Scripture Reading:

Mark 15

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1. What are your overall thoughts about the chapter?

2. What part of this chapter did you most resonate with?

3. What is your prayer to God brought on by this chapter?

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Chapter Notables:

1. Jesus stands before Pilate - verses 1-15

2. Soldiers mock Jesus - verses 16-20

3. Simon, the Cyrenian, forced to carry Jesus’ cross - verses 21

4. Jesus crucified - verses 22-26

5. The two thieves, the chief priests and teachers, and the passerby insult Jesus while He hung on the cross - verses 27-32

6. The death of Jesus - verses 33-41

7. The burial of Jesus - verses 42-47

Sacrifices Have To Be Made | Lemuel Ayudtud

There’s that moment of failure turned into glorious victory that we all resonate with no matter what story. seems that the human spirit vibrates every time we hear of such stories. In fact, the real good ones, the good stories, pivot on the low points because we know the come up or come back will be amazing.

Hopefully by now we all know about the judgment, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. We have walked the path of Jesus‘s ministry in the past chapters of Mark, now we are at the low point where He is charged and crucified. Before then we had the betrayal of Judas and Peter as well as the rest of the disciples.

The life of the Lord Jesus is the comeback story for the ages. Born to a young mother out of wedlock, placed in a manger as an infant because there was no place else to lay Him, with a earthly father that probably was fairly poor himself; the life of Jesus didn’t start with the bang. (It did start, however, with the heavenly host singing His praises. That’s never happened before, right?) Now, it’s ending with a criminal’s punishment—with shouts of “crucify Him” from crowds. Yes, He began His life here on earth with angels singing of His birth; but ending it with crowds chanting His death. But sacrifices have to be made.

The death of Jesus much like His birth is about the fulfillment of prophecy. Just as His birth was prophesied, so was His death. And just as His birth spoke of the hope that was to come, His death would bring salvation that was promised.

See, all throughout the old testament, God had dealt with sin through the sacrifice of animals. By the shedding of blood, animals had replaced or taken the place of humans. Instead of man receiving the wrath of God for their sins, animals took the brunt of it. I can’t tell you why this is so, it’s just the way it’s been written: without the shedding of blood there’s no remission of sins. (Maybe I could try to tell why.)

The life of an animal or a human is in its blood. If we lose our blood, then we’re dead. The oxygen that we need to survive is in the blood. The nutrients that we need to feed our cells is in the blood. Nothing functions in our body without blood transversing the capillaries and veins of those tissues or organs. Life is in the blood. And when God breathed into man the breath of life, most likely that’s when the blood began to flow in Adam. But we know Adam disobeyed.

It’s the disobedience of Adam that separated us, humanity, from God. That disobedience was worthy of death. In a sense, it was worthy of life “removal”. Consider it: if God gave Adam life, then God can take it away. But God had mercy on Adam (and ultimately on all of humanity). Instead of getting rid of Adam, God decided to let something else take the judgment for Adam. Thus we have animal sacrifices.

Yet animal sacrifices are imperfect. Sin was created by man not by an animal. The animal’s blood mediated between man’s sins and God‘s judgment for a season for not for salvation. The holiness of God does not have room for man’s disobedience. Man’s sins required judgment; and judgment requires the wrath of God. However, in the plan of God, instead of man taking the full brunt of it, animal blood not being enough, God presented Himself as the sacrifice.

The sacrifice of Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of prophecy. In the fulfillment of prophecy we have the redeeming of mankind.

Someone once said that sacrifices had to be made, and in our case, surely, God sacrificed for our sins. Yet, what seemingly is failure personified, Jesus being judged and crucified, the low point was being written for the comeback story. But it wasn’t the comeback of Jesus that was being told. In the sacrifice that Jesus gave at Calvary, it was Adam’s.

In Christ Jesus, Adam, ultimately us, gets back what he lost. Not the garden of Eden, of course. Somethings so much more important: our relationship with God. What Adam did God undid. What Adam could not do, God did through Jesus Christ.

There is no great comeback story without sacrifice. That’s exactly what Jesus did Calvary. Yes, while Adam hid in the garden of Eden, Jesus sacrificed at the Hill of Golgotha. Adam selfishness separated us from God, Jesus’s sacrifice brought us back.

Lord, thank You for Your sacrifice at Calvary. Thank You that You made a way for us to return back to You. What Adam’s disobedience caused, You changed by the sacrifice that You paid at Calvary. Lord, help me to give thanks always for Your sacrifice. Help me to honor it every day with my life. Let me speak of Your death in everything I do. In Your Name, Jesus, I pray, amen.