2.8 Jesus came to serve, but more importantly, he came to die – to give his life This is what distinguishes Jesus from the founder of every other religion. In other religions, the leaders’ purpose was to live, and became an example – someone to emulate Jesus’ purpose was to die and be a sacrifice

The final phrase, “…to give his life as a ransom for many…” is a good summary Jesus was a substitutionary sacrifice The preposition “for” in the phrase “a ransom for many” is significant. In Greek it’s the word anti, which means “instead of” or “in place of” or “substitute” What about “ransom”? In English we rarely use that word except in relationship to kidnapping (getting a ransom note). Here the Greek word for it is lutron, which means “…to buy the freedom of a slave or a prisoner.” A huge sacrifice! Jesus came to pay that kind of ransom. Why? Because he loves you.

The response of James and John demonstrates how difficult it was to grasp what Jesus was about to do They are struggling, as perhaps lots of us do, that we needed this – that we needed someone to pay this penalty for us Our pride usually gets in the way – “I’m not so bad”, we say. That’s what James and John continued to struggle with…and why lots of people today don’t like the image of the cross If Jesus died for them, it means they have something that needs to be made right – and that’s uncomfortable

The term “kiss of death” came into our English vocabulary from this incident Judas seems to be expecting armed resistance The word “rebellion” Jesus used is the same word the Zealots used for their ideas (armed resistance) They don’t get that Jesus is leading a different kind of revolution – ushering in the Kingdom of God. Judas doesn’t get it Peter’s reaction is understandable but Jesus says “No Peter. Not that way.”

Jesus died in mid-afternoon and the Sabbath began at sunset Jewish law permitted no work on the Sabbath – so they couldn’t bury the body that night or the next day Joseph (remember that he is a Pharisee) goes to Pilate hoping to be given permission to get it done ahead of time

In a very short span, Mark writes 3 times the names of women who witnessed these events – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome Scholars tell us this important – the repeated names of the women is intentional…because they were witnesses and this fact is “embarrassing”. Why? Women were not credible witnesses – if Mark was making this up, the last people he would include were women, let alone women that he specifically names (who can be found to corroborate or refute the story)

The Resurrection The disciples had as much difficulty with the idea of a dying and rising Messiah as anyone else Greeks denied any possibility of the dead coming back to life Many Jews believed in a paradise on earth, but not in an individual (especially Messiah) rising from the dead Skeptics have to work around this issue – women as the main witnesses, and the “embarrassing” fact that everyone was surprised at the resurrection – if Mark was writing a legend, he would not have included these stories

So What? If Jesus really rose from the dead, it means the story of the world according to Mark is all true – that Jesus really is the son of God…the true and perfect King; he came to earth to die on the cross – for you Jesus’ death means no (permanent) death for us – his resurrection means our resurrection

If the resurrection is true, this world (Earth) is not the only world Your body, is not the only body you will have Your imperfect life (now) will some day be perfect What people think of you now (to your face, or on more cowardly venues like social media), doesn’t have any eternal consequence The resurrection means we live in the hope of Christ returning again to take those who love him, to be with him And that’s what makes Jesus different