The Gospel of Mark highlights the inability of men to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and King of Israel until AFTER his crucifixion, let alone embrace him. Yet paradoxically, the first man in Mark to see him as the “Son of God” was the Roman centurion at his execution, with the VERY brief exception of Peter. His role as the suffering “Son of Man” made him unacceptable to his contemporaries and unwelcome among his own people. His way of conquering his enemies was contrary to the political systems and expectations of the present world order.
Unlike the presidents, dictators, emperors,
and legislators of this age, Jesus laid down his life for friend and foe alike.
He is the one whom God installed as the Lord over all things. “I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for your possession” – (Psalm 2:8).
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| [Cross Photo by Philippe Bout on Unsplash] |
In Mark, the identity and mission of Jesus could not, and to this day cannot, be understood apart from his sacrificial death at the hands of the World Empire of his day, namely, Rome. Nevertheless, as Paul wrote many years later, the proclamation of a “crucified Messiah” was and is “God’s power and God’s wisdom.”
By stressing the necessity of his suffering
and death, the Gospel of Mark not only establishes his identity as
the “Son of God,” but demonstrates what it truly meant to be the Messiah
and God’s appointed King.
Demons exorcised by Jesus recognized him,
but despite his many impressive miracles, men and women remained in the dark about
his identity. He was not the ruler they expected or wanted. He may as well have
been from Mars or Venus.
At the Jordan River, the Scriptures, John
the Baptist, the voice from heaven, and supernatural signs all attested that he
was the Messiah, the mighty one who would baptize his followers in the Spirit.
The voice identified him as “My beloved Son” after the heavens were “rent
asunder.” This English rendering translates the Greek verb schizō,
meaning, “to rend asunder, cleave, cleave asunder, split open.” The term occurs
once more in Mark when the veil of the Temple was “rent in two”
when Jesus died - (Mark 1:11).
The description of the heavens being “rent”
alludes to a passage in the Book of Isaiah where the prophet longs
for Yahweh to “rend the heavens” and make His name known “to your
enemies, that the NATIONS may TREMBLE at your presence.” That prophecy
was fulfilled with the arrival of the Messiah, and shortly afterward, he appeared
in “Galilee of the NATIONS” where he began to proclaim the Kingdom of
God - (Isaiah 64:1-2).
The declaration by the voice from heaven echoed
the Second Psalm and another passage in Isaiah. Jesus was the
promised Messiah, and both passages include references to the Messiah bringing
justice to the “NATIONS” - (Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 42:1).
STRANGER IN HIS OWN LAND
One of his first acts was to cast out an “unclean
spirit.” The men present in the Synagogue were astounded and asked, “Who
is this?” Despite his miraculous deeds, Jesus remained unrecognized, although
demons understood who he was and the danger that he posed to them - (“Are
you come to destroy us?”).
This pattern is repeated in Mark.
Although demonic spirits recognized the “Son of God,” human beings failed
to do so, including members of his own family. When his friends heard of his
activities, they “went out to lay hold on him, for they said, ‘He is beside
himself’” - (Mark 3:11-12, 3:21, Mark 5:1-7).
The scribes from Jerusalem could not deny his
ability to exorcise demons. But rather than acknowledge that he did so by the
authority of God, they charged him with casting out demons by “Beelzebub,
the prince of demons.” The irony was that demons did recognize him, but not
these religious leaders of the Jewish nation - (Mark 3:22-30).
By his word alone, Jesus calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee. In great fear, his disciples asked one another, “WHO IS THIS, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Even this display of power was insufficient to prove that he was the “Son of Man” - (Mark 4:36-41).
When he returned to his hometown, Jesus
began teaching in the synagogue. Many who heard him began to ask, “Whence
has this man these things… Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and
brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?” Rather than rejoice that
the Messiah was present, “they were offended by him” - (Mark 6:1-6).
After he fed five thousand men with “five
loaves and two fishes,” Jesus departed to pray on a mountain. To join him,
the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat, struggling against a contrary
wind. However, Jesus appeared, walking on the water. The disciples thought it
was a ghostly apparition and cried out in fear. He identified himself, entered
the boat, and caused the winds to cease.
Previously, they saw him calm a great
storm, yet this most recent display of authority over natural forces also
failed to convince them that he was the Messiah, “because their hearts
were hardened” - (Mark 6:35-52).
SELF-SACRIFICE NOT WANTED
On the way to Jerusalem, Peter appeared on the
verge of grasping his identity. When Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I am,”
Peter declared, “You are the Christ!” Then he explained how the “Son
of man MUST suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes, and be killed” - (Mark 8:31).
The preceding passage uses the Greek verb dei,
meaning, “must, it is necessary,” pointing to the Divine purpose in his
impending death. The Cross was neither optional nor unplanned, but a
fundamental part of the plan to redeem humanity and creation.
To this prediction, Peter objected. The
notion that the Messiah would be subjected to suffering and death at the hands
of Israel’s enemies was unacceptable. Moreover, whatever insight Peter momentarily
had was lost when he was confronted with the idea of a suffering king. But HIS
Messiahship meant exactly that - suffering, rejection, and death – (Compare
also Mark 9:31-32).
Again, while “on the way up to Jerusalem,”
Jesus explained how he would be “delivered to the chief priests and the
scribes, and they shall condemn him to death.” To this, and rather
strangely, James and John responded by requesting to sit at his side when he
came into his Kingdom. However, he responded:
- “You know not what ye ask… Whoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be slave of all, for the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY” - (Mark 10:32-45).
The way of his Kingdom was (are remains) self-sacrificial
service, not dominion over others, a truth that he demonstrated by giving his
own life to ransom a great many others from bondage to sin, death, and Satan,
including his enemies - (Romans 5:10).
When the High Priest examined him, he asked
Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” He responded,
“I am he. And you will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power
and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
In the Temple, and before the highest religious authority in the land, he had identified himself as the Messiah. There could be no more doubt. However, rather than submit to him, the High Priest charged Jesus with blasphemy, and condemned him to death - (Mark 14:60-64).
Unintentionally, the Roman governor,
Pontious Pilate, confirmed his Messianic status when he had “King of the
Jews” inscribed on a plaque that was mounted on his cross. As he was dying,
spectators mocked him, declaring, “You who were pulling down the Temple and
building one in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross.”
The chief priests and scribes likewise
ridiculed this dying and helpless man despite the testimony of God, Scripture,
his miracles, and his own testimony before the High Priest confirming his
Messianic status - (Mark 15:26).
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| [Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash] |
REJECTED AND EXECUTED
Finally, Jesus was declared the “Son of
God” by a human voice. As death overwhelmed him, he uttered a loud cry, and
the “veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.” It
was then that the Roman centurion declared, “Truly this man was the Son of
God” - (Mark 15:37-39).
Just as the “rending of the heavens”
at his baptism produced a declaration regarding his status, so the
“rending of the Temple veil” produced the same confession, only this
time on the lips of a pagan officer.
Just as the prophet Isaiah hoped, the
Gentiles would indeed “tremble” at his presence, only after his
resurrection and in repentance and submission rather than fear at the onslaught
of a would-be conqueror.
Only as he was crucified did a human being
finally understand who Jesus was, and paradoxically, not a devout Jew, the High
Priest, or even one of his closest disciples, but a Gentile who was very likely
the Roman officer in charge of the execution squad.
Thus, his sacrificial
death defined his Messiahship. Only in his suffering and death can we begin
to understand the identity of Jesus, the nature of his mission, the heart of
his message, what it means to become his disciple, and HOW Jesus now
reigns over the Earth.
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