The Fourth Week of March
We Read…
As we approach holy week, we read of Jesus’s journey to the cross. After the disciples watched Jesus’s trial, beatings, and crucifixion from a distance, they couldn’t help but hear the words of the prophets and Psalter. Jesus’s determination to fulfill God’s will would not be deterred by being abandoned, mocked, and spat at (Is 50:6-7, Ps 31:11, Mk 16-32). The only words we have from Jesus on the cross in Mark is the prayer from Psalm 22, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”
At the center of our faith is a crucified Christ, who gave up everything so that we might find life. Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:5 that we, too, are to be shaped by the cross. To have the same mind as Christ is to allow the cross to be the filter by which we make every decision. This does not mean life will be easy, but it does mean that when we feel abandoned by friends and even God, Christ is there, suffering with us.
Isaiah 50:4-9
4 The LORD God
gave me an educated tongue
to know how to respond to the weary
with a word that will awaken them
in the morning.
God awakens my ear
in the morning to listen,
as educated people do.
5 The LORD God opened my ear;
I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back.
6 Instead, I gave my body to attackers,
and my cheeks to beard pluckers.
I didn’t hide my face
from insults and spitting.
7 The LORD God will help me;
therefore, I haven’t been insulted.
Therefore, I set my face like flint,
and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed.
8 The one who will declare me innocent
is near.
Who will argue with me?
Let’s stand up together.
Who will bring judgment against me?
Let him approach me.
9 Look! the LORD God will help me.
Who will condemn me?
Look, they will wear out like clothing;
the moth will eat them.
Psalm 31:9-16
9 Have mercy on me, LORD,
because I’m depressed.
My vision fails because of my grief,
as do my spirit and my body.
10 My life is consumed with sadness;
my years are consumed with groaning.
Strength fails me
because of my suffering;
my bones dry up.
11 I’m a joke to all my enemies,
still worse to my neighbors.
I scare my friends,
and whoever sees me in the street runs away!
12 I am forgotten, like I’m dead,
completely out of mind;
I am like a piece of pottery, destroyed.
13 Yes, I’ve heard all the gossiping,
terror all around;
so many gang up together against me,
they plan to take my life!
14 But me? I trust you, LORD!
I affirm, “You are my God.”
15 My future is in your hands.
Don’t hand me over to my enemies,
to all who are out to get me!
16 Shine your face on your servant;
save me by your faithful love!
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:
6 Though he was in the form of God,
he did not consider being equal
with God something to exploit.
7 But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself
in the form of a human,
8 he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God highly honored him
and gave him a name above all names,
10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone
in heaven, on earth,
and under the earth might bow
11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Mark 15:1-47
At daybreak, the chief priests—with the elders, legal experts, and the whole Sanhedrin—formed a plan. They bound Jesus, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus replied, “That’s what you say.” 3 The chief priests were accusing him of many things.
4 Pilate asked him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? What about all these accusations?” 5 But Jesus gave no more answers, so that Pilate marveled.
6 During the festival, Pilate released one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 A man named Barabbas was locked up with the rebels who had committed murder during an uprising. 8 The crowd pushed forward and asked Pilate to release someone, as he regularly did. 9 Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 10 He knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of jealousy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. 12 Pilate replied, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
They shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the courtyard of the palace known as the governor’s headquarters, and they called together the whole company of soldiers.17 They dressed him up in a purple robe and twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on him. 18 They saluted him, “Hey! King of the Jews!” 19 Again and again, they struck his head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt before him to honor him. 20 When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
21 Simon, a man from Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus’ father, was coming in from the countryside. They forced him to carry his cross.
22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he didn’t take it. 24 They crucified him. They divided up his clothes, drawing lots for them to determine who would take what. 25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The notice of the formal charge against him was written, “The king of the Jews.” 27 They crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.
29 People walking by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? 30 Save yourself and come down from that cross!”
31 In the same way, the chief priests were making fun of him among themselves, together with the legal experts. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross. Then we’ll see and believe.” Even those who had been crucified with Jesus insulted him.
33 From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. 34 At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”
35 After hearing him, some standing there said, “Look! He’s calling Elijah!” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 But Jesus let out a loud cry and died.
38 The curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.”
40 Some women were watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the younger one) and Joses, and Salome. 41 When Jesus was in Galilee, these women had followed and supported him, along with many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him.
42 Since it was late in the afternoon on Preparation Day, just before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph from Arimathea dared to approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a prominent council member who also eagerly anticipated the coming of God’s kingdom.) 44 Pilate wondered if Jesus was already dead. He called the centurion and asked him whether Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, Pilate gave the dead body to Joseph. 46 He bought a linen cloth, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the cloth, and laid him in a tomb that had been carved out of rock. He rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was buried.
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
Often in church, we skip over the crucifixion to talk about resurrection. Why do you think that is?
Why is it important to allow people the ability to sit in the pain of the crucifixion?
We Feel…
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week?
What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, maybe a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
Have you ever felt abandoned by your friends? By God?
What does it mean to you that Jesus is with us through the cross in our suffering?
We Believe…
The center of our faith is a crucified Christ. Theologically, a lot happens here, but often, what is missed in the arguments about how the cross brings about salvation is the invitation to live into the wondrous love of God that would give up everything so that we might live. Christ shows us how to love and empowers us to live in this love through the Holy Spirit.
Christ is God with us, even in our abandonment and rejection. By calling out to God on the cross and confronting those feelings of abandonment with the prayer of Psalm 22, Jesus puts his faith in God, trusting that God will be faithful to God’s promise, even when it doesn’t feel like God will.
We Practice…
As we journey together to the cross, consider researching and meditating on the stations of the cross. There are many different illustrations of these stations, but their purpose is to guide us in walking together to the cross. Pick one of the stations or the idea of journeying to the cross and create something that embodies the spirit of it. It can be a painting, song, prayer, or other means. If you are not the creative type, go on a prayer walk or journal about what it means for us to have the mindset of Christ.
Click the link or to view seven of these stations and seven prayers to guide you through the week.
I love this! Thanks so much, Nathan! We miss you and your family.
--Brendon Weaver