“Follow Me”...Because I Died for You

This week, the passage before us covers what many consider the most important aspect of the Christian faith. Without a doubt, the death of Jesus is crucial to our faith, but I would put forth that without the resurrection, we would not know that His claim to be God was real. So, while we must not overlook the cross, we also must not ignore the empty tomb.

We must also remember that it is the blood sacrifice which saves us, not the cross itself. Thus, we must not worship the cross, but the One who died upon it. However, the cross is an accepted symbol for the blood that Jesus spilled on our behalf. The story is well-known. The facts are what they are. But I want to focus on the people in this story, like I did last week. Last week we saw that Jesus bled for each of four types of people – those who falsely charge Him, those that show a false concern, those that are falsely compared to Him, and those that falsely celebrate Him. In one way or another, I think that fits most of us at some point in our lives.

Today, I want to focus on the people for whom Jesus died. He died for those who do His will unknowingly, who mock Him, who misunderstand Him, who follow in secret, who follow from a distance, and most importantly who are responsible for His death. And concluding each group, I want to give a principle for us to remember and a question to consider.


Jesus died for those who do His will unknowingly. (Mark 15.21-22)

Our passage today begins with a man called Simon who is from Cyrene which was in northern Africa. Here is a man who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (or so it seemed). The Romans had a rule that they could force any person or animal to carry a burden. Usually this meant soldiers who were travelling along a road, but here Simon was pressed into service because Jesus was unable to carry the beam. Remember, He had been badly beaten and likely had very little strength or energy.

What is interesting is that Mark does not use a lot of names in his writing. But here, he not only mentioned Simon, but also his sons – Rufus and Alexander. We know nothing more about Alexander, but the Rufus mentioned here is likely the Rufus in Romans 16.13, so this son became a Christian and was known to the early church – especially in Rome.

PRINCIPLE:  When we serve God, even unknowingly, we shape the future, not just for ourselves but our families.

We do not know if Simon chose to follow Jesus. But the early church did recognize the significance of Simon’s action and the words of Jesus to “take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16.24). But we must firmly consider that the impact of watching their father pressed into service. For Rufus, at least, that impact led Him to follow Jesus – and to be able to give an eyewitness account of what happened – something the Twelve could not do.

QUESTION:  What are you doing for Jesus that will impact the next generation of believers?


Jesus died for those who mock and misunderstand Him. (Mark 15.23-36)

This part of the passage contains several groups – Roman soldiers, an implicit reference to Pilate (regarding the signage), two robbers, bystanders and passersby, chief priests and scribes. They all have one thing in common – they treat Jesus with contempt.

The soldiers have a job to do, but once the crosses are in place, they play games while waiting for these three to die. The two hanging were known criminals and we know from other accounts that one of them harassed Jesus while he hung on his own cross. By the way, a likely reason for Jesus being in the middle is because His “crime” was the most offensive of the three. I should also point out that the Greek word used for robber or thief was one used for insurrectionist.

Some of the religious leaders were there taunting Jesus. Many who passed by wagged their heads at Him – similar to our shaking our head and finger at someone. Then after Jesus cries out loudly to the Father, the people are eager to see if Elijah responds. Let me expand on this briefly.

1. The people may have misunderstood the phrase Eloi to mean Elijah. While Jesus did muster the energy to cry out loudly here, a dry mouth might have distorted the words enough to allow some confusion from those nearby.
2. Because Elijah did not die (remember he was taken to heaven in a chariot – 2 Kings 2.11), many believed he came to help those who were suffering in a time of need. Thus, it makes sense for people to think he could be calling for Elijah to come. The problem was that Elijah had already come – in the person of John the Baptizer as Jesus made plain in Matthew 11.14).
3. A person ran to get a sponge filled with sour wine to give it to Jesus. The hope was that if Jesus took it, it would prolong his life which would give Elijah time to get there. This gesture was not to aid Jesus, it was for the people there to be able to witness Elijah firsthand.

PRINCIPLE:  God’s ways are not our ways.

The people near the cross mocked Jesus because He did not meet their expectations. Jesus did what He came to do which was everything the Father asked Him to do (John 17.4). But the people misunderstood His ultimate purpose was to die and thus their mocking that He couldn’t save Himself was actually true if, indeed, His purpose was to save them. And it was!

Likewise, the misunderstanding included those who waited to see Elijah. The Son of God was in their midst. But they wanted a prophet. Elijah was a great prophet, but He was not God. Yet, the people wanted to see the lesser and, therefore, ignored the greater.

QUESTION:  What misunderstandings cause you to seek God after you fulfill your own wishes?


Jesus died for those who follow Him from a distance or in secret. (Mark 15.40-47)

In Luke’s account of the Gospel women play a fairly prominent role. Mark does not provide much of anything about women until just a few verses before his version of the story ends. But when he does mention women, we discover quite a bit.

• Women followed Jesus since His time in Galilee (early in His ministry).
• These women ministered to Jesus throughout His ministry. This word ministered is the same word used in Mark 1 when the angels ministered to Jesus after His forty days in the wildnerness, and is also the same word used of Jesus in Mark 10.45. Thus, we can surmise that they women did not just care for Jesus, but provided greatly for Jesus and His ministry.
• Many women were a part of His following. These women did not start following Him when He got to Jersusalem, they followed Him on the way to Jerusalem.

But verse 40 gives us important information. Although these women followed Jesus, they were observing what happened on Golgotha from a distance. It was risky to be associated with Jesus, and Rome was known to crucify women as well, so they kept a bit of distance. But, unlike most of the others who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, these women were with Him in His final hours.

Also, nearby was a man named Joseph from Arimathea. He was a member of the Sanhedrin – and verse 43 says he was a respected member. Matthew tells us he was wealthy as we can deduce from the fact he had a grave dug into the rocky hillside just beyond the walls of Jerusalem. But the most important detail we know about this Joseph is that he was “looking for the Kingdom of God” (Mark 15.43). This detail tells us that although he was a member of the Sanhedrin, he considered Jesus to be something special (as did Nicodemus, whom John says helped Joseph bury Jesus). Knowing Joseph and Nicodemus considered Jesus more than a rebel-rouser is important because of Mark 14.64 which says that “all” of the Sanhedrin voted to condemn Jesus to death. This means these two (and perhaps others):

• were not present for the vote (quite probable).
• were present but did not vote (possible).
• changed their minds after the vote (not likely).

Whatever was true of their thought about Jesus before, their thoughts were largely kept to themselves. But now Joseph musters the courage to go to Pilate to ask for the body. This does not mean that he necessarily believes in Jesus (a possibility which must wait for another time), but it likely indicates that he is prepared to forgo his position within the religious elite to be a part of God’s elect.

PRINCIPLE:  Our faith may begin in private and be hidden for a while, but true faith must be expressed openly – at least at times – because faith requires community.

Imagine for a moment if the women mentioned here and Joseph did not move beyond the shadows and secrecy in this moment. What would have happened? Jesus would have been left on the cross. Mike will share the horrors of the cross in a few moments, but many bodies were left to be eaten by wild animals. If the Romans took Jesus off the cross, they would have thrown His bones in the valley where many other skeletal remains rotted. If that had happened, the tomb would not be empty, because He would never have been in one – so how would we know He rose from the dead?

Jesus tells us to be innocent as doves and wise as serpents. So, times may exist when we keep our faith quiet. But that is not the norm for we are commanded to make disciples which means we must not only share our faith with others, but live our faith before others so they might learn to do so as well.

QUESTION:  Does anything prevent you from making your faith in Jesus known to others?


Jesus died for those who caused Him to die. (Mark 15.39)

Briefly, let me just say this is for all of us. You and I are why Jesus was crucified. Your parents, your children, your family are all part of the reason. The greatest person you might know, the worst person you wish you didn’t know. From the guards who beat Jesus to Paul who proclaimed Him widely, we are all responsible.

PRINCIPLE:  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23).

Many people say that they are not worthy of God. Anyone who says this is correct – because none of us are. But consider this centurion in Mark 15.39. This was a man’s man in the Roman army. This man was as hardened as one could be. He was a centurion which means he was in command of 100 people. But not just any people. He was in charge of the group of soldiers who crucified people. You did not attain this position by being good at paperwork. This man knew how to kill, killed a lot, and led others who did the same.

But in one moment, this hardened man saw another man die with dignity. Jesus died with dignity amidst all the ridicule and torture He endured. And this centurion was changed – in a heartbeat and did something no human had done before – truly understood that Jesus was the Son of God. Peter had said the words, but this man believed it. As hard as He was, this man, a Roman soldier – a Gentile – saw what no Jew could see. Jesus was God’s own Son.

QUESTION:  How do you respond to what Jesus did for you?

As you consider the answer to that question, I would encourage you to take a few moments and review what a crucifixion entailed. Like last week, the post is not to sensationalize the process, but to help us understand so that we might better respond in faith. You can find the details here.

CONCLUSION

(NOTE: The closing of our service included the Lord’s Supper. Therefore, the ending of this post may seem abbreviated compared to most.)

JOURNEY: Our JOURNEY letter this week is the full word:  JOURNEY.

Today is about Jesus dying and about our believing. We must include the J and we must include the Y and the connect between the two is the blood He spilled which is why we must Observe, Unite, Revere, Nurture, and Engage with Him and with each other. We can never fully appreciate all Jesus did for us, but that is why I say we are on a JOURNEY.

OPPORTUNITY: Trust the story because of the witnesses. Trust the Lord because of His sacrifice. Share the message so that others may know.

REMEMBRANCE: Jesus bled for you. Jesus died for you.

NEXT STEP(S): Live:  When we truly understand what Christ did for us, we cannot keep our faith to ourselves. We must live our faith out for the benefit of others and the glory of God.