Mark 14:43-15:41 - Jesus’ Trial and Beatings and Crucifixion

Hello. Hope you're having a good week so far.

We are in the, I would say we're at the end of Mark 14, but we are about halfway through Mark 14. It has 72 verses and we are beginning today in verse number 43.

We've been looking at the very last night of Jesus' life, and now we're coming to the point where the Last Supper has already taken place. He has instituted communion. We have seen His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

One thing I didn't mention last time, but I believe I've mentioned before is Jesus goes through such agony in the Garden, the anticipation of what's to come, that instead of sweating regular sweat, He actually sweats blood.

And it's a very rare medical condition, but something that we do know about it. It wasn't something perhaps supernatural that occurred. It was a, it's something that you can replicate today.

I would not suggest putting someone under such duress that they begin doing that.

But this would have opened up many of Jesus' pores, so that when it comes to some of the things that we will see occur later on in the coming verses, that Jesus' body would have been in just an incredibly vulnerable state.

That would result in some different things that we'll see later. Verse number 43, while Jesus was still speaking to his disciples, Judas, one of the twelve, suddenly arrived.

With him was a mob with swords and clubs from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had given them a signal. The one I kiss, he said, he's the one.

Arrest him and take him away under guard. So when he came, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, Rabbi, and kissed him. This would have been a normal greeting in the first century.

They took hold of Jesus and arrested him. One of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his ear.

The rest of the Gospels would tell us that that was Peter that struck the high priest's servant and cut off his ear. And that servant's name was Malchus.

Jesus said to them, verse 48, Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal to capture me? Every day I was among you, teaching in the temple, and you didn't arrest me, but the scriptures must be fulfilled.

Here, Jesus makes them aware of the fact you didn't have to bring weapons. Like, I was right next to you guys every single day, and you didn't lay a hand on me. He says, but I know that God's word is true.

And so what it prophesied about my capture and trial and beating and crucifixion, all of that's going to take place. So he says, basically, you don't need these swords and clubs. There doesn't need to be violence in this moment.

Verse 50, then they all deserted him and ran away, that is his disciples. Now, a certain young man wearing nothing but a linen cloth was following him. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.

Church history would tell us that young man was actually the writer of this account of scripture, John Mark, who would have been Barnabas' nephew.

Verse 53, they led Jesus away to the high priest and all the chief priests, the elders and the scribes assembled. Peter followed him at a distance, right into the high priest's courtyard. He was sitting with the servants, warming himself by the fire.

So here, everyone except for Peter and then from some of the other gospels, possibly John as well might have been with him.

All of the other disciples have already fulfilled what Jesus said, that, hey, all of you are going to leave me, betray me, deny me tonight. And what was prophesied about Peter, that he would deny Jesus three times before the coming morning.

We'll see how that takes place in just a moment. Verse 55, the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they could not find any.

For many were giving false testimony against him, and the testimonies did not agree.

Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, stating, We have heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands. Yet their testimony did not agree even on this.

So here there are these trumped up fake charges that people are bringing against Jesus, but they can't agree on what he said, like on what he did or what he threatened was going to happen that would make him worthy of death.

And there is no agreement between them.

There was nothing that could be brought against Jesus that was legitimate except for one thing, much like with Daniel back in the Old Testament where the leaders of Medo Persia at the time at that time, they wanted to bring something so that they

could get rid of him. But the only thing that they could find against him was that he prayed to his God faithfully every single day. So they made it a law to only pray to Darius, the king of the Medo Persians.

And that was the only way that Daniel was going to be arrested. Verse number 60, then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, don't you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?

But he kept silent and did not answer. Again, the high priest questioned him, are you the Messiah, the son of the blessed one?

So here, Jesus is actually fulfilling Isaiah 53, which said he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shears is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. But now the high priest asked him, are you the Messiah, the son of the blessed one?

I am, said Jesus, and you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. They are quoting from Psalm 110 and verse 1, and from Daniel 7 and verse 13.

He makes the emphatic statement, you guys know the scriptures, I am the son of man. I am the Messiah. Then the high priest, verse 63, tore his robes and said, why do we still need witnesses?

You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision? They all condemned him as deserving death.

They don't interact with his claim. They don't say, here's why you're not the Messiah. There's just an assumption.

Here, Jesus, since chapter two, had been speaking against these religious rulers because they had made their religion above, far above any sort of relationship with God. That they had been very worried about hand washing.

They had been very worried about not doing good or healing people on the Sabbath.

They had been worried about whose wife, whose husband would a woman be who had had seven husbands that were brothers, that all died one after the other, and just nonsense questions and things that they had cared about, but they didn't actually care

about what the whole point of the Old Testament was. The scriptures that they had known from childhood, which was that the father had sent the son to be the savior of the world, the one that was promised from Genesis 3.15, the seed of the woman that

would crush the head of Satan. They didn't care about the heir of David, the one that David called his Lord.

They didn't care about the blessing of Abraham, that as God had promised him, in you will all the nations of the world be blessed through the descendant that would come from Abraham. They didn't care about the prophet that Moses had prophesied about.

He said, there's going to come a prophet like me, and you will need to listen to him, because anyone that does not listen to him is going to be cut off from the people, from Daniel 7, that there was going to be that one, the son of man, that would

come and rule on the throne of God, and have all power and authority. They didn't care. They viewed it as blasphemy. They were more concerned about their religion than their relationship with God.

Verse 65. Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him and to beat him, saying prophesy, basically say who it was. The temple servants also took him and slapped him.

Here he's beaten and buffeted, even by his own people, the people that should have been first in line to say, here is the king of the Jews. These were the ones that harmed him.

He came unto his own, to his own people, and his own people did not receive him. Verse 66. While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the high priest's maidservants came.

When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth. But he denied it. I don't know or understand what you're talking about.

Then he went out to the entryway, and a rooster crowed. When the maidservant saw him again, she began to tell those standing nearby, This man is one of them. But again, he denied it.

After a little while, those standing there said to Peter again, You're certainly one of them, since you're also a Galilean. There was no other reason for a Galilean to be in the high priest's courtyard at that particular time.

Then he started to curse and swear, I don't know this man you're talking about. Immediately, a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered when Jesus had spoken the word to him before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

And he broke down and wept. Here, Peter has this fear, this aversion to being known as one of Christ's followers. Because right now, it's not looking good for Jesus.

And Peter had seen that Jesus wasn't fighting against these religious leaders. He just went with them.

And so there's some nervousness on Peter's part of, all right, if I say that I'm with Jesus, am I going to end up in the exact same position as him? And here it leads him to deny knowing Jesus.

It leads him to cursing and to swearing, to saying obscene things with his mouth in order to prove, hey, I'm not with a religious person. A religious person would never say the things that I'm saying.

But as soon as he realized what he had done in light of the word that Jesus had told him, that prophecy, he broke down and wept.

One of the other gospels would tell us that Jesus even made eye contact with him as they were moving Jesus from out of kind of that temple complex, that Jesus made eye contact with him.

And Peter realizing the fullness, the totality of what he had done, he went out and wept bitterly. Verse, sorry, Chapter 15 and verse number one.

As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

Here, like one would do with perhaps one of the lambs that would be sacrificed or one of the other sacrifices.

Even as we think back to the Old Testament and the story of Abraham and Isaac, when Isaac by that point was a man in his 30s, that God had told Abraham, I want you to go to this mountain and I want you to sacrifice Isaac.

And Abraham at that point, well over 100 years old, wasn't something that he had overpowered Isaac, but Isaac in obedient submission because God had said it, he was tied up and placed on the altar.

And at that time, God provided a ram so that Abraham would have that opportunity to show God like the fullness of his worship. God didn't want Abraham to kill Isaac, but it was a picture of the sacrifice that God would one day make.

That much like Isaac, who was not forced to do anything, he voluntarily submitted and chose to obey because of his belief in God. So Jesus here, not forced, as he would state elsewhere, he says, no one takes my life from me.

He says, I lay it down and I will pick it back up again. He says, I am in charge. I am not being bullied, or as some people have phrased it, this isn't cosmic child abuse.

Jesus had full agency and chose to follow through with the plan that the Trinity had had from all eternity past to purchase our redemption. So now Jesus is handed over to the Romans, to Pilate, the governor.

Pilate asked him, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, you say so. And the chief priests accused him of many things.

Pilate questioned him again, aren't you going to answer? Look how many things they're accusing you of. But Jesus still did not answer.

And so Pilate was amazed. At the festival, Pilate used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. So he'd say, hey, who do you guys want to go free today?

Like this is just an act of goodwill for you. Verse seven, there was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion. The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom.

Pilate answered them, do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you? For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priest had handed them over. So Pilate knows, okay, this guy's not dangerous.

He's no trouble to Rome. Like this is just a religious spat. So I'm going to see if I can get Jesus released.

But the chief priest, verse 11, stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. Pilate asked them again, then what do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews? Again they shouted, crucify him.

Pilate said to them, why? What has he done wrong? But they shouted all the more, crucify him.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas unto them. And after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified. Here Barabbas is like us, guilty.

Having done wrong, having been imperfect in the eyes of God and man, he was where he justly deserved to be.

But Jesus was given in his place, so that instead of Jesus going free because he was righteous and had done nothing wrong, the guilty go free and the innocent are punished.

What an incredible thing here that Jesus does, that for the rest of Barabbas' life, I wonder if he became a Christian. I wonder if he realized who it was that had given his life for him.

I wonder if there was a part of Barabbas that realized, I don't deserve this. And this other man, I have no idea who he is. I don't think he has the notoriety or the evil to be crucified, let alone being condemned in my place.

And Jesus is flogged from Pilate and then handed over to be crucified. This, if you will, insult to injury. And then we can see in verse 16 the next steps.

The soldiers led him away into the palace, that is the governor's residence, and called the whole company together. So here there's a whole garrison of soldiers.

They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. And they began to salute him. Hail, King of the Jews!

They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage, faking bowing before him.

After they'd mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him because of the flogging that he would have received on his back, and especially in the state that his body already was because of him sweating great drops of

blood in the garden, his back would have ripped open easily. So then this purple robe that would have been placed onto his back, his body would have grabbed onto the fibers of that robe.

So then when the robe is ripped off, it would have been even more excruciating pain and reopening the wounds. Then hitting him on the head with a stick would drive the nails further into his skull, causing him to bleed down his face.

And here, through all this mocking, Jesus could have called the angels of heaven. Much like at that initial Passover, he could have called the death angel to come and exact God's justice, but he didn't.

Because the only justice that would happen would be that one would die in our place. That from Romans chapter 5 and verses 6 through 8, that God proved his love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

For scarcely, rarely will a person die for someone else. For a really good person, some people might dare to die. But God commended, he adorned, he beautified his love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

They led him out to crucify him. They forced a man coming in from the country who was passing by to carry Jesus' cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

Those might have been men that the recipients of this gospel would have known from their particular area. Maybe in Rome or the nearby areas. Here this person is called to carry Jesus' cross.

Think of even what Jesus told us. I forget if it was earlier in Mark or if it was in Matthew, where Jesus encourages his followers to take up their cross and to follow him. And here this Simon does exactly that.

That Jesus is too weak to bring the cross all the way from there at Pilate's residence up to the hill of Calvary or Golgotha. Verse 22, They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means place of the skull.

They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. They're fulfilling scripture again.

Let me look real quick at what that reference is. Yeah, from Psalm 22, one of the Psalms that we went over many months ago now. Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

The inscription of the charge written against him was the King of the Jews. They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, the one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross.

In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying he saved others, but cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross so that we may see and believe.

Even those who were crucified with him taunted him. When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

And at three, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, speaking in Greek, Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani, which is translated, My God, My God, why have you abandoned me? They're quoting from Psalm 22 again.

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, See, he's calling for Elijah, misunderstanding Eloi, Eloi, which is God.

Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink, and said, Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down. Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last.

Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Here, Mark tells us, God made the way, that holy of holies, that place that could only be entered once a year, that place where the priest and all, the high priest, all of the priests and the people, all had to make themselves ready for that day of

atonement when the high priest would go in and make that sacrifice happen in God's presence, that holy place where no one could enter without experiencing death. Now God, from the top to the bottom, saying, this is my work, it wasn't ripped from the

bottom to the top, but from the top to the bottom, that curtain in the temple, an inch thick, was torn, and God said, now everyone can freely enter my presence. There is no more condemnation for those that come through Christ.

There is no more sacrifice to be given. Jesus is the perfect and final sacrifice. There is no more blood that needs to be shed.

Jesus' payment is sufficient. Verse 39, when the centurion who was standing opposite him saw the way Jesus breathed his last, he said, truly this man was the son of God. There were also women watching from a distance.

Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger, and of Joses and Salome. In Galilee, these women followed him and took care of him. Many other women had come up with him to Jerusalem.

Here, though all of the men had abandoned Jesus, these women had not, and we would also know from John's Gospel that John was also there at the foot of the cross.

And I think here it's so interesting, the Roman centurion, he recognizes who Jesus is, the son of God.

When all of the nation of Israel, their chief priests and elders, the Sanhedrin, the scribes, Judas himself didn't realize that Jesus was the son of God. We're going to leave there today, Jesus dying on the cross.

Tomorrow, we're going to finish out the book of Mark and see what happened, how Mark closes out his Gospel account to leave us on a cliffhanger, to say, Here is who Jesus was. I told you at the beginning who he was.

This centurion tells you at the end who he was. But what are you going to do with Jesus? What do you think about him?

How is his story going to influence yours? Thanks for listening, and see you tomorrow. Thank you.