Bully Justice - Mark 15:16-31

Copyright January 7, 2023 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

We hear a great deal today about bullies. We may have seen our children victimized by someone who works to intimidate them with insults or physical threats. Some children don’t want to go to school in the morning because they don’t want to face the person who will endlessly steal their lunch or make fun of them. More than one child’s personality has changed drastically because a bully warned them not to tell anyone what was happening.

It would be nice if bullying stopped as we grew older. It doesn’t. Many seek to influence people through manipulation and intimidation. Others make the workplace unbearable simply because they can and because, for some reason, they don’t like you. They use their power and authority to victimize those whom they are supposed to lead.

Today, we read about Jesus and the bullies. First, we see the Bully Romans, and then the loud-mouth bullies surrounding the cross.

16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

The guards treat Jesus as an enemy of Rome. They mocked Him with the purple robe and the crown of thorns. They ridiculed Him and beat Him. These guards acted like schoolyard bullies. It was a disgraceful way to treat the Son of God.

There are many in our day who treat Jesus in the same way. Instead of listening to Him and ultimately following Him, they use His name as profanity. They ridicule Him as a ruler by saying, “There was nothing special about Him.” Perhaps worst of all, they ignore Him.

Jesus is often dismissed by those who “don’t believe in God.” They will tell you they don’t see how they can believe in God with so much evil in the world.” That raises some interesting questions. 1) Where do you get the idea of “evil?” 2) Why are there such concepts as good and evil? Is it possible that God simply lets you live by the freedom you constantly demand? Could the evil in the world be the result of our willful disregard of God in all of life?

The problem of evil in the world testifies strongly that those who rebel against the Lord God Almighty will see society quickly degenerate. This is not at God’s feet. Everything He made He made “good”. The problem of evil is a problem that necessitates Christ not that Christ himself is evil.

21 A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.

The whole process of crucifixion was designed to be an event. The Romans saw crucifixion as a deterrent to the general public. If others saw the agony of such a punishment, they would think twice before they went against Roman law. They made the condemned carry, most likely, the cross beam of the cross rather than the entire cross. They had to go outside the city for the public display because of Leviticus 24:14 and Numbers 15:35, where Israel was to take the condemned blasphemers outside of the camp. To kill someone in the camp would defile the campgrounds.

It was the Romans who put crucifixion to use as a form of capital punishment. Their thought was the more barbaric the punishment, the greater the deterrent. The fact that Jesus had been beaten to a pulp and was going without sleep led to his inability to carry His cross to the place of crucifixion. Simon, who was from Cyrene. The Roman army seized anyone to do anything at all. In this case, Simon was conscripted to carry Jesus’ crossbeam.

The fact that Mark mentioned Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus suggests that his audience would know who they were –which suggests they were believers when he was writing.

The Abusive People

24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

29 The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

Commentators from the ESV Expository Commentary on Mark write,

To be crucified, his hands are nailed above the wrist to the horizontal beam, or else his arms are bound with a rope to the beam. Subsequently, the horizontal beam is put on top of the vertical beam or nailed to it. Placed above each other, the feet are then nailed to the vertical beam. We can note in this context the exclamation in Psalm 22:16, “They have pierced my hands and feet.” They “divided his garments among them”; Roman soldiers were used to “casting lots” for the possessions of a crucified person.

The New Living Translation writes that this occurred at 9:00 in the morning. Other versions say, “It was in the third hour.” The two statements mean the same thing. A Jewish day was considered to start at 6:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. would be the third hour after the day began. The Gospel of John, however, states Pilate was still talking to the people “around noon” (NLT) (or more accurately, the 6thhour) (John 19:14). Is this a contradiction? It seems like it to us.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say Jesus was led to the cross around 9:00 a.m., and from noon to 3:00, the darkness covered the earth as Jesus endured the agony of the cross and then eventually died. So, why is John so different? It is most likely that the Apostle John wrote his letter from a Gentile location (such as Ephesus). It would have been natural for John to use the Roman way of reporting time (the other writers used Hebrew). In the Roman way of looking at time, the 6th hour would be closer to 6:00 a.m., much more like how we look at time. Thus, the trial was going on around 6:00 a.m., according to John, and it all concluded around 9:00 a.m. when Jesus was led to the cross. The other thing to remember was that all times are approximate because no one had watches in those days.

This time is significant for another reason. This is a reminder of how quickly all of this was happening. The Sanhedrin convened at sun-up (to give their verdict “during the day,” a technicality to give the appearance of being within the law). They were with Pilate at 7:00 a.m. During that time, Pilate examined Jesus (several times), and had him sent off to Herod (in another part of the city); Herod returned Jesus, Pilate offered the people a deal between Jesus and Barabbas, and Pilate tried to reason with the people. Pilate signed Jesus’ death warrant and then he was abused and beaten before going to the cross. This was a “rush to justice” so they could convict Jesus and have in their hands His death warrant before most believers knew what was going on. If the followers of Jesus knew what was taking place, they would insist the trial be done properly.

The people walking in or out of Jerusalem hurled words of abuse and torment to the men on the crosses. I suspect they might have been encouraged by the Romans. This would have added to the deterrent the cross provided. No one would want to face the social agony that hanging on the cross provided. And that was the point!

I wonder what Jesus was thinking during all of this. Imagine the strength of His faith. He did not let the world make Him bitter. He knew He had a purpose, and that purpose was to bring all whom the Father gives Him to salvation! If you have made a commitment to Jesus and are following through on that commitment . . . then Jesus suffered these unspeakable acts for you and me.

All this was part of God’s plan. Back in Isaiah 53, long before Jesus was in the world, we read these words:

3 He was despised and rejected—

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;

it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,

a punishment for his own sins!

5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,

crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.

6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on him

the sins of us all.

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,

yet he never said a word.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,

he did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:3-7)

Did you hear what was said? “It was OUR weakness He carried,” It was OUR sorrows that weighed Him down.” “He was pierced for OUR rebellion, crushed for OUR sins.” He was beaten so WE could be whole, whipped so WE could be healed.” This wrath that Jesus was taking, was something WE deserved. He served as OUR substitute, bearing OUR sin, taking OUR penalty.

Even as Jesus was being taunted about being the Son of God . . . Jesus was giving His life for those who would put their faith in Him.

Lessons from the Bullies

The World Desperately Needs the One Who Died on the Cross. Look around you. The world we live in is in trouble. Our society is morally bankrupt. There is no respect for human life whether it is in the womb, on the streets, or in the lack of respect in too many homes. We are told we are to conform to the ways of the sinful world, or we will be canceled, sued, or vilified at every opportunity.

The idea of “just getting along” with others is only going to lead us in the wrong direction at the very time when believers need to stand up and declare “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” (Proverbs 14:12) and “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) The ONLY solution to the things that cause us to fear and are destroying us, is Jesus. We cannot see a revival in the world by wishful thinking, political maneuvering, or even by incredible Christian discipline. The only way we will see anything change is when people start turning to Jesus rather than turning away from Him. The best place to start is in our hearts. We must repent of our lackadaisical commitment and willingness to compromise with the world's values. Our heart should be for the love of Christ to show through in everything we do. Then and only then will we be able to speak with any credibility to our family and friends.

There will always be bullies in the world. The world is filled with people who want to prove something by trying to diminish someone else (which is what a bully is). Those who are hostile to the gospel will take a bullying approach to anyone who stands with Christ. However, the Apostle Paul’s approach was simple: “Thanks be to God that I have been found worthy to suffer for His name.”

I’m not suggesting that Christ-followers should roll over and take abuse from others. Christian Counselor Paul Meier, who has written scores of books, wrote one titled “Don’t Let Jerks Get the Best of You.” Meier suggests we can protect ourselves from some of the bullies by

1. Avoid situations, when possible, where you are likely to be subject to bullying.

2. Don’t let the words or actions of bullies make you think you are anything less than who God says you are in Christ.

3. Monitor your self-talk. You may be helping the bullies by the things you tell yourself about yourself.

4. Look at your strengths and weaknesses and see where you are most vulnerable to the words of bullies.

5. Be prepared with what you will say to confront a bully with their unacceptable behavior.

We must confront some behaviors; as we do so, we can sometimes be guilty of trying to “out-bully the bullies.” In other words, the bullies make us like them.

In reality, is that we should not be surprised by hostility. There is a sense in which we need to have compassion on the bullies. They are desperately trying to prove that they do not need Christ in their lives . . . and they are failing. To that end, the Bible says we were all bullies once. We believed we could make it through life on our own. We thought we were good enough to receive whatever other good people get. We did not acknowledge that it is only through Christ that we can saved and that it is only through Christ that we can be made whole.

Jesus did not confront his bullies. He died for them. Obviously, if we had more of the mindset of Christ, we would defuse the power of most of the bullies.

Jesus told us that we must go into all the world and proclaim the gospel, trying to make disciples of all men. In other words, instead of trying to put the bullies in their place or show the bullies what it feels like to be bullied, (to become bullies ourselves) we are to try to help lead the bullies to faith.

This is best illustrated by a disciple by the name of Ananias. His story is recorded in Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9 is also the chapter that recounts when Saul or Tarsus became the Apostle Paul. Saul, as you may remember was a bully of meanest variety. He was working to have Christians arrested and, when possible, killed. He was on his way to Damascus when the Lord Jesus brought him to his knees with a blinding light and said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” After this encounter with Christ, Paul was left blind.

Ananias was a believer who lived in Damascus. He may have been one of those Saul of Tarsus was seeking to arrest and destroy.

The Lord also appeared to Ananias In a vision and said,

“Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. (Acts 9:11-15)

It was up to Ananias to take Paul to the believers in Damascus and begin Paul’s training in the Christian faith. Imagine what would have happened is Ananias had said, “It serves him right! He deserves to be blind, in fact, he deserves much more after what he has done to other believers. He doesn’t deserve grace.” But here’s the thing. No one deserves grace. That includes you and me. If God had not been gracious to us, we would still be bullies to one degree or another.

I don’t think the Bible is asking us to let people walk all over us. What the Lord is asking us to do is to relate to others in love. That may mean pointing out that certain behavior is unacceptable but we must do out of a desire to rescue someone rather than to put them down. This is why Jesus said,

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. (Matthew 5:38-42)

If Ananias had turned away from Paul, I am sure God could have raised up someone else to do the job. But what if He didn’t? We would be missing half of the New Testament and some of the Bible's most beautiful and theologically rich teachings.

I’m not saying that the bullies we encounter will be as life-changing as the Apostle Paul. But . . . we will never know unless we are open to the opportunities that we have to let God turn our bullies into our brothers and sisters. I will admit that taxes my brain and, frankly, goes against my earthly nature, but . . . it does seem to be the clear teaching of the Word of God.