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- In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus began to pray, as He was deeply troubled.Why was Jesus deeply troubled?
-Because Jesus knew that the suffering which was before Him was more terrible than anyone had ever suffered.
- Who was leading the crowd of men armed with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus?
-Judas.
- Who was leading Judas to arrest Jesus?
-Satan.
- These days, who does Satan lead?
-All people who refuse to believe in Jesus as Savior are led by Satan.
- Why did all of Jesus’ disciples run away?
-The disciples were afraid and did not understand why Jesus was being arrested.
- What did the disciples not understand?
-The disciples did not understand how Jesus would be able to be the Savior if He was arrested and killed.
- To where did the men who arrested Jesus take Him?
– The men who arrested Jesus took him to the high priest.
- Why were the Jewish leaders not able to find anything wrong with Jesus?
-Because Jesus had done nothing wrong.
-Because Jesus had not sinned.
- When the high priest spoke to Jesus and asked Him whether He was the Christ, the Son of God, what did Jesus answer?
-Jesus answered and said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
- Why did the high priest say that Jesus must be killed?
-The high priest said that Jesus had cursed God.
- Did Jesus curse God?
-No.
-After the high priest and the Jewish leaders had condemned Jesus to death, they led Him to Pilate.
Let’s read Mark 15:1
1-Very 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.
-Who was Pilate?
-Pilate was the chief of Judea who had been appointed by Caesar, the Roman king.
-In order for the Jews to kill Jesus, they had to receive permission from Pilate.
-When Jesus was brought before Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus a question.
Let’s read Mark 15:2
2-“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
-Why did Jesus say that He was king of the Jews?
-Because Jesus was a descendant of King David.
Let’s read Mark 15:3-5
3-The chief priests accused him of many things.
4-So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5-But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
-Even though the people accused Jesus falsely, Jesus was silent and did not reply.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior would be silent when He was falsely accused.
-During the feast of the Passover, it was Pilate’s custom to release one prisoner to the Jews.
-Therefore, Pilate asked the Jews if they wanted him to release Jesus.
Let’s read Mark 15:6-11
6-Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
7-A man named Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.
8-The 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,
10-knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.
11-But the chief priest stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
-Pilate knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong.
-Pilate knew that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus because they were jealous of Him.
-Therefore, Pilate hoped that the Jews would choose to have Jesus released.
-Instead, the chief priest stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas, a murderer, instead of Jesus.
-Then, Pilate asked the Jews a question.
Let’s read Mark 15:12-14
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!”
-Even though Jesus had done nothing wrong, the crowd hated Jesus and wanted Jesus to be crucified.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior would be hated for no reason.
-The crowd wanted to crucify Jesus.
-What is crucifixion?
-It is nailing someone’s hands and feet to a cross, and leaving them on the cross until they die.
-Crucifixion is the worst form of death that the Romans used to kill the worst form of criminals.
-Then, Pilate commanded that Jesus be whipped.
Let’s read Mark 15:15
15-Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, and handed him over to be crucified.
-When the Romans whipped someone, they used a whip of many lashes with pieces of sharp metal and bone tied to the lashes.
-When the Romans whipped someone, their backs were cut so much that they often died.
-After Jesus was whipped, the soldiers mocked Him.
Let’s read Mark 15:16-20
16-The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace and called together the whole company of soldiers.
17-They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
18-And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
19-Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
20-And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. They led him out to crucify him.
-The soldiers beat Jesus and spit on Him.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior would be beaten and spit upon.
-Because people respected kings by kneeling before them, the soldiers mocked Jesus by kneeling before Him.
-Because kings wore purple clothes, the soldiers mocked Jesus by dressing him in purple clothes.
-Because kings also wore crowns of gold on their heads, the soldiers mocked Jesus by putting a crown of thorns on His head.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior would be mocked.
-What was the crown of thorns a sign of?
-The crown of thorns was a sign of the curse of God.
-When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the earth and said that thorns would grow.
-When the soldiers put the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, what was this a sign of?
-A sign that Jesus would carry the curse of God.
Let’s read Mark 15:21-22
21-A 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.
22-They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
-The soldiers then led Jesus to a hill called Golgotha outside of Jerusalem to crucify Him.
-On the hill, the soldiers laid the cross on the ground, and then laid Jesus on top of the cross.
-Then, the soldiers nailed Jesus’ hands to the top of the cross and His feet to the bottom of the cross with nails.
-Just as God had said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior’s hands and feet would be pierced.
-When the soldiers had finished, they raised the cross with Jesus nailed onto it into an upright position.
-Do you remember what Jesus told Nicodemus?
-Jesus said that just as Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole so that the people would be saved, so the Savior would be lifted up so that people would be saved.
Let’s read Mark 15:23-24
23-They then offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24-And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
-Some women offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh in order to help deaden the pain, but Jesus refused.
-The soldiers who had nailed Jesus to the cross cast lots to divide Jesus’ clothing for them.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, they would cast lots for the Savior’s clothes.
Let’s read Mark 15:25-27
25-It was the third hour when they crucified him.
26-The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27-They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right, and one on his left.
-Two other men were crucified with Jesus, one on His right and one on His left.
-They were evil men.
-Just as God said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior would die with evil men.
Let’s read Mark 15:29-32
29-Those 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,
30-come down from the cross and save yourself!”
31-In 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!
32-Let this Christ, 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.
-Jesus had said that if the Jews would destroy the temple, then Jesus would raise it again in three days.
-Was Jesus talking about the stone temple that the Jews had built in Jerusalem?
-No.
-What temple was Jesus talking about?
-Jesus was talking about His body.
-Jesus was saying that even if the Jews would destroy Him by crucifying Him, He would be raised in three days.
Let’s read Mark 15:33
33-At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
-Why was there complete darkness over all of the land for three hours?
-The three hours of darkness was a sign.
-What was the sign of the three hours of darkness over all of the land?
-God the Father was abandoning Jesus on the cross.
Let’s read Mark 15:34
34-And 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?”
-When God the Father abandoned Jesus on the cross, Jesus cried out.
-Why did God the Father abandon Jesus?
-Did Jesus ever do anything wrong?
-No.
-Then why did God the Father abandon Jesus?
-God the Father was punishing Jesus for your sins, my sins, and the sins of all people.
-Because God the Father was punishing Jesus for our sins, God the Father abandoned Jesus on the cross.
-In the Garden of Eden, what did God say would happen to Adam and Eve if they ate the fruit which God commanded them not to eat?
-They would die.
-Because Adam and Eve sinned, they died by being separated from God.
-Now, Jesus was being separated from God the Father.
Let’s read Mark 15:35-36
35-When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36-One 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.
-The people watching Jesus die on the cross thought that Jesus was calling Elijah.
-Jesus was not calling Elijah.
-Jesus was crying out to God the Father.
-Why was Jesus crying out to God the Father?
-Because God the Father abandoned Jesus, and it was a terrible punishment.
-How long had God the Father and Jesus been together?
-Forever.
-Was there ever a time when God the Father and Jesus had not been together?
-No.
-Because this was the first and only time that God the Father and Jesus were not together, Jesus cried out.
-To be separated from God the Father is the most terrible punishment in the world.
Let’s read Mark 15:37
37-With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
-Jesus died on the cross.
-After Jesus died, what happened in the temple?
Let’s read Mark 15:38
38-The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
-What did the curtain in the temple do?
-The curtain separated the two rooms in the temple.
-The curtain separated the Holy Room from the Most Holy Room.
-What was the curtain a sign of?
-The curtain was a sign of the separation between God and man.
-Why were God and man separated?
-Because of our sin.
-Because of our sin, God and man were separated, and no one was able to enter the Most Holy Room except for the high priest only one time a year.
-Who tore the curtain in two from top to bottom?
-God.
-Why did God tear the curtain in two?
-God tore the curtain in two to show that there was no more separation between God and man.
Let’s read Mark 15:39
39-And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
-When the centurion, who was the chief of one hundred soldiers, saw Jesus die, He knew that Jesus was God the Savior.
Let’s read Mark 15:40-41
40-Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
41-In 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.
-These women were the women who had believed in God, and knew that Jesus was God the Savior.
Let’s read Mark 15:42-46
42-It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,
43-Joseph of Arimathea, as prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
44-Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
45-When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
46-So 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.
-Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man who believed that Jesus was God the Savior.
-After Jesus died, Joseph went to Pilate and asked to bury Jesus’ body.
-Then, Joseph took Jesus’ body and buried it in his tomb.
-Just as God had said through the prophets many years ago, the Savior was buried with the rich.