Despised and Rejected

At the heart of Christianity is the conviction that the focal point of all human history

is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Of course, we understand that.

That's why we gather today.

That's why we gather Sunday by Sunday.

It is to reflect particularly and foremost on what Christ has done for us through the

cross and the resurrection.

But the significance of this particular belief, this conviction, is not merely on the historical

reality of crucifixion, but it's on the atoning work that was accomplished by Jesus through

the crucifixion.

In other words, the cross is not important to us because it is the dramatic climax of

Jesus' life.

It's important because through it alone, we can actually receive forgiveness of sins

and eternal life.

Do you see that?

I'm not sure that the world around us understands that part of it.

People in our communities and people in our world and in our life are almost always going

to be familiar on some level with Christianity.

And when they think of Christianity, at some point, they're probably very early on in those

thoughts, going to be brought to the cross.

But for the most part, they see it only as a historical reality.

The fact that there's this man that we follow, this moral man, we have patterned our lives

after him.

And this is the dramatic conclusion to his life and that it is tragic.

And there is things that we learn through what he displayed, even in his moments of suffering.

And they think that really that that's why we care so much about this.

But that's not why we care so much about this.

It's not just about the reality of his suffering.

It's about what is purposed in his suffering.

It's the fact that in the cross, in his crucifixion, and in his crucifixion alone, we actually have

eternal life.

We have forgiveness of sin.

And we have been reconciled to God.

So this crucifixion is what it's called.

This conviction that the cross is really the focal point of all of history.

It's not a theological concept developed by Christians over time.

It's not like the first two or three hundred years after Christ's life, the people who were

following him looked back and in examining his life and maybe through their forms of philosophy

determined that this was important.

This was not a concept that was contrived by man.

The concept of the cross as the focal point of human history is actually revealed as a reflection

in the scriptures themselves.

beginning at Genesis all the way to Revelation, the Bible is a book about salvation, a salvation

that is promised by God and is fulfilled in his son, Jesus Christ.

So even as we look all the way back to the very beginning of mankind, and then we look ahead

to what will be the conclusion of mankind in the second coming of Christ, everything we read

in the Bible finds its focus here in this part of the Gospels and the crucifixion and resurrection

of Jesus.

That's the nature of Mark's gospel even.

Everything we've studied over the last two years in this gospel has been pushing us forward

to the cross.

As early as chapter 2 even, Jesus had detailed or revealed the fact of his murderous death

that he would be taken from the disciples and from his followers.

But then on at least three occasions, he's explicitly described it to his disciples and those who

followed him.

Everything in Mark is pushing forward, not just to show us the incredible things that Jesus did,

though those things are very important, but it's to eventually get us to this moment on the cross.

Of course, you'll remember in Mark chapter 10, Jesus plainly said all the things that we just read

Mark 10 · chapter mention

would take place.

Mark 10 verse 33.

Mark 10:33

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, he told his disciples.

The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priest and the scribes.

We read about that with Judas.

Judas delivers him to the chief priest and scribes.

They will condemn him to death.

We saw that in the kangaroo court in the midnight trial.

And they will deliver him over to the Gentiles.

We studied that last week.

They parade him to Pontius Pilate, where he stands trial there.

And what does he say to his disciples will happen after he has stood before the Gentiles or Pontius

Pilate, as we look back?

And they will mock him and they will spit on him.

They will flog him and they will kill him.

And after three days, he will rise.

Jesus has already told his disciples, this is going to happen.

And we get here to the verses we just read and we see it indeed happened exactly as Jesus said it would.

The crucifixion was no accident.

Jesus had not lost control.

He is in this predicament.

He is in this circumstance and in this position, particularly and specifically because he is in control in this moment.

That's why he's there.

So Christians view the crucifixion as the focus of human history because Jesus taught it as such.

And the scriptures affirm it as such.

But there are some inherent dangers to this, aren't there?

There are some inherent dangers to us having a complete focus on the cross in our faith.

On the one hand, we can become so distracted by the savagery of such an execution that we are guilty of a shallow sentimentalism.

You know what I mean?

You scroll through Facebook and perhaps as I saw the other day,

someone posts a portrait rendering, a painted rendering of what Jesus' deformed body must have looked like

as he endured the process of crucifixion, particularly the scourging and the flogging that he went through.

And we see that.

And we should see that.

But we see it and we gaze on it, we gaze on it, we gaze on it.

We never actually move beyond that to the purpose of it.

We get so distracted by the fact of his suffering that we develop this shallow sentimentalism

that is only attracted to Christ because of what he endured, not necessarily what he endured for us.

Are you with me on that?

So there's one end of this, one extreme of it, we would say,

where constantly looking at the cross actually might prevent us from actually going all the way to see the purpose of the cross

because we never actually get past the grotesque picture that we see there.

That's one side.

On the other side of that, we can become so desensitized to the sufferings of Christ

that we're no longer moved by the extent to which he was willing to go to save us.

That's a problem too.

To where we can come in even our daily Bible studies or maybe perhaps in,

even in our reading in our time of worship this morning,

as we come to the Lord's tables month by month and we reflect on these things.

We can reflect on it so often that we become desensitized to it,

to where we're no longer moved by the reality of what he has done for us.

Both are problems.

Not a problem with reflection, problem with our hearts,

problem with the way that we approach the scriptures.

Kent Hughes pointed out these two extremes.

He said,

as Christians, we must still ourselves against such desensitization.

Christ's passion was real.

Granted, we should not be overcome by a morbid preoccupation

with the gore of the cross or by shallow sentimentalism.

At the same time, Christ's agony must never become a matter of dispassionate interest.

It is the fact of Jesus's suffering that makes salvation possible.

It wouldn't have been enough for Jesus to have been strangled to death.

That wouldn't have done it.

Hebrews says,

without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

An honorable death wouldn't have worked either.

For a substitution to occur,

which was necessary in the death and in the suffering of Christ.

For a substitution to occur,

he had to have been treated as if he was truly guilty.

He himself says to his disciples in Luke 24, following his resurrection,

was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

And he went back to Moses and the prophets and he interpreted to them in all the scriptures,

the things concerning himself,

the things concerning his suffering.

The fact that this was not an honorable death,

this was a criminal's death.

Furthermore,

it wouldn't have been sufficient for his death to take place in the privacy of a prison cell or an execution chamber.

Jesus had to face the full gamut of public scorn and humiliation to be our savior.

As we read in Isaiah 53 in verse 3,

he was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And as one from whom men hide their faces,

he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Keith and Kristen Getty wrote a Christmas song years ago called Fullness of Grace

that touches on this dynamic.

Fullness of grace,

the love of the Father,

shown in the face of Jesus,

stooping to bear the weight of humanity,

walking the Calvary road.

Christ,

the holy innocent,

took our sin and punishment.

Fullness of God,

despised and rejected,

crushed for the sins of the world.

That's what we see in this text.

Not only today,

but the text that we'll see next Sunday as well.

And I want us to take the next two Sundays to gaze fully at the cross of our Lord.

not to fall into a morbid preoccupation or a shallow sentimentalism,

but to duly consider the suffering and humiliation that Jesus willingly endured

to provide salvation for us.

salvation for sinners.

So what did he endure?

This text,

I think,

reveals three things he endured for us.

Number one,

he endured mockery.

Mockery.

Look at verse 16.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace,

that is the governor's headquarters.

And they called together the whole battalion.

So traveling to Jerusalem with Pontius Pilate,

as we saw last week,

is a battalion of soldiers assigned underneath his control.

This would have been equal to about 600 men,

a tenth of a Roman legion.

They were stationed in Caesarea,

but had traveled to Jerusalem due to the Passover celebration.

There were so many people in Israel descending upon Jerusalem at this time.

We've talked about that a number of times.

There were so many people in Jerusalem

that the battalion station in Caesarea would go to Jerusalem during these times

in order to make sure no riots unfold,

as from time to time they actually took place.

These anti-Roman crowds,

anti-Roman riots that would inevitably unfold,

they go there to make sure that they can control the people who are there.

So there's 600 men there.

They've traveled from Caesarea along with Pontius Pilate.

There's a fortress in Jerusalem that we read about in history,

had barracks there that the soldiers would have stayed in.

Pilate wouldn't have stayed in the fortress.

Pilate would have stayed in Herod's palace that was also located in Jerusalem.

It was also from this palace where Pilate would have overseen the morning trials,

pronounced his judgment against Jesus.

That's why we see it reflected in verse 16,

that the soldiers led him away inside the palace

that is also at that moment functioning as the governor's headquarters.

So the Jews wouldn't have risked, especially with it being the Passover,

they wouldn't have risked going inside the palace of King Herod

to appear before Pontius Pilate.

That would have made them ceremonially unclean,

which would have removed them from any participation in the feast of Passover

and the unleavened bread that immediately followed.

So that morning as they come to Pilate, the Jews remain outside.

Pilate would go out to the front.

Perhaps there was a stairwell there.

Perhaps there was something there where many people could gather.

Pilate would address the Jews.

They would do their business.

And then Pilate would move inside the headquarters to carry out the specific trials.

So when we see the Sanhedrin crying out to Pilate,

we see that would have taken place outside.

And then when we see that Pilate is interacting with Jesus,

that would have actually occurred inside the palace.

And at some point in the trial, we're told,

Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers

who were present there to scourge him.

We see that in verse 15 right at the very end.

Mark's not writing chronologically here,

but that's where we see the scourging in particular.

So Pilate wishing to satisfy the crowd,

released for them Barabbas,

and having scourged Jesus,

he delivered him to be crucified.

Scourging or flogging was an intense form of discipline.

It almost always preceded crucifixion,

but it doesn't seem like it was in regards to crucifixion

that Jesus was scourged here,

especially when we look to John's gospel.

It was really being used, at least at this point,

as a punishment in and of itself.

A criminal would be tied to a post.

They would be tortured with their bareback exposed.

A flagellum is what was used.

It was a whip that had multiple thongs on it.

On the end of each thong would be a broken piece of glass

or bone or a ball bearing or some type of metal,

and it was designed specifically to rip into the flesh

of those who were suffering underneath the torture of it.

Some of these beatings were so severe,

we read historically,

that some criminals died before it was ever over.

Pilate has delivered Jesus over to this battalion of soldiers

to endure this particular scourging,

not to the point of death,

but to the point of perhaps releasing him back to the crowd.

And it's after Jesus endured this vile torture device

that the scene with the soldiers begins to unfold.

Look with me at verse 17.

They clothed him in a purple cloak,

twisting together a crown of thorns.

They put it on him,

and they began to salute him.

Hail, King of the Jews!

They were striking his head with a reed

and spitting on him

and kneeling down in homage to him.

Do you see what they're doing?

You see the mockery that is beginning to unfold.

Between the scourging and the earlier beating from the Sanhedrin,

remember, Jesus has already been through

quite a bit of suffering, physical suffering,

up to this point,

before the soldiers are ever beginning to mock him in this way.

He would have stood before these men,

swollen, bruised, bloodied,

fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy.

In Isaiah 52,

his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance,

his form beyond that of the children of mankind,

Isaiah wrote.

The soldiers were aware of the charges against Jesus,

which the charges brought to Jesus before Pilate

were not charges of blasphemy.

Remember, the charges brought before Pilate

were charges of insurrection.

He says he's the king of the Jews,

and he's amassing an army to take over Rome.

That's what they view.

And now standing before them is this frail man,

beaten and swollen and bruised and bloodied.

And what does that result in in the minds of these soldiers?

How could they possibly take him serious?

The idea of a true king in Jesus's position,

the way that they saw him, was preposterous.

So they made a game out of his suffering.

First, they found some purple material or scarlet material,

perhaps something they found lying around Herod's palace,

and they draped it over Jesus as if it was a royal robe.

Then someone comes in with a fake crown fashioned out of thorns,

and they force it on his head.

Someone else takes a reed or a stick,

and they put it in his hand as if it's a royal scepter.

Jesus, of course, at this point would have been too weary

to stand on his two feet and endure the treatment

that he's experiencing.

Surely they would have also provided a stool or a chair,

a makeshift throne from which they could cast their mockings.

And after the whole battalion had gathered

to see the charade that's unfolding in the palace,

some wise guy yells out,

hell, king of the Jews!

And you can imagine a wave of laughter

following and billowing through the hall

as they continue to mock the Lord,

one by one, taking their turn, spitting in his face,

beating him in the head with the reed

that they had earlier put in his hand,

kneeling before him to get a good laugh.

And when the laughter had grown old,

they stopped and they delivered him outside.

The God of all creation,

who created these men,

who gave them life,

sat silently before them,

enduring the fury of their scorn.

Verse 20,

when they had mocked him,

they stripped him of the purple cloak,

put his own clothes on him,

and they led him out to crucify him.

Now if we follow John's chronology,

if you want to write maybe in the margins of your notes,

John 19,

you can piece all of this together.

Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews one last time

before they removed the robe and the crown.

So they escort him out before the Sanhedrin

and the crowd that had gathered there,

not for Jesus,

but for Barabbas,

and he presents their king to the people,

arrayed in the fake robe and in the fake crown,

beaten now even more severely after a scourging.

And Pilate says in John 19,

look at the man.

Not so much,

I think in a sense of mockery from his own mouth,

I think in resistance

to what the crowd was actually calling for,

which was the crucifixion of Jesus.

He's essentially presenting Jesus before them

and essentially saying,

what more do you want us to do with him?

Look at what we have done to him already.

It's not that he felt bad for doing what he did.

He's presenting to them,

what more must we do to satisfy you?

And it's from that point

that they look on this fake form of royalty

and they say,

crucify him.

And they follow crucify him with,

we have no king but Caesar.

So that's what they did.

The soldiers removed the robe,

they replace it with Jesus' tunic

and they let him out of the palace

to be crucified.

What did he endure for us?

He endured mockery.

Number two,

he endured brutality.

Brutality.

And when describing the crucifixion here,

Mark broke from the narrative style

and he really fires off a series of bullet points

is what he does.

You can notice if the style of Bible

that you have is a verse by verse edition,

that is that the beginning of every verse

is aligned on the left side of the page,

you may have one like that.

You'll see this very clearly.

If not, you can write it out

on a piece of notebook paper

with each verse beginning a new line.

And what you'll see is

every one of these verses

begins with the word and.

Do you see it there?

Look first with me.

It really begins at verse 16,

but let's look first at verse 21.

And they compelled a passerby, 22.

And they brought him, 23.

And they offered him wine, 24.

And they crucified him, 25.

And it was the third hour, 26.

And the inscription of the charge, 27.

And with him, they crucified two robbers, 29.

And those who passed by derided him.

Do you see what Mark's doing?

He's pushing the story forward.

And this is consistent with Mark's style.

But what he's doing is breaking

from this narrative element,

and he's firing off these bullet points.

Now, why would he do that?

Part of it, I really actually think,

is just he's moving the story along

because that's what Mark does.

His book is one of action.

He's constantly moving things forward.

The other thing is we're reminded here

that Mark's immediate audience for this gospel

were Romans.

They didn't need a description of crucifixion.

They were well aware of that.

And it was actually so disdainful of a death

and such disdainful of a form of execution

that not even the Romans in general

wanted to talk about things related to crucifixion.

So Mark kind of passes over the details of it.

I think it's also true that Mark wasn't interested

in us fixating on the gory details of crucifixion,

a la Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

We need to acknowledge the reality of Jesus's suffering.

We need to look into those things, and we will.

But we need to be careful not to get stuck

dwelling on his anguish

without ever genuinely moving forward

to consider its purpose,

which was to satisfy God's wrath against our sins,

to make an atonement for us.

We got to move forward to that.

And the gospel authors, I think all four of them,

none of them really get distracted

by the gory details of it.

And so let's work through the bullet points.

We'll note those things,

but we'll do it as quickly as we can.

Verse 21,

And they compelled a passerby,

Simon of Cyrene,

who was coming in from the country,

father of Alexander and Rufus,

to carry his cross.

Just as a side note,

Rufus, we know was,

according to Romans,

was one of the Christians

and perhaps even leaders of the church in Rome.

Perhaps the reason,

Mark's the only one that mentions Alexander and Rufus.

All the gospel authors mention Simon.

Perhaps the reason he's mentioning Alexander and Rufus

is because if they wanted to check the validity

of what he's writing,

they have eyewitness testimony

right there in their own church

that could confirm or deny the things

that are being written here.

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha,

which means place of skull.

So the place of Jesus's execution was Golgotha.

In Latin, that is Calvary,

named for its shape like a human skull.

The path between the palace and Golgotha

would have been very long and very crowded.

That was intentional.

The Romans intentionally paraded

their crucifixion victims through the streets

in order that they could strike fear

into the hearts of all who witnessed the procession.

This wasn't just about the shame for the criminal.

This was about a warning to everyone else.

If you do what he does or what she has done,

this will be your result as well.

This will be your destiny.

And so they would have paraded him through the streets,

long and crowded.

James Edwards said,

every totalitarian regime needs a terror apparatus.

And crucifixion was Rome's terror apparatus ad horrendum,

infamous alike for its infliction of pain

and disgrace on the victim.

Quote,

whenever we crucify the guilty,

the most crowded roads are chosen

where the most people can see

and be moved by this fear,

which was a statement of approval

by a noted Roman orator from the first century.

Well, Golgotha was located just outside the city gates.

It was itself on a busy thoroughfare.

It was equipped with vertical posts

fixed into the ground.

So when we picture Jesus carrying a cross,

it is not the full cross that he's carrying.

The vertical posts are already fixed into the ground

outside of the city.

They were used multiple times for multiple crucifixions.

The portion of the cross that criminals were to carry

was the cross beam,

known as the patibulum in Latin.

Jesus was too weak to carry even this piece.

So the execution squad forced a passing spectator

named Simon to carry it for him.

It's quite a fitting picture of discipleship, isn't it?

We don't know the nature of Simon's faith

at that particular moment.

Perhaps he became a believer later.

We don't really know anything else about him.

What we do know is that as he picks up that cross

and begins to follow Jesus on the path of suffering,

Jesus's earlier words from Mark chapter eight

really come alive in a unique way.

That if anyone will come after me,

let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me.

Soldiers nailed Jesus's hands to the cross beam

carried by Simon.

Then they would have together lifted the beam,

Jesus's body suspended in the air,

and fastened it to one of the vertical posts.

Final step was to nail his feet,

probably one on top of the other.

Then the soldiers took a seat nearby

to wait and to watch.

Crucifixion was notoriously painful.

It's undoubtedly one of the most torturous forms

of execution the world has ever known.

Most victims ultimately died of either exhaustion

or asphyxiation.

As they were hanging on a cross,

their bodies slumped over,

it was difficult for them to breathe.

And the only way for them to grab a breath

would be to force themselves up

in order to gasp for a breath.

So you can imagine for the hours

that Jesus is on the cross,

time after time,

to breathe or to make one of the statements

that he said to have made

would have required some type of physical effort

just to get a breath

in order to say the things that he said.

And eventually,

the people being crucified

just became so exhausted

that they could no longer push themselves up

and they would have suffocated to death.

We even have an English word

that reflects the brutality of crucifixion.

Excruciating is the word.

Literally means out of crucifixion.

So even when we describe

an excruciating experience

that maybe we have gone through,

we're speaking of the realities

of the devastating,

torturous moments

that Christ went through

in physical suffering

to provide salvation.

It was a disgusting form of death.

So disgusting

that it was illegal

to crucify a Roman.

Crucifixion was reserved

for the people

that the world considered

to be the most despicable

and deserving of shame.

And again,

that's the death

Jesus suffers for us.

And it's necessary

that that's the death

Jesus suffers for us.

verse 23.

They offered him wine

mixed with myrrh,

but he did not take it.

Historians say

it was customary

for the Jewish women

to prepare wine

mixed with myrrh.

It functioned really

as a narcotic,

as a reflection

on a proverb of Solomon

that talks about giving wine

to those who are suffering.

They would have

had this prepared

for victims of crucifixion.

It was a show

of compassion.

And Jesus was offered

this mixture

to numb the pain

in his final moments

of death,

but he refused it.

He refused

to accept anything

that would mitigate

his suffering.

But why?

He didn't rely

on a narcotic

in his final act

of obedience.

He willingly

embraced

the Father's plan

in a fully

conscious state

necessary

for Jesus

not only

to go through

what he went through,

but to feel

every part

of the pain,

to feel

every part

of the separation

from God

as we'll get into

in the next passage

next Sunday.

Necessary

for him

to endure it

in that way.

Again,

Keith Getty

and Stuart Town

and help us here.

What took him

to this wretched place?

What kept him

on this road?

His love

for Adam's

cursed race,

for every broken soul.

No sin

to light

to overlook.

No crime

too great

to carry.

All mingled

in this

poison cup,

and yet

he drank it

all.

The Savior

drank

it all.

Every part

of the pain,

every part

of the torment,

every part

of God's wrath

poured out

on him

in this cup,

and no drop

of the cup

was left.

He drank

it all.

That means

that in

every sin

that you've

ever committed,

there's never

been a sin

so badly

that Jesus

refused

to suffer

for it.

And there's

no sin

too small

that didn't

require

the same

effect

as Jesus

displayed

on the cross.

Verse 24,

and they

crucified him

and divided

his garments

among them,

casting lots

for them

to decide

what each

should take.

each crucifixion

is carried

out by

an execution

squad,

has four

soldiers

and one

centurion.

The squad

is so callous

to what

they're doing

at this

point

that they

pass the

hours as

they wait

for these

men to

die

by casting

lots

to distribute

the

prisoners'

belongings.

William Lane

helps us

here.

Roman

legal texts

confirm that

it was the

accepted right

of the

executioner

squad

to claim

the minor

possessions

of an

executed

man.

In the

case of

Jesus,

this was

limited to

his clothing

which probably

consisted of

an under

and outer

garment,

a belt,

sandals,

and possibly

a head

covering.

And the

significance

of this

note is

that it's

a fulfillment

of a portion

of Psalm

22 that we

read earlier

in the

service.

John 19

24

specifically

refers to

it as

a fulfillment

of Psalm

22.

We read

it a moment

ago.

Verse 17,

I can count

all my bones.

They stare

and gloat

over me.

They divide

my garments

among them

and for

my clothing

they cast

lots.

Reminder

that no

portion of

scripture

left

unfulfilled

by Jesus.

Verse 25,

it was the

third hour

when they

crucified him.

The inscription

of the

charge

against him

read,

the king

of the

Jews,

and with

him they

crucified

two robbers,

one on his

right and

one on his

left.

So Mark

provides three

final bullet

points about

the process

of crucifixion.

We're not

going to dig

into the

details of

these.

We'll just

take a moment

to mention

them.

The first

one is that

they began

the process

at the

third hour,

which is

about nine

in the

morning.

We'll find

out next

week that

Jesus dies

at about

the ninth

hour,

which is

three in

the afternoon.

So perhaps

about six

hours from

beginning to

end is how

we see this

unfolding.

The second

bullet point

Mark gives

is that

those being

crucified

had a sign

on the

cross describing

their charges.

Jesus'

sign simply

said,

King of the

Jews.

Fitting.

Third note,

we're told that

Jesus wasn't

the only one

crucified that

day.

Two others,

probably

insurrectionists

along with

Barabbas,

were also

executed,

one on

Jesus'

right hand,

one on

Jesus'

left.

Now as we

read through

the gospel

accounts,

we know that

there was

only one

disciple that

was present

at the

cross.

It was

John.

Do you

remember

earlier in

Mark's

gospel,

as they're

on the

road from

Jericho

to Jerusalem,

John and

James had

a question

for Jesus?

Do you

remember the

question?

Lord,

would you

let us

sit in

your kingdom,

one on

your right

hand and

one on

your left?

They wanted

seats of

power.

They wanted

authority.

They wanted

honor.

They wanted

position and

they thought

they deserved

it for what

they had done

in following

Christ in

those moments.

And do you

remember Jesus'

response?

Can you drink

the cup that

I'm prepared

to drink?

And they

didn't understand

what they were

saying, but

they said,

yeah, we'll

do whatever

you want us

to do.

And in that

moment,

you can imagine

for probably

the reality

of what

Jesus was

saying, truly

settling in

on John's

mind.

As to be

on Jesus'

right hand

and Jesus'

left hand

in his

ultimate

moment of

glory is

to suffer

with him.

It is to

walk the

true path

of discipleship,

the true

path of

denial and

self-abandonment

in order to

follow Christ

and to

follow Christ

alone.

So we see

Jesus endures

for us,

mockery,

he endures

brutality and

finally he

endures

blasphemy.

Blasphemy.

Look at

verse 29.

Those who

passed by

derided him,

wagging their

heads and

saying,

aha,

you who

would destroy

the temple

and rebuild

it in three

days,

save yourself,

come down

from the

cross.

So also

the chief

priest with

the scribes

mocked him

to one

another,

saying he

saved others,

he cannot

save himself.

Let the

Christ,

the king of

Israel,

come down

now from

the cross

that we

may see

and believe.

Those who

were crucified

with him

also reviled

him.

It's another

fulfillment of

Psalm 22,

isn't it?

We just read it

in verse 7.

All who seek

me, see

me, mock

me.

They make

mouths at me,

they wag

their heads

and they

say,

he trusts

in the

Lord,

let him

deliver him,

let him

rescue him,

for he

delights

in him.

Mocking

tones.

Mark's

focus is

on the

shame and

rejection

of Jesus

here.

And every

group in

this text

despised

him.

The people

passing by,

the chief

priest and

the scribes,

even the

two criminals,

even the

two criminals

who are

dying,

show no

humility

at all.

Right here.

They show

no humility

at all.

All of

them

revile

him.

All of

them

blaspheme

him.

And again,

we're reminded

of Isaiah

53.

He was

despised

and rejected

by men.

So they

taunted

Jesus as

he suffered

on the

cross.

If you're

really the

Messiah and

Son of

God,

save

yourself.

But they

had it all

wrong.

Jesus

didn't need

a Savior.

Do you

see that?

A thought

of saving

himself,

a thought

of coming

off the

cross was

never,

ever a

part of

Jesus'

mind.

He

didn't need

a Savior.

He was

there for

that very

purpose.

As he

said on

another

occasion,

he could

have called

10,000

angels to

come and

deliver him

if he

wanted to,

but he

didn't do

that.

Why?

Mark's

purpose is

not just

to reveal

him as

the one

who suffers,

but as

the one

who saves.

He's there

on purpose.

He's not

the one

needing a

Savior.

He just

needed a

cross so

that he

could be

the Savior.

The soldiers

in Herod's

palace mocked

Jesus out

of ignorance.

The Jews

outright rejected

him in

unbelief.

The Sanhedrin's

charge against

him was

blasphemy,

but in

reality,

they were

the blasphemous

ones.

The Roman

soldiers,

they hadn't

been around

to witness

the miracles

of Jesus.

They hadn't

sat underneath

the authoritative

teaching of

Jesus,

but the

Jews were

given every

possible proof

of Jesus'

identity,

and yet

they rejected

him still.

Says Edwards,

the thought

that God's

Messiah could

suffer a

cross of

shame was

so scandalous

that some

25 years

later,

Paul confessed

that the

preaching of

a crucified

Messiah was

a stumbling

block to the

Jews and

foolishness to

the Gentiles.

He's quoting

there 1 Corinthians

1.22,

for Jews demand

signs,

Greeks seek

wisdom,

but we preach

Christ crucified,

which is a

stumbling block

to the Jews

and folly to

the Gentiles,

but to those

who are called,

both Jews and

Greeks,

it is Christ

the power of

God and the

wisdom of

God.

in unbelief,

they refused

to receive

Jesus for

who he

truly was,

and they

committed the

greatest act

of blasphemy

in history.

And here's

the point of

that.

Every single

one of us

sitting in this

room today

have been so

privileged.

We have not

sat on a

hillside to

see Jesus

healed,

but we have

read it in

the scriptures.

scriptures.

We know

the truth

of it.

We've seen

it in the

pages of

God's word.

We haven't

sat in a

room and

listened to

Jesus himself

out of his

own mouth

speak the

words that

he taught

to those

people,

but we

have read

what he

taught.

We have

read what

he saw.

We have

read all

the things

related to

his life

that are

necessary for

us to

know.

We are

just as

guilty as

the Jews

if we walk

away from

the word

of God

in unbelief.

It won't

be out of

ignorance.

it will

be in

unbelief.

So what

did Jesus

endure for

us?

Well, he

endured

mockery,

brutality,

blasphemy,

but the

impact of

Jesus'

crucifixion

is not

found in

the

suffering

itself,

but in

the reality

that God's

son submitted

himself to

such suffering

to bring

us salvation.

Can I remind you

of Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2?

I know we

quote this

often.

Paul says,

though he

was in the

form of

God,

did not

count

equality

with God

a thing

to be

grasped,

but he

emptied

himself by

taking the

form of

a servant,

being born

in the

likeness of

men,

and being

found in

human form,

he humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient to

the point

of death,

even death

on a

cross.

You see,

the scandal

of this is

not the

crucifixion

itself,

it's not the

suffering itself.

Lots of

people were

crucified in

history.

Lots of

people have

suffered

physically in

the same way

that Jesus

suffered.

It's not

just about

the physical

torment that

he went

through,

it's the

fact of

who he

was.

God's

son,

co-equal

with the

father and

the spirit

who willingly

steps away

from the

glory that

is in

heaven,

and he

comes and

he takes

on flesh,

and he

is crucified

and mocked

and brutally

beaten and

blasphemed

against,

for the

very people

that he

came to

save.

That's the

scandal of

it.

And if it's

true that

Jesus is the

son of

God who

willingly

subjected

himself to

such suffering,

then we

must consider

the why

of all of

it.

Why would

he do

that?

What does

it have to

do with

us?

And the

simple answer

to that

question is

love.

Love.

He did

it willingly

out of

his

measureless

love

for us.

And so

I want to

conclude with

John 3.

Would you

flip there

in your

Bible?

I don't

know if I

put this

on the

screen,

so just

look at

it in

the pages

of your

Bible.

That way

you know

I'm not

saying

something

that's

not

true.

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3.

Look at

verse 14.

As

Moses lifted

up the

serpent in

the

wilderness,

so must

the Son

of Man

be lifted

up,

that whoever

believes in

him may

have eternal

life.

Now do

you remember

the story

that Jesus

was referring

to there?

You'll find

in the Old

Testament,

you can read

it on your

own,

but you'll

find in

the Old

Testament

there was

a time

where God

sent a

judgment

on the

people of

Israel

because of

their unbelief,

their

hard-heartedness.

It was God's

judgment.

He devised

it,

he sent

it.

But along

with the

judgment,

God sent

an element

of mercy.

The judgment

were fiery

serpents.

They would

bite the

people and

the people

would die.

So God

had Moses

make a

serpent out

of bronze

and wrap

it around

a post

and would

display it

among the

camp of

Israel.

So if

anyone were

bitten by

the fiery

serpents,

they could

look up

and looking

up as

an act of

faith in

God's promise

that he would

heal them if

they would

look up to

what he had

provided.

As they

looked up,

they would

become healed.

And Jesus

looks back

on that

and he

says to

Nicodemus

in John

3,

just as

Moses lifted

up that

serpent,

so must

I be

lifted up

because

every one

of us

have been

bitten by

the fiery

serpent of

sin.

God

sends the

judgment.

The judgment

is devised

by him

and it is

sent by

him.

It is the

judgment

of death,

eternal

death.

But then

he also

sends an

act of

mercy and

grace in

the person

of his

son and

lifted up

on the

cross quite

literally,

lifted up

on the

cross.

Jesus

says,

all who

look to

my cross

and believe

will be

saved.

And then

he continues

on in

verse 16.

This is the

explanation of

it.

Why would

the son of

man have to

go through

this?

Why would

God do

this?

For God

so loved

the world.

For God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only son

that whoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

eternal life.

For God

did not

send his

son into

the world

to condemn

the world

but in

order that

the world

might be

saved through

him.

And whoever

believes in

him is not

condemned.

But whoever

does not

believe is

condemned

already because

he has not

believed in

the name of

the only

son of

God.

Do you

see?

The

crucifixion of

Jesus was

not a

historical

coincidence

that Christians

through history

have twisted

to look back

on and

fashioned it

into some

type of

religious

scam to

help us

cope in

life.

If the

cross is

supposed to

help us

cope,

it's not

much of a

coping

mechanism.

The cross

was always

God's

plan.

That's the

point.

It was

always God's

plan.

It was

always his

purpose to

forgive sins

and reconcile

sinners.

The cross

was his

initiative.

And in

his

indescribable

love,

he invites

us to

receive

eternal

salvation

through the

sacrifice of

his son,

Jesus Christ.

Just as he

told the

Israelites,

if you get

bit, look

to what I've

provided in

faith.

So he

tells sinners

now.

If you are

bit with

sin, and

you are all

bit with

sin, it's

in your

very nature,

you need

only look

to the

cross.

You need

only look

to what I

have provided

in my

son, and

believe in

him, believe

on his

work, believe

on his

sacrifice, and

you will

receive life.

What love

my God

could hold

you to the

tree, to

bear that

overwhelming

debt for me,

the son

of heaven

leaves the

father's

side, the

healer

bleeds, the

life was

made to

die.

Why?

For love.

We sang it

at Christmas,

thou who

art God

beyond all

praising, all

for love's

sake became

his man,

stooping so

low, but

sinners

raising

heavenward

by thine

eternal

plan, thou

who art

God beyond

all praising,

all for

love's sake

became his

man.

He provides

his son, and

he says,

believe my

son, and

all who

will believe

his son

will receive

eternal

life.

That's the

significance of

the cross.

God

will

have

son

to

him.

He

will

his

!