Mark 15: The Crucified King

This sermon was first preached at Twynholm November 2nd 2008.
The audio is available here.

With the familiarity that we have with images of crosses hanging not only at the front of many church buildings, but also around people’s necks, made out of silver or gold, it is almost impossible for us to begin to comprehend how offensive an idea the cross was in the ancient world.
It was not a symbol of devotion or religion, but of shame and scorn. In fact, the earliest image of the cross that has been found is not in a church building. It is a piece of graffiti drawn in mockery. A quickly sketched image of a man raising his hand in worship can be seen next to another image of a man with a donkey’s head. Next to this image are the words, “Alexamenos worships his god.”
In the minds of the Romans, crucifixion was so hideous a death that it was not legal to execute a Roman citizen by crucifixion, however terrible his crime had been. It was reserved for slaves or non-roman criminals of whom the most brutal was to be made.
The very word cross was so offensive that in 63BC Cicero had said, “the very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only form the person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears.”
Even the word “cross” was never mentioned in polite society – perhaps like the word bastard today. The meaning is clear, but the offense is real.
In the minds of Jews the cross was understood to be not only the most horrific punishment that humans might inflict upon one another, but it was also seen as a sign of God’s judgment upon the one crucified. For in the law of moses itself we read, “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23(D) his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for(E) a hanged man is cursed by God.(F) You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
So cursed was the idea of crucifixion that if a man were to hang overnight on a cross the whole land would be defiled.
The cross remains odious to many who would claim to revere Christ. So, Islam denies that Allah would have allowed a prophet such as Jesus to face the shame of execution upon a cross.
Even some claiming to be Christians find the traditional understanding of a crucified Messiah so offensive that they too have sought to soften the idea by re-interpretation.
So, the well known media face of Christianity, and presenter of ‘songs of Praise’ has dismissed the idea of Christ taking the punishment for others sins on the cross as ‘cosmic child abuse’, saying instead that the cross should be understood primarily not as God punishing sin, but of Christ turning the other cheek.
In Mark’s gospel the cross it utterly central.
Already Jesus has spoken several times of its necessity.
In Mark chapter 15, that we are about to read, Mark does not shy away from using those utterly offensive words, “cross” and “crucify.” 11 times in 20 verses.
So, if the cross in undoubtedly the most offensive idea in Christianity, why have Christians for 2000 years understood it to be so central and so necessary? Why did Jesus die?
As we turn to Mark chapter 15, we shall see that the question can be answered in different ways.
1) From the perspective of those who crucified him
2) From Jesus’ own perspective
3) From God’s perspective.

1) An ironic coronation
2) A deliberate self-sacrifice
3) A punishment that brings peace

The cross as seen from the people
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole Council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you."

But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" 10For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" 13And they cried out again, "Crucify him." 14And Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
16(S) And the soldiers led him away inside(T) the palace (that is,(U) the governor’s headquarters),[b] and they called together the whole(V) battalion.[c] 17And they clothed him in(W) a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18And they began to salute him,(X) "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19And they were striking his head with a reed and(Y) spitting on him and(Z) kneeling down in homage to him. 20And when they had(AA) mocked him, they stripped him of(AB) the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they(AC) led him out to crucify him.
21(AD) And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22(AE) And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23And they offered him wine mixed with(AF) myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him and(AG) divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25And(AH) it was the third hour[d] when they crucified him. 26And the inscription of the charge against him read,(AI) "The King of the Jews." 27And with him they crucified two(AJ) robbers,(AK) one on his right and one on his left.[e] 29And(AL) those who passed by derided him,(AM) wagging their heads and saying,"Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30save yourself, and come down from the cross!" 31So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let 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.
33And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah." 36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." 37And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
40There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.[j] And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
1) An ironic coronation
Though the Sanhedrin had decided that he was worthy of death on the grounds of blasphemy in chapter 15, they were not able to carry out the sentence. They did not have the right to practice the death sentence. And even though they sometimes ignored this, and raise a crowd to stone someone to death, as in the case of Stephen, this would hardly do with Jesus. He had a groundswell of popularity among the people. It would have been political suicide for them to have him stoned to death at this point.
But if they could have him crucified, that would serve them very well. It would then be seen by all that God was on their side; for not only would he be reviled by the Sanhedrin, he would be cursed by God himself. This meant that they needed the Romans to execute him.
Blasphemy wasn’t going to cut any ice as a reason to die for the Romans. Though they tolerated the Jewish religion, they certainly weren’t going to execute anyone for blaspheming it, Pilate least of all. He had been quite happy to commit the most utter blasphemy when he had killed some pilgrims on a previous occasion and then mixed their blood with their sacrifices.
So, they came up with another charge.
Judging by the occupants of the gaol at the time, there had been an uprising against the Romans, perhaps led by Barabbas. Those involved were facing execution that very day. Perhaps they could tar Jesus with the same brush of political revolt against Rome, and they knew exactly how to do it.
Jesus had been talking about ‘his kingdom’. He had made great claims to be the Christ, again a kingly title. Well, any claim to the throne was a challenge to the rule of Caesar, and so they sought to persuade Pilate to execute him for his claims to be king.
We have heard from the very beginning of Mark’s gospel that the kingdom is near. As the gospel unfolded it became clear that the kingdom was near precisely because Jesus is the Christ, the king.
Now it is as king that he is crucified.
Pilate knows the real reason they had handed him over:

Verse 10: “he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.”

Pilate cannot find a charge against him.

V14. “why, what evil has he done!”

And yet he is not ultimately concerned with what is right, but what is convenient.
How often do we see ourselves acting like Pilate: we don’t realise the weight of what we are doing, but do that which pleases the crowd.

Pilate releases one who is truly guilty of the charge of which they accuse Jesus.

Barabbas was a real insurrectionist. He genuinely did pose a threat to Roman rule; yet he is released and one who is innocent dies in the place of the guilty.

Because the charge was that Jesus was presenting himself as a king, the soldiers see this as an opportunity for their own amusment.
They realise that this whole trial has taken place inside a palace; so mockingly – as an act of brutal irony they stage a coronation ceremony for Jesus.

They call together the whole battalion – there would have been a large guard of men in Jerusalem at the time. There had been a recent uprising, and Passover was a time of heightened political tension. If it was an entire battalion, there would have been up to 600 men, mockingly posing as Jesus’ subjects. Perhaps some of them had lost comrades in the recent uprising, and they were keen to take revenge on anyone who might call themselves a Jewish king.

A soldiers cloak, twisted thorns and a reed were used as mocking royal robes, crown and sceptre.

And they show him no mercy.

The thorns dug into his head, and then, as he was beaten round the head with the cae, the thorns would have gone deeper.

He had already been flogged back in verse 15. So he would be a pathetic and ludicrous image of a king.

The image then changes from coronation to a mock royal procession. With Jesus so beaten that he is unable to carry the cross beam, they rope in a passer by;
Even as they crucify him, the mockery continues.

It was a common custom with crucifixions to put on a piece of paper the crime for which they were crucified. Some would have the word “murderer” hung round their neck, others would have the word “thief” shoved in their face. Jesus mockingly has the term “king of the Jews” placed on the cross, as if the cross itself was his throne; criminals were crucified with him on his left and right, so that he would be placed mockingly between two of his highest ministers.


The scene was perfectly designed to cause people to mock him; and so they did; 29-32

All kinds of people who saw him were mocking him. Soldier, passers by.

The chief priests plan to have him crucified has had its desired effect. They observe the pathetic state that Jesus is in, and without callous glee add their own mockery. Nobody could take seriously his claim to be a king now: the whole idea was clearly ridiculous.

But the irony runs far deeper. Six times Jesus is mockingly declared king in this passage.
Yet this is the very time at which his kingdom is being established. This is the very time in which he is being enthroned;

The 18th century pastor J.L. Reynolds put it like this
WHEN Christ uttered, in the judgment hall of Pilate, the remarkable words?"I am a king," he pronounced a sentiment fraught with unspeakable dignity and power. His enemies might deride his pretensions and express their mockery of his claim, by presenting him with a crown of thorns, a reed and a purple robe, and nailing him to the cross; but in the eyes of unfallen intelligences, he was a king. A higher power presided over that derisive ceremony, and converted it into a real coronation. That crown of thorns was indeed the diadem of empire; that purple robe was the badge of royalty; that fragile reed was the symbol of unbounded power; and that cross the throne of dominion which shall never end.

Those who mock him shout to him “he saved others, but cannot save himself” not realising that it was Jesus’ decision not to save himself that was the only way in which he would save others, including themselves if they would trust in him.

The soldiers who bowed before him in mockery will bow before him with not just a battalion, but along with every other knee that has ever been.

If the king on the cross are the focuses of the first 32 verses of the chapter, the rest of the chapter is dominated by the death of Jesus.

There are several witnesses to Jesus death.

Both Romans and Jews involved in putting him on the cross are witnesses to his death.
It would have been the official role of the centurion to ensure that he was dead – on pain of death.
He was a professional executioner, who would have well known the difference between one who had merely swooned, and one who was really dead.

That’s why Pilate summons the centurion when he is surprised at how quickly he died.

 The centurion – Roman

 The women -disciples

 Joseph –Jew

Jesus certainly died.


Why did Jesus die?
 The envy of the Sanhedrin
 The cowardice of Pilate
 The brutality of the soldiers
Yet, there was a more powerful story going on all along.

The cross from Christ’s point of view
2) A deliberate self-sacrifice


As we read through the account, we keep getting presented with ways in which Jesus might be released from the burden of his suffering. And yet rather than take any of these opportunities, he deliberately goes to the cross.

o He does not answer, but agrees with the charge...

o He could have persuaded Pilate


o He could have been released instead of Barabbas

o He could have been released because there was no charge

o He could have had the pain numbed by the myrrh, but he refused it.

o He could have come down from the cross and saved himself.

o He could have proved to all who he was, but would have saved nobody but himself.

o He could have called Elijah to come and bring about the beginning of his judgement upon the whole world.

Even his death itself is extraordinary. The centurion recognises how strange the manner of jesus’ death is.

o The loud cry: this is something that nobody can do upon the cross... Finally there is not enough energy to breathe.. Jesus cries out... he is not unwillingly succumbing to death; he is willingly, determinedly giving up his life to his Father.

Chalke’s idea that the cross is a kind of cosmic child abuse completely misses the fact that Christ is not some unwilling victim. As we sometimes sin of Christ: he chose the cross. He had so many opportunities to turn aside from the cross; and he chose none of them. He chose the cross.
At any point he could have walked away. He chose to stay there. As we read in Hebrews 12 he endured the cross. So different to us: we have not resisted temptation even to the point of shedding our blood. He endured the cross, despising its shame.
As Jesus says in John 10
I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep. No one takes it from me, but(AC) I lay it down(AD) of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and(AE) I have authority to take it up again.(AF)
If you ever doubt that Jesus is worth following – look to the cross. This is our king. Do you doubt that this king who endured all this for you is worth living for? No, he is worth it. As the writer to the Hebrews continues:
3(H) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or(I) fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
If you ever doubt that Jesus really wants what is best for you, look to the cross. He would not have endured the cross unless it achieved the very best for you. He is not a harsh king who makes unreasonable demands of his followers. He lays down his life for his sheep. You can trust him.
What is it in your life that you feel would be too costly to obey Jesus? Following Jesus is not an easy road. But it is the only good road. Life under his rule is true life.
We begin to see the life that Jesus brings even in the words of the centurion. As Jesus dies he realised that Jesus is unique.
Not just a man, but also God’s own son. Perhaps for a polytheistic roman this isn’t a full statement of understanding, but in his words he speaks better than he knows, and models the response to this good news that we are to have.
Perhaps Simon too came to know the one whose cross he carried, for there seems little other reasons why his sons’ names would be known to the readers of the gospel.
To follow Jesus does mean to be willing to be hated and reviled by the world just as he was – but when we see this beautiful saviour, does anyone else’s opinion really matter?
If you ever doubt that Jesus
Why did Jesus choose the cross?
How then, does Jesus self-sacrifice bring in the kingdom and usher in his subjects into that kingdom?
The cross from The God’s view
3) A punishment that brings peace.
o It was the Lord who struck him
 The fickle decisions of crowds and rulers are in his sovereign hands.

 As we thought about at the beginning, Crucifixion itself is a sign of God’s curse. Curse is the punishment for breaking the covenant with God.

 It is not the punishment the we deserve.

 Jesus had talked about a new covenant in his blood. In the Old covenant, there were blessings and curses: blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

 In the new covenant there are blessings and curses too. But all the curses of the covenant fall upon Christ on the cross. If you belong to Christ, there are only the covenant blessings for you!

 13Christ(B) redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,(C) "Cursed is everyone who is hanged(D) on a tree"— 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might(E) come to the Gentiles, so that(F) we might receive(G) the promised Spirit[a] through faith.

Are there times when you do not consider the Christian life a blessing? There is only blessing from the Lord for his children; not always the kind of blessing we want: sometimes the blessing is the blessing in sharing in Christ’s suffering; sometimes it is the blessing of having a loving heavenly Father who disciplines his children. But there is not remaining curse for us; Christ has born it all.

This curse from God is pictured not just in the cross itself, but in the darkness that fell.

Darkness is a common picture of God’s judicial anger in the bible.

o Darkness falls on the whole land at Passover.

21Then the LORD said to Moses,(A) "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be(B) darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt." 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but(C) all the people of Israel had light where they lived.

o The place that should have been the light has darkness.

o The darkness falls also on Christ. There was no pool of light falling on Jesus: instead the darkness focuses on Jesus – he is willingly cut off from his father.

o The cry: My god, my god, why have you forsaken me.
We cannot hope to begin to understand the suffering that Christ endured in being separated from his father’s loving presence.
God the son eternally knows and enjoys the love of his Father. Yet for those six hours on the cross he is utterly forsaken by his Father. His father withdraws that love that only the Son and the Spirit have sully known., and instead pours out his wrath – his righteous anger.

 2 pictures of hell here.
• 1. The picture of separation from God
• 2. The picture of being in the presence of God’s wrath.
 He withdrew his loving presence
 He poured out his righteous anger
 “If Christ was not truly forsaken by his Father during His execution, then no atonement occurred, because forsakenness was the penalty for sin that God established in the old covenant. Therefore, Christ had to receive the full measure of that penalty on the cross.” (R C Sproul)

Do you have any doubt of the existence of hell? It shows that we live in relatively shelterd times that mean that so many people rather hope that there is no hell. I remember being struck by watching a documentary about someone who had worked to try and bring some of the perpetrators of war crimes in bosnia to justice. Towards the end of the programme he said, having seen such terrible crimes where lives were cut short so pointlessly and mercilessly, “I hope there is a heaven”... but after being here, I hope there is a hell too.

My friend, if you have any doubt if there is a hell, and whether God will send people there, look at the cross. There Jesus – God’s own son endured hell. A withdrawal of God’s loving presence, a pouring out of God’s judicial anger. If there was anyone who bore sin whom the Lord would choose to overlook that sin, it is his Son. Yet even when God’s Son bears sin, God will not overlook justice: he punishes that sin in his son with hell.

Hell will be a reality for all who have not been joined to Christ by faith, and had their sin punished in him. Yet for all who would ever put their faith in Christ, God’s wrath is appeased.

o The Lord is appeased

The cross doesn’t merely picture something. It is not merely and example.
The cross doesn’t merely speak something – it doesn’t just teach us that Jesus is king.

The cross achieves our salvation.
God declares it to be so.
Jesus gave up his life: who actually killed him? God took his life. In Luke’s gospel we read that those last words are "Father,(C) into your hands I(D) commit my spirit!"

He gives up his life for his father to take it.

God accepted his son’s sacrifice on behalf of his people. Because the shepherd was sacrificed the sheep are freed from our guilt. The price has been paid.

 He ripped the curtain – the curtain in the temple / tabernacle had for 1500 years had functioned as a big NO entry sign into the presence of God. Only the high priest was allowed to enter, only once per year after sacrifices. If anyone else entered, they would die.
 Such is God’s holiness that he cannot have sinful human beings in his presence. His righteous anger at their sin would burn out against us.
 Yet now, the door is open...
 Why? Has God changed? No, he is just as holy. Have we changed? No, we are just as sinful.
 But, Christ has born the guilt of his people, so that his people might be received with his righteousness.
Perhaps you wonder whether god would really forgive you! You are painfully aware of your sin.

My friend, with all due respect, your sin is worse than you think it is. All of our sin is. But the cross is a more sufficient sacrifice than we think. If you doubt that God would accept you even if you put your trust in Christ, consider that torn curtain!

Perhaps you know that Christ bore your sin, but you go through times when you feel so dirty that you feel you can’t approach God in prayer. Confess your sin; know that it was to save sinners that Christ died. Come once again to the cross. He did not go to the cross merely to wipe our slate clean. He went to the cross to bring us to God.

Jesus did not go unwillingly to the cross, the father didn’t unwillingly accept the sacrifice. There is no small print; he is not trying to trap us; if we know Christ as our Lord, then he is our Saviour. He is delighted to be so. It has all been paid for 2000 years ago. It is finished.

(V) Therefore, brothers,[c] since we have confidence to enter(W) the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by(X) the new and living way that he opened for us through(Y) the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have(Z) a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts(AA) sprinkled clean(AB) from an evil conscience and our bodies(AC) washed with pure water. 23(AD) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for(AE) he who promised is faithful.


Why did Jesus die?

Jesus died because of the envy, the cowardice and the brutality of men.
Jesus dies because we are sinners deserving God’s judgement. It was a sinful world that crucified Christ.

Because of that we are under the wrath of God.

If this world feels God-forsaken at times. If this world feels lonely and cruel it is because we have forsaken God and turned to worthless idols.

As enlightened dwellers of the 21st century, we sometimes laugh at the pagan gods that were worshipped in ancient times. But we have to admit that the modern gods are far more pitiful.

The Australian theologian Peter Bolt writes,

“we serve the ‘no god’ pf money, and yet we still cannot buy our way out of the grave. We run after the god of Pleasure, and yet we know deep down that we ‘eat, drink and be merry’ because´tomorrow we die.’

In the cross we have a glimpse into what it means to be fully god-forsaken. We have a glimpse into hell. But it is in that glimpse into hell that there is any hope at all for a God-forsaken world.

For Christ bears that hell, that we might enter his kingdom, and share his glory.

Why did Jesus die?

Jesus died because he chose to face hell in our place

Jesus died because God the just was satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

As one pastor has written:

Because the sinless Savior died, my guilty soul is counted free; for God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me. On what basis did God pass His justifying sentence? Not on the basis of righteous deeds which we have done because "all our works are filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). God knew the worst about us and accepted us for Jesus' sake. The verdict which He passed on us is final and no one can produce new evidence of my sinfulness that will make God change His mind.
It is finished

Amen.