Mark 15:16-32

Bringing the sermon home:

Before leading Jesus from the place of conviction to the place of execution, a battalion of Roman soldiers take Him somewhere inside the palace to entertain themselves with cruelty. This is the first of four groups of people within the passage who mock and revile His claims to Kingship. This is a picture of rejecting Jesus as your King and is thus a picture of our sin. Each time we consciously sin against our Creator, we mock and revile His claims of authority over us, spitting the words “You’re not the King of me.”

Verses 21 through 25 paint a contrast between one man who serves Jesus by carrying His cross and a group of men who take from Jesus by stripping Him of His clothing. While it’s true that in this case Simon of Cyrene was forced into this humble service, we’re clearly meant to see in this a picture of Jesus’s command to take up your cross to follow Him (8:34-38), denying yourself earthly blessings while receiving eternal blessings. Notice that the emphasis of the passage is not on Jesus’ physical suffering throughout this ordeal, but on the mocking and reviling He received, for that is what every follower of His is being called to likewise endure in our service of Him.

In a shocking display of irony, the taunts from the second and third group of mockers and revilers actually get to the heart of the gospel. The passersby shout “save yourself, and come down from the cross,” while the chief priests shout “He saved others; he cannot save himself”. The sinless Savior absolutely could have come down from that cross, but had He saved Himself, then no sinner could be saved. Beholding Him there, in your place, will you “see and believe”?

Outline:

1. A picture of rejecting Jesus as your King. (vv. 16-20)
2. A picture of receiving Jesus as your King. (vv. 21-25)
3. The King was punished as a rebel, with rebels, for rebels. (vv. 26-32)