The Son of Man Made Low

Intro

Preaching for a multitude of purposes, but even this morning preaching for dual purposes, one to show the love in which Christ has for us, but also hopefully to equip with some good apologetics in defending the claims of the gospel with others.

Main Point: The Son of Man though rejected, humbles himself to the point of death on a cross so that the grace of God can be poured out.

Points:

The Cross and rejection (15:1-22)

The Cross and grace (15:23-32)

The Cross and rejection (15:1-15)

The Son of Man long ago was promised to come and be given dominion, to come as the Ancient of Days, and inherit a kingdom that would not be destroyed. But his coming was not one of glory, but of rejection. For as we read to open our time this morning from Isaiah 53:3, Jesus, the Son of Man was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. The Son of Man was rejected by many for our sake. Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 50:6 which says: I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I hid not my face from mocking and spitting. Jesus came and was rejected by man.

Rejected by the religious leaders (15:1)

The first group to reject Jesus was the religious leaders. It says there in Mark 15:1, 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. They continue to desire to put Jesus to death as he affirmed back in Mark 14:61-62 as the Christ, the Son of Man. But, ultimately, their rejection of Jesus is out of envy. Pilate notices this, look at what is written down in verses 9-10...

James Edwards defines envy as follows, “Envy is grief or anger caused by another’s success.” The high priests can’t stand the popularity of Jesus or his integrity or the signs he has performed. They can’t stand that he in his claims has exposed their hearts, even the wickedness of their supposed goodness. Due to this envy, this exposure, the religious leaders reject Jesus. In fact, even as Jesus is on trial before Pilate, the religious leaders and their jealousy cause them to lead the crowd in demanding for the release of Barabbas over Jesus.

Barabbas is noted there 7 as one who had committed murder in the insurrection that had taken place in Rome. His name, Barabbas, in Hebrew means Son of Abba, that is Son of Father. And instead of the Jews calling for the release of Jesus who was innocent, the religious leaders persuade the crowds to shout to Pilate to call for the release of Barabbas, the murder instead of Jesus the innocent. So, instead of justice, injustice is served. Instead of seeking to have the righteous one acquitted, the guilty was acquitted, and the righteous condemned. A small group of loud antagonists lead others to follow as the case shows here. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. The whole scene of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion is the innocent being substituted for the guilty.

Jealousy and envy are an ongoing battle for others in rejecting Jesus around the world. The nation of India is predominantly a Hindu nation. There are also Muslims and Christians scattered throughout. The Hindu peoples in India are fine with Christianity, that is as long as it is seen and taught as one of many religious possibilities. This is much like signs I have seen around town here with co-exist on a car. People are fine with Jesus, they are fine with the idea of Christian moralism as long as it doesn’t call for it being the only way. People love the idea of Jesus and much of his teachings and miracles. But the moment that Jesus is declared the Son of God and the only way, people tend to struggle with Jesus and will often reject him? Friend, what is your heart towards Jesus? Do you affirm him as the Son of God and the way, the truth, and the life and willing to follow him? Or are you too rejecting Jesus and his claims of who he is?

Rejected by social motivations (15:2-15)

But the religious leaders weren’t the only one’s to reject Jesus. Pontius Pilate, governor during the time of Jesus also finally rejects Jesus. Pilate was not known for his mercifulness or thoughts of others. It is stated of Pilate by Kent Hughes in his commentary, “he was a man who lusted for celebrity and status.” And yet, Pilate, in questioning Jesus about him being King of the Jews and asking him if he has an answer to make, finds himself amazed by Jesus' silence. And by this silence, Pilate is convinced not of Jesus’ guilt, but his innocence. For Jesus truly was the silent lamb of Isaiah 53:7 who like a sheep before its shearers is silent. And because of this, Pilate actually tries to persuade the Jews to drop the protests and allow Jesus to be released.

Pilate tries to persuade them by asking if it is Jesus, the King of the Jews that they want to be released according to a customary release that was established between Pilate and the Jews. But this proved futile as the crowds shouted, asking for Barabbas instead. So instead of a release of Jesus who was innocent, the crowds seek the release of one who was guilty of murder. Pilate had again failed to release Jesus. Pilate attempted once more and had Jesus scourged in hopes that would suffice the crowds instead of him being crucified. While Mark’s gospel runs the scourging and Jesus being delivered to be crucified together. We find this truth in Luke 23:16 where Pilate says: “I will therefore punish and release him.” The punishment, the scourging that would have taken place here was extreme. Here is the description that James Edwards gives in his commentary. He says:

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 scourging lacerated and stripped the flesh, often exposing bones and entrails. One of its purposes was to shorten the duration of crucifixion, but scourging was so brutal that some prisoners died before reaching the cross.”

But even this brutal scrounging did not satisfy the crowd. Though Jesus’ body was marred, fulfilling Isaiah 52:14, the crowds still demanded that Jesus be crucified. And Pilate who had found no fault in Jesus and was amazed at how Jesus carried himself, caved and gave into the crowds. The social pressures of keeping the Jewish people calm led Pilate to reject Jesus and have him crucified. One’s amazement with Jesus is not equal to one having faith in Jesus. Infatuation is not the same as loving devotion to following him. The moment political opposition was at stake, Pilate went with the crowd to keep from an uproar from the Jewish people.

People all around the world are amazed at Jesus. They are amazed at his teachings and consider them worthy of living by. The miracles of Jesus amaze others and cause them to marvel at who Jesus was. R. Kent Hughes asks the question, “How many have gone only so far with Christ and then stepped back because of a sarcastic smile or a leering silence?” In other words, how many draw so near to Christ to only draw back in retreat in order to protect position, gain, or societal respect?

Friend, don’t simply be amazed by Jesus, and think Jesus indeed was innocent from guilt. For your amazement will fade away from the pressures of the world to reject Jesus, just as did the amazement that had captured Pilate. The moment the pressures of the crowds were going against him, the moment that Pilate recognized the only way to avoid a riot was to crucify Jesus, he did. Again, amazement is not faith. It may indeed be a step towards faith, but the two are not the same. Stop being amazed with Jesus and take up your cross and follow him as a disciple.

Rejected by Soldiers & others at being low.

And while Jesus was being rejected out of envy and even by those who were amazed with him, others, such as the Roman Soldiers reject Jesus and his kingship. In their rejection of Jesus, the Roman Soldiers mocked Jesus and ridiculed him in his lowly estate and the thought of him being king. They mocked and humiliated Jesus by striking him, spitting on him, and mockingly kneeling before him in the claims of him as the King of the Jews there in verses 16-20. All of this on top of the humiliation that Jesus had faced in being scourged and the coming crucifixion that awaited him. To the soldiers, they thought the idea of Jesus being a king was hilarious. “This weak and frail man a king?” “How?” was probably running through their minds. And so, they mocked him.

And if one questions this kind of mockery, this is left without a doubt in the mockery that continued against Jesus while he was crucified. The cross in itself was humiliating enough. It was the most brutal form of punishment possible. One was stripped and had both their hands and feet nailed to wood beams in the shape of a cross. Yet, even while slowly dying, Jesus was continually ridiculed in the midst of this brutal death. They mock him in questioning how he could claim that he would destroy the temple and in three days rebuild it, as seen in verse 29, should come down and save himself. The religious leaders chimed in saying how he could save others, but not himself. But maybe their greatest mocking moment showed the folly of their unbelief. There in verse 32 it says...

Charles Spurgeon commented on this verse saying, “That is the world’s way. But Christ’s way is, ‘Believe and you will see.’ Christ off the cross is admired by people of the world, but Christ on the cross is the hope and stay of believers.” The way of faith is believing then seeing. Spurgeon is echoed in what is written in Hebrews 11:1 which says: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

The way of the cross and the way of the world are at major odds with one another. The world despises that the Messiah King, the Son of God could come and suffer and die on a cross. Some try to go to lengths to argue it wasn’t Jesus that died on the cross. They want to argue the substitution on the cross was Judas on the cross in place of Jesus. Muslims would argue for this kind of idea. They would say, “How can such a great prophet like Jesus die with such shame on the cross?” And this is why Paul even tells the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians 1:18, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. To the world, Christ is admired apart from the cross, apart from his declarations as the Son of God. But it is the cross that the world rejects. And it is to this degree that many bystanders stand, mocking at Jesus on the cross.

Thankfully God’s ways are not our ways. And God has chosen what is folly and weak in the world in order to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:28). He doesn’t choose only the beautiful on the outside, think of the story of Rachel and Leah. God doesn’t choose the best speaker to speak his word to his people, consider Moses here. God doesn’t choose the best put together for his purposes and to lead his people, consider David, the smallest of his brothers. God’s ways don’t fit in a tiny box. Part of the reason for this is so that God can work through each of these for his own glory, and not the glory of the servant. Therefore it is important for us to consider, are we going to believe God and the Suffering Servant King or are we going to reject it as the Soldiers and the Crowds? Apart from belief in Jesus as the Suffering Servant King, there is no salvation, there is no hope. And yet, from the Spurgeon quote we heard earlier, “Christ on the cross is the hope and stay of believers.” Jesus as the Suffering Servant King is our very hope as Christians. That he suffered and died to free us from the guilt of our own sin.

Will we Reject or Believe?

So here is the question put before each of us this morning, will we reject Jesus because of these various reasons? Will we reject Jesus out of envy of him? Will we reject Jesus out of the folly of the cross? Will we reject Jesus in the end, because we simply find ourselves merely amazed by Jesus instead of our faith being in Jesus? Or will we place all our hope and faith and stay in Jesus? The two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus are the picture of this decision that lays before every life. Both thieves start out reviling Jesus, or as one translation uses, taunting him. But in the end, one thief continues in his mocking, the other has a heart change. In Luke 23:40-42 we read:

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

While both thieves start out mocking Jesus, one is with him in glory, the other remains in the despair and torment of hell. For one chose to believe in Jesus and have the penalty of sin resting on Jesus. The other chose to have the penalty of sin remain on himself as he rejected Jesus. Friends here this morning, choose this day if you will accept Jesus and his atoning sacrifice on the cross to rescue you from your sin or if you will reject it and you remain condemned in your own sin. And Christian, marvel at the beauty of the beauty of this good news! Our faith in Jesus gives us hope as it did the one next to Jesus on the cross. For in the cross we see the grace it gives us, which is where we turn with our second and much shorter point this morning.

The Cross and grace (15:16-32)

The means for grace

The reason Jesus endured all he did in being rejected and crucified was so that he might bring this grace to all who would believe in him, just like the thief on the cross. As have already alluded to this morning, God’s grace is shown on the most unlikely of people that God chooses to use. And so it is with those he chooses to save. Brothers and sisters, consider for a moment, it is not because you are strong, you are put together, or that you have reached a level of achievement that you are saved. It is by God’s grace to us in Christ and the faith we have placed in him. God’s means of grace to us is the cross where the blood of the lamb washes us white as snow. Therefore let us thank God for the cross and his means of grace to us. For even as we enter Advent season this morning, let us consider that it was for this very purpose of which Jesus was born. He was born to die as a sacrificial atonement for our sin. It was for this purpose that he was handed over to Pilate, and that he was handed over to be crucified. While sinful man played their part in these, it was according to the will of God for these things to take place, and Jesus willingly went, enduring every last bit of it. In fact, when Jesus could have taken the wine mixed with myrrh, he did not as stated there in verse 23. This drink was an acting narcotic in that time, a means of speeding up one’s death while on the cross. Yet, Jesus refused, he willingly endured it all for the purpose of his grace being poured out for us.

The means for devotion

Likewise, it is the love of God that is being poured out for us on the cross. As we look to the cross and Jesus hung on the tree, we see the extent of God’s pursuit of us. We, who have rebelled against God, God pursued to draw us back to himself. Yes, God’s wrath is poured out on Jesus in the cross, but his love is poured out on us. And therefore, as we see this love that has been poured out for us, let it drive our love and devotion for God. And out of that devotion to God, let us joyfully take up our crosses and follow Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus is a call to endure through the opposition, not fade away when it comes. It is possible that this is even what Mark is trying to point out with the inserting of Simon of Cyrene being assigned to help Jesus carry the cross, along with him being the father of Alexander and Rufus. Rufus is clearly mentioned in the greeting section of Romans there in Romans 16:13. It is a reminder, especially to those in Rome to remain faithful, even in the midst of suffering as a follower of Jesus.

Christian, let the love of Christ on the cross fuel our love and devotion to him, leading us to take up our own crosses, bearing them as Simon did, and following Jesus until the very end as faithful disciples of Jesus.