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Mark 15:27 “With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.”

   Like Barabbas, these men may have been more than common robbers. They may have been murderers. They may have been revolutionaries. We don’t know for sure, but we do know they weren’t very nice folks. And, they were a stark contrast to Jesus.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your great love for us in sending your Son. Compared to him we are all just like the two thieves. Thank you for your mercy! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:26 “And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

   This was Pilate’s idea. He really enjoyed reading the Jews. This was a way to do it and get away with it. They wanted him to change it, but he refused. It is appropriate, since it was completely true though none of them realized it.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the King of the Jews. This time of year especially we think just how blessed we are to be able to celebrate Christmas. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:25 “Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.”

   The third hour would be roughly 9 AM by Jewish reckoning. It is important to understand the Jewish measure of time. It is a very biblical approach. The day begins as it did in the beginning, with darkness. The nighttime is the first part of the day and the daytime is the second part. Thus, each day begins when the sun sets.
   The third hour was the third hour of the daytime. So, it was three hours after sunrise. It is because of all this that we know Jesus is crucified at around 9 in the morning.

Heavenly Father, thank you for making time for us. And, I am thankful you control its length. Only you have the wisdom for that. Give us the grace to accept your timing for things. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:24 “And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.”

   As we know from the other Gospels, they did not want to divide up his main garment. It was woven as one piece and was thus more valuable as such. They gambled for it specifically.
   Of course, this was all a fulfillment of prophecy. Psalm 22:18 directly predicts this event. That such prophecies of Christ are fulfilled in such detail are a shining testimony to the validity of the Scripture, and the identity of the Christ.

Heavenly Father, how can we miss the truth of your Word? So often we skip over it in our search for truth. As humans who have fallen we tend to look to ourselves for answers, seeing ourselves as our own best friend. But that is not the case. Jesus is the true Friend of humanity. He is faithful and true, and just. Thank you, Father, for the Son! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:23 “Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.”

   Why was this offered? Presumably to deaden the pain. And why did Jesus refuse? Well, there are a lot of answers to that. The main reason, however, was that this was no normal execution. In this case the executed individual was in complete control of the situation. He didn’t take it because it wasn’t part of his plan. He didn’t want to lessen the pain, he wanted to pay our sin debt.

Heavenly Father, this world doesn’t know what Christ has done. Make us lights for you to show it the love of Christ for mankind. Thank you for him! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:22 “And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.”

   This was called the place of the skull because it looks like a skull. But, more than that, it was evidently a place of death. Jesus and the thieves were just a few of those executed here.

Heavenly Father, this world doesn’t understand what death and suffering is really about. It doesn’t understand the depth of sin. Thank you for Christ! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:21 “Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.”

   We know the names of all of these men presumably because they were converted later. Often we see that the skin color of this man is emphasised. But, the Bible makes no particular comment upon this fact. Indeed, it is an extrapolation that is needless. There is nothing in the text to indicate definitively the man’s skin color.
   I am not trying to strip persons of color of their opportunity to find black people in the Bible. But, finding any skin color is a divisive tendency. For instance, those who paint Jesus having very white skin. Jesus was Jewish, and distinctly so. As such his skin was likely not that European looking. To work at identifying certain groups in Scripture as one skin color or another is not generally helpful. Quite frankly, it is a very Jewish book, even in the New Testament. So, it should not be used to substantiate the roles of white, black, Hispanic, or Asian people. Not being found in the Bible would in no way diminish the importance of any one of these groups.

Heavenly Father, I want to be used of you. Any significance we might seek should be folded up into our desire to serve you. We can trust you with our significance. You always have our best interests at heart. You love us, and we can trust you unquestionably. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:20 “And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”

   His own clothes were not what they could have been. He deserves the best this world can offer. He is the King, he is the Creator. Yet he set aside his glory for us. He made himself low, and brought himself to this day of punishment.

Heavenly Father, you are at the center of all we need and know. We can never escape the truth of what you have done. Your plan is our hope, our life. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:19 “Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.”

  Of course the striking would hit the crown they made of thorns. This marred his appearance and rendered him unrecognizable to those who didn’t know him well. The spitting once again highlights the shame of this mocking. Jesus endured much for us!

Heavenly Father, it is we who should be humbled. To think that Christ was made to suffer so much to secure our salvation! We should be humbled, and we should exalt him. We do exalt him today, Father. He is your Perfect One. Thank you on this day of thanks for your great grace! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:18 “and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

   These men enjoyed some parts of their job. Unfortunately, that’s not a good thing. The taunting was likely worse on this occasion because the powers of darkness thought this was a victory. How wrong they were!

Heavenly Father, thank you for the victory we can have in Christ. This world wants to tell us victory is only a dream. But that is only because it is a victory over the powers of this evil world system. You have all the victory, and we praise your Name! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.