Rescue

What do we know about Jesus' death based on the knowledge from the book of Mark? We know this:

• The dinner Jesus was having with his apostles was probably a Passover dinner, but there was no lamb being eaten, which is a symbol of him being the one whose body (meat, bread) that was broken, his the blood (wine) that was poured.

• “Remember” was always a word used in connection with the Passover. Beforehand, and even for modern Jews, it meant to remember the past in the Exodus from Egypt and God's miracles in saving his chosen people. Now, it meant remember the future and ever-present Atonement, a spiritual exodus as Jesus takes us from the world of sin, filing our lives with miracles wrought as reward of our faith.

• They sang at the dinner, likely the same hymn still sung: Psalm 118, which was a prophecy of the Atonement, where Jesus was singing about himself and the deeds he would carry out in the next few hours.

• He was taken up on a cross to be killed. Being hung alive til dead was a punishment common in many ancient civilizations. Nut just the Romans, but the Jews, too. It describes in Deuteronomy 21 that those hung on a cross would be cursed, hated of God, guilty of sin. Paul elaborates on this fact, helping us to understand, though the Jews did not, that Christ was cursed for our sakes, and suffered to take the punishment for us who are guilty, and whose sins are hated of God.

Now in these last days, the Church of Jesus Christ continues to be led by prophets and apostles. Similarly, many have died in the cause of truth, sealing their testimony in blood with their martyrdoms. Such ones like Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who led the Church just as it was restored to the earth, proclaimed firm testimonies that continue to be rejected among most their native culture, but is being embraced as the Spirit witnesses its truth to millions around the globe.