Faith at the Cross of Jesus

It is Friday around 3pm Jesus is pronounced dead. The long awaited Messiah who would regather the Jews and restore Israel is hanging on a cross. Didn't He say He was the King of the Jews? Didn't He say the kingdom was at hand? Where is the kingdom? How can a dead King reign?

When all of Jesus followers had denied and deserted Him (Mark 14:50, 14:66-72; Matt 26:55-56), and even the women who supported Him were at a distance (Mark 15:40-41;Luke 23:49), an unexpected person comes forward to insure Jesus' body is properly handled. According to Josephus (writing around 70 AD) this was a common practice

Nay, they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun.

- Jewish War Book 4 Chapter 5.2

This most unlikely person and the last hero of faith presented in Mark (assuming that 16:8 marks the ending of the authentic text) is Joseph of Arimathaea. He is a highly respected/prominent member of the council, which is generally considered to be the Sanhedrin making him a religious leader (Mark 15:43). He is also wealthy (Matt 27:57).

Let's look at what we learn from his faith at the tomb of Jesus. As a religious ruler, Joseph would have been a learned man who studied the Scriptures. He was also regarded as a man who followed the Law (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50) and was waiting for the kingdom of God (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51).

His expectations about the kingdom probably aligned with the Jews of that day. That the Messiah would come, regather the Jews to the land of Israel, restore Israel to prominence, and bring retribution on their enemies. However, something about Jesus has attracted his attention and he starts to follow Him but very covertly becoming a secret disciple of Jesus (Matt 27:57; John 19:38). Certainly he lived and worked among people who were very hostile to Jesus.

On that fateful Thursday Jesus was given a mock trial by the religious leaders and condemned despite the lack of evidence (Mark 14:55,64-65). Here we start to see Joseph have to make a step to becoming a bolder disciple who took a stand for Christ in a hostile environment. Unlike the other religious leaders he did not consent to the plan to kill Jesus (Luke 23:51). That was not the end of the stand that he would have to make that weekend. As Jesus died and with it much of his expectations and theology regarding the kingdom he would have to decide whether Jesus’ body would be properly taken care of. His bold action (Mark 15:43) should be noted for its contrast to the fear in the rest of the discourse presented in Mark (Mark 14:50, 68, 15:40, 16:8).

Going before all of his council members, countrymen, and the Roman government, Joseph asked for the body of Jesus. Mark portrays the hostility of the people around the cross - they were mocking and spitting at Jesus (Mark 15:29-32), so it is not unlikely that Joseph bore similar treatment as he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a linen cloth (Mark 15:46). Then he took the wrapped body and laid it in a tomb and rolled a stone in front of it. From the other accounts we see that it was his tomb (Matt 27:60) and he likely had the help of another council member, Nicodemus (John 19:39).

We can see on that day that Joseph went from covert discipleship to having an active bold faith (the major theme of Mark's gospel).

• He was no longer ashamed of Jesus (Mark 8:38)
• He was willing to deny himself (Mark 8:34) – his action would likely cost him his high regard (reputation) and his position on the council (work). It also likely made him an outcast among other Jews (friends).
• He was looking forward to the kingdom of God, but was willing to repent (Mark 1:15) – that is he changed his mind about what he thought regarding the timing of the kingdom, the work of the Messiah/King, and how one could enter the kingdom.

 Joseph of Arimathaea had a faith that follows Jesus. May we have that faith as well.

Faith and Signs. a lesson from the Cross in Mark

What is faith? Many define faith as "blind trust" or irrational beliefs:

[Faith] means blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence. ... The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry. Blind faith can justify anything. (Dawkins, the Selfish Gene, 198)

Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence (Dawkins)

Is faith really blind? Does faith require us to give up rational thinking? I don't think this is the case. I believe that the Scriptures encourage us to investigate facts and provide reasons for our faith (1 Pet 3:15). The problem is most people will not trust God no matter how much evidence they are given. Consider two responses to Jesus on the cross in the Gospel of Mark.

After a mock trial in which no criminal charges or corroborating witnesses could be found and no wrong could be named (14:55-63; 15:12-14) Jesus was charged with being the King of the Jews. He was crucified Friday morning at around 9am. After 3 hours on the cross darkness came in the middle of the day and 3 hours after that, at 3 pm Jesus died. On that day there were several different groups of individuals that witnessed the event and responded. We will look at two groups - the crowd and the centurion.

The crowd (Mark 15:29-37)
The religious leaders, the crowd, and the thieves are all witnesses to Jesus' crucifixion. As Jesus hung on the cross they came and spit on him, mocked him, and ridiculed Him. They challenged Jesus to prove that He was the Messiah.

• (15:30,32) Come down from the cross!
• (15:31) Save yourself!
• (15:36) Let’s see if Elijah will save Him!

This group were asking for more evidence so that they could "see and believe" (Mk 15:32). They were not going to accept blind faith, they wanted proof! However their a priori convictions (the Messiah would come as King and reunite Israel) and their derisive attitude demonstrate that they were not making an honest inquiry. In fact this group had already been given many signs. The religious leaders had seen Jesus' miracles (Mk 2:1-3:6) and rejecting them declaring they were from Satan (Mk 3:22). The crowd had also witnessed many signs including many healings, exorcisms, and the feeding of 5000 (Mk 6:33-34). Refusing to believe "even in the teeth of evidence" they demanded even more signs (Mk 8:11-13).

The centurion (Mark 15:39)
The antagonists were hostile and demanded proof from Jesus.  The centurion however started off that Friday just doing his job. He had to oversee the scourging and crucifixion of three people that day. It was his responsibility to make sure that all three condemned men actually died (Mk 15:44-45). Jesus was just another convict that had to die. But that was not how the day ended.

Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

The centurion did not demand signs but he did observe what God chose to reveal that day, evaluated the evidence, and accepted that as testimony that Jesus was the Son of God.

What did the centurion see that convinced him?
As a Roman soldier he would not have much background in the teaching of the Scriptures. He may or may not have heard of Jesus' ministry and miracles and he probably witnessed Jesus' trial. We can say with certainly that he saw the darkness in the middle of the day and would have heard all of the things that Jesus did and said while on the cross – though Mark records almost none.

All these likely contributed to his faith that day. But the text says that what convinced Him as he stood in front of Jesus was how Jesus died. Most crucified victims took long hours and days to die on the cross (that is why the thieves legs had to be broken and Pilate is surprised how quickly Jesus died) but there must have been something else that was different in how Jesus died. Something besides His quick death that caught the attention of a man who had witnessed many deaths on the cross. He had heard the curses and insults that men in pain screamed at him and contrasted that with Jesus looking over at him and saying "I forgive you". He saw men struggle to breathe and hold on to life until they collapsed. But that day he saw Jesus give His life. He realized that when Jesus died it was His giving not the cross taking His life.

What ever convinced the centurion that day, he left that day convinced that Jesus was the Son of God. Would that have been enough evidence for you? While we are told walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), we must remember that God does not expect blind faith but honest seekers that investigate the evidence that God does provide and think it through. That is what the centurion did that day.