Jesus' death for our sin (Mark 15:20b-41)

November 12, 2025Key verse 15:39,        “But the centurion who stood by, facing him, and saw that he was dying like this, said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God.’” The death of a person usually means great sadness, especially when a loving person like his mother or his wife or husband dies. But there is the death of a person who brings us great joy. This is the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus' death on the cross is the most joyful news for us, for he saved us from sin and hell and gave us eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we want to know what his death means to us and gratefully accept the Good News. I pray that everyone will embrace the meaning of Jesus' death for themselves and experience great joy. 1. Jesus' Crucifixion (20b-32) Verses 20b-21 read, „And they brought him out, that they crucified him. And they forced one who passed by, named Simon of Cyrene, who came from the field, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear him the cross.“ A man named Simon of Cyrene wanted to watch Jesus' procession on the cross. He was curious and just wanted to watch. Jesus dragged his cross and wanted to follow the soldiers. But under the weight of the cross, he collapsed before Simon. They say, „There were 30,000 spectators at the Ruhrstadion in Bochum, and a player's ball hit me of all people.“ This is exactly what happened to Simon of Cyrene: the soldiers forced him to carry the cross after Jesus. Simon had to carry Jesus' cross to Golgotha against his will. At that moment he must have been very angry with the Romans and also with the condemned man whose cross he had to carry. Once on Calvary, he stayed there and watched Jesus being crucified and behaving on the cross. Mark commented at this point, “And the passers-by blasphemed him and shook their heads and said. Likewise, the chief priests mocked him among themselves, along with the scribes, ‘He has helped others and cannot help himself, so now he ascends from the cross so that we may see and believe’” (31.32). The chief priests and scribes laughed at Jesus and claimed that Jesus helped others but could not help himself. But through their mockery the scriptural words of Psalm 22:7,8 concerning Christ were fulfilled, “But I am a worm and not a man, a mockery of people and despised by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, opens their mouths, and shakes their heads.” Their mockery meant a great temptation for Jesus. They suggested that he should descend from the cross to prove himself as Christ. Then they could supposedly see him and believe in him as Christ. According to the logic of the tempters, by descending from the cross, Jesus could not only have spared himself the terrible torment of death, but also led all onlookers to faith immediately. That would have impressed everyone. The tempter's hidden intention was to bring the doubts about his Christianity into the heart of Jesus.  The devil had already tested Jesus similarly at the beginning of his ministry by placing him on the high battlements of the temple and saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written: <He will command his angels for your sake; and they will carry you on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone>” (Mt. 4.6). But Jesus did not address the temptation of the devil at all. He absolutely believed in God's Word and His love. He did not try in the slightest to prove himself as Christ. He believed absolutely in God's Word, with no visible evidence that he had heard at his baptism by John the Baptist: “You are my dear son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3.17). Although the tempter enticed him to miraculously achieve quick success and to persuade many people to believe, he was not deterred by his ordeal. He endured all the torments of death and died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. For he wanted to save us from our sin. Praise be to Jesus, for he did not save himself because he wanted to save us from eternal damnation.  2. Jesus' Death (33-41) Verse 33 tells us of darkness as a sign of Jesus' impending death: “And at the sixth hour there came darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”Darkness in the Bible often symbolizes the wrath of God (Jesus). 5.30). A gloomy solar eclipse covered the entire country from 12 to 3 a.m. “And in the ninth hour (i.e. afternoon 3 o'clock) Jesus cried out loudly: <Eli, Eli, lama asabtani?>, which translates as: <My God, my God, why did you leave me?>” (34).Jesus cried out on the cross: „Eli, Eli, lama absabtani?“ This cry of Jesus means that Jesus' death on the cross was not only an agonizing death, but also that he was abandoned by God. For the essence of sin is that people leave God. When a person leaves God, God must punish him, and God's punishment is to leave the person. The man abandoned by God ends up in hell and stays there forever. Jesus took all human sins upon himself, was punished by God, abandoned by God, and went to hell. That's why Jesus cried out at the moment of his death “Eli, Eli, lama absabtani?”Therefore, the Apostles' Creed states, “…suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died and buried, descended into the realm of death…” Since Jesus Christ has taken upon himself all of God's punishment for our sins, we can receive forgiveness and God's kingdom if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful grace from God. The prophet Isaiah had already predicted the forgiveness of the sins of Jesus Christ around 700 BC, “But he is wounded for our iniquity and crushed for our sin. The punishment is upon him, that we may have peace, and by his wounds we are healed” (Jes. 53.5). Why did God have to punish Jesus for our sin in our place? – Because there was no other way to save us from our sin. People try to get rid of their sins in a variety of ways. Some try to forget their sins or suppress their feelings of guilt. Others try to talk their way out of it by blaming other people or the situation for their sins. Still others try to overcome their feelings of guilt through medication or psychiatric therapy. Or claim that there is no sin and no divine damnation. Some try elegantly: they list what good they have done for God or other people and try to believe that God would forgive their sins because of their many good deeds. But all these attempts are in vain. All people must receive God's just punishment for their sin. God had only one way to free us from the punishment for our sin. He has cast all our sins on Jesus Christ and punished him in our place. Since Jesus has already received all the divine punishment for our sin, we can receive forgiveness if we only confess our sin before God and believe in Jesus' sacrificial death. Therefore, the apostle John says in his first letter 1:7b-9, “The blood of Jesus, His Son, makes us pure from all sin. When we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” No matter how bad our sin may be, God forgives us when we confess it and believe in Jesus. This had only become possible because God had sacrificed his Son Jesus Christ out of love for us. When God forgives us our sins, He also warmly welcomes us as His children and gives us eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. We can then call on God „Daddy, my dear Daddy“ and come to him at any time. The crucifixion of Jesus is therefore the best proof of God's love for us, as God's Word says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that all who believe in him would not be lost but would have eternal life.” When Jesus said on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, some who stood beside said, “ Because Jesus called this in Hebrew, some said Jesus was calling Elijah. So Jesus died on the cross. Verse 38 reports: “The curtain in the temple tore into two pieces from top to bottom.” The tearing of the temple curtain symbolizes that access to God through Jesus' sacrificial death is open to all people. For in the past, only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies of the Temple once a year with the blood of the sacrificial lamb and pray for forgiveness of the people's sins. Now Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial lamb of God once and for all for our sins. Therefore, every person can meet God personally at any time and have fellowship with God without a human mediator. Therefore, Jesus is called Immanuel, that is “God with us”. Through faith in Jesus Christ we can be with God. The centurion who was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus saw that Jesus died like this and confessed: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (39). He had been present at Pilate's’ interrogation of Jesus so that he could hear the accusations against Jesus and his response. He then led Jesus to Calvary and had him crucified there. He calmly observed Jesus' behavior. This led him to believe that Jesus was truly God's abode. He now confessed that Jesus was truly God's Son. When we get to know Jesus without prejudice, we come to believe that Jesus is God's Son and Christ. We then become God's children, and we have eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. Amen!