The DEATH of DELIVERANCE-I—Mark 15:1-47
Need:
To grasp the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross & thus to wrest the Easter season from the confines of secular thinking.
Mk. 9:30-32—“Then they departed from there & passed through Galilee, & He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples & said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, & they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, & were afraid to ask Him.”
Mark related/described the chain of events surrounding Jesus’ death.
Certain events transpired in bringing about the death of Salvation/Deliverance/Emancipation/Liberation.
When does Deliverance die?
5 assumptions ensuring the death of Deliverance.
With the death of Deliverance come Assumptions of...
With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
POWER(:1-5)
Explanation:(:1-5)
:1—“Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders & scribes & the whole council; & they bound Jesus, led Him away, & delivered Him to Pilate.”
Here, Jesus’ trial switches from strictly religious political constituency to secular political constituency with religious influence.
—Pontius Pilate was the “governor” of Judea(Mt. 27:2, 11; Lk. 3:1) from 26-36AD. He was a ‘Prefect or Procurator’ meaning he did not have a specifically military purpose(Legate) as such but was an “administrative financial officer in charge of collecting taxes & keeping the peace.” Thereby he had soldiers at his disposal.
:2—“Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered & said to him, “It is as you say.”
Jesus admits His Kingship, as He is bound & led by others. Innocuous in appearance & attitude.
:3—“And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.”
Accusation has real consequences even when false.
:4—“Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”
:5—“But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.”
Argumentation:
Jn. 19:10-12—“Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, & power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.””
—Pilate is powerless against Judas, the Sanhedrin, the people & especially Jesus.
Illustration:
Home owner/Ant infestation/Exterminator cures ant problem/Illusion of POWER/But the bank forecloses on your home/Assumption of POWER
Application:
?Assumptions of POWER destroyed your Deliverance?
?Is Deliverance dead with your Assumptions?
Some of you live under the illusion that your position(with its Power)—recognition by others—warrants you favor with God. Yet your Deliverance is Dead!
—Business owner, Cucumber picker, CEO, Cellist in the symphony, President, Singer in a rock band, Plumber, Farmer, etc. All have power to some degree....
—Real Power comes from God in Christ!
Some of you live under the illusion that your long life as a ‘good person’ warrants your favor with God. Yet your Deliverance is Dead!
2— With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
GAIN(:6-15)
Explanation:(:6-15) Thru Barabbas
:6—“Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.”
—The feast is the Feast of the Passover followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
:7—“And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.”
Barabbas attempted insurrection thru murder. John also calls him a “robber.” Evidently a criminal type. Not someone in whom to place your trust.
:8—“Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.”
Releasing a prisoner.
:9—“But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
This title, “King of the Jews,” was a barbed slap-in-the-face to the Jews.
:10—“For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.”
Envy: Personal lack—measured by accomplishments, praises, recognition, possessions, position, etc. of men—that seeks the demise of another.
:11—“But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.”
*Assumed their GAIN was thru Barabbas..an insurrectionist!
:12—“Pilate answered & said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
Again, Pilate taunts them by claiming they called Jesus the King of the Jews.” Indeed many had. but the squeaky wheel gets the grease, & the stronger crushes. Thus fear must have crept into Jesus former followers.
:13—“So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”
Most assumed that Jesus didn’t come thru for them.
:14—“Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”
Jesus had no friends in the crowd.
:15—“So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; & he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.”
Pilate played to the masses & popular opinion rather than to what was right.“
“To gratify the crowd/To content the people/To satisfy the multitude/To content the multitude”
Argumentation:
Php. 1:19-21—“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer & the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation & hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, & to die is gain.”
*Mk. 8:36-37—“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, & loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
—Nothing is gained without Christ!
Mat. 6:2, 5, 16—“Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”.....“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues & on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”... “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
Illustration:
Salisbury,NC making a valiant effort to revitalize downtown/Owner of Pottery 101 related.../City Council & Business owners Committees Gradually buying Slum Lord’s properties downtown/Make decisions based on preventing Slum Lords/The whole downtown & the entire city GAIN!/
Salisbury’s physical Deliverance is Dead with Assumptions that easy money is GAIN.
Application:
?Assumptions of GAIN destroyed your Deliverance?
?Is Deliverance dead with your Assumptions?
Easy believe-ism seems to be GAIN....
But it is a mere illusion of GAIN which is only temporary.
You get baptized & member-ized to GAIN a free or cheap grave plot, GAIN Respect from others, GAIN a clientele....
& You trust that for the rest of your life.....
....Yet your Deliverance is Dead!
3— With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
CONTROL(:16-20)
Explanation:(:16-20) Mockery
:16—“Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, & they called together the whole garrison.”
Praetorium—Palace built by Herod/Roman leaders occupied it when in from Caesarea
:17—“And they clothed Him with purple; & they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head,”
:18—“& began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
:19—“Then they struck Him on the head with a reed & spat on Him; & bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.”
—Probably a small whiplike portion of tree or possibly the center rib of a palm. Something substantial but not substantial enough to warrant a true scepter or retaliating against the soldiers.
:20—“And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, & led Him out to crucify Him.”
Argumentation:
Rom. 2:4-8—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness & your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath & revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, & immortality; but to those who are self-seeking & do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation & wrath,”
Illustration:
A toddler with a steering wheel on car seat/Assume they are driving car/Assumption of CONTROL
Bullies in grade shool/Assumption of CONTROL
Application:
?Assumptions of CONTROL destroyed your Deliverance?
?Is Deliverance dead with your Assumptions?
But it is a mere illusion of CONTROL which is only temporary & hurts others. Doesn’t impress God in the least.
Men are so depraved that they will take advantage & pleasure in the difficulties & misfortune of others. They assume they are in control! In fact, their control is very real & painful at the time, but it is very temporary for God weilds true CONTROL.
You get baptized & member-ized to CONTROL the Church, CONTROL her Programs, CONTROL her Pastor, CONTROL her Ministries, to have the final say....
& trust that CONTROL for the rest of your life.....
Yet your Deliverance is Dead!
4— With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
CONDEMNATION(:21-25)
Explanation:(:21-25) Finality/Weakness/Disaster
:21—“Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander & Rufus, as he was coming out of the country & passing by, to bear His cross.”
Soldiers pressed Simon into service.
:2—“And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.”
Death sentence, Death walk.
‘Golgotha’—Graecianized Aramaic
:23—“Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.”
Jesus bore the full brunt of every aspect(physiclally & spiritually) of the crucifixion.
:24—“And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.”
:25—“Now it was the third hour, & they crucified Him.”
9:00am
Simple statement of the fact, but not the manner.
?Do you consider yourself to be unsalvageable?
?You a lost cause to others?
?You reached to a point beyond help?
Argumentation:
Isa. 59:1-2—“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Jn. 3:18—““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Jn. 10:27-29—““My sheep hear My voice, & I know them, & they follow Me. “And I give them eternal life, & they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; & no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
Rom. 7:24-8:6—“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. *There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin & death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life & peace.”
*Eph. 2:4-9—“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Rom. 14:22—“Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
Illustration:
Innocent prisoner/Release years later based on DNA evidence/Assumption of CONDEMNATION
Application:
?Assumptions of CONDEMNATION destroyed your Deliverance?
?Is Deliverance dead with your Assumptions?
But it is a mere illusion of CONDEMNATION which is only temporary & hurts others. Doesn’t impress God in the least.
You get baptized & member-ized to CONDEMN the Church, CONDEMN her Actions, CONDEMN her Pastor, CONDEMN her Ministries, CONDEMN her future....
& trust that CONDEMNATION for the rest of your life.....
& your Deliverance is Dead!
5— With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
ASSIGNMENT(:26-28)
Explanation:(:26-28) Categorizations
:26—“And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
:27—“With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right & the other on His left.”
—Jesus was not the only one crucified that Friday. 2 real criminals(“robbers”) were also crucified on either side of Jesus.
Lk. 23:39-42—“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.””
:28—“So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.””
—Fulfillment of Isa. 53:12—a distinctly Messianic chapter.
Assumption that Jesus was deserving of His punishment.
Died a criminal’s death. Between 2 real criminals.
Argumentation:
Mat. 11:15-19—“He who has ears to hear, let him hear! “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces & calling to their companions, “& saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, & they say, ‘He has a demon.’ “The Son of Man came eating & drinking, & they say, ‘Look, a glutton & a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors & sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
Mk. 2:15-17—“Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors & sinners also sat together with Jesus & His disciples; for there were many, & they followed Him. And when the scribes & Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors & sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats & drinks with tax collectors & sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Illustration:
On train to Washington D.C./A family of Middle-eastern descent/?Muslims?/People outside of my box/I immediately thought of terrorists/Assumptions of ASSIGNMENT
Application:
?Assumptions of ASSIGNMENT destroyed your Deliverance?
?Is Deliverance dead with your Assumptions?
An Assumption of ASSIGNMENT Doesn’t impress God in the least.
You ASSIGN the Church a place with the dregs & on the fringes of society, with all the other nut-buckets. Tree-huggers, PETA, Skin Heads, Nazis, Communists, etc....Not to be taken seriously.
You ASSIGN people to categories based on Looks(hair, clothing, jewelry, vehicle, residence, etc.), Smell, Career, Jobs, Education, Inabilities, Challenges, Color, Accent,
& trust that ASSIGNMENT for the rest of your life.....
& your Deliverance is Dead!
CONCLUSION:
With the death of Deliverance, come Assumptions of...
1. POWER(:1-5)
2. GAIN(:6-15)
3. CONTROL(:16-20)
4. CONDEMNATION(:21-25)
5. ASSIGNMENT / Category(:26-28)
Presented 03/28/04am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
