Divergent Convergence

Mark 15:21-32

      Oil and water. They normally don’t mix. But some years ago scientists figured out some ways to make it happen. If you have milk in your house, chances are it is homogenized. The fat parts of the milk have been so broken up by passing through small holes that it stays separated. So instead of rising to the surface as fat normally would do, the fat stays suspended in the milk, making a creamier texture to the mouth and a longer shelf life. Milk is also normally pasteurized at some point in the process to kill most of the bacteria and germs.

      There are several elements of our text today that just seem out of place, like oil and water, they don’t seem to mix. Take for instance, Simon. He is just walking by as the soldiers begin their escort of Jesus from the Praetorium to Golgotha where Jesus will be crucified. He is just walking by, having been out in the country. Was he staying out in the country during the Passover? Was that where he found lodging during this peak season, as Jesus had found it in Bethany?

      He is just minding His own business, probably unaware of what was happening to Jesus, as most of Jerusalem would have been unaware. It was a late-night arrest, a night grand jury and an early morning trial. But Simon gets drawn into the middle of it, off-guard and unaware. He was probably there for Passover and not for cross-carrying. And yet the two get mixed.

      Jesus is on the cross and He is offered wine mixed with myrrh. What is this all about? We see in the movies that cowboys get offered whisky right before the emergency bullet removal, so we can understand the alcohol. But why add the myrrh? Myrrh has a numbing, analgesic quality to it. The cheap Roman wine vinegar was often mixed with some drug to dull the pain of crucifixion. Myrrh was also used in incense in the Temple, and for topical mixtures to heal wounds. But Jesus refuses to have His senses dulled. Dulled experience is no experience. Jesus was bearing the weight of our sin. He bore all of it, not just what felt good.

      And Jesus is crucified with two other people, both of them guilty of their crimes. The guilty were hanging on their crosses next to Jesus, the sinless, perfect God-man. What a combination! They deserved what they were getting. Jesus didn’t. But all three condemned to die together, no distinction between them, all labeled guilty. The innocent, the guilty but sorry, and the guilty and hardened, all hanging side by side, all condemned to die together, all preparing to suffer for crimes, some theirs and for Jesus, other’s crimes.

      And finally the Savior being told to save Himself! He came to give Himself, not save Himself. We live in such a selfish world that the concept of a selfless act seems so foreign. We are in a dog-eat-dog world. Everyone seems to be out for their own gain. We could blame the politicians, but we are the ones who voted them into office. And they came from us. They are not some foreign group of people, but people just like us, just like the two thieves who hung with Jesus. And Jesus stays there on the cross to save these two men, and us.

Fulfillment

Mark 14:22-24

      Often people who read parts of the Old Testament stumble over all the bloody sacrifices. Millions of animals were killed. I am sure if this were taking place today, there would be animal rights protests until it was stopped. For the Passover alone, there would have been a lamb killed for every family. That’s a lot of lambs and a lot of blood. PETA would be up in arms to stop the eating of all that delicious lamb. And it had to be eaten that day. No leftovers.

      Jesus chooses a meal right before the Passover lamb is killed to institute a memorial act. He sets the stage for this act by inviting all His disciples. He eats the meal. He has predicted His betrayal. And then He begins. There were many occasions when Jesus could have given His disciples this lesson. But He chose this moment instead.

      What I find interesting is that Jesus didn’t use the lamb instead of the bread. I think that is because this is not the Passover meal, but a preparation meal. The Passover lamb would be killed the next day, the same day Jesus is crucified. I know we often think of the Passover meal as being the Passover meal, but I don’t. And using bread is one of the reasons.

      If Jesus had used lamb, the picture would have been so easy to see. This Passover lamb is my body. This piece of bread is my body. Which makes a greater connection for you to the Old Testament deliverance?

      Anyway, Jesus takes the most basic element of food, bread and wine, and tells them to remember. Mark’s version of this event is very condensed. As usual, he just gives the barebones of even the words Jesus spoke. Bread and wine become a connection to His death in our place. Just as the Passover lamb took the place of the firstborn of Israel, so Jesus’ died in our place. Our sin should have put us on the cross. He died instead of us.

      Jesus body was broken and His blood spilled for us, just as the Passover lamb’s death meant life for the Israelite firstborn children. If the lamb wasn’t sacrificed and the blood spread on the doorframe, the firstborn children died. I think I would have put a double coat of blood on the door! I wouldn’t want my firstborn dying.

      The next day Jesus was hanging on the cross for us. His death means our life. He died, we live. The words Jesus spoke had to be symbolic. He had spoken of being the light of the world and the gate for the sheep, both of which are symbolic. And besides, eating blood was prohibited for Jews. There is no way Jesus would be telling His disciples that the wine they were drinking was His actual physical blood.

      And this prohibition against eating blood was extended into the early church in the book of Acts. There were only a few stipulations that passed across the Testament divide, and eating blood was one of them. See Acts fifteen for more details.

      This giving of thanks and breaking of bread reminds me of the feeding of the 5000.

      We must remember that Jesus’ death is the fulfillment of Scripture. The whole of the Old Testament sacrificial system points to Jesus death, once for all. And His resurrection proves that His payment was accepted. His credit is good. His card cleared the bank.