Study 7: The death of Jesus

Bible Overview Study 8: The Death of Jesus

This passage follows on from the second lot of homework reading from week 7 (Mark 14:1-72). It is important that you are familiar both of the passages from the homework as they help make the passage for this study make sense. If your group members have not read it then it would be helpful to quickly read it at the beginning of your meeting.

Review:

In Mark 10:32-34 (the passage from last week) we read that Jesus is on a journey to Jerusalem. He predicts that when he gets there he is going to be condemned by the Jewish authorities to death who will torture him before killing him.

Mark 11:1-33

Jesus arrives at Jerusalem to a lot of fanfare at the beginning of the Passover festival (see words box on the study). Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, deliberately invoking the image of the peaceful arrival of Israel’s true king found in Zechariah 9:9-17. The crowd in response shout out parts of Psalm 118 which was believed in the time of Jesus to be about the coming Messiah.

Jesus’ clearing of the temple and his disruption of its practises are presented by Mark as the definitive reason for why the Jewish leadership wanted to kill Jesus (see 11:18).

Mark 14:1-72

This chapter tells the story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, the last supper and the incidents in the garden of Gethsemane. During the last supper Jesus announces a new covenant. The fact that this happens during the Passover is significant as the festival recounts the time when God liberated Israel from Egypt and made a covenant with them at Mt Sinai (This should sound familiar).

Questions:

Question 1:

This is a question designed to get people to talk about some of the things they think or have heard about why Jesus got killed. This is, in a sense, one of the questions this passage looks at. This should also help you get a gauge of where people are at. If people do not know what they think, you might like to ask them what are some of the things they have heard other people say about why Jesus got killed.

Note:

After the words box there is a brief explanation about why the Jewish leaders had to take Jesus to the Romans to get him executed. Israel was being occupied by the Romans and in the name of order and control forbade the Jews to administer capital punishment.

Question 2 & 3:

Pilate asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews. The significance of this is that the Jewish hopes for a king/messiah were for a military king who would lead a military revolution against the pagan Romans and that God would give them victory. In a sense Pilate is asking: “Are you planning to lead a rebellion against me?”

This is a convenient charge for the Jewish leaders to bring against Jesus, as it is one that carries a death sentence. The irony is that the charge is true, but the reality of Jesus’ kingship is much different from what people were expecting and wanting. Pilate finds it surprising because Jesus does not try to either defend himself or to make threats and insults at him.

Question 4:

According to v.11 the Chief Priests stir up the crowds to first of all release Barabbas (an actual insurrectionist or ‘terrorist’!), and then to condemn Jesus to death by crucifixion. According to v.15 Pilate’s motivation for condemning Jesus to death was to satisfy the crowds. Pilate had a tenuous grip on power and wanted to prevent violent riots in Jerusalem (which was prone to riots), especially during the Passover when the city was full of pilgrims.

Question 5:

This question asks the group to evaluate the treatment of Jesus by the soldiers in vv16-20. They torture him, mock him and treat him cruelly. The irony is that in their mockery of Jesus, the soldiers reveal his true identity as the King of Israel. The unexpected thing is that this is what the true king of Israel is called to do.

Note:

This note explains some of the background to what crucifixion is and why the Romans used it as a form of capital punishment. The jist is that Jesus is dying (so it seems), the death of a failed messiah. He is literally dying in Barabbas’ place. This is ironic, as his death and subsequent resurrection achieve the victory of God over evil that the revolutionaries were trying to achieve with violence.

Question 6, 7 & 8:

There are two things which are important:

1. The curtain is torn in two. This shows the breaking of sin. The true Passover sacrifice has been offered, now all people can come into the presence of the God of Israel. This also offers a judgement on the temple establishment and the high priests; God’s special presence no longer resides in the temple.

2. The Roman declares that Jesus was the “Son of God” (v.39). This is the first time in the gospel of Mark that a human declares this about Jesus. The first person to recognise Jesus as the true king of Israel is a pagan Roman after seeing Jesus die (exactly what the true king of Israel was NOT supposed to do!!!). This is to be held in contrast with both the soldier’s mockery of Jesus(vv.16-20), as well as the sign they fix above his head (v.26).

Note:

This note explains about the importance of the curtain in the temple.

Question 9 and homework:

This is a question for people to ponder. You might like to ask your group to think about it during the week. It asks your group to think through what they think/believe about Jesus death. The homework passages are designed to help this pondering. You might like to explain that the Isaiah passage was written 500-700 years before Jesus and was one of the key pieces of the Jewish scriptures the first Jesus followers used to help explain why Jesus died. The second passage from 1 Peter was written by the same Peter who is mentioned in the studies you have been doing. This passage is one example of how the Isaiah passage is used to explain Jesus death. In this passage Peter is using the example of Jesus to exhort his hearers to be patient in suffering and in doing good.

This is the last study in Mark, as the next two are in Luke/Acts. The reason for this is because of Mark’s abrupt ending at 16:8. For the purposes of these studies it is helpful to look at a longer resurrection narrative where you get to read about the resurrected Jesus.

What do you think of when you hear the name ‘Jesus’?