The Gospel Of Mark Bible Study Lesson 86

The Gospel Of Mark Bible Study Lesson 86:

This week’s Bible Study of Mark’s Gospel will again include questions for you to answer. Once you finish the lesson on your own. You can look at my answers. Anytime you do Bible study ask yourself these 3 questions:

3 questions:

·        What is this passage about?

·        What do I learn from this passage?

·        How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

Scripture to meditate on before you do this week’s Bible study:

Philippians 2:8 NIV 
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

John 15:10 NIV
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

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This Week’s Bible passage from the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 15:24-32

Read the passages below:

Mark 15:24-32 NIV

²⁴And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

    ²⁵It was the third hour when they crucified him. ²⁶The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁷They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.^{[a] 29}Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰come down from the cross and save yourself!"

    ³¹In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! ³²Let this Christ,^[b] this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Luke 23:32-43 NIV

    ³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."^[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

    ³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

    ³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

    ³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

    ³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

    ⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

    ⁴²Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[b]"

    ⁴³Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

 

Scripture Links:  

Matthew 27:35-44  /  Luke 23:32-43  /  John 19:17-24 

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Answer the questions below:

1.   Content:  What is this passage about?

·        Who are the people if any?  

  

·        What are they doing?         

                                 

·        Where does this take place? 

·        When does this take place? 

2.   Lesson:   What do I learn from this passage?

·        Is there a warning, command or promise?

·        Is there an example to follow or not to follow?

·        What is/are the main truth/truths of this passage?  

·        Is there a lesson or principle that is a universal truth?

·        Why did God put this passage in the Bible?

What does the passage reveal about the character of God?

·        His Attributes/Characteristics (ex. loving, caring, Holy, Merciful etc.):

·        His ways of relating/Communicating to people:

·        His emotions:

·        His views:

·        Reasons for us to love God more:  

3.  Application:  How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        Can you think of a current situation in your personal life, home life, 

          Church, or business which is similar to what you are learning?

·        How can I apply what I am learning to my current circumstances?

·        Are there specific things in to which to pray about?

·        Is there a new thought to me? An encouraging thought?  

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Here is my layout for: Mark 15:24-32

1.    Content: What is this passage about?

·        Jesus was crucified between two robbers, refused to save Himself, while those in attendance cast lots for His clothing, mocked and insulted Him.

Who are the people if any?

·        Jesus, two criminals, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, Roman soldiers.

    What are they doing?

·        Jesus along with two criminals are crucified.

Where does this take place?

·        Golgotha.

Golgotha: “The Place of the Skull” is the biblical name for the place

                  where Jesus was crucified.

When does this take place?

·        During the time of the Passover.

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2.    Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        Obedience to the will of God may result in physical suffering, insults, mockery or even death.

Is there a warning, command or promise?

·        From the Luke passage Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus clearly understood the futile thinking and foolishness of mankind and asked God to forgive them.  Forgiveness is available to everyone but not everyone asks for it. Many people either do not see the sin in their lives or desire to repent in view of their sin. By asking God to forgive those who crucified Him, Jesus is acknowledging that His upcoming death on the cross actually fulfills a greater purpose. That greater purpose is to provide everyone an opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus’ work on the cross. This choice was open even to the ones who crucified Him. Forgiveness is the result of God’s choice to extend His grace to mankind through His desire to re-establish a personal relationship with them.  The Cross represents the way in which God went about this reconciliation.

Romans 1:20-23 NIV

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

    For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Romans 5:19 NIV

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

·        Passersby are mocking Jesus while He was hanging crucified to the cross. They referred to Jesus’ statement that He was going to destroy the temple and raise it again in three days. In essence they were saying to Jesus: You who claim to be God, use your power to come down off the cross and save Yourself. Jesus actually made this statement about the resurrection during the time He cleared the Temple of the money changers.

John 2:19-21 NIV

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

Jesus meant: When I die, the temple dies. When I am destroyed, the temple is destroyed. This whole system—all these sacrifices, all this blood flowing to make atonement for sins, all this priestly activity surrounding the holy place where God's presence dwells—it all ends when I die. You destroy me and in dying I destroy the temple.

Symbolic of this is when the curtain in the temple tore in two as Jesus died. It was a token of destruction. The walls were coming down. Jesus himself was taking the place of everything in the temple.

Matthew 27:50-53 NIV

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.  The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

The above passage describes a supernatural event where Jesus death on the cross changes forever the relationship between God and man. Those who are followers of Jesus are no longer under God’s wrath but are set free from the sting of death. Those who were considered Holy people were raised to life at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross. This resurrection was evidence that Jesus defeated death and is symbolic for those awaiting Jesus’ return to have confidence that the work on the cross was a reality.

Is there an example to follow or not to follow?

·        Passersby hurled insults at Jesus. Many people take Jesus’ name in vain by using it in an empty, frivolous and insincere way.  We need to be careful not to demean our Lord. Our lives should be examples for others to follow. Our words should honor the One who gave His life for us. The Lord has something to say about taking His name in vain:

Leviticus 19:12 NIV

Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

Deuteronomy 5:11 NIV

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

          

·        If you are currently using the Lord’s name in vain, the above passage is a good reason to stop.

·        The teachers of the law and the chief priests mock Jesus as well as tempt Him to come down off the cross. They wanted to see a demonstration of Jesus’ power and authority declaring that they would believe and receive Him by faith if He was able to save Himself.  In contrast we are live by faith not by sight.

Romans 1:17 NIV 
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." 

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV 
We live by faith, not by sight.

What are the main points in this passage?

·        Jesus along with two criminals are crucified.

·        The Roman soldiers divided up his clothes, and cast lots to see what each would get.

·        Passersby hurled insults at Jesus.

·        Jesus was mocked by the teachers of the law and the chief priests.

·        The Jewish leaders were trying to get Jesus to demonstrate His power by enticing Him to come down off the cross. 

·        Jesus would not relent to the temptation to save Himself.

  

 Is there a lesson or principle that is a universal truth?

·        The events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion were foretold in the Bible.

Psalm 22:18 NIV

They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Psalm 22:16 NIV

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.

Isaiah 53:12 NIV

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 22:6-8 NIV

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

"He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."

·        From the Luke passage one of the criminals has a change of heart and acknowledges his sin. He acknowledges Jesus Lordship and asks Jesus to remember him. In the same way when we repent from our sin, acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior, and ask Him to come into our lives, we are saved. The criminal was told by Jesus that He would be with Him in paradise. Followers of Jesus understand that when they die they will spend their eternity in heaven. There are many opinions on what happens at the exact time when we die.  But we do know that when we die, our souls will first have to face God Himself. We will stand before God and be judged.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

·        Consider the way in which we choose to live. Our own lives will judge us. Did we choose to follow his son? Did we have our faith in the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus, and act on that faith? In this life the door to heaven is open to us all. It is our choice if we want to enter it or not. But to enter it, we have to choose to follow Jesus! Not just believe in Him like so many think, but to have faith in him. To strive to be closer to him. To actually be sorry when we sin against him. To understand that without Him we are still under God’s wrath. And that there is no work that we can do on our own to save ourselves. No matter how good we may think we are the Bible says there is no one righteous not even one. We must ultimately acknowledge that we need a Savior.

Romans 3:10 NIV 
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

So we know we will be judged for all that we have done during our lives here on earth. But the important thing to remember is that we are not condemned by what we have or have not accomplished. We will not rise or fall based on how righteous we are and how much we tipped the balance scales in our favor. If this were true we would all perish because the law would ultimately convict us. We will be judged through the righteous works of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 3:21-24 NIV

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Like the criminal who was told by Jesus that he would be with Him in paradise, we as followers of Jesus, also know we have a place prepared for us in heaven. This is a promise from Jesus:

John 14:1-4 NIV

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

Jesus says that He will come back for us. And when he does we will be changed and given our resurrection bodies. It is also believed this will happen during His second coming.

To understand what happens after we die, let’s take a look at the Transfiguration. We notice that Moses who had been long dead and buried, was with God and Elijah on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured (God’s verification of Jesus as His Son, the Messiah… see Mark 9:2-13). So Moses was in the presence of God even though he had long been dead and buried. I believe when we die our spirit we will be in God’s presence as well. We will receive our resurrection bodies when Jesus returns.

Ecclesiastes 12: 7 NIV

and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

The above passage confirms that when we die our bodies turn to dust and our spirit returns to God.

When Jesus returns we will be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 NIV

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

But the most significant thing to remember is that we need to have a saving relationship with Jesus. With our confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone and all that he accomplished on the Cross to save us, we are now adopted into God’s family, and have eternal life based on that belief.

Romans 10:9-10 NIV

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:13 NIV

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Why did God put this passage in the Bible?

·        To show us that Jesus would not give in to temptation even though He had the power to change His circumstances.

·        To show us Jesus fulfilled what was written about the Messiah.

What does the passage reveal about the character of : God/Jesus?

A.   His attributes: 

·        King Of The Jews, Messiah, The Christ, The King Of Israel

     B. His ways of relating/communicating to people:     

·        Through His spoken word and the truth He imparted to those who became His disciples as well as to those who became His executioners.

     C. His emotions:

·        Jesus was beaten, insulted and mocked, yet His heart was centered on forgiveness and saving people from their sins.

D. His views:

·        Those who receive Him as their Savior will have eternal life.

·        Jesus would suffer and die on the cross for our salvation. He then would be resurrected as a way to prove the power and authority of God’s Word.

     E. Reasons for us to love Him more:  

·        Jesus has prepared a home for those who believe and receive Him as the Messiah.

John 14:2-3 NIV

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am

 3.  Application:  How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        How do I respond to insults and mocking?

·        Whom am I hurting further by assuming that their God imposed suffering is due to their sin or weakness?

·        Am I demanding that Jesus do something spectacular before I will believe Him?

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My prayer for you:

I pray you will take God’s Word to heart and ask God to help you apply what you have learned. I hope and pray that this Bible Study helps you grow spiritually by deepening your faith, trust and love for God.

Jesus declared that if we seek God, he will provide everything we need to live the abundant life, providing for us physically and spiritually:

Matthew 6:32-33  Living Bible (TLB)

 “So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.

John 10:10 English Standard Version (ESV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Philippians 4:19 New Living Translation (NLT)

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

John 14:26 (NIV)

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Also, remember the importance and impact of embracing of God’s Word in light of how we are to be God’s Ambassadors and Teachers, as well as to live abundantly in a fallen world:

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:105 (ESV)   

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

John 8:31-32  (NIV)

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Daily Application ideas:

·        Pray! Ask God to help you understand the passage of scripture you are

          reading.

·        Pray! Ask God to help you apply what you are learning.

·        Write down your thoughts and prayers. Seek to understand what God is

          trying to teach you.

·        Begin to make changes in your patterns of behavior in accordance to 

          God’s teaching.

·        Act on God’s answer to prayer.

·        Put God first in your life in every area of your life 

         (Marriage, Parenting, Ministry, Work etc.).

·        Be determined to make quality & quantity time for God in your life

           (ex. Quiet time, prayer time, Bible reading/study).

Helpful Hints for this Bible Study:

·        Not everything we read will contain enough info to answer all the questions.

·        Other questions may come to mind as you read.

·        The questions are just helpful guidelines.

·        Following the reading of the passage of scripture take a moment to write

          down your thoughts.

·        After you have asked yourself the above Template questions, answer the

          questions specifically. 

·        Refer back to above questions when you need to.

·        Then concentrate on a couple of things that are meaningful to you

          personally. 

·        Then go to the application section.

·        Think through the application questions and journal your thoughts and

          prayers.

Just Sayin……………..Dave