10 Jun The Great King
Read: Mark 15:1-20
Last Sunday Pastor Ken preached part two of the message, “Jesus is the Suffering Servant,” from Mark 14:43-72. We considered the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction that his disciples would dissert him in Mark 14:26-31, as Judas betrayed him, the disciples fled during his arrest, and Peter explicitly and publicly denied him three times. This Sunday Pastor Jeremy will pick up the account in Mark 15:1-20, where the question of Jesus’ identity comes to a climax and his purpose for coming to us nears completion. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, pray that the Lord opens our hearts to taste and see His extravagant love for us demonstrated through his sacrifice on the cross. Further, let these words from Dr. Akin encourage you and move you to further consider the state of your heart before God.
Heart Preparation
In the Gospel’s record of the passion of the Christ, the emphasis does not fall on the physical suffering of Jesus— as great as it was. Mocking is clearly highlighted, but the focus is much more on the spiritual and psychological agony. Still, we would be negligent if we passed over too quickly the scourging and physical abuse He suffered.
In verse 15, Mark simply says, “And after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” William Lane details what being “flogged” entailed:
A Roman scourging was a terrifying punishment. The delinquent was stripped, bound to a post or a pillar, or sometimes simply thrown to [the] ground, and was beaten by a number of guards until his flesh hung in bleeding shreds. The instrument indicated by the Marcan text, the dreaded flagellum, was a scourge consisting of leather thongs plaited with several pieces of bone or lead so as to form a chain. No maximum number of strokes was prescribed by Roman law, and men condemned to flagellation frequently collapsed and died from the flogging. Josephus records that he himself had some of his opponents in Galilee scourged until their entrails were visible (War II.xxi.5), while the procurator Albinus had the prophet Jesus bar Hanan scourged until his bones lay visible (War VI. v. 3). (Lane, Mark, 557)
Following this life-threatening beating, “they called the whole company together.” This would number about six hundred hardened Roman soldiers. (1) They clothed Him in a purple cloak, probably a faded military garment serving the purpose of a mock robe of royalty (v. 17). (2) They twisted together a mock crown, one made of thorns, and pressed it down on His head. The crown of thorns pictured God’s curse on sinful humanity now being put on Jesus (Gen 3:17-18). (3) They began to mock Him again, this time with derisive salutes: “Hail, King of the Jews!” (v. 18). As the Romans would hail Caesar, so these soldiers sarcastically hailed King Jesus. (4) They hit Him again with a stick, a mock scepter (v. 19; cf. Matt 27:29-30). (5) They continued spitting on and insulting Him in this manner. (6) They knelt down in mock worship. (7) When they had finished ridiculing Him, they “led Him out to crucify Him.”
Completely alone, humiliated, naked, and beaten nearly to death, our Savior endured yet again ridicule, shame, and pain at the hands of sinful men, at the hands of those He came to save. Oh, how heaven must have looked on in disbelief! Perhaps the angels wept. The Father sent His beloved Son to rescue and redeem a rebel race. Look at what they have done to our Lord! But look, and never forget, what our Lord has done for us!
One of the majestic hymns of the faith begins, “Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne” (Thring and Bridges, “Crown Him, ” 1851). This song rightly looks to heaven. However, here we see the Lamb on a different throne, the throne of His cross. He is crowned with a “crown of thorns” (15:17), a reminder of the curse from which He has redeemed us (Gen 3:15-18).
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed” (Gal 3:13; see Deut 21:23). Jesus suffered the injustice and insult I should have suffered. Jesus experienced the shame and pain I should have experienced. Jesus bore the guilt and curse I should have borne. The shepherd was struck that the sheep might be saved. The great King was tortured and killed that His people might live.
I truly “stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean! He bore my sin and my sorrow and made them His very own. He bore my burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone” (Gabriel, “Amazed,” 1905). Jesus is the great King, the sacrifice for sinners!
Excerpt from Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark, by Daniel L. Akin, pp. 347-348.
Song List for Sunday
- How Great Thou Art, Paul Baloche Arrangement
- Man of Sorrows, by Hillsong Live
- Even So Come, by Passion (feat. Chris Tomlin)
- How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Shane and Shane Arrangement
- The Depths of Your Love, by Ronnie Morris