Downloads
What's the longest you've ever waited for something? How did it feel when it finally came?
At the end of the Old Testament, God's people had been waiting for their promised King for hundreds of years. Then about 400 years passed with no new prophets. Imagine waiting that long. In this lesson, the wait ends. This is part 4 of the Bible's big story: Jesus (its symbol is a cross). We cross from the Old Testament into the New, and meet the King. But he gets a very different crown from the one you might expect.
What you'll learn
- What Jesus announced when he began his work
- Why the way Jesus was "crowned" is so surprising
- Why Jesus' death and resurrection are the centre of the whole Bible story
The four Gospels
The New Testament begins with four books about Jesus' life: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are called the Gospels, and "gospel" means good news. In this lesson we read from Mark, the shortest Gospel. It moves fast!
The King arrives
When Jesus starts his public work, his first message is a big announcement:
"‘The time is fulfilled,’ He said, ‘and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!’" (Mark 1:15)
| Part of the announcement | What it means |
|---|---|
| The time is fulfilled | The waiting is over. Everything the prophets promised is happening now. |
| The kingdom of God is near | God's rule as King has arrived, because the King has arrived. |
| Repent | Turn around: stop running life your own way and turn back to God. |
| Believe in the gospel | Trust what God is doing through Jesus. |
Then Jesus shows what God's kingdom is like. In Mark's Gospel he heals the sick, forgives sins, calms a storm, welcomes outsiders and even raises a girl from the dead. Do you notice what's happening? Jesus is undoing the effects of the Fall. Sickness, fear, being left out, death: he pushes them all back. It's a preview of what the world will be like when God makes everything new.
A strange crowning
But the religious leaders turn against Jesus. He is arrested and put on trial, and the Roman governor, Pilate, hands him over to be crucified. The soldiers mock him as a fake king. Yet everything they do as a joke is actually true.
| They mean it as a joke | But it's true |
|---|---|
| A purple robe (15:17) | Jesus really is royal. |
| A crown of thorns (15:17) | Thorns came in with the curse (Genesis 3:18). Jesus wears the curse for us. |
| A sign: King of the Jews (15:26) | He really is the promised son of David. |
| People shout at him to save himself (15:30–31) | He saves others by not saving himself. |
"And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Mark 15:26)
Why did he die? Earlier, Jesus had explained it himself:
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
A ransom is a price paid to set someone free. Christians believe Jesus took the punishment for sin that we deserve, so that we could be set free and brought back to God.
Two amazing things happen as Jesus dies. The curtain in the temple, which separated people from the most holy place, tears from top to bottom (15:38). The way back to God is open. And a Roman soldier, an outsider, becomes the first person in Mark's Gospel to say who Jesus really is: the Son of God (15:39).
The King is alive
Early on the Sunday morning, some women go to Jesus' tomb. It's open, and a young man dressed in white is sitting inside:
"But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.’" (Mark 16:6)
Death came into the world at the Fall. Now Jesus has beaten it. The women are told to go and tell the others, and that leads straight into the next part of the story.
Key words
- Gospel: good news; also the name for the four books about Jesus' life.
- Kingdom of God: God's rule as King, which arrives with Jesus.
- Repent: to turn around; to stop running life your own way and turn back to God.
- Ransom: a price paid to set someone free.
- Resurrection: being raised from the dead to new life.
How this points to Jesus
This whole part of the story is Jesus, and it's where every earlier promise lands. Way back in Genesis 3:15, God promised that a child of the woman would crush the serpent's head, but have his heel struck. On the cross, the serpent struck Jesus' heel. But when Jesus rose again, he crushed the serpent's head. The promises to Adam and Eve, to Abraham and to David all come true in him. That's why the cross sits right in the middle of the Bible's big story.
Think about it
Why do you think Jesus called people to repent, and not just to agree with him?Show answer
Agreeing with Jesus doesn't change anything on its own. Repenting means turning your whole life around, away from running things your own way and back to God as King.
What kind of King wins by dying?Show answer
A King who serves instead of being served. Jesus won by giving his life as a ransom for others, defeating sin and death by dying for us and rising again.
How do Jesus' death and resurrection fix what broke in the Fall?Show answer
At the Fall, people were cut off from God and death came in. Jesus' death opens the way back to God (the torn curtain), and his resurrection beats death.
Take it further
Read Mark 16:1–8 for yourself this week. Then think about this question: if Jesus really did rise from the dead, what difference does that make? Your worksheet helps you unpack Jesus' announcement and the strange crowning.
If you'd like to, you could pray: Jesus, thank you that you are the King everyone was waiting for. Thank you that you gave your life for us and rose again. Help me to turn to you and trust you. Amen.