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Christian Network

 
 What If Jesus Refused?
A Message for Good Friday
Mark 15:21-39
  

Mark 15:21 through Mark 15:39 (KJV)
21And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the 
country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
22And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The 
place of a skull. 23And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he 
received it not. 24And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, 
casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25And it was the third hour, 
and they crucified him. 26And the superscription of his accusation was written 
over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on 
his right hand, and the other on his left. 28And the scripture was fulfilled, 
which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. 29And they that passed 
by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the 
temple, and buildest it in three days, 30Save thyself, and come down from the 
cross. 31Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the 
scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32Let Christ the King of 
Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that 
were crucified with him reviled him.
33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until 
the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me? 35And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, 
said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36And one ran and filled a sponge full of 
vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us 
see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37And Jesus cried with a loud 
voice, and gave up the ghost. 38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain 
from the top to the bottom. 39And when the centurion, which stood over against 
him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man 
was the Son of God.
 
 
One of the most heart wrenching, and emotionally touching scenes during the week 
of our Lord’s passion is to be found in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus 
agrees to be bound by God’s will.
 

Mark 14:36 (KJV)
36And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this 
cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
 
What if Jesus had refused?  What if he had, as the song says, “Called down ten 
thousand angels?”  It is really a moot point, as we know from history, and from 
God’s very Word that Jesus did not refuse, indeed he followed that path all the 
way to His death.  
 
When Lincoln's body was brought from Washington to Illinois, it passed through 
Albany and it was carried through the street. They say a black woman stood upon 
the curb and lifted her little son as far as she could reach above the heads of 
the crowd and was heard to say to him, "Take a long look, honey. He died for 
you". So, if I could, I would lift up your spirit to see Calvary. Take a long 
look, He died for you.
·      Knowing Christ, Craig Glickman, p. 89, 7 words from the cross 
 
Jesus had the ability, the authority to stop the drama that was unfolding yet he 
did not.  Today is Good Friday, the day that marks Christ’s death on the cross.  
An important day, not because Christ is dead, but because through that death we 
are able to have the reality of a resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Jesus did refuse to do some things however.  It was these things that Christ 
refused that will allow us the opportunity to catch the spirit that motivated 
Him to give His own life on Calvary.
He Refused to be Helped so We Could be Helped by God (vv. 21-27)
Christ was not some weak-kneed coward on his way to a criminal’s demise.  He was 
still the all-powerful Son of God.  Often in Easter presentations we see a 
picture of our Lord, badly beaten, unable to carry his own cross.  I’m not so 
sure that’s exactly the picture we should be getting.  Jesus was still the King 
of Kings, and the Lord of Lord’s and we must be careful in our speculations lest 
we take away from his grandeur.  I want you to notice something in verses 21-27. 
 Notice who is the subject of each of these verses.  Not Christ!  It was “They” 
who compelled Simon to carry the cross.  It was “They” who offered him an 
anesthetic; it was “They” who brought Christ to Golgotha.  He could have stopped 
it at any moment.  He could have changed things dramatically, but he refused so 
that God could help us.  He refused so that we could be saved.
The journey to the cross was full of many ironies.  An ethnic Jew whose own 
agenda was interrupted helped him.  (V. 21)  Simon was in Jerusalem, not to see 
the Messiah crucified, but to attend the festival with his two young sons.  He 
was offered a narcotic to dull the pain, yet contrary to expectations he refused 
to take it. (V. 23)  While he was giving His life to save the world, the worldly 
were gambling over who would get his garments.  (V. 24)  His “offence” was to be 
the King.  A charge that was more true than they could ever imagine.  He was 
crucified between two thieves.  The very sort of people He ministered too, and 
associated with in love.  
He could have stopped it all, but he refused to be helped.
 
He Refused to Save Himself In Order That We Might Be Saved  (Vv 25-32)
The thief had nails through both hands, so that he could not work; and a nail 
through each foot, so that he could not run errands for the Lord; he could not 
lift a hand or a foot toward his salvation, and yet Christ offered him the gift 
of God; and he took it. Christ threw him a passport, and took him into Paradise. 

·        D. L. Moody, "Day by Day with D.L Moody," Moody Press
Our salvation is a wonderful gift which was given to us by Christ.  The crowds 
and passer Byers unwittingly told the truth of the Gospel in their unrelenting 
taunts.

Mark 15:29 through Mark 15:32 (KJV)
29And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, 
thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30Save thyself, 
and come down from the cross. 31Likewise also the chief priests mocking said 
among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 
32Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and 
believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
They cried out for Him to save Himself, yet the irony of this is to be found in 
the fact that Jesus refused to save Himself in order that WE might be saved.  It 
was through His beautiful gift that we are able to have the possibilities of 
salvation we have today.
He Refused to Forsake Us Even as He Was Forsaken By God.  (vv. 33-36)
For family devotions, Martin Luther once read the account of Abraham offering 
Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His wife, Katie, said, "I do not believe it. 
God would not have treated his son like that!" "But, Katie," Luther replied, "He 
did." 
·        The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 191



Mark 15:33 through Mark 15:34 (KJV)
33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until 
the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me?
From this passage it seems as even nature itself could sense the enormity of 
what was taking place.  It was dark in the whole land from about noon until 3 
pm.    Preachers of old would have said that God turned his back on His own Son. 
 What a dark picture indeed.   Yet in the midst of all of the agony that our 
Lord was being put through He did not forsake us.
 

Luke 23:33 through Luke 23:34 (KJV)
33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they 
crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the 
left. 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. 
And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
While chronologically this occurred prior to the darkness, I cannot help but 
believe Christ’s thoughts on this remained the same.  
He Refused To Live So We Could Live (vv. 37-39)
We often talk of the Jews, or even the Roman government, being responsible for 
the murder of Christ.  The truth of the matter is that Christ was not murdered.  
He gave up His life willingly.  He offered Himself as a sacrifice to take our 
place.
Christ died.  That’s an undisputed fact.  A man called Jesus was put to death on 
a cross.  Many critics have said that He really didn’t die, he was just in a 
coma in the tomb and when He woke up He left.  This is a preposterous claim.  
Christ , the Son of God, died.  In John 19:30 He proclaimed “It is finished!”  
His work here on earth was completed.
Even the Roman Centurion gave notice to the reality of what happened.
Mark 15:39 (KJV)
39And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried 
out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.  
 
The refusal of Christ to continue living gave us the victory we now have.

Rev. Charles Mims    
Copyright ©2000 by Claim The Victory Ministries
South Peninsula Baptist Church
Daytona Beach, FL