Jesus Gives The Great Commission (Day 70)

Read Mark 16:9-20
 
   When the two on the road finally realized who Jesus was, they rushed back to Jerusalem. It’s not enough to read about Christ as a personality or to study His teachings. You must also believe He is God, trust Him to save you, and accept Him as Lord of your life. This is the difference between knowing Jesus and knowing about Him. Only when you know Christ will you be motivated to share with others what He has done for you. 


The Resurrection (Day 69)

Read Mark 16:1-8
 
   The women purchased the spices on Saturday evening after the Sabbath had ended so they could go to the tomb early the next morning and anoint Jesus’ body as a sign of love, devotion, and respect. Bringing spices to the tomb was like bringing flowers to a grave today. 


The Burial Or Jesus (Day 68)

Read Mark 15:42-47
 
   The Sabbath began at Sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday. Jesus died just a few hours before sundown on Friday. It was against Jewish law to do physical work or to travel on the Sabbath. It was also against Jewish law to let a dead body remain exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21). Joseph came to bury Jesus’ body before the Sabbath began. If Jesus had died on the Sabbath when Joseph was unavailable, His body would have been taken down by the Romans. Had the Romans taken Jesus’ body, no Jews could have confirmed His death, and opponents could have disputed His resurrection. 


The Death Of Jesus (Day 67)

Read Mark 15:33-41
 
   Jesus did not ask this question in surprise or despair. He was quoting Psalm 22. The whole Psalm is a prophecy expressing the deep agony of the Messiah’s death for the world’s sin. Jesus knew that He would be temporarily separated from God the moment he took upon Himself the sins of the world. This separation was what He had dreaded as he prayed in Gethsemane. The physical agony was horrible, but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture. 


Jesus Is Placed On The Cross (Day 66)

Read Mark 15:25-32
 
   Crucifixion was a feared and shameful form of execution. The victim was forced to carry his cross along the longest possible route to the crucifixion site as a warning to bystanders. There were several shapes for crosses and several different methods of crucifixion. Jesus was nailed to a cross; condemned men were sometimes tied to their crosses with ropes. In either case, death came by suffocation as the person lost strength and the weight of the body made breathing more and more difficult.