The King of the Jews

Scripture Reading

Will you turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Mark, Mark chapter 14. Nope, nope, Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15, beginning at verse 16. And this morning we'll work through Mark chapter 14, Mark chapter 15. I'll get that right eventually. Mark chapter 15, verses 16 through 32. Mark chapter 15, if you're using the Pew Bibles, you'll find that on page 936. Brothers and sisters, hear now God's perfect word.

Then the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison, and they clothed him with purple. And they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! Then they struck him on the head with a reed, and spat on him. And bowing the knee, they worshipped him.

And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. Then they compelled a certain man, Siren, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear his cross. And they brought him to the place Golgotha, which is translated place of a skull. Then they gave him wine mixed with myrrh or mingled with myrrh to drink, but he did not take it. And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above, The King of the Jews. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, and He was numbered with the transgressors. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha!

You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also, mocking Him themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."

Prayer for Illumination

In the reading of God's word there, brothers and sisters, The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you have given us the truth of this historical narrative. And we pray now, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would work in our hearts in such a way that we would not just understand the facts of the story, but that your spirit would impress upon our souls the truths of it and how it is to impact our lives. Lord, please open our eyes that we might see, soften our hearts that we might believe. In Jesus's name, amen. My wife and I have a big disagreement in our house.

Sermon

I love post-modern movies. You know, the type of movies that start with some type of really big opening scene, like somebody's getting chased or somebody's about to get attacked, and then all of a sudden it switches. And you have to wait until the very end of the story to find out, how in the world did you even get here? Or I love movies where there's all sorts of irony and mystery, and there's kind of a plot and a subplot, and there's something going on underneath the surface, and you don't find out about what's actually really happening until the very end when it all ties together.

Well, that's what's been happening in the book of Mark. See, in the book of Mark, we've had the entire time Jesus has been talking about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, right? The kingdom of God is with them. The idea of the Messiah has come up again and again and again. And it seems like when we come to Mark chapter 15, that everything that they expected about Jesus being the Messiah, Jesus being the Christ, Jesus being the King, it seems like, in their eyes, an utter failure.

But what we find out from the rest of Scripture is the Lord has a sense of irony. They think that they're destroying the King, but in reality, they're giving Him His crown. And God the Father is working in all these things by His sovereign providence, in His plan, to put all these things in place so that Jesus Christ might be your King. And that's what I want you to take home today. When you go home, I hope that you remember that Jesus, the King of the Jews, is your King. He was not a failed Messiah, but indeed, our King died for us.

Now, we don't really catch this in the English, but Mark actually slows down the story. Mark's moving really fast, moving really fast through all the story. He uses a lot of what's called the Aorist tense, that's like past tense normally. But here Mark actually uses present tense.

In verse 16 it's, "...then the soldiers..." They want to put it, the translators want to put it in past tense because it's a past story. Sorry, but if I was to read it more literally, "...then the soldiers are leading him away into the hall called Praetorium." And they are calling together the whole garrison.

Mark actually slows down the story and wants us to see what's going on and to feel what's going on and the gravity of it. And he goes into painstaking detail first about how the king is mocked. So first I'd like us to see how the king is mocked. Jesus is taken by the soldiers. He's led by the soldiers into the praetorium. And there in the praetorian, the whole cohort comes together. It's at least 600 soldiers typically. There are hundreds of Roman soldiers surrounding Jesus, and their sole goal here is to make fun of him. To show him that he thinks that he was going to be a king, but in all reality, he's a nothing. They clothed him in purple, verse 17. They clothed him with purple. This idea of clothing someone in purple, right? We take clothing for granted a lot, right? I mean, you can go to the second-hand store and you can buy a shirt for, well, it used to be like 50 cents, now it's like five bucks, right? But you can go and you can buy cheap clothes, right?

It used to be that clothes were extremely expensive and dye was really, really hard to make. And certain dyes were extremely expensive. One of the most expensive is purple. You'd actually have to crush snails and boil them out of these certain snails to get purple dye. So you can imagine how costly this color would be.

And it was meant to be a sign for royalty because it was that expensive. Indeed, Caesar himself, the emperor of the Romans, was clothed in purple. And so when they put this purple cloth on Jesus, they're sparing no expense in mocking him. They clothed him in purple because they think he's a failed king.

They go out and they find probably some type of bush or something with thorns on it. It's not hard to do when you're kind of in a desert region, but they go and they put together a crown. Again, we might miss it, but the emperor, when he would come back from war, they would put a wreath, a victor's wreath, on his head. to show that he was a king, but instead they take a thorny crown and they put it on his head. Not a garland out of olive branches to show that he is the victor, but a crown of thorns to show that he was a fool thinking he was a king. It's just interesting, isn't it, that it's exactly because of man's sin that thorns ever even came up on bushes and on plants. And yet Jesus is crowned with a crown of thorns.

But they continue on with their humiliating of Jesus. And in verse 18, after they've clothed Him in purple and put a crown on His head, they begin to salute Him saying, Hail, King of the Jews! Again, this is the same way that they would greet Caesar when he was walking by. They would say, Ave Caesare!

They're specifically saying, you think you're the emperor? You think you're the king of heaven? You're a nobody. You're a nothing. And they show that in verse 19 when they start to strike him on the head with a reed and to spit on him. And they're disgusted.

But if that wasn't enough, they keep on going. And they physically bow the knee to him. a sign that was only meant to be reserved. It was reserved specifically for showing honor to somebody who is greater than you. And then they engage in emperor worship.

This is so foreign to us, right? When somebody's elected president, we don't have people who go and prostrate themselves and begin to worship the next president, right? They might do that in their heart, but they don't do that physically, typically, right? But this is what they would do.

There was a whole cult of emperor worship of the Caesars. And it was specifically led by the Roman army. And so these soldiers, when it says in verse 19, and they worshipped him, this is both worshipping as a king and as a god. It is in the Roman mind, Caesar is a god. And so anybody who's going to say, I'm greater than Caesar, they must be a god too.

And so they mock Jesus by bowing to him as a pretender. But then they take off his robes and they lead him away to crucify him. But what they don't understand, see, the centurions don't understand that what they're doing is cosmic irony. This is exactly who Jesus was. This is what we learned in Philippians chapter two, is that the one who created all things and sustains all things by his power, that Jesus Christ humbled himself and took on the form of human man. The king of the universe was willing to humiliate himself. It's as if Jesus came from heaven and he took off his royal robes and he put on a poor person's clothes. And there they didn't recognize him as the king that he truly was. But why did all this happen? Well, he was mocked. He was tortured. He was ridiculed for you and for me. The king was mocked for you. The king was ridiculed for you. If we just read Mark chapter 15, we might scratch our heads and still think, I don't really know what the point of all of this stuff is.

But when we read the Bible in its totality and we go to some places like in Romans, God is explicitly clear to us that God demonstrates his own love toward us. And yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This was the display of the Father's love. This was the reason Jesus was sent into the world, for God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son. This was the purpose of Jesus's humiliation and incarnation. The Prince of Peace was going to give us peace, but he was going to pay a price for it. And so what we find here is Jesus being too weak to carry his own cross.

This wasn't something abnormal, right? If somebody was to be crucified by the Romans, they would have to carry either their main beam or their cross beam. And guess what? If you're not a Roman and you're standing by, it doesn't matter. They can enlist you and conscript you that you have to go and carry anything that they say for up to one mile. But Jesus is too weak from the scourging and from the beating to carry His own cross. He's too physically damaged. But He still... Jesus still walks to Golgotha, make no doubt about it.

With every step that Jesus made towards that hill, that step was for you and for me. Jesus, on that cross as He was being crucified, they gave Him a mix of myrrh and of wine. It was almost like a painkiller of sorts. It was folk medicine of the time. But you need to understand that Jesus endured the fullness of the pain because He would not let anything soften His mind or distract Him from drinking the cup of wrath that the Father had prepared for Him to drink for us. Jesus wasn't going to be in a stupor, He wasn't going to be drunk, He wasn't going to be able to push away the pain, but He endured all for our sins.

Jesus, as He hung on that cross, watch as they divided His garments. They had taken what little possessions that Jesus had, and they most likely played dice at His feet. They shot craps to try to figure out who was going to get His stuff, because it was of value. See, Jesus was willing to have His garments as part of a gambling game. He was willing to hang on that cross, either naked or near naked, and face the ridicule and shame of it. that we may be clothed with his righteousness."

Jesus endured the humiliation that you may be clothed with his righteous deeds. Jesus was blasphemed I forgot to read this at the very end of verse 32. Even those who were crucified with him reviled him. The word, therefore, reviled is blasphemed him. On his right and on his left, he was numbered amongst the transgressors that we might be numbered amongst the righteous.

You know, I was talking to Keith last week, or two weeks ago, and I asked him, well, what are you going to preach on? And he said, well, before I looked at your spreadsheet with all the different things that you were preaching on, I decided I would preach about the thief on the cross. And I thought, I love the Lord's humor, right? He's always seems to have a plan here. So I'm not going to labor on this point. Keith talked to you about this for 40 minutes or 50 minutes last time.

But Jesus was willing to be numbered amongst the transgressors that we might be numbered with the righteous. And I don't think that James and John, when they asked to sit at Jesus's right and left hands, and Jesus said, that place is prepared by my father. It's not mine to give. I don't think that James and John expected that the people sitting on his right and on his left to be on a cross. Jesus was willing to be mocked for us, because Satan was still at work.

Did you hear what the Jewish people told Him? Those who are passing by, as well as the chief priests and the scribes. Ah, verse 29, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. I have to ask you, could Jesus have done that? Could Jesus have come down from that cross?

So why didn't He? Right, if Jesus commands a legion of angels, why wouldn't He stop this? Because He was willing to be our sacrifice. Satan, even in his dying moments, was trying to tempt Jesus to avert the plan, to abort the mission. But Jesus was determined for you and me that he would endure death willingly that we may have life. The chief priests and the scribes mocked him in verse 32. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend from the cross. Right? If you do that, Jesus, we'll see and then we'll believe.

No, they wouldn't. We know they wouldn't because Jesus would be taken down from that cross once he died and three days later there's a preview into the next chapter. He would rise again from the dead and they would make up stories to try to convince everyone else to not believe what they had seen. They would not believe.

But what's that got to do with you? Jesus himself said, more blessed are they who do not see and yet believe. Is your faith by sight? Or do you trust the Jesus that we find here in this historical narrative? Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe. So do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified by the Romans? Is He your King? Is He this failed King that the Romans think He is, or do you believe that He is the King of kings?

Because I've got to tell you, the Christian confession is that the cross isn't the end of the story, and what these people were doing, they didn't realize the depth of its meaning. Because if we flip over to the end of the book, by that I mean the book of Revelation, if we go to Revelation chapter 1, just hear how Jesus is talked about there. Mark tells us they crucified Him.

But then John tells us in John 1, grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before His throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Do you see what it's saying about Jesus? Jesus didn't fail His mission, Jesus fulfilled His mission. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.

He's the firstborn of the resurrection and He earned His crown. He deserves the glory. He is the King of the nations today. And He's done something with you. Did you catch it? Did you catch what is said about you in this passage? He loved us. Number one, He loved us. Number two, He washed us from our sins in His own blood. And number three, He made us kings. And number four, He made us priests.

God did not save you just so you would get a get out of hell free card. God saved you because He does indeed have a purpose for your life. He did not save you to leave you in your sin. He did not save you to leave you in your shame to figure out how you're ever going to be good enough that you could be one of His people. He saved you because He loved you and He made you His child. Jesus is not surprised by your sin. Jesus, our King, knows you are a sinner, and yet the King came to seek and to save the lost. Such was me and you.

Our King, our Prince of Peace, is not surprised that your idolatry, your struggle with blasphemy, your difficulties in keeping the Sabbath, the King is not surprised that you have a difficult time with honoring authority. The Lord Jesus Christ knows that in your heart at times you get so angry it's almost like you could commit murder. The Lord knows the lusts of your heart. The Lord knows that you might struggle with stealing or covetousness, lying or gossip, but that didn't keep Him from dying for you. No, that's why He died for you.

Following King Jesus is not about saying, someday I will be good enough and then King Jesus will accept me. No, being a Christian is saying, Jesus died and cleansed me from my sin. I don't say that I don't have sin. If I did, I would deceive myself and I'd call God a liar. But I am able to confess my sin because Jesus is faithful and Jesus is just. And Jesus forgives me of my sins and cleanses me from all my unrighteousness. Do you follow that, Jesus? Or are you still trying to be good enough? If we believe who King Jesus says He is and we will confess our sins, but then we will step out of darkness and walk in His marvelous light.

Jesus died on that cross, not just so that way your sins would be forgiven, but that you might reign with him as kings and queens, princes and princesses of his kingdom, that you might live lives filled with the Holy Spirit, with a zeal for holiness, that you may rejoice in who he is and walk in his ways.

Brothers and sisters, you are bought at the price of Jesus's blood. So glorify God with your body. Your King made you a priest, so let your mouth be filled with righteousness and with His praise. Your King has shown you how to walk, so imitate Jesus. Care for the poor, give to the needy. It's more blessed to give than to receive. Walk with humility. Show forgiveness. Grieve over injustice. Comfort the downtrodden. Walk in the ways that Jesus has taught you to walk because He is our King. We are members of His royal household. We are members of Jesus' royal household. It's just me, right? I was too dumb as a child to actually read my Bible. And it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I read through Galatians chapter 3 and 4. And I was brought to my knees with tears.

Because God has adopted us as His children. And poured out in our hearts His Spirit with Christ our Abba Father. So if the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords has poured out His Spirit in your hearts, that means that you have a new identity. You have a new family. You have a new walk. You have dignity and purpose in your life that you can walk before Him with thankfulness.

See, our obedience is not out of slavery, but because it's who we are. We follow the King. into the battle. We want Jesus's name to be known to all the nations, right? This is why some of us pray, and give, and go, even to the ends of the earth. This is why we keep the Great Commission, because Jesus is with us always, even until the ends of the age, and He is the King over all nations.

So what they didn't understand here, what the Romans and the high priests were doing In Mark chapter 15, they thought they were getting rid of this pest. This guy who was on a failed mission to be the king of Israel. But what they didn't know is that they were giving the king of kings his crown of glory. That the high priests were transferring over to him a priesthood that he would eclipse. And that he would take up into heaven and would be a much greater minister for you and me in the tabernacle not made by human hands.

And so you have a king today. You have a king who lives today, and you are his child if you have faith in him. So follow your king. Walk in the ways of your king. And know that he indeed has given you dignity and purpose in your life as a child of his kingdom.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Lord, we We have to confess to you that there are some of us who struggle. Lord, some of us struggle to believe this. And so Lord, we pray for any of us who may have hearts that this is difficult to accept or to believe. Lord, we pray that your spirit might do an amazing work to take out hearts of stone. Lord, and to give hearts that would believe. Lord, we pray for some of us as this is falling upon deaf ears and our hearts have become callous. This is old news to us.

Lord, we pray that you would renew our joy and let us not forget of your love and of your kingly authority. Lord, we pray that you would not let us grow lukewarm or cold. Lord, but that we would remember you, our King, our first love, and that we would follow after you that we might spend eternity singing the praises of the Lamb. Lord, we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I told you a few weeks ago, I hope you get used to singing Psalm 22, because this is Jesus' psalm. All of Psalm 22