Session 12: Class Notes

Aloha everyone! I have hijacked the blog for a week to post the notes from our last session on Mark 15.

We started the night comparing Christmas and Easter and how it felt discussing the Passion of Christ in the midst of the Christmas season. Some of you said that it had a sense of continuum and they both were seasons of reminders. We passed around the myrrh (which to me smells a little like almond extract) and remembered that it's both a gift of the wise men and mixed with wine for Jesus at the crucifixion to dull the pain (Mark 15:23). They are also two times in the Bible when God is very near.

Pastor Brandon also had me bring up the brakes Mark puts on for Chapter 15. Mark 14:72 is the last "immediately" we hear, and in Mark 15 it seems we have our answer as to what Mark was hurrying us to, all along. He wanted us to stop for the betrayal, arrest, and passion, because ultimately as we agreed on, without the crucifixion, we wouldn't be Christians. How is the crucifixion important specifically through the eyes of Mark?

I'm going to break the hours of the day down into sections, and focus on what happened during each section, as seen in The Last Week by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan (a book I used to help prepare for this week's Bible study- borrow today from Pastor Brandon!).

6am-9am

We focused here on Pilate questioning Jesus, and you all had some great questions right off the bat: Why did Pilate let him go? Why was Pilate so conflicted that he had to then have the crowd decide?Why didn't Pilate just decide himself (since he had so much power)? Why was Pilate amazed at Jesus' behavior during the questioning? Was it His demeanor and ability to keep composure while being threatened?

The chief priests and Pilate's questions don't seem to be genuine questions, they almost seem like they are talking 'at' Jesus rather than 'to' Jesus, and only care about an answer if it would justify their desires to kill Him. Pastor Brandon had mentioned that when they mock Jesus, the words they say ring with truth; we see this later in the chapter as well.

We then looked at a comparison of Jesus and Barabbas, the insurrectionist prisoner that Pilate releases instead of Jesus (Mark 15:6-15).

Barabbas
-Name literally means "son of the father" (Bar-son, abba- father)
-Possibly zealot, liberated people by killing (against Rome)
-Violent
-Does he really exist (Mark's invention to further story?)
-Hero (to the Jews)

Jesus
-Actual Son of the Father
-Liberated people with his own death
-Peaceful
-Died so Barabbas could live
-Hero (to the Jews)

We spoke again about the "crowd" in the courtyard who lobbied against Jesus and set Barabbas free. If the crowd had been the average Jew there for the festival and not hand picked by the high priests and scribes, who would the people have released?

9am- Noon

There are more people taunting Jesus as He is on the cross, mocking Him with words that end up being the truth: temple being rebuilt, He can't come down and save Himself, but if He does then will He truly be able to save others? Different from other Gospels, not much is said about those on the crosses next to Him, except they too insult Him (Mark 15:32). They are truly the ones on His right and left side drinking from the same cup of suffering that bring to mind the request of James and John in Mark 10:35. This is truly Jesus' coronation day when He comes into His kingdom and who are the ones who are still there with Him? Many of his followers have deserted but the women are still there with Him at the cross and even follow Him to the grave. They play such an important role in Mark's story from here on out; they are the last to see Jesus before he dies, first to see him resurrected. What is Mark trying to tell us about women in his time?

Noon-3pm

Darkness falls over the land. Is it the earth or just the region? Do they mean supernatural darkness or just clouds, or could this be figurative?

3pm- 6pm

We read parts of Psalm 22 (Psalm 22:1-8, 16-18), a Psalm ultimately of deliverance brought out of great suffering. Much of this Psalm is referenced in Mark 15, from the piercing of feet, and mocking, to the casting of lots for garments, and most obviously the words that Jesus cries from the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?', the opening words of Psalm 22.

We talked about Jesus saying these words and what it meant. In saying the first lines, He brings to mind the whole scripture which many would have known. In the book Mark by William Placher (Part of a series entitled Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible) it notes that it is the first time in the Gospel that Jesus doesn't call God "Father" but instead addresses Him as "my God." Was it a message to those around Him? Was it a statement of "Here I am, I am the Messiah"? Was it truly said out of anguish? Was God doubting God?

The centurion (Mark 15:39) finally exposes the Messianic secret! It is amazing that a Roman solider, someone high up in rank who has a boss who is considered a "son of god" (Caesar) would be the first person in the gospel to actually utter the words "Son of God" in reference to Jesus. Some of us mentioned that it seemed like he sounded like a narrator in a play and he might have been the first Roman conversion. In any case, his statement would have been considered treasonous to his job position. Whether the centurion fully understands what he is saying, or even if he is saying it in jest, it is a victorious moment in the book of Mark. The Messianic secret is finally exposed, and it is not in His deeds that He is discovered, but His death.

A question was brought up that echoed my own: How did the centurion know He was the Son of God? Was it the dark that came over the land earlier? Was it the loud cry that Jesus used in saying His last words that would have been nearly impossible for someone being hung on a cross? Was it the strangely quick way Jesus died that even shocked Pilate in 15:44? (Persons crucified usually took several days to die slowly and painfully.)

6pm and Evening

We spoke briefly about Joseph of Arimathea's involvement and motivation for burying Jesus. The group had lots of good ideas about him, mentioning he was the equivalent of a church council member (15:43), he was a Jew following Jewish burial laws, and he may have been a secret disciple of Jesus. I also appreciated the ideas expounding on Mark 15:43  "who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God",  taking it to mean he was older in years and waiting to go home to God (another reason to have a tomb prepared).

One of my favorite Paintings

Forgiven by Thomas Blackshear II

We ended with the weighted question of Who Killed Jesus? There were a lot of answers, from "it was a collaboration of church leadership/Roman leadership/God's will", to "it's a mystery (judgment + mercy = fulfillment of prophesy)". One of the answers was "Us/our sins", which led to my posting the painting above. This answer also led to a question based discussion of, "Why does God need a sacrifice to forgive us?" When did this start? Jesus is the lamb that paid for our sins, but in the Old Testament (and even before Jesus died) they sacrificed animals, so where did this start, the animals taking the stain of our sin and having to pay the blood price? Maybe I will defer to Pastor Brandon on this one.

It was a blessing and honor to have this opportunity, and I hope you all learned as much as I did. I am looking forward to our last week together studying Mark, see you on Tuesday, and Happy New Year!