Through His Cross (47 of 48)
Series: The Gospel of Mark
Bob Ingle
Mark 15:16-41
Let's open our bibles together to Mark 15. The overwhelming emphasis of the New Testament is not on the BIRTH of Jesus, or the LIFE of Jesus, but on the DEATH of Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote half of the New Testament, and yet he didn't mention the sermons Jesus preached; or the miracles He did; or the parables He taught; or the friends that He made; or the places that He went. Paul focused primarily on the death and resurrection of Jesus. That was it. He said, ''This one thing I do...I preach Christ crucified.'' Why? Because the cross of Jesus is the crux of our faith. It's the crossroads for all humanity, and our eternity hangs in the balance. The Bible shows us over and over the right decision about the cross that leads us in the right direction so that we will be end up in the right destination.
It was for this moment in time that the Father sent Jesus to earth. Every other person, other than Jesus, was born for the specific purpose of living. But Jesus was born for the specific purpose of dying. Jesus said about Himself: ''For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'' Listen, death didn't end the work of Christ. Death was the work of Christ. Amen?
So today, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on HOW Jesus died, but rather on WHY Jesus died. I'm not going to talk much about the gory details of the crucifixion. Mark certainly didn't. Do you know why? Because Mark's point is not to stir up PITY, but to strengthen FAITH.
Mark didn't go on and on about the cruelty and brutality of the cross because he didn't want us to focus on the suffering, but rather on the One suffering. Jesus doesn't want you to feel sorry for Him; He wants you to believe in Him. We aren't called to sympathize, but to follow. I'm going to spend the vast majority of our time today talking about the PURPOSE of the cross rather than th ...
Series: The Gospel of Mark
Bob Ingle
Mark 15:16-41
Let's open our bibles together to Mark 15. The overwhelming emphasis of the New Testament is not on the BIRTH of Jesus, or the LIFE of Jesus, but on the DEATH of Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote half of the New Testament, and yet he didn't mention the sermons Jesus preached; or the miracles He did; or the parables He taught; or the friends that He made; or the places that He went. Paul focused primarily on the death and resurrection of Jesus. That was it. He said, ''This one thing I do...I preach Christ crucified.'' Why? Because the cross of Jesus is the crux of our faith. It's the crossroads for all humanity, and our eternity hangs in the balance. The Bible shows us over and over the right decision about the cross that leads us in the right direction so that we will be end up in the right destination.
It was for this moment in time that the Father sent Jesus to earth. Every other person, other than Jesus, was born for the specific purpose of living. But Jesus was born for the specific purpose of dying. Jesus said about Himself: ''For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'' Listen, death didn't end the work of Christ. Death was the work of Christ. Amen?
So today, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on HOW Jesus died, but rather on WHY Jesus died. I'm not going to talk much about the gory details of the crucifixion. Mark certainly didn't. Do you know why? Because Mark's point is not to stir up PITY, but to strengthen FAITH.
Mark didn't go on and on about the cruelty and brutality of the cross because he didn't want us to focus on the suffering, but rather on the One suffering. Jesus doesn't want you to feel sorry for Him; He wants you to believe in Him. We aren't called to sympathize, but to follow. I'm going to spend the vast majority of our time today talking about the PURPOSE of the cross rather than th ...
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