Mark 15:21-41: 21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ 27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. 33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ 40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

Even though we’re coming upon Christmas, our scripture reading today is not the beginning of the story of the Messiah, but the end. So we focus today on the crucifixion.

If you compare the four gospel accounts, for the most part they include the same details when telling the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, yet they each have some special differences. For instance, the last words spoken by Jesus in Matthew’s and Mark’s telling is “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” In Luke it is “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and in John Jesus’ final words are “it is finished.” John’s telling leaves out a bunch of details found in all the other three gospels such as Simon of Cyrene, the one who carried the cross, the offering of wine mixed with myrrh, a painkiller offered before pounding nails through the body, which Jesus refused, the mockery from the sidelines, the darkness, the curtain ripping or the Centurian’s utterance that “truly, this man was God’s Son.”

One thing all four gospels accounts have in common is the attention they give to the actual act of crucifying Jesus. Or perhaps, I should say lack of attention. Amazingly, none of the gospel writers record the details of the crucifixion. Perhaps because everyone in the first century fully understood the horror of crucifixion such that these four words were enough: “then they crucified Him.” These four words sum up the humiliation of being stripped naked for crucifixion. These four words bring to mind being forced down on rough wooden beams and sum up the agony as the hands were placed on the crossbeam and driven into the wood by large iron nails. These four words describe Jesus being lifted up on that cross and being put into place, on public display outside the city walls, in the place of the skull, the place of a slow and painful death.

Everyone of the first century understood that the cross was so cruel that the Romans refused to allow their own citizens to be crucified, regardless of what the person had done. Cicero called crucifixion “a most cruel and disgusting punishment.” First century Romans were no pacifists and if the Romans considered it an abomination, then consider how horrible it truly was in light of all the abominations the Romans did tolerate!

The cross was even more offensive to the Jews. Certainly a crucifixion was unclean, but even more so the Jews understood someone who was hung on a tree or crucified to be abandoned by God. This is also the reason why the crucifixions were not allowed to take place inside the city – the place of the temple and God’s people. To the Romans and Jews crucifixion was an scandal.

By contrast, the cross of Jesus sounds so familiar to our ears, that we are in danger of forgetting just how dreadful, how horrific, how offensive, it was. We make crosses of brass as ornaments. We wear the cross as jewelry. I remember when I was in Kenya the summer after graduating from college and we were showing the Jesus film in different remote areas. For many this was the first film they’d ever seen. We went to different areas for four days, showing the first half of the film on night one, the second half on night two, and the film all the way through on the third night. The word would spread after the first night and each night we’d have more and more people sitting on the ground around our big portable screen. I will never forget the reaction to the crucifixion scene in that first community. The audience gasped as Jesus was nailed to the cross and audibly wept at the sight of the crucifixion. And it was the same in every village we went to throughout the summer. These village viewers had not been dulled to the horror of the cross. If we weren’t dulled to the horror of the cross, in effect, the cross of the first century would carry the same offense as an electric chair of our day, or even more so, a hangman's noose – which like the cross is a symbol of shameful execution. Mel Gibson’s movie very graphically communicated the horror of the cross. Yet, when we wear a cross or display it perhaps we’re not thinking of the torture and the screaming of death on a cross.

Even if the cross does not necessarily stir up the same images or feelings as a hangman’s noose, the cross continues to be offensive but at a deeper level. The real offense is not so much in the cross as a symbol of a tortuous and shameful death, but as the place where God suffered and died for our sakes. A place where in God’s losing his life, he saved ours. The offense of the cross cuts to the depth of our idea of human potential, because the cross is the message that righteousness - obeying the law - is useless for obtaining salvation. Paul speaks of the offense of the cross in Galatians where he has been accused of preaching circumcision – the law. He responds by saying “this is a lie created by agitators because if I were to preach circumcision then there goes the offense of the cross.” The offense of the cross is that we don't need to mess with these things, these laws and formulas for faith, because we don't save ourselves. In fact, we can't save ourselves. The offense of the cross is its affront to our dignity and pride - our good deeds aren't necessary. We are asked to receive the gift of grace which frees us to simply serve God as a result of His compelling love. Do you understand how offensive this is to contemporary folk? People want rules to follow. They want formulas. They want control. They want to know who’s saved and not saved. They want to keep score. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked "What must I do to inherit eternal life" Jesus did not give him a prayer to pray. He didn't give him a formula to follow. Instead He told Him to obey God. To which the man replied that he was doing so. But Jesus pointed to an area of His life that was more important to him than the Father. He said, "Sell all you have and then come follow me." And the man could not . . . he would not do this. He wanted salvation on His terms. He wanted a salvation that would not interfere with his lifestyle. He wanted a salvation that would not change him. There is no such thing.

These few four words, “then they crucified him,” say so much. The simplicity of the words communicate the simplicity of the message: There is nothing you can do to secure your salvation. Your righteousness has been won by God has chosen to save you through grace and the folly of the cross.

-René Johnson

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