down legions of angels to deliver Him. By uttering these words, Jesus declared that God had chosen not to deliver Him.
Sometimes, being faithful to God feels like being forsaken by God. Choose faithfulness to God; follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, because you are not alone; He was there before you. He knows what it is like to be faithful even when it feels like you’re abandoned. Hang on for one more prayer, for one more day in faithfulness to God and do not give in to the pressure of the crowds. Though Jesus felt abandoned and was put to death, His resurrection was just three days away!
