History's Darkest Hours

History's Darkest Hours 
Mark 14-15

The term “The Passion of Christ” refers to the time from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane to His death on the cross—the time of His greatest suffering.

The word passion is from the Latin, which simply means “to endure” or “to suffer.”

No moments in history deserve more quiet reflection than the hours of Jesus’ suffering in his Passion Week. The Lord of the universe suffered in pain and agony to bring our hearts to a lifetime of gratefulness. (Martin De Haan)

1. Gethsemane … A Terrible Pain to Face (Mark 14:32-42)

• A Place of Sorrow (14:32-34)
• A Place for Supplication (14:35-38)
• A Place to Surrender (14:39-42)

Jesus suffered great anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane because He assumed the guilt of all our sins with the knowledge that the Father would temporarily turn from Him (J. Oswald Sanders)

2. Calvary … A Tortuous Payment to Furnish (Mark 15:22-26, 37-39)

God is on a cross. The creator of the universe is being executed. Spit and blood are caked to his cheeks and his lips are cracked and swollen. Thorns rip his scalp. His lungs scream with pain. As Jesus hangs on the cross there is no one to save him, for he is sacrificing himself. (Max Lucado)

• A Payment of Ransom

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, ESV)

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6a, ESV)

• A Payment for Redemption

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”  (Ephesians 1:7, ESV)

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed … but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19, NIV)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:23-25, NIV)

• A Payment for Reconciliation

“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10, NIV)

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” (Colossians 1:21-22, NIV)

The costly work of atonement was accomplished by Jesus in six painful hours on the cross. He did not make a down payment and expect us to keep up the installments. Jesus paid it all and paid it in full. (Warren Wiersbe) 

3. Lord’s Table … A Treasured Place for Focus (Mark 14:22-24)

• A Focus Backward – Appreciate what Jesus has done

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

• A Focus Forward – Anticipate Jesus’ return

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV)

• A Focus Inward – Administrate self-examination

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29, NIV)

In one moment, Jesus changed the significance of Passover and the entire sacrificial system forever. The blood of the Passover lamb was the blood of the one eternal Lamb, sufficient to cover the sins of all for all time. (Charles Stanley)

My Next Step Today Is To…

• Become a follower of Jesus Christ by trusting in the sufficiency of the shed blood of Jesus and surrendering my life to Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.
• Publicly identify with Christ as my Lord and Savior by being baptized.
• Become a member of the First Baptist Family.
• As a Christian, ask God to reveal to me any sin in my life, turn from that sin, trusting in Christ’s forgiving blood, and renew my focus to live for Him by His power and grace.