Another narrative from the Gospel of Mark. This time it is Chapter 15, verses 21 to 39.
After doing a careful exegesis of the passage, I came up with this theme:
Hostility towards the Gospel of Grace
We find seven groups of men and each group responded differently to the suffering of Christ on the cross:
The Roman soldiers, verses 21-27
Passersby, verses 28-30
Chief priests and teachers of the law, verses 31-32
Those crucified with Jesus, verse 32b
Some of those standing near, verses 33-35
Anonymous someone, verse 36
The Centurion, verses 37 – 39
What did the above characters do?
The Roman soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross, brought Jesus to Golgotha, offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, crucified Jesus, divided up his clothes, cast lots, and crucified two rebels with Jesus. Though we read about an abuse of military power here, these soldiers could have rationalized their actions by simply saying that they were just fulfilling their duties. Someone on the top gave them an order to do exactly what they did.
Incidents like this are typical instances that characterized the reign of tyrants throughout human history. None of the soldiers were bold enough to go against the will of their masters. If such a thing happened, that is considered exceptional.
How about the passerby? What did they do? They hurled insults at Jesus, and they shook their heads, perhaps sorry for what happened to Jesus.
Though I am no longer surprised to read chief priests and teachers of the law mocking Jesus, however, I have this feeling of disgust because the very institution that was supposed to possess true religious knowledge was the one most ignorant of it. The very reason the institution of the priesthood was organized in the first place is to direct the Jews to the right understanding of the law. The fact that these chief priests and teachers of the law mocked Jesus demonstrated the failure of the institution itself for the purpose of the law is nothing but to point people to the Messiah.
Those crucified with Jesus also insulted him. Imagine you were about to die and yet mocking the very source of life himself. That's tragic!
Some of those standing near misheard Jesus calling Elijah.
And then there is anonymous someone who ran to fill a sponge with wine vinegar and put the sponge on staff and offered it to Jesus.
The most ideal response came from the Centurion. He rebuked those standing near and after seeing how Jesus died, he concluded that Jesus indeed is the Son of God. Though we don't know exactly what he saw, the narrative is clear about his acknowledgment of who Jesus is.
Central Idea
We see in this Gospel narrative the diverse human responses as God’s redemptive plan is being unfolded. The narrative clearly shows that man, in his natural condition, does not understand the meaning of God’s redemptive acts in Jesus. As such, they respond to the gospel in mockery, ignorance, and curiosity.
Despite human hostility and ignorance in the things of God, God, in his mercy and grace, sent His Only Begotten Son to a world that rejects such acts of love.
Typical responses of man to the gospel of grace include mockery, ignorance, and curiosity.
How about the people of God? How should you respond to the gospel of grace?
As God’s people, you should respect and embrace the gospel of grace.
As God’s people, you should not be satisfied with a superficial understanding of the gospel of grace.
As God’s people, it is your responsibility to study what the gospel of grace is all about.
I wish and pray that in His grace and mercy, we come to the same acknowledgment that the Centurion had that Jesus indeed is the Son of God.