We have been working our way through the gospel of Mark in the Bible and rediscovering the character and person of Jesus. Mark gives us these snap shots or portraits of Jesus throughout his gospel. He wants to introduce his readers to this amazing man and his amazing works. He is hoping that as we see the kind of person Jesus is and the amazing things he does that we will be convinced that he is more than a man. He wants us to grasp that Jesus was truly the son of God and is worthy of surrendering our lives to and following. Mark portrays Jesus as being in close relationship with God as his Father. He paints a picture through his stories of Jesus as a man of power and great authority. Yet this man of authority was a servant to all and was willing to suffer a cruel death on a cross so Father God would forgive us and allow us to walk in freedom and live all of eternity with them in Heaven, As we come to chapters 14- 16 and the end of the gospel of Mark he begins to focus us in on the cross and the resurrection and ends with Jesus commissioning us to go - and tell the whole world of his love and salvation. Last week Pastor Brian talked about the suffering of Jesus so this morning I would like to focus on the Extravagant Love that propelled Jesus to endure the cross to the very end. The players in this passage can be summarized as - those grateful followers who ministered to Jesus -disciples and others - those who thought they were too good and didn’t need what Jesus had to offer – religious leaders - those who thought they were too bad like Barabbas and the thieves crucified with Jesus - those broken, struggling with shame who had a hard time forgiving themselves like Peter