Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 38
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Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Monday, April 6, 2026
Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - DETAILS
DETAILS
The Christian faith has just observed what people consider to be the most significant time in the entire year; or is it? We observe Easter as the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection even though it is Passover and those customs, and not Easter per se, that is connected to the event. There is no real evidence that He died on Friday or rose on Sunday. But one thing is certain and that is that He actually lived, died, and rose again.
While the exact day may be debatable, the time of the crucifixion was precise. In the Jewish temple the morning sacrifice was at 9 AM and that is precisely when Jesus was hung on the cross.
Now it was the third hour,
and they crucified Him
(Mark 15:25)
It was nine in the morning when they crucified Him
(Mark 15:25 NIV)
The sacrifice that took place at nine probably went on for some time as there were multiple sacrifices to be done. One source, Joachim Jeremias, states that over 15,000 lambs would probably be sacrificed during the morning hours*. Josephus, the Jewish historian suggests that upward of 250,000 animals may have been killed altogether**.
In any case, the sacrificial procedure would have taken some time and it has been said that the streets would be red with blood by noon when the sun was at its peak. It was precisely then that the sky grew the darkest and “night” covered the land.
Now when the sixth hour [12 noon] had come,
there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
(Mark 15:33)
And at the ninth hour [3 PM] Jesus cried out with a loud voice…
…and breathed His last.
(Mark 15:34,37)
And this was at this time - of the afternoon sacrifice in the temple - when Jesus gave up His Spirit.
In addition to the timing of His death, there were many other details which may not be obvious when only doing a quick reading of the story. For instance, there’s the use of hyssop, a shrub, which was used at the crucification.
Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there;
and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop,
and put it to His mouth.
(John 19:29)
Hyssop was the plant used in Exodus to smear the blood on the door frame at the time of Passover. It was also apparently used, at times, to sprinkle the blood over the altar.
And you shall take a bunch of hyssop,
dip it in the blood that is in the basin…
(Exodus 12:22)
John reports that after the hyssop and sour wine were given…
[Jesus] said, “It is finished!”
(John 19:30)
Furthermore in Exodus, when the hyssop was used to mark the doorposts of the house it was to be done in a specific way. First applied across the lintel [horizontal] part of the door and then the doorpost; in a way making a cross symbolic of what was to come in the future.
Little details, all of which make the Passover events more real and understandable, and give us all some more things to think about.
*The Eucharistic Words of Jesus p.g. 42 by Jochim Jeremais
** The Jewish War 6.9.3. by Flavius Jusephus
Sunday, April 5, 2026
Pastor Matthew Trott April 5, 2026 Easter Sunday
Pastor Matthew Trott April 5, 2026 Easter Sunday
Friday, April 3, 2026
Monday, March 30, 2026
Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - WHY ETERNITY?
WHY ETERNITY?
Most people are familiar with that famous verse in John which states that:
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16)
But have you ever questioned just why He, after putting up with our behaviour here on earth, would want us hanging around for ever? After all, eternity is rather a long time. Perhaps a few thousand years would have been more understandable but no, He said for an everlasting life.
David, in Psalm 22, says this:
My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?
…I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear…
But You are holy…
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
But I am a worm, and no man…
David was someone chosen by God but still considered himself no more than a worm, able to be trampled by God and others at will. And if this is the way David felt God looked upon him, then how must the rest of us be looked upon as well? And why would God want to spend the rest of eternity with us?
It is obvious that a reason God came to earth as a human and subjected Himself to the indignities and sufferings that He endured was to change us from the “worms” that we are into the beings that we need and deserve to be. David had great trust and confidence in God, the same as we must have to grow into the existence of an eternity with God. And we can do that by communicating with God and studying who and how He truly is.
But God is an infinite being. How can finite beings such as ourselves get to know a being of infinite knowledge and wisdom? A being all powerful and all present and with complete understanding. It’s evident that, no matter how often or long we study His teachings and word here on earth, it’s never going to be enough to encompass it all.
…He has put eternity in their hearts…
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Great is our Lord…
His understanding is infinite.
(Psalm 147:5)
We can start changing from the worm to the being that God truly created by reading His word and communicating with Him; but that’s only scratching the surface. It will take an eternity to even start to know an infinite being. Even Paul, who likely knew Jesus as well as anyone on earth, requested that:
…I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…
Not that I…am already perfected; but I press on…
(Philippians 3:10,12)
It will take an eternity to even start to know all there is about an infinite God and perhaps that is just why He wants us to have an everlasting life.
Just a little something further to think about.
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Thursday, March 26, 2026
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