In Our Place
Text: Mark 15:1-20
Core Idea: Jesus’ death demonstrates His unconditional, unwavering, unending love and commitment to us. He died to substitute His place with us so that we can have His place. He was bound so that we might go free. He died so that we might live. The Son of God was forsaken so that we may become children of God.
INTRODUCTION
Well, we are going through the Gospel of Mark – exploring the life of Jesus. And we’ve been looking at the Passion week – the days leading up to Jesus’ death. A couple of weeks ago, we saw Jesus on trial – the Judge of the universe being judged by humanity. Today, we’ll see that He is still on trial – being questioned by Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Judea at the time. Then with this in mind, please turn your Bibles to Mark 15:1-20. Let me read this for us.
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate. 2 “Are You the King of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused Him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked Him, “Aren’t You going to answer? See how many things they are accusing You of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify Him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. 16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. 18 And they began to call out to Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him. 20 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. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things from this passage.
· JESUS’ SILENCE
· JESUS’ SUBSTITUTION
· JESUS’ SUFFERING
1) JESUS’ SILENCE (V. 1-5)
Verse 1. Even though the religious leaders had “successfully” but unjustly convicted Jesus of blasphemy, Mark tells us that they still bound Jesus and handed Him over to Pilate. Why? Because they didn’t have the authority to execute criminals – only the Roman governors had the power to do that. Now, the religious leaders knew that their false charge of blasphemy was not a sufficient reason for execution. So, in order to secure Jesus’ crucifixion, they must have reported that Jesus was guilty of treason, that He was claiming to be King, that He would be a threat to Caesar – because that would explain Pilate’s question in verse 2, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He was basically asking, “Are You a threat to the Empire? Should I be worried about You?” Now, if you remember, when the religious leaders asked, “Are You the Messiah?” (Mk. 14:61), His answer was crystal clear – “I am” (Mk. 14:62). But here, Jesus remains ambiguous with His answer – “You have said so.” It wasn’t a direct affirmation – or else Pilate would’ve immediately ordered Him to be executed. But it also wasn’t a complete denial. What’s going on here? Why was Jesus being so vague with His answer? Because He wanted to provoke deeper reflection from Pilate. Jesus, of course, is the King of kings, the Savior of the world but not the kind of King that Pilate had in mind. Pilate was thinking of someone who would come in power to subdue his rivals and stand on top of them. But Mark 10:45 says that Jesus came not “to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He was a different kind of King, but it wouldn’t have made sense to Pilate. So, by being ambiguous, it would’ve provoked Pilate to think deeper – “Well, are You or are You not?” But even before Pilate could think for himself, the chief priests began to accuse Jesus of many things (v. 3). They were probably saying, “No, that’s exactly what He said! We have people who witnessed Him saying that to His disciples. In fact, some even said that He already has an army ready to fight” – of course, all lies. But in the midst of these false accusations, Jesus remained silent. He said absolutely nothing even though He knew that it could lead Him to the cross.
Then we can’t help but ask, “Why? Why does Jesus remain silent? Why didn’t He speak out and defend Himself?” I think Pilate was perplexed too because he asks Jesus in verse 4, “Aren’t You going to answer?” He was basically saying, “They’re trying to destroy You – kill You. Aren’t You going to do anything about it? Do You have anything to say for Yourself?” “But Jesus still made no reply” (v. 5). And we read that Pilate was amazed – not in a negative way as if he was thinking, “What a coward!” But he was more stunned by Jesus’ calmness. Pilate was used to having criminals desperately begging for mercy and making a case for themselves – giving excuses for what they have done or frantically trying to prove their innocence. But Jesus stood there quietly – He refused to defend Himself. And Pilate was perplexed – “why isn’t this man saying anything?” In fact, the religious leaders looked more distressed and agitated than Jesus. And Pilate didn’t miss this – he was carefully observing this contrast.
Now, before we continue with the story, let me ask again, “Why did Jesus remain silent?” It’s because of His unwavering commitment to us. Jesus knew what was at stake. He knew that He would be tortured, beaten, humiliated, mocked, rejected, and killed by the very people He came to save. He knew that He would be abandoned by God the Father. He knew that He would receive the righteous judgment of God. In fact, as He was preparing for this at Gethsemane, even the thought of it caused Him to be deeply distressed and troubled. He was overwhelmed with sorrow that He felt like dying. This pain was so unbearable that it actually caused Jesus to pray that God would take this away from Him – Jesus Christ was praying for an alternative to the cross. Don’t miss this: this was not easy for Jesus – yet He remained silent for us. Was He tempted to speak out? I bet He was. But He didn’t because of His love for us – because He would rather lose Himself than lose us. Fully knowing what it was going to cost Him, He loved us to the end. Think of it this way – although He remained silent, He was actually speaking loudly to us. He was saying, “This is how much I love you. This is how committed I am to you. Even though I’m being condemned unjustly, even though I have the means to free myself, and even though I have the power to judge the world, I will remain silent because this is the only way to save you. This is the only way to release you from the bondage of sin.” Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” Brothers and sisters, His silence is a reflection of His unshakable commitment to sinners like you and me.
Now, I wonder if some of you are asking, “Okay, His silence resulted in His death. So what? How does Him choosing to die prove that He loves us? What does His death have anything to do with us?” That is a fair question – because if someone said to you, “I want to show you how much I love you,” and just jumped off a cliff, what would that really accomplish? Nothing. In fact, you’ll be confused because this person’s action would’ve been absolutely wasteful. This person’s death wouldn’t have been a demonstration of love – unless it was for a purpose. And that leads to our next point.
2) JESUS’ SUBSTITUTION (V. 6-14)
Pilate wasn’t buying the accusations of the religious leaders. He didn’t think Jesus was guilty and he didn’t see Jesus as a threat to Caesar. In fact, verse 10 tells us that Pilate knew “it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.” Knowing this, he could’ve dismissed the case – he certainly had the power to do so. But he didn’t. Why? Because a crowd had formed. Pilate, being a great politician, took advantage of this situation. Verse 6, “It was the custom at the festival 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.” So, Pilate gave them two options. Option 1: Barabbas who was clearly guilty of treason and murder. And option 2: Jesus who was clearly innocent. Pilate wanted to kill two birds with one stone. By giving the crowd the option to choose, he was pleasing the people. And because he really thought that the crowd would choose Jesus (because He obviously was innocent), he could still wrap this case up with a clear conscience. But he didn’t realize that the religious leaders had a huge influence on the crowd because, to his surprise, they chose Barabbas. That was not what Pilate expected. So, in confusion, he asked them in verse 12, “What shall I do, then, with the One you call the King of the Jews?” And the crowd cried out, “Crucify Him!” That certainly wasn’t what Pilate had in mind. So, he asked in verse 14, “Why? What crime has He committed?” But the crowd completely ignored his question and repeatedly cried out, “Crucify Him!” They were basically saying, “We know He’s innocent. But we don’t care – we just want Him dead.” What would Pilate do? What would you do? Pilate was firmly convinced that Jesus was innocent – but Pilate’s goal wasn’t justice. He was more concerned about his own political future. He wasn’t really different from the religious leaders. He too was motivated by self-interest, and he too was concerned about his reputation and power. Verse 15, “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged and handed Him over to be crucified.”
What does this mean for us? I think Mark couldn’t have been more clear than this in explaining why Jesus had to die and how His death demonstrates His love for us – it’s the idea of substitution. Let me explain. Look at Barabbas and Jesus – one’s guilty and the other is innocent. It’s clear who should be punished and who should be released. Barabbas must pay for his crime – and Jesus deserves to be freed. But to our surprise, the innocent was put in the place of the guilty and the guilty was put in the place of the innocent. The innocent was punished and the guilty was treated as if he was innocent. Because Jesus took the place of Barabbas, the condemned murderer, Barabbas got to go free that day as if he had done nothing wrong. Because Jesus died in his place, Barabbas was given life. In other words, they literally traded their lives – and what Jesus was doing for Barabbas, He was doing it for you and me. This is what the gospel is. If you forget everything I said today, just remember this: substitution. If you have a difficult time explaining what the gospel is, just remember this: substitution. When Jesus died, He wasn’t being helplessly victimized by a series of unfortunate events. This wasn’t an accident. And this certainly wasn’t meaningless. No, Jesus died to substitute His place with us. He was taking our place, taking our sins upon Himself so that we would take His place of righteousness. He was being treated the way we should be treated so that we would be treated the way He should be treated. He was bound so that we might go free. He died so that we might live. The Son of God was forsaken so that we may become sons and daughters of God. Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
Now, I want to take this time to speak to those who don’t consider themselves Christians. I want to point out two people we see in this story – and how they give us two ways of responding to Jesus. First, Pilate. It’s not that Pilate didn’t believe in Jesus – he did. In fact, he declared Jesus innocent. But we saw that he was more concerned about something else – his desire to satisfy the crowd. In other words, Pilate didn’t give enough weight to Jesus because the people’s opinions weighed more to him. Pilate believed in Jesus but not enough to turn his world upside down. It wasn’t that he was rejecting Jesus or hating Jesus – he just didn’t want Jesus to consume his life. Jesus was true but the crowd was true as well. So, when the two were in conflict, he wasn’t going to let Jesus consume his life. Friends, does this describe you today? Maybe you don’t mind Jesus – you actually like some of the things that He said. But you would never let Him turn your world upside down – “I like what He says about loving others, but don’t You dare talk about my money, my sex life, my values, my character, my goals. Don’t You dare expose my darkness, my pain, my sins.” And if this is you, I pray that God will open your hearts to see that the most important question you’ll ever face in your life is where you stand with God – not what the people think of you. What you do with Jesus Christ is the weightiest matter you’ll ever have to consider – and it ought to consume you because nothing is as important as what you do with Jesus. Friends, don’t be like Pilate – don’t ignore Jesus’ invitation.
Instead, this is how you should respond. Second, Barabbas. Imagine this with me. A guard enters Barabbas’ cell and says, “It’s your lucky day. You’re not going to die today.” “Huh? Why? What happened?” “Apparently, this guy named Jesus is going to die in your place.” Now, what did Barabbas do? Did he say, “No, no. I deserve to die. I need to stay here and pay for my crimes”? No, he believed the guard and he just walked out. Friends, Jesus died in your place so that you wouldn’t have to pay the penalty of your sin. He has paid it all. And He’s offering this to you for free. You don’t have to prove your worth. All you need to do is believe that Jesus died for you and walk away from your sins. All you need to do is just come to Jesus as you are – and let Him heal you, minister to you, and serve you so that you would experience His love for you. It’s that easy. Then don’t delay. Come and receive this wonderful love that He has for you.
3) JESUS’ SUFFERING (V. 15-20)
Verse 15, “He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.” Mark doesn’t give us any detailed description of this horrific form of punishment because his original readers would’ve been familiar with the harsh reality of flogging – but we’re not. So, let me take a moment to share a brief description of flogging. James Edwards writes, “Flogging was a cruel and merciless preparation for crucifixion. As a prelude to crucifixion, the prisoner was stripped and bound to a post and beaten with a leather whip woven with bits of bone or metal. No maximum number of strokes was prescribed. The flogging lacerated and stripped the flesh, often exposing bones. One of its purposes was to shorten the duration of crucifixion, but flogging was so brutal that some prisoners died before reaching the cross. Women were exempted from either suffering or witnessing the flogging.” Now, as horrific as this was for Jesus, it didn’t end there. It was followed by violence and humiliation from the soldiers. A crown of thorns was created, and it was placed on His head – being pressed into His skull. They struck His head with a staff. They spat on Him. And they fell to their knees and mockingly said, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Now, reading this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why did it have to be so disturbing? Why did God allow this to happen? Why was it so gruesome?” This scene is hard to swallow. Blood must have been everywhere. If we were there, we would’ve turned our eyes away. But that’s the whole point – it’s not supposed to be pleasant. This ought to offend us – as our sin offends God the same way. This was done intentionally because God wanted us to see the sinfulness of our sin – how bad sin is. The truth is that many of us don’t think our sin is that bad. But listen to what Pastor Paul Tripp said, “When our consciences are a bit bothered by transgressing God’s moral boundaries, we quiet our consciences with self-atoning arguments. We participate in our own deceit by working to convince ourselves that the wrong we did wasn’t so wrong after all. We go back and rewrite the narrative of the moment to make ourselves look more righteous than we were. So, we walk away feeling okay about what God says is not only not okay but is a repudiation of His holiness. In light of the holiness of God, ‘okay’ is not a category of human evaluation that we should be comfortable with... The sinfulness of sin is its verticality. What is most sinful about sin is not that it has a host of negative horizontal effects. Yes, sin will hurt you and those around you. Sin leaves its mark and a trail of destruction wherever it goes. But you and I will only understand the heinous sinfulness of sin when we understand that every sin is a sin against a holy God. Every sin ignores the holiness of God and His command to be like Him. Every sin is a sin against God Himself.”
I don’t say this to keep you in despair but to show you the love of God. You can’t understand the love of God, the forgiveness of God until you understand that the cross demonstrates what Jesus did in your place. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” The Bible clearly tells us that there’s only one penalty that is appropriate for our sin against God – death. Sometimes we forget this – which is why we are at times unbelievably casual with our sins. But the consequence of our sin is death – it always has been, which is why we should never take sin lightly. Our sins are deadly. Without Jesus, we would be crushed because, on our own, we have no way of escaping this. This is why the gospel is good news because Jesus’ death on the cross (this horrendous scene, this disturbing scene, this offensive scene) shows us that He took that penalty for us. Hebrews 12:2-3 says, “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God… so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” He was betrayed by His friends and publicly humiliated for us. He has been the victim of the worst injustice for us. He has been alone, abandoned, and left to die so that we wouldn’t have to – so that we can have hope. Brothers and sisters, if you feel like you’re beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness, let the blood of Jesus Christ show you that there’s nothing you have done that God’s grace and His love cannot cover. You may think you’re being humble when you say, “God can’t forgive me” – but what you’re doing is you’re just insulting the work of Jesus because He really did pay it all. In our place, He was crucified.
Then if you’re a Christian, there’s only one proper response to this truth: repentance. We need to get down on our knees, confess our sins, grieve, and desperately ask for His forgiveness knowing that it’s our sin that sent Jesus to the cross. We need to learn to be broken for our sins – to mourn over our sins. But the good news is that our God is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9) – which means that we don’t have to remain in grief, but we can break out in songs of praise and thanksgiving. Jesus remained silent so that we don’t have to be. Then let us break His silence with a song of adoration. That’s exactly what we’ll do after the Lord’s Supper.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jesus’ death demonstrates His unconditional, unwavering, unending love and commitment to us. He died to substitute His place with us so that we can have His place. He was bound so that we might go free. He died so that we might live. The Son of God was forsaken so that we may become children of God. Then let me end by reading the words from the hymn, I Stand Amazed – and I pray that this would be the declaration of our hearts.
He took my sins and my sorrows
He made them His very own
He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered and died alone
(So, singing) How marvelous how wonderful
And my song shall ever be
How marvelous how wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Pilate was amazed by Jesus’ silence. Why? In fact, why did Jesus remain silent? What was Jesus communicating through His silence?
2) Why did Pilate release Barabbas and crucify Jesus? What is consuming your life (your heart and mind) to the point that it’s pushing you away from Jesus?
3) How do the release of Barabbas and the condemnation of Jesus illustrate the gospel?
4) Spend some time praying a prayer of repentance but also a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for His grace in your lives.