The Trial of Jesus
We only have a few weeks left in our series through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God as recorded by Mark. We started this long series in January, and we are finally to the series of events Mark has been racing us toward all along: the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
As I mentioned at the beginning of last week’s sermon, these are heavy somber texts. We aren’t merely talking about fascinating miracles or interested debates between Jesus and the Pharisees. We’re reading eye-witness accounts of the unjust conviction and gruesome execution of the Son of God who came willingly to live as one of us, show us the Father in ways humanity could not see otherwise, and provide for us a path to redemption and grace. To sit and read these accounts should create a reaction in us that honors the magnitude of what happened that Friday morning nearly two thousand years ago.
But we should be more than emotionally moved by what we read. We should be convicted by the incomprehensibility of a love so deep and true that a sinless man died in order to forgive the sins you and I have committed. We should be humbled by the awareness that the man who died in our place had the power to avoid every excruciating experience he endured that day. And we should be motivated to love Him back in a way that is so true, so faithful, and so sacrificial that the people around us want to know why we would love and serve God that much. To live like that and love like that is no small thing; it will cost us a lot. Jesus taught us that truth, but Jesus also showed us how to do it and how God uses that kind of loving sacrifice to save countless others. And that’s why we’re here.
Mark 14:53-72, The Trial of Jesus
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