Week 2: What Jesus Came to Do

¹Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord’s power revealed through him? ²He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ³He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. ⁴But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. ⁵He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. ⁶All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. ⁷He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. ⁸He was led away after an unjust trial— but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. ⁹They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. ¹⁰Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him. ¹¹Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins. ¹²So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

¹Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ²So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He replied, “You say so.” ³Then the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. ⁴So Pilate asked him again, “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” ⁵But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. ⁶During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, whomever they requested. ⁷A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. ⁸Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. ⁹So Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” ¹⁰(For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas instead. ¹²So Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” ¹³They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified. ¹⁶So the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. ¹⁷They put a purple cloak on him and after braiding a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ¹⁸They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. ²⁰When they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. ²¹The soldiers forced a passerby to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus). ²²They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which is translated, “Place of the Skull”). ²³They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, throwing dice for them, to decide what each would take. ²⁵It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶The inscription of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” ²⁷And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰save yourself and come down from the cross!” ³¹In the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law—were mocking him among themselves: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! ³²Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ³³Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ³⁶Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!” ³⁷But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. ³⁸And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” ⁴⁰There were also women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were there too. ⁴²Now when evening had already come, since it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council, who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He called the centurion and asked him if he had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵When Pilate was informed by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶After Joseph bought a linen cloth and took down the body, he wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone across the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was placed.

¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. ¹⁶So then from now on we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, now we do not know him in that way any longer. ¹⁷So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come! ¹⁸And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” ²¹God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.