The Journey to the Cross, Part 17

So Mark chapter 15, we're going to read from verse 1 to verse 20.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

Last week we looked at Jesus' trial before the Jewish religious leaders.

This time here is Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate.

Let's hear the word of God together.

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 turned him over to Pilate.

Are you the king of the Jews? asked Pilate.

Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused him of many things.

So again Pilate asked him, aren't you going to answer?

See how many things they are accusing you of.

But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Now it was the custom at the feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.

A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists

who had committed murder in the uprising.

The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? asked Pilate,

knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

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

What shall I do then with the one you call the king of the Jews?

Pilate asked them.

Crucify him, they shouted.

Why?

What crime has he committed? asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, crucify him.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.

He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, that is the praetorium,

and called together the whole company of soldiers.

They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

And they began to call out to him,

Hail, king of the Jews.

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.

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.

Amen.

Let's think about the first 20 verses there.

As we look again at this, now the second trial that Jesus undergoes.

As we see Jesus being rejected as king in this section.

There is a saying that goes along the lines that we need to learn from history,

or we will simply repeat its mistakes.

And I think it's important for us as we focus on this second trial scene,

as we look at Jesus now on trial as king of the Jews.

So the Jewish religious leaders had tried him in the religious court

in order to find him guilty of blasphemy.

But they knew that a Roman court would never convict a person to die for blasphemy.

So they're charging Jesus with claiming to be king of the Jews.

They want Pilate to find him guilty of treason against Caesar.

It's important for us to recognize that while in some ways Pilate and the soldiers are very different from us,

they are also guilty of mistakes that we ourselves can make.

As we find Jesus being subjected to more injustice, as we see him face dishonor,

it's important for us to see that these figures, these stories,

can and should in a way serve as mirrors,

exposing our own hearts and lives,

causing us to reflect on how we respond to Jesus.

So we're going to think about Pilate.

We're going to think about the Roman soldiers.

We're going to think about Barabbas.

We're going to think about how did Jesus impact their lives?

How do they react to Jesus?

And in what ways, if any, am I like them?

How should I pray for myself?

How should I pray for others in light of these character traits?

What difference will it make to see our own hearts being revealed in this story?

So let's look at these characters and let's see what we can learn,

beginning with Pilate, who is the Roman governor.

Now, I think Mark wants us to understand that Pilate doesn't believe Jesus is worthy of death.

He believes Jesus is innocent of this charge that's brought against him.

Well, let's see how this plays out.

So in verse 1, the religious leaders of the Jews bring Jesus to Pilate.

And they've obviously told Pilate that he is claiming to be the king of the Jews.

And so Pilate asks Jesus the question, are you the king of the Jews?

Yes, it is as you say.

One of the interesting things about this trial, same as with the religious trial,

is the silence of Jesus.

And see there in verse 4,

Pilate is struck by the fact that Jesus remains silent despite the many accusations being brought

by the Jewish religious leaders.

Pilate is not used in his courtroom to see someone with this level of composure and dignity

when they're on trial for their lives.

But this is Jesus fulfilling his role as the suffering servant.

In Isaiah 53, we're told that Jesus would suffer silently.

And we see this here.

So here is Jesus before Pilate.

Pilate, we're told in verse 5, is amazed by Jesus.

And it seems that from the beginning,

Pilate wants to find a way to not have to try or sentence Jesus.

And so we're introduced to this custom in verse 6.

It was the custom at the feast, that's the Passover feast,

to release a prisoner whom the people requested.

So the Romans are now in charge over Israel.

But they have set this law where once a year at the Passover,

time of great national celebration, a prisoner can be set free.

So Pilate, naturally, when the crowd in verse 8 come and ask Pilate for a release,

says to them,

Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?

Because at this stage, he's already figured out

that the real motive behind the charge against Jesus is envy,

is self-interest.

That they are issuing trumped up charges

in order to get rid of an opponent

who's taking popularity from the religious leaders.

When it gets to the end,

when Pilate nails his colors to the mast,

when the crowd begin crying out that Jesus should be crucified,

look at verse 14.

Pilate asks the question,

Why?

What crime has he committed?

So there is Pilate's personal verdict.

Pilate, Jesus has done nothing deserving of death.

He's not the dangerous revolutionary guilty of treason

that the religious establishment have set him up to be.

So Pilate believes he has done no crime,

but in verse 15,

nevertheless, he condemns Jesus as guilty.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd,

Pilate released Barabbas to them.

He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.

Here is another injustice against Jesus.

Here is a judge willingly and knowingly

condemning an innocent man

and doing it blatantly in order to please the crowd,

in order to secure his political position.

Now when we see this going on in world politics today,

we are rightly horrified.

But here we see it in Jesus,

that Pilate condemns him as guilty

for his own self-interest.

That begs an important question from us.

Are you and I, are we, like Pilate, people pleasers?

Do we live with the fear of man

so that that's what determines how we live and how we act?

What does that look like for us compared to Pilate?

Well, perhaps it might look like hiding our beliefs,

hiding our values and behavior under pressure

from family, from friends, from colleagues.

Or maybe it's just a perception

that if I stand and be counted as a Christian,

that life will get difficult for me.

Maybe you know that Japanese proverb,

the nail that sticks out will be hammered in.

We instinctively do not want to be hammered.

So it's a challenge for us to count the cost

to stand up and be a Christian.

And so perhaps you know what it is

to hide your belief and behavior.

I was talking to our young people, our edge group,

and that was my experience as a teen, as an early 20,

trying desperately to fit in, to blend in,

to not have anybody ask those questions.

You know, God calls us to be holy.

Jesus said we should be a different kind of people,

living a different kind of culture.

That's hard.

Perhaps for us, we have an inner tug of war

between our convictions that we would love to live out,

but then we get weak and we get fearful.

And so we're constantly feeling guilty

because there's things we should do and say that we don't.

Or maybe you feel really drawn to Jesus,

but you've never committed because you're aware of the cost.

Perhaps what it will mean within your family or friends.

I had a Chinese friend called Larry in Glasgow,

and we spent years reading the Bible together.

And he was really drawn to Jesus.

You could see it.

He went home to visit his family,

and he came back and he sat down with me and he said,

I would love to follow Jesus, but I can't

because my parents would not approve.

Perhaps that's our experience.

Perhaps living with the fear of man means we seek approval

in the wrong places.

Ed Welch has written a book with a great title,

When People Are Big and God Is Small.

We can find ourselves doing that all the time,

not living for God's approval,

but being concerned,

what will other people around me think

if I stand up for Jesus in this way or in that way?

And when we are like that,

if we're Christians and we're struggling

with the fear of man,

one inevitable consequence

is that we will always struggle with sharing our faith,

that our evangelism and mission will suffer.

I read an incredibly convicting sentence

from a man by the name of Tahir.

Tahir is somebody who works in some of the Stan states

in the former Soviet Republic.

He plants churches among Muslim people groups.

And he said this, he said,

the world is more ready to receive the gospel

than the church is to share the gospel.

Because so often we're afraid.

So often we're concerned to please people

rather than to please our God.

When that's you, when that's me,

what do we do about that?

Where does change come from?

Can I suggest that the change will come

when we focus on identity?

First of all, focusing on the identity of Jesus.

To see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us.

To recognize here is the son of God

who has left the glory of heaven.

That he has become fully human.

He's been tried and tested and tempted

as we are yet without sin.

That he's lived in perfect obedience on our behalf.

That he's going through all this suffering,

ultimately taking him to the cross

in order to pay the price for our sin

to bring us to God.

If we understand the cost that Jesus was willing to pay

in order to make us children of God,

as we continue to live in that reality,

as that dominates our thinking,

that's the only way to overcome being a people pleaser.

To be overwhelmed by the love of God

as it's shown to us in Jesus.

So we need to see the identity of Christ,

but we also need to be so clear

on our identity as Christians in Christ.

To see that when our faith is in Jesus,

we are children of God.

That we have this eternal inheritance laid up for us.

We have absolute security.

We have a love that will never let us go.

We have an acceptance that is guaranteed

from the one who matters more than anybody else.

If you get the chance over the summer to read one book,

I've recommended it before,

Tim Keller's The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness.

The Gospel of Self-Forgetfulness.

I can't remember which one it is.

Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, I think it is.

An incredible book on helping us to think less of ourselves,

to think more of Jesus as the way into joy,

and as the way into mission as the people of God.

So there's some lessons from Pilate.

What lessons can we draw from the Roman soldiers?

What do we see of them?

We see men who are professional

in cruelty and humiliation, don't we?

Verse 16,

These Roman soldiers, they're experts in torture.

They're experts in killing.

They're experts in degrading and humiliating their prisoners.

Remember a few years ago,

some of those horrible images

that came out of the Abu Ghraib Detention Center.

Whenever prisoners are treated as less than,

it's not a nice thing to see.

Here is Jesus being treated as less than,

dishonored shamefully,

mocking Jesus' claim to be king.

There's this cruel theater show.

Let's dress Jesus up as a king

in order to tear him down,

is the soldiers thinking.

They would agree with the Jewish crowd at the cross

that cried,

We have no king but Caesar.

They don't see Jesus as a king.

They respond to power,

to the power and glory of Rome.

That's the emperor.

He's the true king.

They look at Jesus.

They see nothing worth value.

And so they mock him

and they continue to go about their business of execution.

Here's one lesson that we can take for ourselves

from the Roman soldiers.

Are you and I too busy for Jesus?

Are you and I too busy to build a relationship with Jesus?

Or too busy to even get to know who he truly is in the first place?

It seems such a tragedy in the case of these Roman soldiers.

They have this unique opportunity to examine Jesus' claim.

You know, he's come from the courthouse.

He's been tried as the son of God,

as the savior of the world,

as the king of the Jews,

but they have no interest in discovering,

is any of this true?

And if that's true, what difference does it make?

They're too busy doing their job

to take the opportunity that's presented to them.

Like them, for us, life can get crazy, crazy busy.

Even in summer, when it should be, in a sense,

a time for many of us to rest,

it seems like things are just relentless.

There are things that we must do to do with work.

There are commitments in the home.

There are family and friends to take care of.

There's stuff that we sometimes just waste time on.

There's good hobbies to pursue.

But all of that taken together means often

we leave very little time for Jesus.

We don't make blocks in our calendar

for reading, for prayer,

making time to be with other Christians.

Sometimes we find that that time

can very easily be squeezed out, if we're honest.

There was some leadership advice

I was reminded of this week,

which I think is really appropriate

when it comes to this.

And it's simply,

don't let the good swallow the great.

We have many good things

that we have to do in our lives.

Many noble things to pursue.

But don't let those block out the time

that we need to build a relationship

with Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.

To grow in our faith,

or to come to faith.

To make this relationship with Jesus a priority.

To really understand who he is

and what he has done.

To not let him simply pass us by

like the soldiers did.

Maybe we can think of the story

of when Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha.

Boys and girls,

I'm sure you remember the story

of when Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha.

Two sisters, Jesus came.

He was their friend.

And he sat down and he began teaching in one room.

There's one sister, Martha,

and she's like super busy.

She's cooking.

She's cleaning.

She's preparing a meal for Jesus.

And she's really annoyed with Mary.

Because Mary is sitting,

simply listening to Jesus.

Boys and girls,

do you remember what Jesus said?

He said,

Mary's chosen the better thing.

Because Mary's listening to Jesus.

It's good to be busy.

It's good to work.

But it's most important

for each one of us to spend time with Jesus.

So again, if we find ourselves,

you know, coming into the summer season

thinking, man, my calendar is absolutely crammed.

How is change going to come?

We're going to have to be really deliberate

about slowing down.

We're going to need to be really deliberate

in our time management,

in our calendar management,

if we want to invest in

our relationship with the Lord Jesus.

If we want to be serious

about knowing him and knowing him better,

perhaps there are changes,

really practical changes,

that need to happen

to how our weeks,

our days look.

It'd be a wonderful thing

if we could look ahead to this summer

and say,

this is a summer

where I'm really going to dig deep

into the Bible,

where I'm going to examine

who Jesus is,

I'm going to think about

what the cross is all about,

and to see how that would change us.

to prioritize church,

whether that's Sunday morning,

Sunday evening,

whether it's Wednesday evenings

and outside of term times,

prioritizing Bible reading and prayer.

Your man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes

from the mouth of God.

We need God's word

for our spiritual life.

The change will come

as we slow down,

as we reevaluate,

as we set new priorities

to build,

to grow a relationship

that will last

so we won't be too busy

for Jesus.

And what about Barabbas?

What lessons can we draw

from Barabbas?

We don't learn too much about him,

but we know that he was

a political freedom fighter.

Verse seven,

A man called Barabbas

was in prison

with the insurrectionists

who had committed murder

in the uprising.

He was a man

who wanted revolution.

There was lots of people

called zealots

who were keen to see

a free Israel.

He wanted to get rid

of the Romans.

And Barabbas is one of those guys

who's willing to kill

for the cause.

What do you live for, Barabbas?

I live for the freedom of Israel.

But he's obviously been found,

captured,

been found guilty of murder.

And here he stands

condemned and guilty

with just a few hours

left to live.

But then that remarkable thing

happens at the feast.

This condemned and guilty man

walks free.

Verse nine,

again,

do you want me to release to you

the king of the Jews?

Ask Pilate,

verse 11,

but the chief priests

stirred up the crowd

to have Pilate

release Barabbas

instead.

So religious leaders

along with the masses,

they choose this murderer,

this political freedom fighter

rather than Jesus.

Perhaps

for many of the people

they thought

this is the kind of savior

that we want.

Of course,

it's not the savior

that they needed.

But perhaps Barabbas

represented the hopes

of many

for political freedom.

We see that in Jesus'

ministry,

the expectations

of God's king

were in many ways

far too low.

Only thinking in terms

of political

and national freedom

rather than

recognizing that Jesus,

the true king,

God's king,

he brings spiritual freedom,

he brings an eternal

global kingdom.

A question

related to Barabbas'

life,

a lesson for ourselves.

What difference

does the substitution

of Jesus

make to our lives?

So at this trial,

Pilate willingly

and knowingly

switches

the guilty Barabbas

for the innocent

Jesus.

Barabbas,

who should have been

condemned to die,

walks free,

expecting death

and judgment,

but he tastes

freedom.

Now we're not told

whether Barabbas

watched

as Jesus

took his place

on that cross.

We're not told

whether he cared,

whether that made

any difference

to his life.

We have

no idea.

It doesn't really

matter for us.

What matters

profoundly

for us though

is

what difference

does that substitution

make for us?

Because this swap

that's happening

prepares us

for the good news

of the Bible.

Barabbas stands

for all of us

as sinners

who disobey God,

who dishonor God.

We stand

with Barabbas

deserving

the judgment

of God.

But then

there is the cross.

There's this wonderful

exchange that takes place.

Paul puts it this way,

God made him,

that's Jesus,

who knew no sin

to be sin

for us

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

Jesus takes

my sin,

suffers the judgment

of God

in my place,

gives me

his righteousness

as a free gift

of his grace

so I can be

welcomed,

so I can be

reconciled.

The Bible says

to us,

I am Barabbas

and you

are Barabbas.

I wonder

do we see that,

do we appreciate

the difference

that makes

for how we

think about life?

Here is the grace

of God

being indicated

to us

that Jesus

becomes our

legal representative.

He stands

in our place

in the court

of law.

He faces

judgment

and death

so that you

and I,

we don't need

to because

he has gone

there for us

if our faith

is in him.

Jesus rises

from the dead

and returns

to the glory

of heaven

and as our

legal representative,

we too receive

new life in him

with a promise

of resurrection

life that will

never end

after death.

that he returns

to the glory

of heaven

and he is

our legal representative.

What belongs

to him

belongs to us

too.

So that is

our glorious

future,

the glory

of heaven,

seeing Jesus

face to face

and being

made like him.

Jesus calls

God Father.

Jesus enjoys

the eternal love

of the Father

and in him

that's our privilege

too.

as the church

we can pray

our Father

in heaven.

He belongs

to us.

Mark writes

this

so that we

wouldn't miss

out,

that we

wouldn't walk

by Jesus

out of fear

of what people

might say,

that we

wouldn't put

Jesus to one

side because

of the fear

of our loss

of reputation

perhaps.

See,

don't miss

out because

of our

busyness

or other

priorities

that come

ahead of

the Lord

Jesus.

Recognize

Jesus takes

your place,

is willing

to take

your place

and gifts

you his

place as

a loved

child of

God and

he's on

this journey

towards the

cross.

He's going

to this

trial to

show us

just how

great

God's

love

is.

Let me

just finish

by putting

Jesus'

trial here

in the

big picture

of salvation.

What can

we see?

One thing

that we

see very

clearly is

that the

world in

its sin

chooses to

reject

God's

Savior.

We saw

last week

the Jewish

religious

leaders

reject

Jesus.

Now we

see the

Romans

rejecting

Jesus.

The world

is conspiring

to get

rid of

Jesus

because it

reveals our

hearts that

every one

of us

by nature

rebels,

turns our

back on

our

Creator

and our

Savior.

Every one

of us

in different

ways every

day dishonors

our God.

This trial

reminds us

of that.

But putting

this trial in

the big

picture also

reminds us

that God

can bring

good from

evil.

This trial

is part of

the world's

greatest

injustice

that has

ever been

seen.

Jesus,

the one

who deserves

all the

glory we

could afford,

is treated

so shamefully,

so badly,

yet this is

part of

God's

eternal

plan.

And in

God's

eternal

plan,

this becomes

the greatest

act of

love and

grace and

justice and

mercy the

world has

ever known.

And again,

as we put

this trial in

the big

picture,

we see

Jesus is

the greater,

the greater,

the greatest

king,

the world

has ever

seen.

The soldiers

couldn't

see it.

They mocked

Jesus.

What kind

of king

is this?

They thought

Caesar was

the ultimate

king,

but of course

the Roman

empire would

collapse,

collapsed in

476.

All its

power,

all its

glory was

gone,

but Jesus'

kingdom,

it's global.

It spans

history,

it spans

continents and

languages and

people groups and

religious

backgrounds.

there is

no Hadrian's

wall that

is strong

enough to

stop the

spread of

the gospel.

Jesus is

showing that

he is building

his church and

nothing and no

one can stop

it.

There's good

news all

around the

world of what

God is doing.

I wonder,

are we part of

that kingdom

today?

Would we like

to be part of

that kingdom?

Do we recognize

Jesus is the

king who

loved us and

gave himself

for us?

Live so,

put your

faith in

Jesus.

Trust that

when he went

to the cross,

he went there

for you in

order to

forgive you

your sin and

to give you

eternal life.

Turn from

your sin,

turn towards

God and

live for

your king.

Let's live

for our king,

let's speak

for him,

let's pray

that his

kingdom would

come here

in Edinburgh

and Scotland

and around

our world.