Grow! Pray! Study! Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Tuesday, 28 January 2014 – "They led him out to
crucify him"
Daily Scripture: Mark 15: 20 After mocking him, they stripped
him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out
to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the
country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander
and Rufus. 22 Then they brought Jesus[a] to the place called Golgotha (which
means the place of a skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but
he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among
them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.
26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27
And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his
left.[b] 29 Those who passed by derided[c] him, shaking their heads and saying,
“Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save
yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests,
along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He
saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah,[d] the King of
Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those
who were crucified with him also taunted him.
The Death of Jesus
33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land[e] until
three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”[f] 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen,
he is calling for Elijah.” 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine,
put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see
whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and
breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top
to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this
way he[g] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”[h]
Footnotes:
a. Mark 15:22 Gk him
b. Mark 15:27 Other ancient authorities add verse 28, And the
scripture was fulfilled that says, “And he was counted among the lawless.”
c. Mark 15:29 Or blasphemed
d. Mark 15:32 Or the Christ
e. Mark 15:33 Or earth
f. Mark 15:34 Other ancient authorities read made me a reproach
g. Mark 15:39 Other ancient authorities add cried out and
h. Mark 15:39 Or a son of God
Reflection Questions:
Mark, followed by Matthew (cf. Matthew 27:46) said Jesus rather
stunningly quoted the desolate opening verse of Psalm 22:1 on the cross:
"My God, my God, why have you left me?" Crucifixion was physically
painful, yet Jesus' deeper anguish on the cross was spiritual. Mark summed up
his gospel, "the good news about Jesus Christ, God's Son" (Mark 1:1)
with a Roman centurion declaring, "This man was certainly God's Son."
Verse 26 recorded the reason the religious authorities and the
Romans agreed to execute Jesus: "The notice of the formal charge against
him was written, 'The king of the Jews.'" He did not advocate armed
rebellion, but Jesus did claim that kingship, and totally redefined what it
meant to be the God's anointed one. Do you agree with Rome that it takes
unyielding violence to change the world for the better, or with Jesus that
self-sacrificing love and forgiveness is more powerful than violence?
Craig Evans wrote, "The Roman centurion confesses of Jesus
what he should only confess of the Roman emperor. Caesar is not the 'son of
God'; Jesus the crucified Messiah is….In calling Jesus the Son of God, the
centurion has switched his allegiance from Caesar, the official "son of
God," to Jesus, the real Son of God." From what "rulers"
have you needed (or need) to switch your allegiance in order to fully follow
Jesus?
Today's Prayer:
O crucified Jesus, so many people, then and now, mocked you,
thinking your cross meant weakness and failure. Give me eyes to see the awesome
strength of love that you showed on that cross, and to honor it. Amen.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014 – Insight from Rev. Anne Williams
Rev. Anne Williams is the Congregational Care pastor for members
of the Resurrection family who have last names beginning with S-Z.
My purse has several zippered pockets. My husband can attest to
this. Whenever I’ve asked him to grab something out of my purse for me, I
usually end up shouting something to the effect of “not that pocket, the other pocket!”
from across the room. This week I was zipping one of those pockets closed (the
outside pocket on the left, if you must know) when the zipper handle pulled off
the zipper completely. The handle was in my hand, no longer helpful in opening
or closing the pocket. I tried for quite a while but was not able to reattach
it. So at this point, I am left with a pocket that does not open and I don’t
have a clue what the contents of that pocket are.
All of this happened right before I went into worship this weekend.
So as I heard Pastor Adam preaching about the meaning of Christ’s death on the
cross and resurrection and admitting that there are many ways to understand its
importance, I couldn’t help but remember my broken zipper pocket. You see, when
we struggle to understand a complicated theological concept, I’m afraid we
think of it as a pocket of knowledge that we simply can’t access. Like there is
a simple, concise explanation out there somewhere, if only we had a way to
retrieve it. But Adam explained that there are many different atonement
theories and that scholars have been studying this for years on end which means
there isn’t a trick you’re missing if you’re left feeling a little confused.
Instead, we are invited to learn as much as we can, then embrace the mystery
that still has the power to speak to our hearts.
Thank you, God, that even though we may not fully understand how
Christ’s death on the cross gives us new life, that you still allow us to be
part of the story and receive the atonement, reconciliation, and redemption
that you want each one of us to have. Amen.
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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