A free-for-all?
Yes, but not the kind you mighht think.
When Jesus died, the way to God was torn open, free, to anyone. And the first one through the door was the man who had just killed him.
Mark’s Gospel tells us in its very first line who Jesus is: the Messiah, the Son of God. But almost nobody in the story sees it.
At the cross, the first person to say it out loud and mean it is the Roman officer in charge of the execution.
If he wasn’t too far gone, not one of us is.
In this final episode of our summer series, Discovering Mark, we look at Mark 15:33-39. We cover the darkness at noon, Jesus’ cry of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, the temple curtain torn from top to bottom, and the centurion’s confession: “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
📖 This is the last in our series on Mark ... so get your FREE copy of Mark’s Gospel here while it's still open: https://live.bible.is/bible/ENGNLH/MRK/1
✍️ Go deeper on Substack coming soon
▶️ Watch the whole Discovering Mark series Super Short Thought reels here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8_nqRcLJvtchcsemJU_0q1aL0wd69SQU
▶️ Watch the whole Discovering Mark series Word for the Week videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8_nqRcLJvtdx071icmk19e-5mUt3nilm
CHAPTERS
00:00 Who does Mark say Jesus is in his opening line?
02:52 Why would nobody build a religion around a crucified man?
03:46 Why did the sun go dark at noon when Jesus was crucified?
07:06 What does “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” mean?
10:20 Why did the bystanders think Jesus was calling Elijah?
13:14 Why did Jesus die with a loud cry?
14:17 Why was the temple curtain torn from top to bottom?
17:13 Who was the centurion at the cross?
19:32 Why is the centurion’s confession the climax of Mark’s Gospel?
21:39 Why does Mark save this confession for the cross?
22:35 Why is it a Roman soldier who sees it?
24:12 Was “Son of God” a challenge to Caesar?
26:55 Is anyone too far gone for God?
QUESTIONS THIS VIDEO TACKLES
Can anyone come to God? Yes. When Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom: God himself opened the way. You don’t have to climb up or earn your way in. The first person in Mark’s story to recognise Jesus as Son of God was the soldier who had just crucified him.
Why did darkness cover the land when Jesus died? It could not have been an eclipse, because Passover fell at full moon. Mark links it to Amos 8:9-10: God’s judgement and mourning “for an only son.”
Why did Jesus quote Psalm 22 on the cross? His words are the opening line of Psalm 22. That psalm moves from abandonment to rescue and ends with the nations turning to God.
What does the torn curtain mean? It signals judgement on the old temple and an open way into God’s presence through Jesus’ death.
What did the centurion mean by “Son of God”? In Mark’s story, he is the first human being to confess Jesus as Son of God. In a world where only the emperor carried that title, a Roman officer gave it to a crucified Jew.
INFO RETENTION QUIZ
1. What time did darkness come over the whole land?
A) 9 in the morning
B) Noon
C) 3 in the afternoon
D) Sunset
2. Why could the darkness not have been a solar eclipse?
A) It lasted only a few minutes
B) It happened at night
C) Passover fell at the full moon
D) It was cloudy that day
3. Jesus’ cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” opens which psalm?
A) Psalm 23
B) Psalm 22
C) Psalm 69
D) Psalm 51
4. Who did the bystanders think Jesus was calling?
A) Moses
B) Elijah
C) John the Baptist
D) His Father
5. The temple curtain was torn “from top to bottom.” What does that tell us?
A) It was old and worn
B) The soldiers tore it
C) God did it
D) An earthquake caused it
6. Where else in Mark is the word “torn” used?
A) At Jesus’ baptism, when the heavens were torn open
B) At the feeding of the 5,000
C) In the storm on the lake
D) At Peter’s confession
7. Who is the first human being in Mark’s story to confess Jesus as the Son of God?
A) Peter
B) The high priest
C) A Roman centurion
D) Joseph of Arimathea
8. In the Roman world, who was officially called “son of god”?
A) The governor of Judea
B) The emperor
C) The high priest
D) Any Roman general
Answers
B
C
B
B
C
A
C
B
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