God Visits Calvary
Notes
Transcript
In all of human history, the murder of Jesus constitutes the most blasphemous act of evil ever committed, as wicked men subjected God the son to humiliation, torture, and death.
We see this recorded in Acts 3:14-15
14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
The murder of Jesus was necessary in Gods eternal plan of redemption.
When God came to calvary not to protect His Son from evildoers, but to punish Him on their behalf.
God the Fathers presence at Calvary was most evident during the last three hours of Jesus crucifixion.
The Complete Darkness
The Veil of the Temple being ripped from the Top to the Bottom
The Earthquake that broke the Rocks into
The Resurrection of the Dead
The Consummation of The Saviors Suffering ( vv 33-38)
The Consummation of The Saviors Suffering ( vv 33-38)
These verses depict the high point of salvation history, the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
His sacrificial work of redemption was planned by God in eternity past:
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
And will be celebrated in Heaven through eternity future:
Revelation 5:6–12 (ESV)
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
It was there at Calvary that the long awaited and acceptable Lamb of God died to satisfy divine righteousness by paying sins penalty in full for all who would believe in Him.
The darkness at Calvary did not represent the absence of God but His holy, terrifying presence.
The Father descended in judgment on Golgotha in thick gloom as the divine executioner to unleash His fury not against sinners but against the sin bearer 1 Peter 2:24.
24 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.
The full weight of God’s wrath was poured out on the Son of God, as the spotless Lamb of God was sacrificed for sin so that sinners might be justified through Him
Moved by His perfect justice, God’s infinite wrath released an eternity of punishment on the incarnate Son who, as an infinite and eternal person, absorbed the tortures of hell in a finite span of time.
This was the dreadful cup of divine judgment that Jesus anticipated while sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane Mark 14:36.
36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
The greatest thing that came from this darkest time was the tearing of the veil in the temple.
This ment that we were no longer separated from God but can go to Him anytime we need Him.
We see a stark reminder here as well from the OT Ex 19:18
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
But unlike Sini, where the law and its penalties were given, at Calvary the law and its penalties were forgiven by the divine lawgiver Himself., for all who believe in the person and work of His Son. Rom 8:3-4
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The Confession of an Awestruck Soldier (v 39)
The Confession of an Awestruck Soldier (v 39)
A Centurion was the Commander of 100 soldiers.
It is possible that they witnessed His trial before Pilate.
This man would have seen Pilate repeatedly pronounce Jesus to be innocent yet sentence Him to death.
He would have been the one to oversee and carryout His scouring.
Though he had likely participated in countless executions, he had never before encountered anyone like this man.
Then the darkness and the Earth quake and he was finally convinced.
This solders confession was the first man in the Gospel of Mark to make this confession.
Mark wrote to a Roman audience he purposefully emphasized the salvation of Gentiles including the climactic acknowledgement of Jesus’ deity from a pagan Roman soldier.
These guys believed in everything but God.
His sudden conversion demonstrates that even the worst sinners and blasphemers are not beyond the reach of Gods sovereign and unmerited favor 1 Tim 1:12-15
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
The Confusion of The Loyal Sympathizers (vv 40-41)
The Confusion of The Loyal Sympathizers (vv 40-41)
These women are mentioned as being present at the cross in all of the gospels and it shows their true devotion to Christ even to the end.
often times it can be hard and sometimes confusing to follow Christ.
These Ladies faith would be rewarded in just three days because they are the ones that Jesus would show Himself to after His resurrection.
If we trust God our faith will always be rewarded.
Mark 9–16: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (The Confusion of the Loyal Sympathizers (15:40–41))
[God] gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! (Epistle to Diognetus, 9.2–5. Translation from Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers [repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2012], 1:28).