“WE BEHELD HIS GLORY”
Mark 15:37-41
Introduction: An axiom of American life is that
two things are certain: death and taxes! That has not always been so, both of
those are part of life in a fallen world! I don’t think we’ll worry about taxes
in the New Heaven and the New Earth, but for now, they must be paid! It is also
true that with the Fall of the first Humans recorded in Genesis 3, came the
certainty of death. From that time, until the future resurrection, “It is
appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgement...” (Heb
9:27). As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:12, “…sin came into the world through one man, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” Since the
Fall, humans, born in sin, are by nature children of wrath, and, apart
from Christ, deserving judgment, separated from God by sin. The Good News is
that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19). For
God so loved the world that He gave
His only Son... As you recall, in Mark 1, at the baptism of Jesus, the
heavens were “ripped open,” [schizo] and the Father testified that Jesus
is the Son. Now at His death, the Veil of the Temple is “ripped open,” [same
verb, schizo] and a centurion
confesses that He is the Son of God. We see in these verses…
The BIG Idea: The death of Christ opened the way
into the presence of God for all who believe. We’ll consider that from three
perspectives,
1) Unveiled Glory: His death opened the Way to the presence of
God. This is why He came.
2) Unqualified Confession: A gentile, a Roman Centurian,
recognizes the King, confessing Him as the Son of God. The Cross reveals who He
is. And…
3) Unrestricted
Discipleship: All are called to follow Him, there are no
social or cultural barriers to being a Christ-follower, whosoever will may
come! We are invited to follow Him.
I. Unveiled Glory: The Way is now open to the presence
of God (37-38).
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his
last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in
two, from top to bottom.
First
let’s look again at v.37 and the death of Christ: After scourging, mocking,
and crucifixion, Jesus breathes His last (37). Death came into
Creation as a result of sin, but Jesus died not because of His own sin—He was
sinless—but because of the sins of humans. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed…” (I Pet 2:24).
Mark wants us to see the immediate connection between the death of Christ, and
what follows…
As
He dies, the veil of the Temple is torn, from top to the bottom (38).
There were a few “veils” or “curtains” in the Temple, Mark isn’t specific, but
when we put the gospel accounts together we realize this was the veil that
separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (or, The
Most Holy Place) which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Mark gives no
commentary about what this meant or why it happened, he simply reports the
direct connection between the death of Jesus, and the rending of the temple
veil, from top to bottom.
The
Veil separated the Holy of Holies, the place of the Presence (Exod
26:31-33; Lev 16). The Tabernacle in the wilderness was the forerunner of the
“House of God” that would later be built by Solomon in Jerusalem. That Temple
would be stripped by the Babylonians in 586 BC and later rebuilt during the
return of the remnant during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Finally, it would
be rebuilt during the reign of Herod the Great, continuing to the time of
Christ. The basic layout was the same, emphasizing the Sanctity and Separation
of the Holy of Holies which housed the Ark of the Covenant. We read
the instructions concerning the “veil” in Exodus 26:31-33,
31 "And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and
scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully
worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four
pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of
silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the
clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the
veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.
The
Temple in the time of Jesus was described by the Jewish Historian Josephus, and
according to him the veil was about 30 feet wide, and 60 feet high, and it was
the thickness of a man’s palm, about 4 inches! He said it was so heavy it took
300 men to hoist it into place! That is impressive, but the sanctity of that
inner part of the Temple emphasized still more the transcendence of God, His
unapproachable holiness. You recall that when Moses came down the Mountain his
face glowed from having been in the presence of God, so much so that he needed
to wear a veil to shield his face from the people. God’s presence descended on
the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, and later, on the Temple in Jerusalem. The
veil shielded the people from his glorious presence. Only the High Priest, once
a year, on the Day of Atonement, after offering a sacrifice
for himself and for the people, could enter the Holy of Holies. Some traditions
say they actually tied a rope on his foot so that in case he fell unconscious
or died they could pull him out! God’s presence was unapproachable. Now think
about the significance of the rending of the veil, not from below, as it might
be done by some human means, but from the top to the bottom!
Jesus,
by the sacrifice of Himself, gave access to all who know Him. The language
Mark uses to describe this event is remarkable. In chapter 1, at the baptism of
Jesus, the heavens were “ripped open” [schizo] and the Father testified
from heaven that Jesus is the Son. Now at His death, for only the second time
in this Gospel, that same verb is used again, this time as the Veil of the
Temple is “ripped open,” from above! The Father testified verbally to the divine
sonship of Jesus at His baptism. Now He testifies in action, as God Himself
rips open the veil, symbolically showing that the old way of sacrifice is
finished, and that the way into His presence is opened. We’ll see that He uses
a Roman Centurion to make the verbal declaration that this is indeed the Son of
God!
More
than any other New Testament author, the writer to the Hebrews fleshes out the
parallel between the earthly Temple and the throne of God in Heaven. It seems
like Isaiah got a glimpse of the heavenly temple in his vision in Isaiah 6, and
saw the glorious presence of the King. Hebrews talks about Jesus, as our great
High Priest, entering the presence of God on our behalf. We read
in Hebrews 9:11-12,
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good
things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made
with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he
entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats
and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
And so, as Paul says in Colossians
1:21-22,
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in
his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and
above reproach before him…
Now get this: as result of what Jesus
has done for us, we are holy, righteous before God! And so, we have direct
access opened into His presence. Hebrews 10:19-22 says,
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter
the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new
and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his
flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the
house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an
evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
So, we see Unveiled Glory, as the way
is opened, that points to the BIG Idea: The death of Christ
opened the way into the presence of God for all who believe. Next, we see an
“Unqualified Confession,” as a Gentile recognizes the King (39).
II. Unqualified Confession: A Gentile
Recognizes the King (39).
39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that
in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of
God!"
The
Centurion was a Roman soldier who traditionally would have had about a hundred
men under his command. It was probably a small team of only 4 or 5 that
accompanied the condemned men to their execution. This man had witnessed and
carried out many crucifixions, no doubt. But he had never seen anything
quite like what happened that day. Think about all that he had
seen. We only have a part of it in Mark, but we know the rest from the other
Gospels: The way Jesus endured in silence the mocking and the insults; The way
he prayed for His executioners, “Father
forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”; How he made sure his
mother was cared for, how he offered hope to a condemned man at his side; The
hours of darkness in the middle of the day had to be terrifying; The cry from
Cross, did he understand what Jesus said?; Then a final strong cry, as He “breathed
his last.” He had seen many die before, this was not his first crucifixion,
but it was unlike any he had seen or would ever see. And so, Mark tells us, “When
he saw that in this way he breathed his last…”
Not
only what He said, but the way He said it
seems to have astounded the Centurion. Was it the power of His voice,
impossible it seems after scourging and six hours hanging on the cross? Was it
the way He seemed to be in control through it all, talking to his mother and
John, speaking so confidently to the condemned man at his side? Was it His
seeming control over the moment, when it was finished, when He breathed His
last, and committed His Spirit to His Father? Mark takes us from Calvary, as
Jesus dies, to the Temple, and the veil is rent, and then back to the Cross,
where the Centurion says more correctly than anyone so far in Mark, “Surely
this man was the Son of God!” Notice the strategic references to Jesus as
the Son of God earlier in this Gospel:
Mark 1:1 - The opening verse of the
Gospel, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Mark 1:9, 11 - At His baptism we read
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan… 11 And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Mark 9:7-8 - On the Mount of Transfiguration, three disciples present,
Peter, James, and John, and Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, “And a cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my
beloved Son; listen to him." 8 And
suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
How much did the Centurion know and
understand about Jesus? We can’t say for sure. But Mark wants us to see that
this Gentile soldier seemingly got it right, at least in terms of the title
he ascribes to Jesus. As readers of the Gospel the believing reference to
the Divine Sonship of Jesus must command our attention. The reference to the
“rending” of the heavens at the baptism, and again the “rending” of the Temple
veil here, draws these events together.
As the heavens were rent and the Father testified to the Divine Son
at His baptism, so the Temple Veil is rent, and this Roman confesses Him as
God’s Son… The best the disciples have done so far is call Him “Messiah.”
Until now, the only positive confession of Jesus as the Son of God came from
the Father (1:11; 9:7). A couple of demon possessed people, in fear of
judgment, had used the title, but clearly in fear, not in faith. The first
believing confession by a human comes from this Gentile, apparently the one who
had been in charge of His execution!
That
is the BIG Idea: The death of Christ opened the way into the
presence of God for all who believe. We’ve seen 1) Unveiled Glory
and 2) Unqualified Confession, let’s touch on a final point…
III. Unrestricted Discipleship: ALL are called to
follow Him, regardless of racial, social, or economic standing (40-41; Gal
3:28). We’ll see more on the women later…
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among
whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of
Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they
followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who
came up with him to Jerusalem.
This detail, the mention of faithful
women, who are at least nearby, watching in the distance, is striking. Women
had no standing to testify in legal proceedings, they were truly second-class
citizens in the first century. That does speak to a couple of things,
1)
First, it points to the authenticity of Mark’s account. If you were making this
up you wouldn’t make women, in that context, the faithful witnesses to his
execution and the first witnesses of his resurrection! Mark records it that way
because it is history, that is the way it happened!
2)
I think there is also a lesson here. He also would remind us that God is no
respecter of persons. In God’s eyes social status, gender, race, the things in
our past, our level of education, the size of our bank account, the kinds of
things that humans have allowed to stratify our standing in society, none of it
matters to God. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross! So
Paul could state so emphatically in Galatians 3:28, confirming in a didactic
context exactly what we see happening already in the ministry of
Jesus: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave
nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.” Heaven is going to be a colorful place, and the kinds of things
that we foolishly allow to divide us now will be forgotten.
What is God saying to me in
this passage? Remember the three questions that have guided us
through Mark: Who is Jesus? Yes, a descendant of David according to the flesh,
but not merely that. He is the Son of God.
Why did Jesus come? To open the way for us to have unrestricted access
into the Presence of God. What does it mean to follow Him? Like these women,
following, serving, loving Him and trusting Him, even when it is hard, even
when we don’t understand. That’s the BIG Idea: The death of
Christ opened the way into the presence of God for all who
believe.
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? First…
1)
It is appointed unto men once to die… and then what? Either we’ll stand
before the Great White Throne and be judged for our sins, or, clothed in His
righteousness, we will come to His judgment seat, and stand before Him
forgiven, at peace with God, reconciled to Him. If you are not certain about
where you stand with God, now is the accepted time, now is the day of
salvation. None of us knows how much time they have. Are you ready? Only
God knows when. The question is, then what? Are you to stand before Him? If you
feel a tug at your heart, something drawing you to Him, calling you to make
sure, could it be that God, by His kindness, is leading you to repentance and
faith? Paul said it this way: Whoever calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved. Make certain, the price has been paid, the gift is being
offered, trust Him!
2) And believer, He invites you into His
presence, to fellowship with Him. He said, “I stand at the door and knock, if anyone open
the door I will come into him and sup with Him, and he with Me…” You are
never alone, He is with us always!
3)
We celebrate the Lord’s Table monthly at our church. It is a visual, palpable
reminder, given by the Lord Jesus Himself to the church, of the glorious
message of the Gospel. The disciples were celebrating Passover with Jesus, a
time to remember the deliverance of the people from slavery in Egypt… That deliverance was a picture of what Jesus
accomplished this last Passover in Jerusalem. He was without sin, a spotless
Lamb, and He was slain so that by His blood we are redeemed and justified,
declared righteous before God. God has shown us His love. With grateful hearts,
let’s share in the Table together as an act of remembrance and worship. The
ordinance is a perpetual reminder of what Christ Has done for
us. AMEN.
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