Author: David Petts

My Story  Talk 3  Home, Family, Christmas & Holidays (1947-1953)

Welcome to Talk 3 in our series where I’m reflecting on the goodness of God throughout my life. From what I’ve said so far it’s clear that after the war my life in the 1940s was largely comprised of school and church. I suppose that was true of most Christian children in those days and continues to be so today. And what was true of my years at primary school and Sunday school was also true of the years that followed. Most of my activity was to be centred on school and church.

But before I move on to those things in the next talk, I need to say more about my family, because without a doubt our family is by far the strongest influence in the formation of our character, our behaviour, and our outlook on life. And life is not just about our education or work or church. It’s about relationships, people, recreation, having fun, and healthy enjoyment of the things God has so graciously lavished upon us. So this talk is about my home, my family, Christmas and holidays.

Home

For the first 23 years of my life I lived with my parents in the home in Hornchurch where I was born. It was a fairly standard three bedroomed semidetached house, but it benefited from a rather large garden which backed onto the railway. We weren’t disturbed by the noise of the trains because the garden was some 200 feet – about 60 metres – long, but by walking to the end of the garden and looking down the railway embankment we could watch electric trains on the District Line and the steam locomotives on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

My parents were both keen gardeners and had chosen the house because of the size of the garden. They planted several apple trees, two pear trees, two plum trees, a greengage tree, as well as strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants. My grandfather had also planted for me an ash tree at the very end of the garden and, by looking at Google Earth, it looks as though it’s still there today. Sadly, the large fishpond which I helped my father build when I was about ten seems to have gone.

Family and Friends

One of the advantages of having a large garden was that there was a big enough lawn for my father to teach me to play cricket and football. So, although I was an only child, I was never a lonely child. There were always plenty of friends who liked to come and play.

I also enjoyed playing board games with my grandad, my mother’s father, who lived with us for about five years, and later with my grandmother, my father’s mother, who came later to live with us for six years and who died at the age of 86 when I was 16. Having elderly parents living with us for eleven years was not easy for my mother, but she seldom if ever complained, and her example taught me the real meaning of love, a commitment to serving others despite the cost to ourselves. I also got some idea of what it’s like to be in your eighties!

Family at Christmas

I saw relatively little of other family members as my uncles, aunts and ten cousins all lived too far away for frequent visits. But we did see most of them at Christmas and sometimes during the other school holidays. Because, with one exception, all my cousins were older than I was, Christmas was usually spent with my Auntie Addie – Adelaide actually, but I never heard anyone actually call her that! She was a year or two younger than my mother and had two sons, Brian who was a year older than me, and Geoffrey who was born shortly after the war when Uncle Bert returned from years away fighting in Burma (now known as Myanmar).

We usually alternated where we would spend Christmas, either at our house in Hornchurch or at their prefab in Woodford Green near Walthamstow. Prefabs were prefabricated bungalows introduced after the war to provide housing that could be erected more quickly than by using the usual methods of construction. Originally they were intended to last for, I think, only ten years, but in practice most of them lasted for decades. One of the exciting things about them was that they were all provided with a fridge with a small freezer compartment, so we could have ice-cream whenever we liked. Fridges were a luxury in those days and it was many years later that we ourselves had one. Eileen and I had our first fridge in 1968, six years after we were married.

Brian and I had to share a bed every Christmas and I have vivid memories of waking up in the early hours of the morning to see what Santa had left in our ‘stockings’ – which were actually pillowcases, as stockings weren’t large enough to accommodate the vast number of presents we each received.

I don’t remember how old I was when I realised that Santa wasn’t real, but it must have been well before I left primary school. I do know that some Christians, quite understandably, believe it’s wrong to tell their children something which isn’t true, fearing especially that, when they finally understand that the whole Santa thing is a myth, they will conclude the Christmas story found in the Bible is a legend too.

That’s a view that I understand and fully respect, but I can only say that it was never a problem for me, or, as far as I know, for my children and grandchildren for that matter. If we teach our children that what is in the Bible is true, they will soon discover that Father Christmas is nowhere to be found in the Bible, but is just a nice story that, although it isn’t true, gave them a lot of fun when they were too young to understand otherwise. But each of us must follow our own conscience in this matter, as we always must when confronted with issues over which Christians disagree.

Christmas dinner, as I remember it, was very similar to what most people have today, with one notable exception. I can’t remember when we first had turkey, but for several years our celebratory meal was roast chicken. Unlike today, chicken was then very expensive, and Christmas was the only time we had it. At other times our regular Sunday roast was lamb, which, also unlike today, was the cheapest meat you could get.

Our typical weekly menu was roast lamb on Sundays, cold lamb on Mondays, minced lamb in the form of shepherd’s pie on Tuesdays, and lamb stew with dumplings on Wednesdays. So chicken at Christmas was a real treat!

Apart from eating, we spent most of Christmas Day and Boxing Day playing with the games we had received as presents. These were always very competitive and included subuteo football, a form of cricket you could also play on the table, table tennis, darts, and a bagatelle pin board. We also enjoyed heading a balloon to one another and counting how many times we could keep it up. When we later tried it outside with a football we found it was much harder!

Another good thing about staying at Auntie Addie’s house was that we were able to visit other family members, as three of my aunts lived quite near to her. There was always quite a crowd in the evenings when we all joined together for a party, when we played traditional party games like musical chairs and pass the parcel.

Years later I was to discover that some people’s idea of a party was a time when you did little more than sit around and drink too much. This shocked me because our parties had never been like that. My parents were both teetotallers and, although most of the rest of the family were not, they respected their wishes and rarely drank in the presence of children and teenagers.

Of course, the consumption of alcohol is another of those matters where Christians disagree, but hopefully all would at least agree that abstinence is the best policy in the presence of those who might become addicted. I personally think of myself as an abstainer, but not a total abstainer.  And I’m grateful that, because of the example set by my family, I have always been cautious in these matters and am happy to say that I have never been drunk, something which even some Christians find hard to believe.

Family and Holidays

But Christmas was not the only time when I met other family members. There were the summer holidays too. Hotels were too expensive, and we usually spent a couple of weeks away from home staying with family. During my primary school years we went several times to Cowes on the Isle of Wight where my father’s sister, Auntie Lil, had a flat overlooking the sea.

Her husband, Uncle Ernie, was a lighthouse keeper on the Needles, an impressive rock formation just offshore at the western end of the island. His job required him to live on the lighthouse for several weeks at a time, so sometimes we never saw him at all during the weeks we were on holiday with Auntie Lil. But when he was able to be with us, I remember that he was very generous.

We usually had to travel everywhere by bus, but on one occasion he paid for a taxi to take us on a tour of the whole island. Another time, when I was eight, he paid for my father and me to go on a ‘joy-ride’, a five minute trip on an aeroplane, an Auster light aircraft with just enough room for Dad and me to sit behind the pilot. I realise that this might not sound very exciting to young people today. Plane travel is so common, and many families take flights abroad for their holidays. But in those days it really was something exceptional. No one in my class at school had ever been in a plane, and my teacher got me to tell them all what it was like. We had only gone up to 1000 feet, but the experience of flying was exhilarating as we looked down on houses that now looked no bigger than a matchbox and were able to see so far into the distance, across to the southern coast of England and beyond.

I’m so grateful to Uncle Ernie for making that experience possible for me. (It cost him seven shillings and sixpence which was a lot of money in those days, but which in today’s decimal currency equates to 37.5p). Due to his kindness and Auntie Lil’s hospitality we always enjoyed our holidays on the Isle of Wight.

Another favourite holiday destination, particularly during my early teens, was Canterbury where my mother’s sister, another Auntie Lil, lived with her husband Will and her daughter Doreen who was an English teacher in a Grammar School. I remember listening to her discussions with my dad about the nature of language, something I was particularly interested in because by then I was already studying French, Latin, and Greek at school. But more of that later.

While in Canterbury we enjoyed visiting its wonderful cathedral and other places of historical interest like the Westgate Tower and the ducking stool where in less enlightened centuries women who scolded their husbands were ducked in the river to teach them a lesson!  We also took advantage of the beautiful countryside around Canterbury and particularly enjoyed walking across the golf course which immediately overlooked my aunt’s back garden.

Other days were spent taking bus trips to the coastal resorts that lay within easy reach of Canterbury – places like Herne Bay, Margate, and Ramsgate, all lovely places, but nothing of course to compare with the beauty of Devon where I now live! My first holiday in Devon was when I was fifteen – but that’s something I’ll come back to next time when I talk about my teenage years at church and my life at Brentwood School where I was privileged by God’s grace to receive a first-class education.

But finally, I’m conscious that in this talk I’ve made little mention of God, but I’m reminded that in the book of Esther God isn’t mentioned either, yet it’s very clear as we read it that he was at work in every detail of the story. So it is with us. His purpose for each of us is different, but he is at work in the ordinary everyday things in our lives, not just in any miracles he may perform for us.

So I thank God for the home I grew up in, the family I was part of, and the fun we had together at Christmas and on holiday. These things, I believe, played an important part in my childhood and teenage years enabling me to grow into adulthood, confident to face the future, knowing that God loved me and had a purpose for my life.

My Story  Talk 3  Home, Family, Christmas & Holidays (1947-1953)

Welcome to Talk 3 in our series where I’m reflecting on the goodness of God throughout my life. From what I’ve said so far it’s clear that after the war my life in the 1940s was largely comprised of school and church. I suppose that was true of most Christian children in those days and continues to be so today. And what was true of my years at primary school and Sunday school was also true of the years that followed. Most of my activity was to be centred on school and church.

But before I move on to those things in the next talk, I need to say more about my family, because without a doubt our family is by far the strongest influence in the formation of our character, our behaviour, and our outlook on life. And life is not just about our education or work or church. It’s about relationships, people, recreation, having fun, and healthy enjoyment of the things God has so graciously lavished upon us. So this talk is about my home, my family, Christmas and holidays.

Home

For the first 23 years of my life I lived with my parents in the home in Hornchurch where I was born. It was a fairly standard three bedroomed semidetached house, but it benefited from a rather large garden which backed onto the railway. We weren’t disturbed by the noise of the trains because the garden was some 200 feet – about 60 metres – long, but by walking to the end of the garden and looking down the railway embankment we could watch electric trains on the District Line and the steam locomotives on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

My parents were both keen gardeners and had chosen the house because of the size of the garden. They planted several apple trees, two pear trees, two plum trees, a greengage tree, as well as strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants. My grandfather had also planted for me an ash tree at the very end of the garden and, by looking at Google Earth, it looks as though it’s still there today. Sadly, the large fishpond which I helped my father build when I was about ten seems to have gone.

Family and Friends

One of the advantages of having a large garden was that there was a big enough lawn for my father to teach me to play cricket and football. So, although I was an only child, I was never a lonely child. There were always plenty of friends who liked to come and play.

I also enjoyed playing board games with my grandad, my mother’s father, who lived with us for about five years, and later with my grandmother, my father’s mother, who came later to live with us for six years and who died at the age of 86 when I was 16. Having elderly parents living with us for eleven years was not easy for my mother, but she seldom if ever complained, and her example taught me the real meaning of love, a commitment to serving others despite the cost to ourselves. I also got some idea of what it’s like to be in your eighties!

Family at Christmas

I saw relatively little of other family members as my uncles, aunts and ten cousins all lived too far away for frequent visits. But we did see most of them at Christmas and sometimes during the other school holidays. Because, with one exception, all my cousins were older than I was, Christmas was usually spent with my Auntie Addie – Adelaide actually, but I never heard anyone actually call her that! She was a year or two younger than my mother and had two sons, Brian who was a year older than me, and Geoffrey who was born shortly after the war when Uncle Bert returned from years away fighting in Burma (now known as Myanmar). 

We usually alternated where we would spend Christmas, either at our house in Hornchurch or at their prefab in Woodford Green near Walthamstow. Prefabs were prefabricated bungalows introduced after the war to provide housing that could be erected more quickly than by using the usual methods of construction. Originally they were intended to last for, I think, only ten years, but in practice most of them lasted for decades. One of the exciting things about them was that they were all provided with a fridge with a small freezer compartment, so we could have ice-cream whenever we liked. Fridges were a luxury in those days and it was many years later that we ourselves had one. Eileen and I had our first fridge in 1968, six years after we were married.

Brian and I had to share a bed every Christmas and I have vivid memories of waking up in the early hours of the morning to see what Santa had left in our ‘stockings’ – which were actually pillowcases, as stockings weren’t large enough to accommodate the vast number of presents we each received.

I don’t remember how old I was when I realised that Santa wasn’t real, but it must have been well before I left primary school. I do know that some Christians, quite understandably, believe it’s wrong to tell their children something which isn’t true, fearing especially that, when they finally understand that the whole Santa thing is a myth, they will conclude the Christmas story found in the Bible is a legend too.

That’s a view that I understand and fully respect, but I can only say that it was never a problem for me, or, as far as I know, for my children and grandchildren for that matter. If we teach our children that what is in the Bible is true, they will soon discover that Father Christmas is nowhere to be found in the Bible, but is just a nice story that, although it isn’t true, gave them a lot of fun when they were too young to understand otherwise. But each of us must follow our own conscience in this matter, as we always must when confronted with issues over which Christians disagree.

Christmas dinner, as I remember it, was very similar to what most people have today, with one notable exception. I can’t remember when we first had turkey, but for several years our celebratory meal was roast chicken. Unlike today, chicken was then very expensive, and Christmas was the only time we had it. At other times our regular Sunday roast was lamb, which, also unlike today, was the cheapest meat you could get.

Our typical weekly menu was roast lamb on Sundays, cold lamb on Mondays, minced lamb in the form of shepherd’s pie on Tuesdays, and lamb stew with dumplings on Wednesdays. So chicken at Christmas was a real treat!

Apart from eating, we spent most of Christmas Day and Boxing Day playing with the games we had received as presents. These were always very competitive and included subuteo football, a form of cricket you could also play on the table, table tennis, darts, and a bagatelle pin board. We also enjoyed heading a balloon to one another and counting how many times we could keep it up. When we later tried it outside with a football we found it was much harder!

Another good thing about staying at Auntie Addie’s house was that we were able to visit other family members, as three of my aunts lived quite near to her. There was always quite a crowd in the evenings when we all joined together for a party, when we played traditional party games like musical chairs and pass the parcel.

Years later I was to discover that some people’s idea of a party was a time when you did little more than sit around and drink too much. This shocked me because our parties had never been like that. My parents were both teetotallers and, although most of the rest of the family were not, they respected their wishes and rarely drank in the presence of children and teenagers.

Of course, the consumption of alcohol is another of those matters where Christians disagree, but hopefully all would at least agree that abstinence is the best policy in the presence of those who might become addicted. I personally think of myself as an abstainer, but not a total abstainer.  And I’m grateful that, because of the example set by my family, I have always been cautious in these matters and am happy to say that I have never been drunk, something which even some Christians find hard to believe.

Family and Holidays

But Christmas was not the only time when I met other family members. There were the summer holidays too. Hotels were too expensive, and we usually spent a couple of weeks away from home staying with family. During my primary school years we went several times to Cowes on the Isle of Wight where my father’s sister, Auntie Lil, had a flat overlooking the sea.

Her husband, Uncle Ernie, was a lighthouse keeper on the Needles, an impressive rock formation just offshore at the western end of the island. His job required him to live on the lighthouse for several weeks at a time, so sometimes we never saw him at all during the weeks we were on holiday with Auntie Lil. But when he was able to be with us, I remember that he was very generous.

We usually had to travel everywhere by bus, but on one occasion he paid for a taxi to take us on a tour of the whole island. Another time, when I was eight, he paid for my father and me to go on a ‘joy-ride’, a five minute trip on an aeroplane, an Auster light aircraft with just enough room for Dad and me to sit behind the pilot. I realise that this might not sound very exciting to young people today. Plane travel is so common, and many families take flights abroad for their holidays. But in those days it really was something exceptional. No one in my class at school had ever been in a plane, and my teacher got me to tell them all what it was like. We had only gone up to 1000 feet, but the experience of flying was exhilarating as we looked down on houses that now looked no bigger than a matchbox and were able to see so far into the distance, across to the southern coast of England and beyond.

I’m so grateful to Uncle Ernie for making that experience possible for me. (It cost him seven shillings and sixpence which was a lot of money in those days, but which in today’s decimal currency equates to 37.5p). Due to his kindness and Auntie Lil’s hospitality we always enjoyed our holidays on the Isle of Wight.

Another favourite holiday destination, particularly during my early teens, was Canterbury where my mother’s sister, another Auntie Lil, lived with her husband Will and her daughter Doreen who was an English teacher in a Grammar School. I remember listening to her discussions with my dad about the nature of language, something I was particularly interested in because by then I was already studying French, Latin, and Greek at school. But more of that later.

While in Canterbury we enjoyed visiting its wonderful cathedral and other places of historical interest like the Westgate Tower and the ducking stool where in less enlightened centuries women who scolded their husbands were ducked in the river to teach them a lesson!  We also took advantage of the beautiful countryside around Canterbury and particularly enjoyed walking across the golf course which immediately overlooked my aunt’s back garden.

Other days were spent taking bus trips to the coastal resorts that lay within easy reach of Canterbury – places like Herne Bay, Margate, and Ramsgate, all lovely places, but nothing of course to compare with the beauty of Devon where I now live! My first holiday in Devon was when I was fifteen – but that’s something I’ll come back to next time when I talk about my teenage years at church and my life at Brentwood School where I was privileged by God’s grace to receive a first-class education.

But finally, I’m conscious that in this talk I’ve made little mention of God, but I’m reminded that in the book of Esther God isn’t mentioned either, yet it’s very clear as we read it that he was at work in every detail of the story. So it is with us. His purpose for each of us is different, but he is at work in the ordinary everyday things in our lives, not just in any miracles he may perform for us.

So I thank God for the home I grew up in, the family I was part of, and the fun we had together at Christmas and on holiday. These things, I believe, played an important part in my childhood and teenage years enabling me to grow into adulthood, confident to face the future, knowing that God loved me and had a purpose for my life.

Talk 2   School, Sunday School, & Salvation

Welcome to Talk 2 in our new series where I’m reflecting on my how the Lord has blessed my life. Today I’ll be talking about my time at Primary School, at Sunday School, and how I learnt at the age of eight how to be saved.

Suttons Lane County Primary School

My first school was situated on Suttons Lane, quite close to Hornchurch aerodrome. On the edge of town, to the south it had open views of the fairly flat countryside on the northern side of the River Thames. It was less than a ten-minute walk from my house.

From an early age I was able to walk to school unattended as there were no roads to cross thanks to ‘the cinder track’, a footpath that ran along the edge of what we called ‘the farmer’s field’ where we would see horses pulling a plough to prepare the soil for the potatoes that were grown there.

Every day at school began with the teacher marking the register followed by assembly in the school hall where we sang a hymn, said the Lord’s Prayer together, and listened to any announcements the headmaster had to give us. I don’t know how many of our teachers were practising Christians, but the emphasis in assembly was distinctly Christian, as was the teaching in the weekly Scripture – later to be called Religious Education – lessons we had in class.

In those days it was a legal requirement for all schools to include Scripture on the curriculum and for each day to begin with an act of Christian worship. So the Christian teaching I received at home and at Sunday School was reinforced by what went on at school. The truth of the Christian message was still widely assumed, even if church attendance had greatly diminished as a result of the war. How different things are today!

I can see with hindsight that, although I didn’t realise it at the time, one of the reasons I enjoyed school was that there was no conflict between what I was taught at home and what I was taught at school.

And, of course, I enjoyed it too because, unlike some schools today that have misguidedly sold off their playing fields for commercial purposes, our school shared a playing field with the adjacent secondary school, where we played cricket and football, both of which were probably my favourite activities.

I played for the school team at both cricket and football, the love of which I inherited from my father who on Saturdays was an active player in both. I loved going to watch him play for the Elm Park Football Club and the Cranham Cricket Club.

He once told me he thought that the boys in the secondary school where he taught paid more attention to his Scripture lessons because he also taught them to play football. He was a qualified F.A. Coach, and, incidentally, also told me that one of the boys he had coached played in the England team that won the World Cup in 1966. I still have a box full of medals he won for cricket, football, snooker, and tennis. He was seven times the champion of the Elm Park Lawn Tennis Club.

But I think I also enjoyed school because I was good at my lessons. As I’ve already mentioned, I started school at the age of 4 in September 1943. Educationally I had the distinct advantage that my father was a teacher and had taught me to read and write before I went to school, and so by the time I was 7 my parents were told that I had a reading age of 12.

In saying this I hope I don’t give the impression that I’m boasting. I learnt long ago that true humility is not a matter of pretending that you don’t really have any talents or gifts, but acknowledging that what you do have comes from God, and that all the credit is his and not ours. If I have a good brain, it is God who gave me that brain, and I have no right to boast about my academic achievements. But that does not mean that I may not mention them! As God said to Jeremiah:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).

Before we were born, God had a purpose for each one of us, and he created us with the abilities we would need to fulfil that purpose.  It’s our decision as to whether we fulfil that purpose or not. So I thank God for the good brain he gave me and for parents who encouraged me to use it.

And if I tell you that every year I attended that school I came top of the class, you’ll understand that my reason for doing so is to show how, without my realising it, he was guiding me onto a pathway where academic achievement would be an essential part of the work that he had planned for me to do.

Sunday School and Church

But school was not the only place I was learning. Probably the most influential source in my education was what my parents taught me at home. But more of that in a moment. I was also learning at Sunday School and at other church related activities like Lifeboys (the name then given to the junior section of the Boys’ Brigade).

My first reaction to Sunday School was that I didn’t like it! I was only 4 and I’m grateful to my parents that when I told them so they did not force me to go. A little later they suggested very gently that I might like to try it again, and this time I enjoyed it. Because of the wisdom they showed in this matter, I always knew that attendance at Sunday School or Church was to be my decision. No one could ever say that I only went because my parents made me go.

And so I went of my own free will, and year after year was given a book as a prize for good attendance. The annual Sunday School Prize Giving Sunday was a big event, and many of the parents who were not church-goers came to see their children receive their prizes.

Sunday School, which in most churches took place in the afternoon, was a big thing in the 1940s and 1950s. Even parents who did not come to church wanted their children to be taught about the Bible – or they were just glad to get a break from the kids on a Sunday afternoon! We were told that our church had the largest Sunday School in Essex with up to 400 children attending each Sunday. My mother was a Sunday School teacher and my father taught the teenage Bible Class, but more of that in the next talk.

Unlike most of the children who attended Sunday School, I also attended church. I think my first experience of church was travelling on a Sunday evening up to London to attend the church where my parents had attended before the war. We travelled on the London Underground railway on the District Line between Elm Park and Bromley stations, and I took an instant dislike to London because at that time much of that area was damaged, dirty, and quite smelly.

The Tab which formerly, I was told, had up to a thousand in its congregation, had been bombed in the war and, as far as I know was never rebuilt. Many of the people’s houses had been destroyed and, rather like my parents, they had moved away from the East End of London. Consequently the meetings I went to as a young child with my parents were attended by at most a few dozen people and took place in the upstairs room of a pub, which I seem to remember was called The Five Bells.

The meetings weren’t really suitable for children, and I didn’t really enjoy the fuss that all the adults made of me. One thing I did like was the minister, Mr Tildsley, referring to me as King David and perhaps that sparked in my young heart a desire to copy my namesake and achieve great victories for God.

Fortunately, as far as I was concerned, my parents soon decided that it was time to settle into a church that was nearer to where they were now living, so we started attending Elm Park Baptist which was a relatively new church as most of the houses in the area, like ours, had only been constructed in the mid to late 1930s.

It was a warm friendly church with lots of activities for children and young people and, although I couldn’t understand all that the minister said in his sermons on Sunday evenings, it’s clear, looking back on it, that it was all influencing my mind in the right direction, leading me ultimately in my teens to give my life to Jesus. But that’s a subject for our next talk. However, before we get there, it’s important that I tell you how, at the age of 8, I came to understand how to be sure I would go the Heaven when I die.

The way of salvation

I remember how, at the age of 8, I was sitting on my father’s knee when I asked him,

Daddy, how good do you have to be to go to Heaven? 

I think the question was on my mind because of something that was called David’s Good Boy Chart. This was a chart my father had made rather like a calendar with a space for each day for him to stick on it a coloured sun or moon or star, depending on how my behaviour had been that day.

I think he had made it because my mother had been having some problems with me during the day while he was at work. When he got home, my mother would tell him how I had behaved that day and an appropriate sticker would be applied to the chart. If I’d been good, it would be a sun, not so good, a moon, and so on.

I think I must have been wondering how many suns I would need if I wanted to go to Heaven! My father explained that it isn’t a question of how good we are, because none of us is good enough to go to heaven. That’s why Jesus came to die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins so that all who believe in him will have everlasting life.

Then he asked,

Do you believe that, David?

I replied,

Yes, of course I do.

And why do you believe it? asked my father.

Because you have told me, I said.

That’s a good reason, he said, but one day you will come to believe it for yourself.

That’s the first time I can remember that I was consciously aware of the truth of the gospel. I suppose that, like many who have been brought up in a Christian home, I can’t put a date on when I first believed. It feels as though I have always believed. I cannot remember a time when I did not believe.

I used to be concerned about this, especially when so many Christians can remember a specific date. But then I heard an illustration that was very helpful. I never forgot, and will never forget, the date when Eileen and I married. But even if one year I had forgotten it, I would never have forgotten that I was married and who I was married to!

The point of the illustration is this. The date that my married relationship with Eileen started was relatively unimportant compared with our relationship throughout our married lives. The same applies to our relationship with Jesus. What matters is not when our relationship started, but whether I am in relationship with him now. Am I trusting him now for the forgiveness of my sins and my home in heaven? And if I am, then the exact date it all started is relatively unimportant.

So I cannot remember an exact date when I first believed but I can remember the day when I decided to give my life to Christ. And again, it was through my father that I came to that decision. But we’ll come to that in a later talk.

My Story   Talk  1 Family Background and World War 2

Introduction

Welcome back to Great Bible Truths with me, Dr David Petts.  As this podcast will go out live in early January let me take this opportunity to wish you God’s richest blessings for the coming year. Let me also apologise that my website was down for several weeks, but the good news is that it’s now up and running again.

Now, as I mentioned in my last talk at the end of our series on Mark’s Gospel, this year, God willing, I’m planning both to write and record my memoirs in order to place on record God’s goodness throughout my life, from the moment of conception in my mother’s womb, right through to this present time. I also hope that the things I record may be of some historical and sociological interest, particular to younger people.

What’s more, I’m convinced that, if he can bless me, he can bless you too, and my purpose in doing this is to encourage your faith, if you are already a Christian, and, if you’re not, to persuade you that, if you put your trust in Christ as your personal Saviour, you will discover how trustworthy and faithful he is.

Some of God’s miraculous interventions in my life have already been recorded in some of my books, notably in Signs from Heaven – why I Believe and The Voice of God – how he speaks to us today. But there’s still so much more to tell, and friends and family have been encouraging me that now is the time to get on and do it. And, even more importantly, I feel that God himself is prompting me to do so.

Now you may be wondering why I am including talks about my personal experience under the general heading of Great Bible Truths. That’s an understandable question, but the answer is simply that as Christians our lives are meant to illustrate and demonstrate how the truth of God’s Word works out in practice. In 2 Corinthians 3:2 Paul talks about the Corinthians themselves as a letter… known and read by everyone. And, although in the context Paul is talking about his readers as the living proof of his apostolic ministry, there seems to be here an underlying principle that our lives are, or at least should be, living testimonies to the truth we believe.

And finally, by way of introduction, I need to say that I am very well aware that, again in the words of the apostle Paul, By the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10). Whatever we are, whatever we have done, whatever gifts and talents we may have, it’s all by the grace of God. And all the glory must always go to him. But now to my story.

My parents

My story, of course, begins with my parents. Stanley and Ivy Petts (née Claus) were both born in Poplar, East London, in September 1907. Their home backgrounds were very different. Mum’s childhood was very difficult, her father often coming home drunk. Her mother died before I was born. She left six children, two boys, Harry and Bill, and four girls, Minnie, Lily, Ivy, and Addie. As far as I know, only Minnie and my mum, Ivy, ever became Christians.

On the other hand, my dad’s family were all Christians attending the Poplar and Bromley Baptist Tabernacle, affectionately known as The Tab, and it was there that my dad met my mum. Dad had three sisters, Lily, Violet, and May. May was born deaf and dumb – that’s how it’s recorded on the national register – but, as I’ve already recorded in my book Signs from Heaven, was miraculously healed in answer to prayer .

When she was in her twenties, my grandmother took her to a divine healing  meeting conducted by the evangelist, George Jeffreys , who placed his hands on her and prayed  for her.

That evening, as they were travelling home to Poplar in the East End of London, they went down to catch the underground train. Suddenly, with a shocked expression on her face, May  put both hands over her ears. She could hear the roar of the train as it came through the tunnel approaching the platform!

Until that moment, from the day she was born she had never been able to hear, but now she could hear, and within a few weeks was beginning to speak.

I suppose that’s why I’ve never doubted God’s miracle  working power and firmly believe that we should expect to see miracles today.

Mum and Dad were married on August 4th 1934 and lived with his parents until they were able to afford a home of their own. During the time they were there, my mother sadly had a miscarriage and, as my father told me years later, the doctor had expressed the opinion that she might be unable to have children. But they prayed that, in my mother’s words, the Lord would give her a son, and that he would go into all the world and preach the gospel. But I knew nothing of all this until I was sixteen when I told my parents that I believed that God was calling me to serve him as a minister.

In 1937 Mum and Dad moved into their own home, a new-build semi-detached house in Hornchurch, which, with the help of a mortgage, they were able to purchase for the princely sum of – wait for it – £630 (six hundred and thirty pounds)! Prices for similar properties in the same area today are closer to £630,000!

I was born in the front bedroom of that house on January 12th 1939, and my late wife Eileen was born 6 days earlier in Stockport, Cheshire. That was just eight months before Britain declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939. Of course, I was too young to remember very much of the early years of the war, but I was already 6 years old when the war ended and have just a few memories of what life was like at the time.

Earliest Memories

During the first part of the war, between 1939 and 1941, because Hornchurch was an area that was likely to be bombed, my mother and I were evacuated to a village called Marcham (near to Abingdon). We stayed in a vicarage with the vicar and his wife (Rev and Mrs Palmer). I have no clear memories of that time, although I do remember the vicarage, from when we went back to visit them after the war.

My father wasn’t with us for much of the time because, although he was not in the armed forces as he was a conscientious objector, he was sent as a schoolteacher to what was called an Approved School (which was where they used to send juvenile delinquents). It was a residential establishment near Woking in Surrey and my dad had to live there much of the time, so we didn’t see much of him as it was some distance from where we were in Marcham, and in those days very few people had cars.

In 1941 my father was transferred to a different Approved School. This was nearer to Hornchurch and so my mother and I left Marcham and returned home to be nearer to my father. However, our house was less than half a mile from Hornchurch aerodrome, which played a very important part in the Battle of Britain. So there was still a very real danger of being bombed by enemy aircraft.

My main memories of those early years were having to take refuge in an air-raid shelter whenever the siren sounded. (The siren gave a very loud signal when enemy aircraft were approaching and a different signal called the ‘all-clear’ when the danger was over). There were two kinds of shelter, the Morrison shelter and the Anderson shelter.

We had a Morrison shelter which was like a very strong table, made of steel, which you had indoors. I can remember having to go underneath it at night when the siren sounded – we slept on the floor underneath it. I can also remember banging my head on it as I was getting out from underneath it! All the houses had to have ‘blackouts’ to cover the windows at night so that enemy aircraft would not see the light in the house.

I remember my mum peeping out from behind the blackout during one of the raids and telling me that she could see a Spitfire chasing off a German plane. I can’t remember ever feeling afraid. Perhaps it was because I was too young to understand the danger, but also because of my mum’s confidence that God would keep us safe.

Other people had Anderson shelters. These were in the garden, dug into the ground, and made of corrugated iron – rather like some of the things pig farmers use to shelter their pigs today. The infant school I went to from the age of four in September 1943 had a large version of one of these which was big enough for all the children to get into if there was a raid during school-time. I can only remember going into it once but can’t remember much more about it.

Quite recently, however, I discovered that an enemy aircraft had crashed into the secondary school which was only about 100 yards from my infant school, and I have wondered if this had coincided with the time we were all in the air raid shelter. Of course, I have no way of knowing this, but I am so grateful that our lives were spared throughout that awful time when so many others lost theirs.

When the war ended, all over the country people held parties in the street to celebrate. (There were not many cars around in those days!) I remember we had a big bonfire in the middle of the road – something which I imagine would not be allowed today – and the concrete was broken up where the bonfire had been.

My final memory of the war and the years that followed it is what was called ‘rationing’. Because there was a great shortage of food and clothing during that time people were given ration books with coupons in. To buy something (including sweets!) you needed not only money, but coupons. I remember my mum being pleased with me because I had bigger feet than most of the children. It meant she was allowed extra clothing coupons! The rationing went on for some time after the war and I well remember the first time we were allowed to buy as many sweets as we liked because there was no more rationing!

But now it’s time to finish for today, so let’s summarise by asking what Bible truths have been illustrated by the experiences I have been talking about. The first of these truths is that God answers believing prayer. Despite what she had been told, my mother prayed for a son, and God answered her prayer. Secondly, nothing is impossible with God. There was no medical cure for my aunt’s condition, but God worked a miracle in response to the evangelist’s prayer. This shows us, thirdly, that God still grants supernatural gifts like healing as signs confirming the truth of the gospel. We also see that God has a purpose for our lives and that he is able to protect us from danger in order to fulfil it.      

Next time I’ll be talking about the years after the war, my time at primary school, and my first experience of Sunday school and going to church.

Talk 48 Mark 16:1-20 The Resurrection and Great Commission

Welcome to Talk 48 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. This will be the final talk in the series, and we’ll be looking at Chapter 16 which is Mark’s account of Jesus’ resurrection and his final instructions to his disciples which are often referred to as The Great Commission. We’ll work through the chapter a verse or two at a time, and will begin by reading verses 1-4.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

Verses 1-2

In our last talk we commented on the devotion of these and many other women who had faithfully followed Jesus right from the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Now we see them buying spices to anoint Jesus’ body. What they did not know was that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had already done so when they buried him in accordance with Jewish burial customs (John 19:40), and that by the time they were to reach the tomb Jesus would have already risen. But of course, like the rest of the disciples, they were not expecting him to rise despite all that Jesus had told them. If they had been, they would have known that to anoint his body would be completely unnecessary!

Verse 3

The stone which Joseph put in place would have been in a sloping groove down which he had rolled the stone to cover the entrance to the tomb. The two Marys had seen him do this (15:47) and now, on the way to the tomb, realised that unaided they would be unable to move it back. Why hadn’t they thought of this before? When we are grieving we don’t always think as clearly as usual and now the women are anticipating a problem which, as they were soon to discover, would not be a problem at all! The Lord had already dealt with it!

Verse 4

Have you ever set out to do something for the Lord which you felt sure he wanted you to do, and then discovered that you’d got it wrong? Or perhaps, as you’ve set out to do it, doubts have come into your mind, unforeseen potential problems have occurred to you, and you’ve wondered how you could possibly achieve your goal. That’s certainly been my experience, and that exactly what was happening with these women. Their motivation was pure. What they were doing they were doing out of love for the Lord. But their mistake – if it was a mistake – was that, like the rest of the disciples, they didn’t remember or didn’t believe what Jesus had said. Was the Lord displeased with their actions? Surely not. As we see in the next few verses, they were given the great privilege of announcing the news of the resurrection to the other disciples. Even when we get things wrong, the Lord still has work for us to do.

Now let’s read verses 5-8:

5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

I want you to notice the extreme emotions experienced by the women in these verses. This is completely understandable. They were grieving – over the terrible suffering they had so recently seen inflicted on someone they so dearly loved – over the fact, or what they thought was a fact, that all their hopes for the future had been dashed – over the loss of a loved one. As we have seen, they are not thinking clearly. They are wondering who can have moved the stone. They enter the tomb and are confronted by an angel! No wonder they’re alarmed, trembling and bewildered.

But grieving can bring with it other emotions too, as I have recently discovered in my own experience. I’ve found that we can weep tears of sorrow and, paradoxically, tears of joy too. And I’ve experienced both at the same time! And there’s a hint in verse 8 that that is what these women were experiencing too. The word translated bewildered in the Greek is ekstasis. It can also mean astonishment or amazement. But interestingly, in Matthew’s account he uses a different word, chara, which means joy!

And where does this joy come from? It comes from the news the angel brings them – Jesus is not here. He has risen! What a consolation that was to become! And it’s our consolation too. Because he lives, we shall live also. And our loved ones who die in the Lord are not here. They are with Christ, which is far better. And the day will come when we will see them again, as these devoted women soon were to see Jesus.

Perhaps it’s this strange mixture of emotions that can account for the fact that, despite the good news, the women fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. This was presumably just their initial reaction, because verse 9 tells us Mary Magdalene, at least, went and told the good news to the other disciples. And according to the angel’s instructions, that was to include Peter. If, as is widely believed, Mark derived his information from Peter, it’s perhaps significant that Peter gets a special mention here. It was Peter who had denied the Lord and who in John 21 is graciously given the opportunity to reaffirm his love for Jesus. Even when we fail him, the Lord is constantly seeking to draw us back to himself.

But that, according to the earliest manuscripts is where Mark’s Gospel abruptly ends. Verses 9-20 are viewed by some scholars as a later addition. But these verses have for a long time formed part of Scripture as we know it and, as we shall see, the basic truth contained in them is confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament.

So now, verses 9-11.

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

The fact that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene is confirmed in all four Gospels, although as usual the other Gospels give more details than we find in Mark. Although initially afraid to say anything (v8), possibly due to emotional trauma, she has now gained the courage to do so. And if we read John’s account the reason is clear. She has seen the Lord. He has spoken to her. He has called her by name. The encounter with Jesus makes all the difference. She goes and tells the other disciples that she has seen him. Bearing in mind the repeated lack of faith exhibited by the disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry, we’re not surprised that at first they did not believe her.

This unbelief is stressed again in verses 12-14:

12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. 14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

Of course, verses 12-13 are a very brief summary of Luke 24:13-35 where Jesus appears to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, and where Jesus appearing to the Eleven follows immediately afterwards. We sometimes blame Thomas because he refused to believe until he saw for himself (John 20:24-28), but it seems that the other disciples were no less guilty, and Jesus’ words to Thomas were applicable to them all – Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And the importance of believing is stressed in the following verses where faith is the essential prerequisite for salvation and for seeing miracles performed in Jesus’ name.

Verses 15-18

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Now that Jesus has died and risen again, the work he had come to do has been accomplished. The Lamb of God has been slain to take away the sins of the world. He has borne the punishment that our sins deserved, and forgiveness and salvation are available to all who will believe. That’s good news indeed and all the world needs to hear it. The disciples, and all disciples after them, are to go and spread the message to all creation.

But why creation? Because, as Paul teaches us in Romans 8:21-22, all creation was affected by Adam’s sin and all creation has been groaning right up to this present time and is waiting to be liberated from its bondage to decay. For that we must wait until Jesus returns, when the entire creation will see the manifestation of the victory he accomplished at Calvary. Forgiveness of sin and eternal life are available right now to all who will believe, but the final outworking of Christ’s victory at Calvary, the abolition of sickness and death, the redemption of our bodies, the new heavens and the new earth, are all future blessings for which we must patiently wait.

But even now God grants us foretastes of those blessings through the miracle-working power of the Spirit. Most of the miracles Jesus promises in these verses are seen again and again in the Book of Acts. The Spirit-filled disciples drive out demons, speak languages they have never learnt, and heal the sick in Jesus’ name. Paul was even delivered from snakebite. The only miracle listed here that is not mentioned in Acts is drinking deadly poison. And these miracle signs were not just for the early church. William Burton records in his book Signs Following examples of all these miracles taking place in the early days of the Congo Evangelistic Mission.

But that does not mean that the Lord Jesus intended us to claim these signs as promises. What he is saying is that these are the kind of miracles we can expect when we go out to proclaim the good news. Spiritual gifts are distributed as the Holy Spirit determines (1 Corinthians 12:11). Our responsibility is to tell others about Jesus and to trust the Holy Spirit to confirm what we say with whatever kind of sign he chooses.

Verses 19-20

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

In Mark’s Gospel verses 15-20 are the last recorded words of Jesus before he returned to Heaven. Luke’s Gospel and the first chapter of Acts (which gives a little more detail about Jesus’ ascension into Heaven) records his last words as telling his disciples to wait until they are baptised in the Spirit and that they would receive power when the Spirit came upon them and be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. There is, of course no contradiction here. The power of the Spirit was, and still is, essential if miracles are to happen in Jesus’ name.

The message that Jesus is alive is confirmed by the fact that he is still working miracles today. He is still seated at God’s right hand. All authority is his on earth as it is in Heaven. It’s with that authority that, in the words of Matthew’s Gospel, we go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He will work with us, if we will only go and tell.

As I have already said, this is the final talk in our series on Mark. In January, God willing, I will begin a new series which will take the form of personal testimonies to God’s goodness to me throughout my life. Meanwhile, some 300 podcasts of my teaching remain available.

Talk 47  Mark 15:40-47 The Burial of Jesus   

Welcome to Talk 47 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. We have now reached Mark 15:40. Today we’ll be concentrating on Jesus’ burial and, as we do so, we’ll take time to note the importance of the certification of his death and of the key roles played by Joseph of Arimathea and women like Mary Magdalene. Next time, which will be our final talk in this series, we’ll be looking at Mark’s account of the resurrection and the Great Commission.

As we proceed we will take time to stress the importance of each of these historical facts without getting involved with relatively minor issues like the apparent differences in the Gospel accounts, or whether, as some have argued, Jesus was actually crucified on the Thursday, rather than, as is traditionally taught, on what we know as Good Friday. Such discussion is generally unproductive.

As far as any differences in the accounts are concerned, I have already pointed out in my book, You’d Better Believe It, that the Schofield Bible offers an explanation of how the different accounts of Christ’s resurrection appearances can be reconciled. What’s more, any such differences actually strengthen the case for the resurrection as they suggest that there was no collaboration between the four writers. And does it really matter what day he was crucified? Surely what matters is that Christ died for our sins… was buried… and rose again. This, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, is the essence of the gospel.

So, over these two final talks, we’ll take the text of Mark’s Gospel as we have it and consider Jesus’ burial, the confirmation of his death, his resurrection, and his last instructions to his disciples.

We’ll begin today by reading verses 42-47:

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

We’ll start with the confirmation of Jesus’ death. Joseph goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus, but Pilate needs to be sure that Jesus is already dead. Some victims of crucifixion had been known to survive for days. He summons the centurion who crucified Jesus, who assures him that Jesus really is dead. So Pilate gives the body to Joseph.

Why is this important? Why has Mark chosen to include this detail about the certification of Jesus’ death? Because the entire truth of the resurrection rests upon it. There have always been those who, refusing to believe the clear evidence of the Gospel writers, have argued that Jesus only appeared to die on the cross but recovered in the tomb and walked out! And if Jesus did not die, the resurrection is a myth! There is no truth in the gospel that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The certainty of the resurrection rests securely on the certainty of his death.

And his burial is important too. This not only gives added confirmation to the fact that Jesus was truly dead, but it also helps us in our understanding of the significance of baptism. In Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 Paul teaches us that in baptism we are buried with Christ and raised with him to live a new life through our faith in the power of God. Of course, the word for baptise in Greek is baptizo which always means immerse, and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. But how does this relate to Jesus’ burial? Let me put it like this:

When we first put our faith in Jesus we acknowledged that on the cross he died in our place, to take the punishment for our sins. In so doing we identified ourselves with his death. That’s why Paul could say in Galatians 2:20, I was crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. When you gave your life to Christ, you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old you died and a new you came alive. Baptism is a wonderful picture of that truth. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. In baptism you act out your identification with him as you are buried in the water and come up out of it to live out the new life he has already given you. (See my book, You’d Better Believe It, for more on this).

But let’s look now at the man who buried the Lord Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea. Let’s read again verses 42-43.

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

And  verses 46-47

46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

First, please note the urgency of the situation. As I’m sure you know, the Jewish Sabbath lasted from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. That’s why it was important for Jesus to be buried very soon after he died. Apart from the fact that it was against the Law for a dead body to remain exposed overnight, for the Jews all forms of work were prohibited on the Sabbath. So if Jesus’ followers didn’t bury him before sunset the Romans would have disposed of his body as they were not subject to the laws of the Sabbath. And, as verse 42 tells us, evening was already approaching when Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.

Joseph was a well-respected member of the Sanhedrin, most of whom, as we know, were bitterly opposed to Jesus, but Joseph was an exception. When Mark says that he was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, he is implying that Joseph was a follower of Jesus, albeit until now, secretly. He had been present at Jesus’ trial before the high priest, but we’re told in Luke 23:51 that he had not consented to their decision and action.

Clearly Joseph had now decided to let his respect for Jesus be known publicly. What he was about to do could hardly be kept a secret. By coming in contact with a dead body he would make himself ritually unclean and would not be able to attend the synagogue the following day. His absence would be noticed. What’s more, it was a risky thing to show sympathy with anyone who had been crucified, especially on a charge of sedition. He was in danger not only of incurring the wrath of the Jewish authorities, but of the Romans too. No doubt that’s why

Mark says that Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Verse 46 tells us that, after Pilate had authorised Joseph to have the body

Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Matthew 27:60 explains that this tomb was one which Joseph had had carved for himself, and, to complete the picture, John 19:39 tells us that he was accompanied by Nicodemus, the member of the Sanhedrin who had come to Jesus by night in John 3. Perhaps he too had decided that it was high time to make his secret discipleship public. The message of Christ crucified demands a decision of us all. In the light of his death, are we prepared to stand up for him?  

But Joseph and Nicodemus were not the only ones to play a significant part in the burial of Jesus. Verse 47 tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. It’s time for us now to consider the important role of such women in the life of Jesus, and now at his death. We’ll start by going back to verses 40 and 41.

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

In many ways these verses should have been included at the end of our last talk, as they are part of the story of the crucifixion, but I have left them until now to link them with the references to these women a little later in the story. We have been told so much about Jesus’ male disciples that it’s easy to forget that he had female disciples too. Three women are named in these verses, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. But Mark tells us that many other women were also there watching the crucifixion from a distance. They had followed him since the early days of his ministry in Galilee and had cared for his needs. And, as we see in the last verse of the chapter and the first of the next, these devoted disciples were determined to care for his needs even after his death.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. 15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

The three women named in these verses were among many who were not only devoted followers of Jesus, but who also supported Jesus and the apostles out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3 tells us that as Jesus travelled about proclaiming the good news of the kingdom…

…The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

These verses indicate the highly valued role of women among the early disciples, their devotion to Jesus often exceeding that of the men, as it does so often today. Apart from the apostle John, it was women, not men, who stood near the cross as Jesus was crucified (John 19:25-27), and, apart from secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, it was women who participated in his burial and brought precious spices to anoint his body. And, as we see in the next chapter, it was to women that was given the first good news that Christ was risen. We’ll move into Chapter 16 next time for the final talk in our series, but let’s conclude today’s talk by considering the role of Mary Magdalene.

Perhaps the first thing to notice is that it is Mary Magdalene who is mentioned first each time these women are mentioned:

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Secondly, Mary was the first person to witness the resurrection of Jesus:

15:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Thirdly, she was the first person to proclaim the news that Jesus was risen:

15:10 She went and told those who had been with him.

The question naturally arises as to why Mary was so honoured. That verse in 1 Samuel 2:30 comes to mind – Those who honour me, I will honour. Mary had honoured the Lord by supporting him throughout his ministry, by remaining to the end at the scene of the crucifixion, by following Joseph to see where Jesus was buried, and by buying spices to anoint his body. She was clearly devoted to him. And that devotion sprang from what Jesus had done for her. He had driven seven demons out of her. Her deliverance led to a lifetime of devotion.

And isn’t that what motivates us? We love him because he first loved us. And if we honour him, the day will come when he will honour us.

Talk 46 Mark 15:16-39 The Crucifixion

Welcome to Talk 46 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Before we begin, I want to apologise to those of you who have been trying to visit my website. We’ve been facing some technical difficulties which have yet to be resolved and this has resulted in some delay in the production of these podcasts. However, as you must have discovered if you are now listening to this podcast, all my podcasts are accessible from the usual podcast providers. If in doubt, please google Great Bible Truths with Dr David Petts. But sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced so far. But now, for today’s talk.

Last time we considered Mark 15:1-15 where Jesus is tried before Pontius Pilate. We noted:

1.     The continued determination of the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified

2.     The total commitment of Jesus to the way of the cross

3.     The complete moral failure of Pilate to do what was right.

And we saw that at the end of that passage Pilate has Jesus flogged and hands him over to be crucified. Today we pick up, the story in verses 16-20:

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spat on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Jesus had said yes when Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? (v2). Of course, the soldiers would have thought that this was an absurd claim, and so they decided that, before they led him away to be crucified, they’d have some fun at his expense. So they put a purple robe on him. They put a crown of thorns on his head and called out, Hail, king of the Jews!” They fell on their knees and paid mock homage to him. Then, when their fun was over, they led him away to be crucified. But, as we shall see later, the soldiers weren’t the only ones to mock him. But first, verses 21-26:

21 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. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. 25 It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Simon, the man who was forced to carry Jesus’ cross, was from Cyrene in Libya, north Africa. It’s possible he had come on pilgrimage for the Passover festival and was staying in the countryside just outside Jerusalem.

It’s equally likely that, although he had originally come from Cyrene, he was now permanently living near Jerusalem, as Acts 6:9 seems to indicate that there was in Jerusalem a so-called Synagogue of Freedmen some of whom were men from Cyrene. The fact is, we simply do not know. Neither do we know who his sons, Alexander and Rufus were, although it’s possible that Rufus is referred to in Romans 16. The fact that Mark refers to them both by name does seem to suggest that they were known to the early Christian community for whom Mark was writing. We can’t help wondering whether they had become Christians as a result of their father’s unexpected encounter with Jesus.

What we do know is that Simon was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. It was one of those occasions when something totally unexpected occurs in our lives. At first sight it might seem like sheer coincidence. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or was it the right place at the right time? The Saviour of the world is on his way to be crucified. It’s the most important event in history. Is God in Heaven going to allow anything to happen by accident? Surely not. And if not, there was a divine purpose in Simon’s encounter with Jesus. He follows Jesus, carrying his cross all the way to Calvary. It’s hard to imagine that he did not remain to witness the events of the crucifixion and, having done so, to continue to follow him for the rest of his life. We’re reminded that we’re all called to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

But let’s pause for a moment and think about unexpected things that may happen in our lives or the lives of people we know who are not yet Christians. Of course, we all love to see miracles of healing that come unexpectedly and are positively life transforming. But what about events that seem negative, rather than positive, like being forced to carry someone else’s cross? Has it ever occurred to you that God might have a purpose in allowing these things to happen?

One Sunday morning in June 2016 I was preaching in Ireland on that passage in Matthew 8 where Jesus calms the storm. I remember saying that storms may arise in our lives, even during the coming week, but that Jesus would bring us safely through them. Little did I know that two days later my wife would suffer a massive stroke that was to leave her confined to a wheelchair for the next eight years.

And little did I know on 28^th February this year that within less than 24 hours she would be in Heaven. Both were totally unexpected and life-changing events for both of us, but God brought us through, and Eileen has now safely arrived on the other side. Even when unexpected events seem totally negative, God can bring a positive outcome, even if we can’t see it at the time. And he can bring about unexpected events in the lives of those who don’t yet know him that will draw them to himself.

But back to our passage. They bring Jesus to the place of execution, and they offer him wine mixed with myrrh. This was an act of mercy to condemned criminals usually provided by the women of Jerusalem, but here passed on to Jesus by the soldiers. But Jesus does not accept it. He wants to remain in full possession of his faculties. No anaesthetic can ease the pain of the suffering he is about to endure. He is to bear the full agony of crucifixion, the full penalty for all our sins.

And so they crucify him. The Gospel writers spare us the physical details, perhaps because they were all too familiar to their readers, but also because Jesus’ suffering was far more than physical, and far more than the psychological torture he endured at the hands of those who humiliated him. His greatest agony was separation from his Father as the spotless Lamb of God bore the sins of the whole world. Most of the accusations brought against him were false, but he was finally condemned to death for telling the truth, for admitting who he really was, the Christ, the Son of God, the king of the Jews. But it mattered little to the Roman soldiers. They were too busy gambling for his clothes.

But now verses 27-32.

27 They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Mark doesn’t say much about the two robbers crucified each side of Jesus. It’s Luke who tells us how one of them joined in with the mocking of the crowd and the soldiers, but is rebuked by the other one who says,

Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.

And then says,

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

This man could certainly not have understood the fully developed doctrine of salvation initiated by Jesus and later taught by the first apostles, but somehow he grasped enough to acknowledge that he was guilty, that he deserved his punishment, that Jesus was innocent and was indeed a king for whom death would not be the end but would lead to a kingdom in which somehow he, a robber, hoped to be remembered. He could hardly ask for more, but Jesus grants him far more than he asks for:

I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

That was what Jesus was dying for – the salvation of sinners, sinners like this robber, even sinners like Barabbas whose place on that cross Jesus had taken, and sinners like you and me.

But back to our passage in Mark. We saw in verses 16-20 how the soldiers humiliated, mocked and abused Jesus. Now in verses 29-32 we see the mockery continuing, this time not just by those who passed by but by the chief priests and teachers of the law as well. Looking at the passage as a whole, we see that Jesus was mocked by the soldiers who crucified him, the unrepentant thief on the cross beside him, those who were passing by without even stopping to think, the chief priests and teachers of the law, and, as we see in the next section, the man who offered Jesus wine vinegar to drink.

Verses 33-34.

33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

This darkness lasted from 12 noon until 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It can’t have been a normal eclipse of the sun, as Passover was celebrated at the time of the full moon when the moon would have been in the wrong part of the sky. This darkness was a supernatural event initiated by God himself. All attempts at astronomical explanation of such events, including incidentally the star followed by the Magi in Matthew 2, are totally futile. When God works a miracle there is no natural explanation. If there were, it would not be a miracle!

But what was the purpose of this darkness? It’s mentioned in Matthew and Luke as well as Mark, but none of them tell us its purpose, so we need to tread carefully here. We’re on holy ground. But perhaps we can find an answer in the events that are closely connected with it in the Gospel records – Jesus’ cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?, the tearing of the temple curtain from the top to the bottom, the earthquake that accompanied it, the constant demands of the Jews for a sign from Heaven, the final cry of Jesus, It is finished, and the cry of the centurion, Surely this man was the Son of God.

Combined with these events we can surely interpret the darkness as a sign of God’s anger at human sin, and at the rejection of his Son by the Jewish leaders. It was a sign that this crucifixion was no ordinary crucifixion. It was a sign that temple worship was now terminated. It was the sign that the Jewish leaders had constantly demanded but still would not accept.  It was a sign of God’s vindication of all that Jesus had claimed to be. It was a sign, for all who, like the centurion, would receive it, that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

From before time began, back in eternity, Jesus, the Son of God, had enjoyed intimate fellowship with his Father. But now, as Jesus carries our sin, God who is holy and cannot look on sin (Habakkuk 1:13), turns his face away. This for Jesus was the greatest agony of the cross. But his cry must not be seen as a cry of despair. Jesus was well aware that he was quoting Psalm 22 which in so many ways was prophetic of the crucifixion, but which concludes in glorious triumph, for all the ends of the earth will turn to the Lord and all the families of the nations will bow down before him. It was for the joy that was set before him that he endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

Verses 35-39 complete the story.

35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Jesus’ cry had been in Aramaic, but some mistakenly thought he was calling for Elijah. The mocking continues right to the end – Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.

John 19:28-30 supplies some information not given in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus says, I am thirsty and in response he is offered wine vinegar to drink, which he accepts and then cries, It is finished. This is undoubtedly the loud cry referred to in Mark 15:37. Jesus had refused the wine offered to him earlier, but now the work of atonement was complete. He accepts the drink to clear his voice for one last final cry. It is finished.

There was so much that was finished at that moment, not just his earthly life and suffering, but the reason for that suffering was now accomplished, the work of atonement, the bearing of our sin, the means of entry into the presence of a holy God as the veil of the temple is split in two from the top to the bottom. No longer the need for the animal sacrifices demanded by the Law, no longer a temple made with human hands… Jesus has done it all – and he did it for me!

The Roman centurion could not possibly have understood all that, but he understood enough to know that Jesus really was the Son of God. Perhaps he came to understand later, not only that Jesus was the Soon of God, but that he was, in the words of Paul, The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Charles Wesley certainly understood it when he wrote:

It’s finished, the Messiah dies, cut off for sins, but not his own.

Accomplished is the sacrifice, the great redeeming work is done.

It’s finished, all the debt is paid, justice divine is satisfied,

The grand and full atonement made; God for guilty world has died.

The veil is rent in Christ alone, the living way to heaven is seen,

The middle wall is broken down and all mankind my enter in.

The types and figures are fulfilled; exacted is the legal pain.

The precious promises are sealed, the spotless Lamb of God is slain.

The reign of sin and death is o’er, and all may live from since set free.

Satan has lost his mortal power. It’s swallowed up in victory!

Saved from the legal curse I am. My saviour hangs on yonder tree.

See there the meek expiring Lamb. It’s finished, he expires for me.

Accepted in the well beloved and clothed in righteousness divine

I see the bar to heaven removed, and all thy merits, Lord, are mine.

Death, hell, and sin are now subdued. All grace is now to sinners given.

And lo, I plead the atoning blood, and in thy right I claim thy heaven.

God bless you.

Talk 45   Mark 15:1-15  The Trial before Pilate

Welcome to Talk 45 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 15:1-15 where Jesus is on trial before Pilate. We’ll begin by reading the whole passage.

1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.

14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Mark’s account of this trial is much shorter than the accounts in the other Gospels, but this passage reveals very clearly three things:

1.     The continued determination of the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified

2.     The total commitment of Jesus to the way of the cross

3.     The complete moral failure of Pilate to do what was right.

The continued determination of the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified

This goes back as far as Mark 3:6 where they began to plot how they might kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day. Eventually, as we saw last time, after a mock trial before Caiaphas, they condemned him as worthy of death (14:64). So now they reach a decision. They have no power themselves to put him to death. So they hand him over to Pilate the Roman governor.

They demand that Jesus be crucified. But why crucifixion? The usual method of execution among the Jews was stoning (e.g. Achan in Joshua 7:25 and Stephen in Acts 7:58). Crucifixion was the Roman death penalty for rebellion. It was reserved for foreigners and slaves. Roman citizens were executed by the more merciful means of decapitation. So why did the Jews ask for Jesus to be crucified?

Probably because, although crucifixion was not a Jewish practice, the bodies of those who were stoned to death were sometimes hung on a tree until the evening as a public sign that they were under God’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:23). Paul refers to this in Galatians 3:13 when he says that Jesus was made a curse for us when he died on the cross.

It seems likely, then, that the Jewish leaders wanted the people to believe that Jesus was not the Messiah some of them thought he was, but that he was really under God’s curse. Another possibility, of course, is that they did it out of sheer spite because they envied him (v10) and hated him so much.

But, whatever their motivation, to achieve their end Mark simply tells us that they accused him of many things (v3). Luke 23, however, gives us a bit more detail:

…they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. 4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

So the charges were:

·      Opposing payment of taxes to Caesar

·      Claiming to be Christ, a king

·      Stirring up the people or inciting people to rebellion – v14.

Only one of these accusations had any basis in fact. Jesus did claim to be – indeed he was – the Christ, the Messiah, and he certainly was a king. But, as he told Pilate in John 18:36 his kingdom was not of this world… my kingdom is from another place. Jesus had never incited people to rebellion, quite the opposite. And he had never opposed payment of taxes to Caesar. In fact, he had encouraged it.

And the only way he had stirred up the people was to love their enemies. And far from inciting people to rebellion, he taught them to do good to those who persecuted them. In fact, if anyone was guilty of stirring up the people, it was the chief priests. When Pilate wanted to release Jesus, they stirred up the crowd (v11) to demand that Jesus be crucified, and Pilate, fearing a riot, hands Jesus over to be crucified.

The total commitment of Jesus to the way of the cross

We saw last time when we considered Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin that Jesus didn’t defend himself, that he refused to answer the charges brought against him, and  that only when put under oath did he confess the truth as to who he really was. He knew it would lead to his death, even death on a cross, but he knew that the shedding of his blood was the only way to atone for our sins.

And that, of course, was his motivation when he conducted himself in much the same way when on trial before Pilate. There’s a distinct feeling of déjà vu here. Once again Jesus refuses to answer the accusations the Jews are bringing against him and Pilate asks him:

Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of (v4).

But Jesus still makes no reply (v5). Again, he refuses to respond to their false accusations, but he will speak about who he is. When Pilate asks, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answers, Yes, it is as you say (v2). But John gives us a fuller picture. When Pilate asks the same question (18:34), Jesus replies:

36 My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.

37… You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

To which Pilate replies, What is truth? but doesn’t wait for an answer. Little did he know that the personification of truth was standing right in front of him!

And in John 19:9, when Pilate asks Jesus, Where do you come from?, Jesus remains silent, so Pilate retorts:

Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? (v10),

to which Jesus replies:

You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above… (v11).

No human authority could destroy the Prince of Life. They were able to crucify him only because God himself allowed them to. And knowing that this was his Father’s will, and the only means of our salvation, Jesus deliberately invites the death sentence by refusing to defend himself and by acknowledging who he is – the king, who had come into the world to bear witness to the truth, to whom everyone who is on the side of truth will listen. But, sadly, that was not something that Pilate was willing to do.

The complete moral failure of Pilate to do what was right

Mark’s account is, as usual, briefer than those in the other Gospels. Mark’s summary of Pilate’s failure is twofold:

1.     he knows that the chief priests have handed Jesus over to him out of envy (v10)

2.     it’s because he wants to satisfy the crowd that he has Jesus flogged and hands him over to be crucified (v15).

In other words, he knows that the accusations brought against Jesus are wrongly motivated, and, despite that, because he himself is wrongly motivated, he condemns Jesus to death. But in Luke and John, Pilate’s guilt is compounded by the fact that Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent. In both these Gospels Pilate proclaims Jesus’ innocence three times.

Look at Luke 23. In verse 4 we read:

Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

In verse 15 we read:

            he has done nothing to deserve death.

And in verse 22:

For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.

Now look at John 18 and 19

In 18:38

            I find no basis for a charge against him.

In 19:4 he says again:

            I find no basis for a charge against him.

And in 19:6 he says it again:

            As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.

So there can be no doubt about it. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. His wife had even sent him a message:

Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him (Matthew 27:19).

And yet, despite the fact that he knows Jesus is innocent, he has him flogged and hands him over to be crucified.

But that is not all. Another aspect of Pilate’s failure is his refusal to accept responsibility. As the Roman governor he enjoyed a privileged position. But privilege carries with it responsibility. It was Pilate’s responsibility to judge fairly in these matters, but throughout the whole story we see him trying to pass the buck.

First, we see him trying to pass the matter back to Sanhedrin. In John 18:31 he says:

Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.

But they object saying:

But we have no right to execute anyone.

Next, he attempts to get King Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time, to deal with the case (Luke 18:6-12). Herod agrees that Jesus has done nothing to deserve death, but the Jews are insistent that Jesus be crucified.

Then Pilate tries to pass the responsibility over to the crowd, by offering according to the custom at the Passover to release to them a prisoner of their choosing, but they choose Barabbas rather than Jesus – as might have been obvious to Pilate bearing in mind the hostility of the crowd to Jesus (Matthew 27:15-21).

And finally, having exhausted all options, he takes water and washes his hands in front of the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility (Matthew 27:24).

So who was responsible for the death of Jesus? Was it Judas who betrayed him, or Peter who denied him, or all the disciples who deserted him, or Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, or Herod or Pilate, or the Roman soldiers who crucified him? Surely the answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE. They must all bear some measure of guilt. But ultimately the judgment lies with God alone.

But are they the only guilty ones? Or are we ourselves also to blame? Jesus’ death was necessary to atone for our sins as well as theirs. Let’s not, like Pilate, refuse to take responsibility for our actions. Let’s not pretend we are innocent, when we know we are not. Let us rather acknowledge our weaknesses, our failings, our faithlessness, our shortcomings, our sin. Forgiveness was available to all those responsible for the death of Jesus if only they would admit their guilt and believe in him. Some, like Peter and the disciples who forsook Jesus, did just that. The others, as far as we know, did not. Let’s not make the same mistake. God’s promise in 1 John 1:9 still holds good:

If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer.

Talk 43   Mark 14:27-52 The Garden of Gethsemane

Welcome to Talk 43 in our series on Mark’s gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 14:27-52. This is a long passage and so to save time we will not read through it in advance. In verses 27-31 Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him. In verses 32-42 we read of Jesus’ agonised prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane and of his disciples’ failure to support him in his time of need. And in verses 43-52 we read how Judas betrays him and how Jesus is arrested. The overall theme of the passage is the contrast between the commitment of Jesus to do his Father’s will whatever the consequences and his disciples’ weakness and failures.

Jesus predicts Peter’s denial 27-31

27. “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” 30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today – yes, tonight – before the cock crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” 31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Jesus has just eaten the Passover meal with his disciples, at the end of which verse 26 tells us that, When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. On their way there, Jesus predicts, not only that Peter will deny him, but that all his disciples will fall away. How does Jesus know this? We saw last time that Jesus knew in advance much of what was about to happen. And this knowledge sprang from his intimate communion with his heavenly Father.

Much of that knowledge came from the understanding that certain verses of the Old Testament applied to him directly. God often speaks to us through scripture, but sometimes he speaks directly to us without reference to scripture. Perhaps, as Jesus studied the Old Testament, God quickened certain scriptures to him and Jesus knew that those words applied to him.

The quote in verse 27 is from Zechariah 13:7. Jesus saw his disciples as a little flock of which he was the shepherd. He knows that his arrest and imminent crucifixion would shake their faith, and so he warns them in advance, but offers them hope by reminding them that he will rise from the dead and will see them again in Galilee. But Peter, always the one to speak up too hastily, protests:

Even if all fall away, I will not.

No doubt his protest was sincere, but it was seriously mistaken. Firstly, it was a contradiction in terms. The word all implies there are no exceptions. If all will fall away, then Peter will fall away. But more seriously, it was a contradiction of the prophetic scripture and a contradiction of the Lord Jesus himself. But, as we have seen on other occasions, Peter was not afraid to contradict Jesus, if he didn’t like what Jesus was saying.

We need to beware of not taking seriously what God has said to us and of making rash promises to God. Our commitment to him should be thought through and weighed carefully. Jesus’ reply is not based on a word of scripture, but on direct revelation from God himself. It’s a very specific prophecy which is fulfilled to the letter later in the chapter, even though at this stage Peter refuses to believe it.

But before we criticise Peter too severely, we need to remember that all the others said the same (v31). They may not have denied Jesus as Peter did, but they all failed to support Jesus in the hour of his greatest need, falling asleep instead of praying as Jesus had asked them to (vv.37, 44; Luke 22:46).  

The Garden of Gethsemane 32-42

32. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

In this passage we see a contrast between the failure of all the disciples and the commitment of Jesus to do his Father’s will whatever the cost.

The failure of all the disciples

If we compare it with the parallel passages in Matthew 26 and Luke 22, the sequence of events seems to have been as follows:

Jesus leads his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. He tells them all that he is going to spend some time in prayer and that they must pray that they will not fall into temptation. He then takes Peter, James and John with him and, becoming deeply distressed and troubled, he shares his grief with them, saying, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death and tells them to pray and keep watch, but they all completely fail to do so. Jesus returns to them no less than three times, and on each occasion finds them all sleeping. They have failed to give him support in his most urgent time of need.

And it’s going to get worse before it gets better! Judas is coming to betray him. And Jesus’ prophecy that they will all fall away (v27) is about to be fulfilled. They will all desert him and flee (v50). But before we attempt to account for such a failure, and then finish by considering Jesus’ commitment to his Father’s will, let’s just read the rest of today’s passage to remind ourselves of what happens when Jesus is arrested.

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled. 51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

I think this passage pretty much speaks for itself, but let’s just add in a few extra details that we find in the other Gospels. John 18:10 tells us that it was Peter who cut off the servant’s ear, and Luke 22:57 tells how Jesus healed it. And Matthew 52-54 records that Jesus said:

Put your sword back in its place, …for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

In fairness to Peter, perhaps he was trying to make up for his failure to stay awake and keep watch. Or was he acting out of fear? We’re not told, but at all events it was a foolish thing to do in the light of the fact that Judas was accompanied by a whole crowd of people armed with swords and clubs. Jesus responds to Peter’s aggressive action by replacing the man’s ear, thus reminding Peter both of his supernatural power and of the heart of his message – Jesus had not come to destroy life, but to save it. He points out to Peter three things:

1.    The danger of relying on human resources

2.    The power and resources of God at Jesus’ disposal

3.    The fact that the Scriptures must be fulfilled.

Jesus’ words and actions were determined by his knowledge of God’s redemptive plan for the salvation of mankind. He had pleaded with God that, if it were possible, he might be released from the way of the cross. But he knew that the Scriptures must be fulfilled. His kingdom was not to be achieved by military violence and force, but by love and sacrifice and suffering. He was not leading a rebellion (v48). He had come to save – even those who had come to arrest him.

So the disciples, exemplified by Peter, got it wrong again and again. But how do we account for their failure? Jesus gives us the answer in verse 38 – the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The Greek word for flesh here is sarx. This is sometimes used in the New Testament simply to refer to our body, but it can also refer to our fallen nature and moral weakness. In Galatians 5, for example, the deeds of the flesh are contrasted with the fruit of the Spirit. Here, in Mark 14, it probably refers to both. The disciples’ sleepiness was due to the weakness of their bodies, but there is also an indication of a failure in character. There is a gentle reproach in verse 37 when Jesus says, Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?

Of course, we’ve all been there! Despite our best intentions we have failed to do what we know we ought to do. Paul deals with this at the end of Romans 7 and concludes that the key to victory is through Jesus Christ our Lord (v25). In our own strength we will fail, but through Christ, the Holy Spirit has set us free from the tendency to sin (Romans 8:2). If we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfil the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

But the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane had not yet received the Holy Spirit. That was to happen after Jesus had died, risen again, and sent the Spirit. After they had experienced the resurrection and been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost, they were changed men. They were not perfect, but they had received a power by which they could live in victory as long as they followed the leading of the Spirit. And rather than deserting Jesus, they now counted suffering for the sake of Jesus a privilege and rejoiced that they had been allowed to do so (Acts 5:41). And all this became possible for them, and also for us, because of Jesus’ commitment to do his Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The commitment of Jesus to do his Father’s will

Mark tells us that Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled. He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. And so he asks his disciples to pray and then moves away from them to be in solitude with God. He prays that, if it’s possible, the hour might pass from him. Of course he doesn’t want to die. No one would choose to be crucified. He knew that, if he asked him to, God would give him more than twelve legions of angels to deliver him (Matthew 26:53).

Make no mistake about it. Jesus had a choice. He did not have to drink the cup of God’s wrath. Even at that late hour, everything was possible with God. There was a way to escape the cross. But at what cost? The salvation of his disciples was in his hands. Your salvation and mine. Jesus sees in the weakness and failings of his own disciples my weakness and failings too. He finds them sleeping instead of praying. He knows that Peter will deny him. He knows that they will all desert him. And he knows that his destiny is to be the Lamb that must be sacrificed to atone for the sins of the whole world. This he had agreed with his Father from before time began.

And so, out of commitment to his Father’s will, out of commitment to God’s fore-ordained plan, and out of commitment to his disciples, he prays, Nevertheless, Father, your will be done. Thank God that he did!