24 Hours To Live Extended Content Episode 2

Well, as we step into part two of our Easter journey, Rob, imagine the final moments of Thursday still hanging in the air, confusion, betrayal, fear. Anyone who needs to revisit that chaos, remember, just go back and read Mark 14. That'll be helpful. Right. As we step into Mark 15 now and the scene shifts, dawn is about to break. The city is just waking up, yet the most consequential handoff in human history is already underway. I think that's just so powerful. I just wanted to build some drama for us because Caiaphas and the temple officials are going to escort a tied up Jesus, I would imagine, through that morning street toward one man, the Roman curator, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, the only person, honestly, with the authority to decide whether Jesus is going to live or die. So this is high drama as we pick it up in Mark 15. An interesting side note, for a long time, long time, people really doubted the existence of Pontius Pilate because they couldn't find any historical records of him. And so there were critics of the Gospels and of Christianity that were like, it's a made up story, never happened. But in June of 1961, I can't believe it. How old were you, Rob? I wasn't born yet. Me neither. We're so young. We are. Go. In archaeology, that's pretty young. Yes, that is pretty young. An archaeologist found a stone in Caesarea by the sea with an inscription about who Pilate was and included his rule and different parts of his life. And we have a photo of that for you. One of the reasons, and I love that we do this, that Compass takes trips to Israel is

so that you can go and see these things with your own eyes. I can testify that when I saw these kinds of moments, that helped cement my trust in the New Testament and the story and the facts that it tells us about the resurrection. If you go to the Holy Land with us sometime, the very first stop is Caesarea by the sea. And you get in that big amphitheater where they believe Herod's palace was at one time. And you can look out over the Mediterranean Sea. But if you kind of meander through that trail there in Caesarea by the sea, you see this inscription to Pontius Pilate. And you realize, I mean, these are real lives and real names and real moments in history. Because Caesarea was the capital of the Roman province of Judea. Absolutely. And I think what makes this so incredible that it cements Pilate, not as a character in the story, but as a real man in a real place at a real time in a real trial. And it kind of anchors the gospel accounts because they really do hinge on Pilate. And his, again, like you said, his home was Caesarea by the sea, which by the way, wouldn't be a bad place to hang out. Honestly. Awesome place. Tensions were high, especially during Passover and the festivals. And so he stayed in Jerusalem sometimes at Antonia Fortress. We'll get to that in a little bit. But he was at Caesarea by the sea. Herod the Great had built a massive stronghold right there on the ocean, right there overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It's not there today, but we see remnants of it. There's the foundation of it, but it was a whole complex, a whole deal, incredible stuff. Josephus, the great historian, the Christian historian, writes about the credibility of that in the first century. So we know it was there. But many scholars believe Jesus' trial before Pilate happened in Antonia's fortress.

And when you walk through that area, you understand why the Via Della Rosa or the way of suffering started right there. It began right there at that very spot. So it's just, it's very surreal being in that place. You feel like you're stepping directly into history. You do. You feel like you're participating with the historical events. So pick it back up in the story. Jesus is now being set in front of Rome's authority, right in the area. He is the only authority who has the ability to be judge and executioner. And the whole Sanhedrin, they start just throwing accusations at Jesus about all kinds of terrible stuff. But finally, Pilate just comes over to Jesus and he asks him, he says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus replies to him, that's what you said. Yeah. I love that. I love that answer. little bit like, hey, that's my name. Don't wear it out. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. As the trial goes on, the chief priests, the temple rulers, they accuse Jesus of all kinds of terrible stuff. Jesus, during the whole thing, remains completely silent. Never one time defends himself. And this, obviously, like today, just blew Pilate away. He had no idea what to do with this. You know, I, this is off the cuff, but I heard this recently. I heard that if you search the Gospels, in the Gospels, Jesus asked people 380 different questions in the Gospels, the four Gospels. He was asked 180 questions directly. He answers three of them. And often when Jesus asks a question, he asks another question. Just very interesting. In this moment, he's asked this powerful question, and he basically says, you've said it so. Which basically is saying, like you said, yes. Now, there's a strange tradition going on once a year during this festival, right? The governor would release a prisoner, which is really just an odd thing to do. They're just, they just,

it's, it's almost like an ancient version of who's the crowd's favorite inmate, you know? But we're going to let one of these convicted criminals go. And Pilate sees this as a chance to, Pilate was pretty crafty. He was. He was shrewd. He was a politician at heart and he was shrewd. And he offers up Jesus as the one to be released, hoping the crowd would take the obvious choice. And then it's a done deal. Right. Everything's over. Go back to work. But things turn fast, right? Because the crowd doesn't choose Jesus. And I think it's this point where it's really good to remember, like, maybe, I don't even think it's fair to really get too upset with the crowd because this was part of God's will. This was history. This was a prophetic moment about to be fulfilled. And they start shouting, give us Barabbas, which who was a violent criminal, a rebel, a murderer. Led an insurrection. And yeah, and I can just, you can just almost feel the blood pressure of Pilate raising here because he's like, ah, that didn't go like I thought it was because he's staring into the face of a man who he knows is innocent. Right. And he knows this man doesn't deserve death. And every instinct in him is like, this is wrong. But the noise of the crowd keeps building and drowning it out. Pilate, he tries again, he says, then he asked them, what would you have me do with this good man? He doesn't say that, but what would you have me to do with Jesus? And they say, what do they say, Rob? They all scream out together, crucify him. Crucify him. And Pilate again, pushes back. Why? What evil has he done? But at this point you can throw logic out the door, right? Yep. The crowd gets louder and more fierce and more unhinged, right? It's like, you know, the social media crowd that just none of it makes sense. Right. And then comes the moment everyone wishes had gone differently. But in a classic political move, one that I think probably haunted Pilate, he caves. Yeah.

And he chooses the path of least resistance. And he releases Barabbas, this hardened criminal, and he condemns Jesus. And he hands Jesus over to be flogged and delivered to soldiers who were honestly experts at, look, the Roman soldiers were experts at execution and torture. Absolutely. And so, Pilate knew good and well what they were about to do to him. He was about to have the cat of nine tails digging into the back of his flesh. And it was awful. I mean, there's no way you and I could like make people understand what it must have been like, nor would we actually understand ourselves. No. But this was a horrible moment in history, but Jesus resolutely set his face to the cross. Yep. So, after this, the soldiers take Jesus to the Praetorium, and you can go to the Antonia Fortress and stand on the spot where this happened. And I'm sorry to interrupt, Rob. This is an authentic spot. This is X marks the spot. They're almost certain that this is where, this is the floor where our Savior was scourged and beaten and mocked and spit upon. Yep. The soldiers actually took time to go gather their comrades and their buddies, and they bring him together. They start to mock him. They put a purple robe on him, which symbolized royalty, because he had said he was the King of the Jews. They twist together a crown for him made out of thorns, push it down on his head, laugh and chant, oh, hail King of the Jews. So, he's already been flogged. He's already been beaten twice. And now they take staff sticks, and they hit him over the head with his crown of thorns. They spit on him. They beat him. They knelt in front of him in mock obedience. And after all of this is done, they take back the robe. They give him his own clothes, and they lead him out to be crucified. What a terrible, terrible moment.

Can you imagine? Have you ever got into a thorn bush and just maybe cut your finger off once? And it hurts terribly. Can you imagine those thorns going into your skull? Can you imagine? You're bleeding profusely, right? You've been beaten beyond recognition, right? And you're dehydrated, right? You're choking because you're dehydrated. These are the conditions that Jesus endured for you and for me. Unthinkable. Now, there are two places in Jerusalem that people point to as the actual site where Jesus was crucified. The oldest and most widely held position is that it's at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is tucked inside the Christian quarter of the Old City. And the Catholic brothers and sisters have put a huge church over this site. For centuries, many people have believed that this is not only where the crucifixion site was, but also the tomb was located. And I will admit freely that many scholars believe this is the right place. This scholar, and I use that term rather loosely, does not hold that view, Rob. I believe there's another place that just feels, when you see it with your eyes, it's amazing.

It feels almost too obvious. Yeah, it feels like what would be Golgotha, which is the place of the skull. It actually sits at the top of a bus station now. That feels weird, right? You're sitting there trying to focus on the cross, and there's bus drivers pulling in and out. But remember now, Jerusalem is a very modern city, but it's called Gordon's Calvary. This is where I believe it happened. But regardless, we know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And again, when you stand in front of this hillside, it's really hard to miss. And it's about, what would you say, Rob, 150 yards from the garden tomb. Yeah, that's pretty accurate. Where they really believe that this is where Jesus was buried. Now, it's very interesting because there was a man named Simon of Cyrene, what would be today, modern day Libya. Right. Yeah, so Northern Africa. And he suddenly pulled from the crowd to carry Jesus' cross. Why? Jesus was in no condition. None at all. This was very heavy.

It was a very heavy cross. And in one of the most understated yet devastating lines in scripture, if you have your Bibles, in Mark 15, verse 24, Mark just simply says, they crucified him. That's it, three words. But those three words changed the entire story of humanity. What's fascinating to me is that for the soldiers and for the people that were part of this, this was not that different from their normal day, right? No one really notices. In fact, it tells us that the soldiers decided to start rolling dice so that they could decide who got the different pieces of Jesus' clothing. And so they're basically gambling. It's about nine in the morning at this point on Friday. They've nailed his hands and his feet to the cross and they've set him up for this terrible, agonizing, slow, torturous death. And to make it even more of a mockery, they nail a sign on the top of the cross that says the King of the Jews. There were two other criminals that were crucified with him, one on the right, one on the left. And we learned that, and I think this is amazing, back to your comment about Jesus is in control, this has been designed. This was to fulfill a scripture that Jesus would be quote unquote,

numbered with the transgressors. So the great King would be treated like the worst criminal. It's just unconscionable to think about. So we're standing on the edge of this story. We're in Mark 15, if you're following along in your Bibles. In verse 33, I wanna kind of take you through what happens in the final moment of Jesus. We're now at about, we're somewhere between noon and three o'clock in the afternoon on Friday. And darkness has fallen on the entire area. Whole land. Complete darkness. There isn't a passing cloud. It's not momentary overcast or anything like that. It's as if creation. self is grieving right now. I just want you to kind of feel the tension. This moment Jesus cries out in agony, and it's the worst kind of pain because he's going to speak to the Father. And he says, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why have you turned your back on me? And so the weight of that cry still echoes across history. Now, some people standing nearby misunderstood what he was saying. They thought he was calling out for Elijah. I guess that's understandable. They didn't really understand what he was saying. And someone grabs a reed and lifts some kind of potion, some kind of sour wine. And he drinks that to kind of quench his thirst momentarily. And then someone says, makes a joke and says, let's, maybe Elijah will come down and save him. But no one, as we know, saves him. And they're on that hill called Calvary. After all of that? Yeah. After six hours of suffering and pain, Jesus gives one final cry and he breathes his last. And he says, it is finished. It is finished. And in that moment, something unimaginable happens, Rob. Talk about it just for a second.

The temple veil tears in two, and it says, this is very interesting, from top to bottom, the temple veil was 40 feet high and it was about six inches thick. Yeah. A little thicker and bigger than our backdrop here today. Yeah. It wasn't something that it could have been an accident. It was nothing that people could have done. And all of a sudden, the veil that has been separating God from humanity, it's what kept the Holy of Holies apart from everybody else. God tears that open when Jesus dies. And it's the Father's way of saying, there's a new way to get to me now. A new way is open. The way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father, but through Jesus. It's an amazing moment. It's one we tend to overlook. A Roman centurion senses the drama of this. I don't know if he was there when, you know, Peter cut the guy's ear off, but he watches all of this. He watches the way Jesus died. He watches the way he endured this suffering. Sees the darkness. He sees the darkness and he feels the earthquake and he understands the gravity of the temple veil being torn in two. And he says, truly, surely, this man was the Son of God. And there standing at a distance are the women who never abandoned him. When the disciples abandoned him, they didn't. Mary Magdalene, John includes Mary, the mother of Jesus. There were several women there, faithful women. They had followed his ministry in Galilee. They had supported him financially. They had ministered to him. They had loved him and they followed him all the way to the end. I think that needs to be mentioned. So brave. So strong in the midst of the... Courageous. Yeah. The most heartbreaking moment of someone they loved more than life itself. Think about the time. This was not the best time to be a woman in the public sector. Right. And yet they were bold and faithful to our Lord, which is just amazing. Which I'm proud that Mark mentions them because of that. I love that. And here's this, this one who could raise people from the dead. And he was, we know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was dead. And he was completely dead. He had given up his spirit. And at that moment, the world had never felt heavier. And yet, strangely enough, Rob, this is not where the story ends.

No. As we go to chapter 15, verses 42 through 47, we're reading about this most important Friday in the history of the world. And it's almost evening. And the problem is the next day is the Sabbath, which means once the Sabbath starts, nobody gets to do anything. Anything. No work, no effort. Can't take care of Jesus. So a guy named Joseph of Arimathea, who was a Pharisee, but he, he loved Jesus. It says, it's this cool phrase. It says he gathered up his courage and he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Can you imagine? Yeah. Amazing. The courage it took to go, because this is the guy that already sentenced him to death just a few hours ago. Pilate is actually surprised that Jesus is already dead. and sometimes could take two or three days. So Pilate checks it out, finds out that he's officially dead, and he grants Joseph permission to take the body. So Joseph grabs linen, gets Jesus off of the cross, and takes him to his own tomb that was carved, literally, just right out of a big chunk of solid rock, and he lays him in there. They roll a stone across it. Pilate gives permission for the Roman soldiers to seal it and post a guard, which is crazy. That's somewhere between eight and 16 guards standing at the tomb. And still there, like the best people in the whole story, Mary Magdalene and Mary and the other women are standing and watching carefully to see where Jesus ends up in his final resting place in their mind. And now the storm is over, and the sun's setting, and Sabbath is just a few moments away. And you talk about Black Friday, right?

We use that term pretty superficially. But they think it's over. Yeah. The disciples think it's over. It's got to be the worst feeling that a human could experience. Right, and Rome was happy. Rome had spoken, and this guy that was a pain in their side was gone. The tomb was sealed. And all that remained was silence. But none of them knew what you and I have the benefit of knowing, that that was just the beginning. It was just the beginning. And that's where we'll pick it up. Because it's Friday, but Sunday's coming. We'll pick it up there.