I wonder if you noticed, congregation, as we were singing that song, if your eye drifted down to the bottom of the page and noticed who it was who wrote those words. If I were to say to you to sing the song Amazing Grace, you would know immediately that song. The author of both is the same, John Newton, who surely, because of the life that he lived before, he was brought by regeneration and conversion to be a Christian, surely knew of the grace of salvation and the work Jesus Christ had done for him. And so beloved, we are encouraged and we are helped. Let's open our Bible this morning to Mark chapter 15. As I said in the email, if you receive that, we'll be this morning and this evening in Mark 15. And as I'll mention in the sermon, paying careful attention to the way Mark relays the remembrances of Peter about what it is the Lord Jesus Christ also did for him. And so beloved to Mark chapter 15, this morning, 21 through 26. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, The father of Alexander and Rufus was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it, and they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read, the King of the Jews. This far beloved God's glorious and very helpful word. But let's ask his help by the spirit this morning as we continue, shall we? Let's pray. Most gracious God, we love you and your word. But we know that you love us more and that your love for us is faultless and consistent. And we pray that we would have a consistent and growing love for you and a determination to know you and the ways of Christ in your word. To that end this morning, O Heavenly Father, we do pray, show us Jesus. Strengthen us for these things, enable us by the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, we ask this morning in Jesus' name, amen. Dear congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come close to the bottom now. That is the bottom of Christ's humiliation. The depths have been nearly reached. But as we descend down nearing the bottom, Mark, our guide, slows the rate of descent. I say that in that kind of illustrious, picturesque way that we might imagine a deep sea exploration vehicle coming to the bottom of a deep trench in the ocean. And as it knows it's getting very close, it begins to go slower and slower so that it doesn't reach the bottom too quickly. And as that happens, each detail of the approaching bottom deserves careful attention. So Mark moves slowly. Do you note this, that it will take another 20 verses, and each a fairly long verse in the way Mark has verses, 20 verses will still be used to explain what happens surrounding his death. Paul gets a hold of this in a slight way. We don't have time to go to Philippians chapter two this morning, verses five through eight, but Paul uses those rich theological words in Philippians two to know the descent before then rapidly ascending in chapter two, verse nine of Philippians. That is, beloved, we need our ears and our eyes full of Christ. We need to see what it is that he goes through for us, for our salvation. Do you see him this morning? Devastated for you. Do you see him this morning? Devastated for you. The hope of our salvation is found in Jesus who is devastated, but still Messiah. The hope of our salvation is found in Jesus who is devastated, but still Messiah. We'll notice that first of all, his devastation seen in a Christian brother carrying his cross. And if you're a careful student of the scripture already, you're asking questions about that first point, but be patient. Well, what happens? How have we gotten here? Jesus has been beaten several times. And then he was flogged, which we went into in some detail. I need not repeat too much of it here. But after being flogged, he was finally beaten again, mocked by the company of soldiers who were, the soldiers were gripped by near insanity. And then in verse 20, they led him out to be crucified. As he walks the road, had there been a road sign there, it probably would have read something like dead end. Jesus, like the criminals that Rome punished, was supposed to have carried his own cross, all of it, but he can't. Now when we put the four gospel records together, we see that he carried at least part of it, but the full weight of it is too much for him, and so, He's so devastated that the Roman soldiers grab someone to help him. Now just remember about him, if we can picture the Lord Jesus Christ at this moment in our minds, we know that his flesh is torn, the blood is either dripping or still yet pouring out of his body. If we were him, if I were him, I would be shrieking out in pain. He's been awake more than 24 hours already. He can't carry the full weight of the cross. Now in a certain way, the text sort of presents to us that the soldiers just grabbed somebody. Somebody who is near at hand just happened to be coming in from the country and coming into the city and they just grab hold of him. But the text makes this note for us. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, and then this, the father of Alexander and Rufus. As if the initial reader of Peter's remembrances that Mark jots down would have known Simon and Alexander and Rufus. Is it the same Rufus, by the way, mentioned by Paul in Romans chapter 16? We're not sure. Might have been. But it seems very clear that by the time the first readers of Mark's gospel read this record some time later than these events, of course, a good deal of time later, perhaps, that by then when the readers read this, they say, oh, that's the Simon we know, and we know Alexander, and we know Rufus. They were known men, Christian men by then. Maybe not at the moment that he is tasked to carry the cross, because of the language here, forced to carry the cross. But notice this. If it is true, and I submit to you, I'm convinced that it is, that this Simon and his sons are by the time Mark's first readers get a hold of the gospel are by then Christians. Do you see what's going on here? That it is the case that the one who is going to bear the burden of Simon and Alexander and Rufus has as a helper one who will carry the very instrument used to bear his own sins. It's an amazing thing. He helps to carry the cross upon which Jesus will be crucified. And when Jesus is crucified on the cross, the part of the cross that Simon himself helped to carry is that instrument that is the place at which Jesus will work to accomplish his very salvation. There are no mistakes in the Bible. And so we need to remind ourselves of something this morning. And that is what Paul says when he writes to Timothy, his last letter, 2 Timothy chapter three, the very end of his earthly life. What does Paul say there that we need to remember this morning? All scripture is God-breathed and therefore it is useful for teaching, it is useful for rebuking and correcting and the training in righteousness so that the man of God, the people of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work including beloved. this slow movement to the bottom. Remember that we said that because we're gonna have to remember that several times in this particular sermon and the sermon for tonight because we're moving slowly and all of the details matter because by them God is equipping us. We need to see Christ devastated. unable himself to bear the full weight of the cross. And so Simon is brought in, the father of Alexander and Rufus. We need to see how, in that condition, he is only able to move forward by the help of another. We might even ask the question, does Simon become the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ because of this instant where he is forced to carry the cross by the Roman soldiers? Perhaps, maybe. We can at least say, look at the good that God can do in working out in these details of this gross and vile situation, the glory of his own name and the salvation of sinners. Can we say it another way? There is no shadow in the shadows that are in the valley of the shadow of death, no shadow that is too long nor too dark without the light of salvation can still break through. You might need to remember that 10 years from now or 20 years. You might need to remember that if you're on your deathbed and it seems very dark to remember yet what God can do and the brightness of the gospel and the light of his goodness breaks through. Remember these things. Well, his devastation centered at Calvary. They forced Simon to carry the cross, then verse 22, they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. Capital punishment was carried out beyond the city wall of Jerusalem, outside the city. There's much in the Old Testament about that. The fulfillment of it again is here. We haven't time to get into that part of it now. But the way of suffering and the way Jesus is walking with Simon helping leads them to the place of execution. Mark, again hearing Peter's remembrances. gives us some picturesque detail here. Jesus arrives at the place named Golgotha. This is an Aramaic word transliterated from a Hebrew word which means the place of the skull. Now why that? Well, here experts differ or they have Different ideas, I think probably the most reasonable idea is that the topography, the lay of the land, looks sort of like the hairless, white top of a skull. A barren place. There's not flowers around. There's not beautiful trees. It's not a place you would go to put your chair down to have a nice picnic on the edge of the city. It was a foreboding landscape. It was a place especially resembling a skull. Beloved, then we need to understand it is the place of death, that primarily. The Latin Vulgate, and you would not have expected, perhaps, to have heard that this morning in a sermon, I'll say it again. The Latin Vulgate of the church father Jerome translated the word skull, cranium, to calveria. Now why am I saying that? Because when we think of that place, we normally associate it with the title, the word, the place name, Calvary. And that's where we are. So that when we think of the cross and the place of the cross, it is the place of the skull. Or better put, Calvary is the place of death. This is what Peter wanted the church to know. And he says to Mark, it is the place of death. It is the place of the skull. Notice it again, we're slowly descending. ever slowly by increments, so that what matters here is the place name. Now, if you think about that in terms of the Bible and ask yourself the question, how many place names in the Bible are significant, you would come to a very long list. geographical locations that are for us named in the Bible to represent a significant matter. You could go through a very long list. That is also true more generally in the world. History and the current time that we live in, there are place names that represent significant events. If you think of Gettysburg, you associate that immediately with a particular event in the history of our nation. And of course, we could give all kinds of other illustrations. Well, in the Bible, in God's word, there are dozens and dozens of names of places that are hugely significant. And I think perhaps for us, maybe none more so than Calvary. It is weighty for us. Why? because of what happens here shortly. When we think of that name, Golgotha, Calvary, our hearts ache, but at the same time, our hearts rejoice. Isn't that true of you when you think of the place where the cross is gonna be put into the ground, Jesus upon it? Don't you think of both the ache and the peace? Can we explain why that is the case? with Golgotha? Calvary? We're struck, aren't we, by the power of a name. But I've said to you a moment ago, and we need to remember this, beloved, that it is the name that means death. And by the way, I'll let you sort this out and flesh it out, but I believe, I'm convinced, that the the geographical location, and now if you were to use a GPS device and look from the satellite down and have the coordinates exactly lined out, and you said, well, here's where Golgotha is, here's where Calvary is, I'm convinced that it's the same place God tested Abraham. Mariah, sacrifice your only son, Abraham, give me your son. Isaac was spared there. Jesus, God's own son, will not be spared there. It is the place of death. Yet, beloved, when we think of it, when we hear that name, when singers sing about Calvary, what we think of is life, isn't it? Isn't that an interesting juxtaposition? Isn't that a concussion of two realities? It's both death and life. We say here at the place of the skull is where we were brought to life, really and truly, isn't it? By the terrible price Jesus paid for us here. Here, death will bring life because life requires death because the scripture says that the debt to be paid must be paid and the cost that is owed is blood. Jesus is here, the satisfier to satisfy at the place of death. Well, thirdly, his devastation is magnified when he rejects the narcotic. Then they offered him wine, verse 23, mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Jesus has suffered. Our catechism reminds us that he suffered all the time that he was on earth. I want us to ask if we realize and ask the question, how could it have been otherwise? How could it have been anything other than the fact that Jesus suffered all the time that he was on earth? Why do we say it that way? Because when he's on earth, he's away from glory. I think none of us would ever in the least want any of our loved ones who have gone before us, dying in Jesus Christ, to be forced to come back from that glory to again walk this dark world. We wouldn't want that in the least for them. Yet Jesus comes from glory down to a sin-polluted world. He's attacked by Satan. He's betrayed by his own. He's tormented by the sins of the people who live all around him all the time. Yet all of that suffering comes to its crisis point at Calvary. And especially with what's coming, I'll say it again, we've been saying this now for several sermons, what is coming in verse 34, with what is coming in verse 34, he must keep his head. That is to say he must have his right mind. He must be fully aware of all that is happening to him because he is suffering for us. and dealing with the righteous wrath that will pour out upon him from above, that is, from God. When criminals were crucified in those days, they were offered an elixir, the purpose of which was to dull their senses from the crushing, deadening pain, anguish, and torment, which was crucifixion. Jesus refuses it. He cannot allow for the confusion that the narcotic would cause to have any function in him during his substitutionary suffering. He must endure the full measure, the full extent, the full weight, all of the comprehensive grief and agony and tearing of mind and body, which is crucifixion. In order to make us right with God, he must fully suffer. And it must be both in his body and in his mind. He must remain fully cognizant, aware, completely in control of his faculties. I don't mean to sound flippant, but I'll say this quite bluntly. I don't know about you, but I would never willingly submit to having a cavity filled or a tooth pulled or go through a root canal unless my mouth was first completely numb. Now maybe you're different, I doubt it. We don't deal well with pain. We don't like pain. Pain is an enemy, at least mostly. What our Lord is about to endure physically, emotionally, and spiritually is incomprehensibly worse. We can't even begin to imagine it. When we come again to verse 34, it's gonna be something so deep, the very bottom of the matter will be something that's so black, we cannot see what goes on there, and we'll have to wrestle with it. But emotionally, mentally, we can't imagine. But he knows. Do you remember what he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? Oh, Father, if possible, may this what? May this cup pass from me. He knows. He hasn't gotten to the bottom yet. He hasn't yet fully consumed the cup of the wrath of God, but it's coming and he knows it. And yet he turns away from the opportunity to have his senses dulled, to have the pain somewhat minimized. He says, no, I have only to have my full mind. We need to remember, beloved, how much he suffered. The next time the opportunity and the temptation of sin is before you, will you remember this text? Next time you're tempted by the devil, next time you're tempted with your habits, and next time you're tempted with the easy way, the way that will inevitably bring you into sin, instead of the hard way of obedience, let us remember passages like this. What he endured for us. fully aware at each point when the pain is pressed into him. We'll be at 24 in a moment, but it's said in such succinct, simple language here, and they crucified him. But the act, what was required to be affixed to the wooden cross is inconceivably painful. Jesus descends further into the abyss of agony, fully aware of the whole measure of the suffering that he endured. Christians, for us! He's aware. He knows. He feels the cost. And yet, fourthly, his devastation magnifies his messianic mission. And They crucified him. And then Mark says, dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read, the King of the Jews. They crucified him. Beloved, we have to be careful. We don't want to only think of the physical reality of crucifixion as if that was in some way the full measure or even the worst of what Jesus experienced. I'll say it again. You're getting tired of me saying it. Wait till we get to verse 34 when we come to wrestle with the full measure of what's going on at the cross. And yet, he's dying. Blood loss. Exhaustion is beating on him, and the way he is suspended on the cross will cause asphyxiation. He is slowly suffocating. That's why, by the way, when there was need to hurry up, and hurry along the process of crucifixion, what was done was that a heavy wooden club was taken and their legs were broken, malleted so that the bones would snap and the body would collapse, suffocate. That's what's going on. But do you notice the hardness of wickedness that at the same time this is happening with him, verse 24, The soldiers are asking the question, how much money can we get from him? That's what's going on. The effects, the clothing, two parts of the clothing, his outer and his inner garments, were being divvied up even by the casting of lots so that they could decide which would get the more valuable pieces because afterward these Roman soldiers would have a little bit more to barter with somebody else with, a little bit of money to put in their pocket. Meanwhile, he's suffering and dying and they're worried about getting a little bit of pocket change. But there's more going on here. Here, certain Old Testament passages, especially Psalm 2218, were being lived out. And that's why you have the yellow sheet in your bulletin, which we're going to sing from in a few minutes. We're going to sing the words of the psalm that are being fulfilled as he is there on the cross. but also given the sign above him. And I say this again, beloved, not because I want you to be bored by what I'm saying or think I'm repeating myself, but because it needs to be said that Mark is moving very, very slowly here. Verse 26, because of the words above his head, the king of the Jews, something else is being fulfilled here. And that is Isaiah 53.3. He was despised and rejected by men. Who was? Verse 26. The king. Do you remember that the Pharisees, the religious leaders, said to Pilate, don't put that title. Put something like, well, he claimed to be. Pilate says, what I have written, I have written. The king is being despised and rejected by men. The king right above them, dying. The soldiers despising him have more interest and a little bit of money they can have from the selling of his clothing. But the king, he is fulfilling the scriptures, dying for his subjects. He is the promised Messiah. It cannot be more clear. The one promised, the one previewed, the one prophesied is here. He is above them. He is dying for his people. You see, beloved, what we said when we began that Mark, Peter's recollections is moving very slowly to the descent to the bottom of his devastation, his humiliation, his agony, and soon his death. Every word of it weighs a ton. We are unable to look at each word and say again as if we've never heard it or believed it or said it before, look what Jesus did for me. We're able to look at each of these words, each phrase, the reality of each of these events and say, this is what he has done for me. And because of it, I will be raised up at my death. Because he was brought so low, I will be raised up. Because he died, I will live. Because he descended to the depths to pull me up out of the pit, I will live. I have hope. I have joy in Christ. We can say, my Lord, my Savior, my King, Jesus Christ was all of this done for me. The depths of his devastation, beloved, proving again that he is the promised Messiah. And I would say then to you this morning, dear Christian, do not doubt. Believe. Do not waver. When things are the hardest. Because what he has endured. Far worse than what we will. He did for us. Amen. Most merciful God and Father in heaven, we cannot begin to thank you enough. The whole of our life being lived as an obedient, consecrated Christian is insufficient to even begin to thank and praise you for what it is Jesus Christ has done for us. But yet, Lord, that is what we offer ourselves. We offer ourselves and we pray, oh Lord, that you would receive us as a testimony of praise and thanksgiving for what Jesus Christ has accomplished. May it be so we ask in Jesus name, amen. So congregation, then let's take out that yellow song sheet. Singing. A part of, and especially verse 18 when we come to the sixth stanza of Psalm 22, what it is Jesus did for us on the cross. Let's stand and sing 22A.