Meet The Mockers
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This morning we are continuing our study in the Gospel of Mark.
If you’re new to our church it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”. What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible, and the studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what they mean in our lives.
With that said, we are currently walking through the Gospel of Mark. A Gospel meant to teach us who Jesus is, what he came to do, and what it means to follow him.
Today as we pick back up in our study we are back in and the final 12 hours of Jesus’s life.
Just as a quick recap, you may recall as we left chapter 14 we watched as Jesus was arrested and put on trial by the Jewish religious leaders of his day. A group made up of three religious sects who saw Jesus as a threat. The only problem for them though is, Jesus had done nothing wrong. So as witness after witness takes the stand, it becomes glaringly apparent that they have arrested an innocent man.
So, in a last stitch effort to condemn Jesus, they ask Jesus a question that Jesus is guilty of. They ask Him if he is the Son of God. And at that point, Jesus affirms his identity as the Son of God, and in a fit of rage and disbelief, the religious leaders accuse Jesus of blasphemy and sentence him to death.
However, they still have a problem. Because while they can try Jesus and sentence him, they have no authority to carry out the sentence. Because at this point, Israel is under Roman occupation, and Rome had a law that only the Roman government had the right to execute prisoners. It was called “The Right of the Sword”.
As a result, the only way they can have Jesus executed is with Rome’s approval. And for that to happen, Rome will need to see Jesus as a threat. And so they come up with a plan. And as we saw last week, the plan was to present Jesus to a Roman governor named Pilate and convince Pilate that Jesus was an insurrectionist and wanna be king, which would have been a capital offense in Rome. Because in Rome there was only one king, and his name was Caesar. So, the plan is to convince Pilate that Jesus thinks he’s a king like Caesar.
But the truth is, Jesus has never claimed that, and as Pilate questions Jesus, it becomes apparent to him that the religious leaders are trying to pull one over on him. They’re trying to trick him into executing Jesus. From what Pilate can see, all Jesus is guilty of is disagreeing with their theology.
So, Pilate does something they’re not expecting. Pilate declares Jesus innocent of any guilt. And then to add salt to the wound, Pilate capitalizes on an annual custom he had established in Jersualem.
The custom involved Pilate setting a Jewish prisoner free as a way to appease the Jewish people. So, in an attempt to stick it to the religious leaders for their trickery, Pilate presents Jesus and a murderer named Barabbas to the people. And he gives them a choice of either setting Jesus free or Barabbas.
He does this because in his mind he believes the people will surely choose Jesus. I mean, why wouldn’t they. Jesus has done nothing wrong. He’s an innocent man.
But the religious leaders aren’t done. Because while they couldn’t deceive Pilate, they are able to convince the crowd that Barabbas is the better choice. And much to Pilate’s surprise, instead of shouting for Jesus to be set free, they begin to shout for Barabbas to be set free. In Mark writes:
12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Mark 15:11-
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Mark 15:12-15
Pilate is blown away by the crowds decision. So, not wanting to have a riot on his hands, Pilate releases Barabbas and sends Jesus off to be crucified.
At this point Jesus’s fate has been sealed. The religious leaders have gotten their way. Jesus will be executed in the most horrific way you could possibly imagine. A death that we are going to look at in detail for the next few weeks.
So, that’s where we’ve been as we come back to today.
So, here’s what I want to do. Before we jump back into today, I want to begin by asking you a question. A question that I hope will help give us some framework for the message today and help get our minds and emotions engaged in the today’s passage.
Question - Have you ever had somebody mock you?
In other words, have you ever had somebody taunt you or ridicule you for something you said, did, or believed?
Or, have you ever had somebody mimic a physical trait or behavior you have in a degrading manner?
Let me give you a couple of examples of what I’m talking about.
Example 1 - Maybe at some point somebody mocked your favorite sports team.
For instance, and I’m not saying somebody would say this, but maybe somebody came up to you and said, “Hey, do you know what the difference between the Kansas City Chiefs and a dollar bill is?” And like a good naive Chiefs fan you said, “What’s the difference?” And then they said, “The difference is you always get four quarters out of a dollar bill.”
Or maybe, and again I’m not saying somebody would say this, but maybe you had somebody come up to you and say, “Hey, what does a Kansas City Chiefs fan do when the Chiefs win the Super Bowl?” And like a good naive Chiefs fan hoping for a 2019 Super Bowl win, you say, “What? What does a Chiefs fan do when the Chiefs win the Super Bowl? I’d sure like to know since it hasn’t happened in this century.” And they say, “He turns off his Xbox”.
If your a Chiefs fan, and somebody has said something like that to you, then I hate to tell you this, but you have been mocked for being a Chiefs fan.
So, that’s one example.
Example 2 - Maybe you’ve had somebody mock you by imitating or mimicking how you walk, talk, or act.
A great example of this would be the 2016 Presidential election as Comedians like Jimmy Fallen dressed up like Donald Trump and did an overly exaggerated imitation of Donald Trump. From the way he does his hair, to the way he talks, to his hand motions, Fallen and others jokingly mocked our future and now President.
Maybe you’ve had something like that done to you. Or maybe you’ve done that to somebody else as you jokingly imitated the actions or behavior of another person. Probably one of my favorite examples of something like this comes from a show called The Office as Jim Halford imitates his Dwight. Check this out:
Video Clip - The Office
So, that would be another example of how a person could be mocked.
And the truth is, while mocking can be funny and is often done in good fun and humor, sometimes mocking can be hurtful and can bring harm. And all the Chiefs fans said, “Yeah, that’s right Pastor Brad.”
That being the case, the reason I ask you to consider this question, is because as we come back to today, we come to the beginning of the mocking of Jesus. A mocking that is distasteful, degrading, and damaging. A mocking that demonstrates the wickedness of man and our need for a savior. And a mocking that reminds us of what following Jesus might cost us.
Because the truth is, if you’re a Christ follower, at some point you’re going to be mocked. At some point somebody’s going to make fun of your faith and mock you for what you believe, how you live, and maybe even where you go to church. Jesus himself promises us this. In Jesus puts it like this,
“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (ESV)
In other words, if it happened to Jesus, it’s going to happen to you, it’s’ going to happen to me. In fact, unless I miss my guess, it’s already happened to some of you.
Maybe you’ve had somebody tease you about believing in Jesus, and they called you a Jesus freak.
Or maybe because you read your Bible, somebody called you a Bible Thumper. Or maybe because you attend MCF, somebody asked you if you go to the Taco Bell church.
Or maybe because you read your Bible, and as a result somebody labeled you as a Bible Thumper.
Or maybe you hold to certain set of moral and Biblical standards, and as a result you’e been labeled a weirdo, a bigot, a racist, a homophobe, a prude, or whatever other mocking label somebody might use.
Or maybe because you attend MCF, somebody asked you if you go to the Taco Bell church. If you go to that church where they play with snakes and dance in the isles.
I know a few years ago we sent out a Christmas mailer, and we had a gentlemen call the church who didn’t want to be on the mailing list. He told my wife Denise, “I don’t want to get one more piece of mail from a wanna be church that meets in a building that looks like a metal garden shed.”
Ouch!
And the truth is, when we are mocked, when people make their comments, or when somebody makes fun of our faith, it’s easy to get offended. It’s easy to want to say something back. It’s easy to want to post something back on Facebook. It’s easy to want to fire up Twitter. It’s easy to want to mock them back. “Oh yeah, well take this!”
And because it is hurtful, and because we do live in a culture where everybody seems to state their opinion, I think a lot of Christians struggle with being mocked. In fact, I think a lot of Christians are probably guilty of mocking back. Because again, when we are mocked the natural human response is to fight fire with fire.
The question though is, “Is that the best way to respond?” When mocked should we mock back? Or maybe a better question would be, “What’s the Biblical way to respond?” In other words, when somebody mocks us for our faith, how would God want us to respond? How would He want us to handle somebody or a situation where we are mocked for our faith in Jesus?
I think that’s a great question. And thankfully, as we look at the mocking of Jesus today, we’re going to get an answer to that question.
So, here’s what I want do this morning. First, I want to walk through the passage and give some explanation to what is happening. I think it’s important that we understand how and why Jesus was mocked.
Second, I want to look at how Jesus responded to the mocking. In other words, what did Jesus say, what did he do, how did he handle it when he was mocked?
Third, based on what we learn from Jesus’s response, I want to close by giving us some guidelines on how to respond when we are mocked for our faith in Jesus.
So, with that as our basis, let’s begin as we dive into our passage this morning. Picking back up in , Mark writes:
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
Mark says following Pilate’s approval of Jesus’s execution, Jesus is led away into the palace where a battalion of soldiers awaits him. And it’s this setting that will become the stage from which Jesus will be mocked.
So, to help us get some context, there are a couple of things I want to point out about this stage.
First, the word for palace here typically means “courtyard”. So, more than likely after being condemned by the crowd and Pilate, Jesus was taken into a private courtyard like area. Whether it was an open or covered area, we don’t know. But it is a private area away from the religious leaders and the crowd.
Second, while private, Mark says Jesus is not alone. Mark says a battalion of soldiers have been invited to the mocking of Jesus. The word for battalion here refers to what is known as a “cohort”. So, what does that tell us? It tells us how many soldiers may have been present. Because from Roman history we know a legion could be anywhere from 3000-6000 soldiers, and that typically a legion was made up of 10 cohorts. Meaning, in the case of the mocking of Jesus there could have been anywhere from 300-600 soldiers present. That’s quite an audience for the mocking of one Jewish man.
So, a good question might be, “Why are so many present? Why is the mocking of Jesus a show that so many people want to attend? Why all of a sudden is Jesus so popular with these Roman soldiers?”
What I’d like to suggest to you is the reason Jesus has caught so much attention from the soldiers isn’t because he’s a popular person, but because of the charge that’s been brought against him.
You see, what you have to remember is the charge against Jesus is that he’s claiming to be a King. That he’s a wanna be Caesar. That he’s somebody to be respected, honored, and maybe even worshiped.
And so hearing what the charge is, one of the soldiers as an idea. Apparently at some point, one of them says, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s have a little fun with this wanna be king. Let’s show him how we treat a Jew who thinks he’s a king. Let’s put on a show and invite all our friends to watch as we mock the wanna be Caesar.”
And that’s exactly what happens. Because Mark tells us as the soldiers gather in the courtyard, the mocking begins as they play a game of dress up with Jesus. He writes:
17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.
Mark 15:17
Couple things I want you to notice that will help us understand why and what theses soldiers are doing.
First, Mark says they clothed Jesus in a purple cloak. So, what’s with the purple cloak? Well, in Roman culture, purple was the color of royalty. And so as they begin to mock Jesus, apparently someone says, “Hey, go grab a purple cloak. If this guy wants to be a king, then he needs some kingly clothes.” And so they grab a purple cloak and drape it over Jesus’s naked body.
But the fun doesn’t end there. Because somebody else shouts out, “Hey, you can’t have a king without a crown.” At that point someone says, “Hold on, I have an idea. Somebody go grab me a strand of thorns from a thorn bush. We’ll make him a crown”.
And now using the crown of Caesar as a template, they begin to construct a mock crown. In fact, it’s interesting to note the similarity between the crown Caesar would have worn, and the mock crown they create. Check out this side by side comparison.
Slide - Crown comparison
You see, this is the joke. Jesus is a wanna be Caesar, so to the best of their ability they are recreating a wanna be Caesar. They are creating their version of Dwight from the office.
But they’re not done yet. Because if Jesus is a king, like all kings, he needs subjects. He needs people who will bow down before him. And so Mark says, they began to salute him and pay homage to him as they shouted, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Again a statement meant to mock Jesus. Because instead of saying, “Hail, Caesar the Emperor!”, they are mockingly hailing Jesus, the wanna be king of the Jews. In the statement you can almost hear their mocking tone as they shout, “Hail, King of the Jews!”.
But their performance isn’t over yet. Because not only do you verbally salute the king, but you physically pay homage with a kiss. It was called the “kiss of homage”. But in this case they don’t kiss Jesus. No, they give him another version of a kiss as they begin to spit on him. Mark writes:
19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.
This is a total mockery. A disgraceful act of wicked men. And the irony of the entire situation is while he didn’t claim to be a king, he is a king. He’s the king of the universe. He’s the king of creation. He’s the king of all things. And as the soldiers mock Jesus, little do they know one day they will have to stand before him. And in that moment, they will bow, not to mock, but in reverence as they kneel before King Jesus. The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
But for now, they mock. At this point, Jesus is a joke to them. Somebody they can make fun of. Somebody they can get a good laugh out of. He’s a wanna be Caesar, the king of the Jews.
So, what does all this mean? And how does this relate to you and me?
Well, as I said before, it relates in the sense that if you’re going to follow Jesus, then prepared to be mocked. Because according to Jesus, if it happened to him, it’s going to happen to you.
But let’s be honest. That’s not really much of an answer. That doesn't’ really help us understand why we’re being mocked and how we should respond. So, maybe to help us understand how this applies to us, we need to answer two questions.
The first question is, “Why will it happen to us?” or to put it another way, “Why will we be mocked for following Jesus?” I mean I get what Jesus is saying, “If it happened to him, it will happen to us.” But why? Why is following Jesus a magnet for mockery?
I think that’s a great question. And the answer is simply this, “People will mock you for following Jesus for the same reasons they mocked Jesus.”
So, why did they mock Jesus? They mocked him because of the claim of who he was. Because even though Jesus didn’t claim to be Caesar, that was the charge. And to a bunch of Roman soldiers who had dedicated their lives to protecting, defending, and dying for Caesar, to hear Jesus was claiming to be like Caesar was ludicrous to them. It literally made them spitting mad. Who does this Jesus think he is claiming to be our king. I don’t answer to you! We’ll show you, you wanna be king. Our king is Caesar, not you, you piece of Jewish scumbag.
And what was true then, is true now. Because if you think about it, the claim still stands. Because as a Christian, there are a couple of core beliefs that you hold to that makes the world spitting mad.
For instance, you believe Jesus is the Son of God. And not only that, that he is God. He and God are one in the same. And you believe everybody should and needs to make Him the Lord of their life.
In addition to that, you believe that if a person doesn’t make Jesus their Lord and King, that when they die, they will spend eternity in a living hell. You believe that if a person isn’t willing to believe that Jesus died for their sins, and they’re not willing to put their hope and faith in Him, then they can’t be saved.
And the fact is, because you believe those two things, the world hates you. The world thinks your crazy. And the world isn’t going to let you get away with that belief. Because, who are you to suggest that they won’t go to heaven without Jesus. Who are you to suggest that their world view is wrong. Who are you to suggest there is only one way to heaven. Who are you to suggest that one day they will bow their knee to a Jewish nobody who died on a Roman cross.
And so they mock. They mock you because you believe something that infringes on their entire belief system. You believe something that they refuse to accept. You believe something that is contrary to everything they hold dear.
Of course they’re going to mock you. Of course they’re going to poke fun of you. Of course they’re going to curse you. Of course they’re going to persecute you. Of course they’re going to strike you. Of course they’re going to kill you. “Because, how dare you think your way is the only way. How dare you suggest that I need to put my faith in a Jewish nobody named Jesus. Are you insane? What are you, some kind of Jesus freak? What, do you go to that church out by Taco Bell or something? You some kind of Bible thumper. Put my faith in Jesus! Yeah right. How about I put my foot...”
You see, they mock you for the same reason they Mocked Jesus. You believe something they can’t accept. You claim something that they refuse to believe. You leave them with no alternative. It’s all they have left to do. It’s all they know to do. Meet the Mockers.
The Apostle Peter describes them like this:
3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Peter says there are going to be those who mock what you believe. They’re going to say things like, “So where’s this Jesus you claim to follow???? I thought you said he was coming back. I thought you said he was God. It’s been over 2000 years, so where is he?”
But Peter says they lack knowledge. Peter says their blind. Peter says they are deliberately overlooking the fact of who God is. Peter says regardless of their scoffing, a day is coming when they will give account.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
And because their hearts are darkened, they mock. Paul goes on to write:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Like those soldiers, they’ve formed their little club and you better watch what you say. Because we won’t just mock you. We’ll take you out. We’ll crucify you if we have to. Who are you to tell us we need to serve your wanna be king!
You see. They mock you and I for the same reason they mocked Jesus. They refuse to believe, and nobody better question their worldview.
You see, what you have to remember is while we don’t force people to follow Jesus, the Gospel makes an outrageous claim. The Gospel says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV)
It’s an outrageous claim some will never accept. That’s why Paul writes, “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.” (ESV)
Paul says for those who embrace the Gospel, its aves them. For those who refuse to embrace it, they mock it. It’s foolishness to them. So, that answers that question.
Next question, “How should the Christian respond when mocked?”
This is an important question, because as I said earlier, it’s far to easy for the Christian to respond in an inappropriate or unbiblical way when mocked. So, how should we respond?
How should we respond when somebody makes fun of what we believe?
How should we respond when somebody like Joh Behar says anybody who believes in Jesus must have a mental illness?
How should we respond when people mock our church.
What’s the appropriate response? What I’d like to suggest to you, is based on the response of Jesus, there are two appropriate responses for the Christian when mocked.
When mocked, don’t mock back.
What I want you to notice, is that through the entire dress up game, while the soldiers had much to say, Jesus remained silent. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us this:
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Peter says Jesus didn’t say a word:
He didn’t try to defend himself.
He didn’t resist.
He didn’t spit back.
He didn’t write a Facebook post about his ordeal and how he was publically shamed.
e didn’t write a Facebook post about his ordeal and how he was publically shamed. He didn’t send out a tweet with the hashtag #memocked. He didn’t do any of that. In fact, he didn’t say a word. Why?
He didn’t send out a tweet with the hashtag #memocked.
He didn’t do any of that.
Why? Why didn’t Jesus say anything? Why did he let these soldiers get away with this?
Well, the primary reason has to do with the prophecy concerning Jesus. Remember, we looked at that passage a couple weeks ago. The prophet Isaiah writes:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In this moment Jesus must fulfill the prophecy concerning himself. For this to work, the innocent lamb must be sacrificed. Because if Jesus defends himself, if he calls in an angel air assault, which he could, then we lose.
So, in order to fulfill the prophecy, Jesus remains silent. The crucifixion must take place. The innocent lamb of God must be sacrificed for our sin.
But in addition to fulfilling the prophecy, there are some biblical reasons why Jesus remained silent, and why we should as well.
Reason #1 - It’s impossible to reason with a mocker.
The fact of the matter is, if somebody is mocking you, if somebody is making fun of your faith, at that point they are not open to a reasonable conversation. Listen to what Solomon says about this in :
A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,
but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.
Leave the presence of a fool,
for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,
but the folly of fools is deceiving.
Fools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.
Solomon says somebody who mocks is not a seeker of wisdom, truth, or knowledge. In other words, they’re not open to a rational conversation. So, Solomon says instead of engaging them, leave their presence. Don’t have a conversation with them. Don’t post back on their Facebook post. Don’t retaliate with a snide remark or comment. It won’t do any good. If anything, it will only antagonize them. Solomon also says:
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Solomon says if we decide to mock back, then we can expect a brawl. And that’s true, right? I mean think about it. When people get in a mocking battle on Facebook, does anybody win? Does any good come from that? No, it just escalates into an insult war as two people or a group of people tear each other down. And in the end nobody wins and hate wins the day. And maybe worst of all, in that moment we’ve lost all ability to reach that person with the Gospel.
And that’s part of the problem when we mock back. When we mock back we lose our ability to minister to that person. We lose our ability to be light in darkness, because in away, we’ve become darkness as we try to fight fire with fire. In that moment we’ve lost sight of how to deal with sin. The Apostle Paul writes:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Paul says you don’t put out fire with fire. You don’t win people to Jesus when you mock back. Why not? The Apostle James tells us. He writes:
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James says getting angry and mocking back doesn’t display who God is. It doesn’t show people who Jesus is. All it does is drive a wedge further in their heart.
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Solomon says, “Listen, you don’t win when you shoot back.” Because in that moment you’re dealing with someone who is unwilling to reason. You’re dealing with someone who doesn’t want to hear what you have to say. The best thing you can do is walk away. The best thing you can do is sign out of Facebook. The best thing you can do is refuse to mock back. It won’t do any good. It won’t help you and it won’t help them.
Now, some might say, “But Pastor Brad, aren’t we supposed to be willing to defend our faith? Doesn’t the Bible say we’re supposed to make a defense for the Gospel?” Yes, it does. But let’s look at exactly what that means. In Peter writes:
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
I want you to notice what Peter said. He said be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Peter says, “When asked” not “When mocked”. There’s a big difference there. Let me explain it like this:
If somebody were to come up to you and say, “I heard you’re attending the Taco Bell church. I guess you’re one of those bible thumping Jesus freaks now?” If somebody said that to you, probably best to politely say, “I guess I am”, and walk away. That’s a no win conversation.
However, it somebody came up to you and said, “Hey, I heard you’ve been attending Marysville Christian Fellowship, that church out by Taco Bell. And honestly, it kind of surprised me. Can I ask you why your attending there?”
Now, that’s a totally different scenario. In a scenario like that, that person isn’t mocking you. They are looking for answers. They want to have a reasonable conversation. They want to understand why you’re attending the church that others mock.
And in that moment, with gentleness and respect, you should give your reason. Do you see the difference?
Do you see the difference?
One more reason we shouldn’t mock back:
Reason #2 - It’s God’s job to deal with mockers, not ours.
The Apostle Paul writes in :
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Paul says that people who mock God will reap what they sow. In other words, when somebody mocks you for your faith, they’re not mocking you, they’re mocking God. And that my friend is a dangerous game. Because as Paul said, “God will not be mocked.” And in the end, those who mock God will reap the consequences.
Now, you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, so what’s the consequence of mocking God? What can the mocker expect?”
Let me show you a passage that illustrates the ultimate fate of mockers. The passage is found in . And in this passage a prophet named Elisha is on his way to a city called Bethel. And along the way a gang of rebellious boys see him, and knowing he is a prophet of God, they begin to mock him. Listen to what happens:
He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
The writer tells us as Elisha is walking, a group of boys begin to mock him. They begin to say, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”. And all the bald men said, “That’s not very nice!”. So, why are they saying that? Is it because Elisha is bald? Maybe, but probably not.
Unfortunately, we don’t have time to go into the detail of what is happening here, but their mocking has nothing to do with Elisha being bald and everything to do with his faith. In fact, the term “Go up, you baldhead!” is meant to mock Elisha’s recent calling to be a prophet? So, by making this statement, they are mocking his faith, not his head. So, what happens next?
So, what happens next?
And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
The writer says when Elisha heard their mocking, he turned around, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Meaning, he gave the problem to God. He basically said, “God, you take care of this.”
And no sooner had he said that, two bears come out of nowhere and tears 42 of the boys limb from limb. That’s how God deals with those who mock Him.
That’s how God deals with those who mock Him.
Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, that’s a horrible story? How could God do that to those poor boys?” Well, they weren’t poor boys. They were wicked boys. And I can promise you this wasn’t the first time they had mocked God. Because for those who refuse to acknowledge him. And for those who mock him. There is a day when God says, “Enough is enough.” The apostle Paul puts it like this:
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Paul says, “Listen, when you refuse to repent. When you refuse to acknowledge him. When you allow your hard to become hard. You are storing up wrath for yourself for a day of judgment.”
In , these boys had mocked God enough. God said, “Your day of judgement has come. You’re going to reap what you’ve sown.”.
You see, God will take care of the mocker. It’s not our job to mock back. And that leads us the second response. A response that does require us to do something to the mocker.
As a result, the religious leaders to desand having been found guilty of blasphemy, the religious leaders sentenced him to death.
2. When mocked, we should be patient and pray for those who mock.
The fact of the matter is, while God will eventually judge the mocker, He exhibits an extreme amount of patients and gives ample opportunity for the mocker to repent. The psalmist writes:
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
And the Apostle Peter says:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The fact of the matter is, God wants everybody to repent and be saved, including those who mock him. I have to believe that God goes to great lengths to bring the mocker to repentance. And I believe that because that’s the Character of God. And we see that modeled by Jesus himself as he exhibits patience and and prays for those who mock him.
Mark tells us after the soldiers had had their fun, they took off the mock apparel and led Jesus out to be crucified. He writes:
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
We’re not going to get into the details of crucifixion this morning, but as we close I do want to jump ahead to the final moments of Jesus’s life.
In Lukes Gospel, Luke tells us after all the mocking, after the soldiers nailed him to a cross, after all that they did to Jesus, Jesus looked down at them from the cross, and he made an amazing statement. Luke writes, “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (ESV)
In that moment, instead of mocking back, instead of giving them what they deserved, Jesus displayed patience as he prayed for them. He prayed that God would forgive them. He prayed that God would show them mercy. He prayed that God would hold his wrath back. Why? Because they’re blind. Because they don’t know what they are doing. They have spiritual blinders on. The enemy has deceived them. So Jesus prays, “God have mercy on them.”
The truth, instead of getting angry when somebody mocks us, it ought to break our hearts. It ought to cause us to grieve for them. It ought to cause us to cry out to God for them. Because their mocking is a sign of their blindness. Their mocking represents their lack of understanding. It’s a sign that we need to pray that God would open their eyes. Because if their eyes aren’t opened, it doesn’t end well for the. And the truth is, if instead of mocking back we were to pray for them, it could make all the difference.
How do I know that? Because at the moment of his death, Mark tells us there were people watching how Jesus had responded to the mocking. And apparently, it had an affect on one of the soldiers standing there. Mark writes:
And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Mark says one of the soldiers who mocked and killed Jesus, now watches in amazement. He watches as Jesus doesn’t mock back. He listens as Jesus prays for those who persecute him. And as he takes his last breath the soldier proclaims, “He really was a king. He really is the son of God.”
The bottom line is this. You’ll never win a word fight with a mocker. Best you keep your mouth shut. But you can win the battle in prayer. You can cry out to God for them. Like Jesus, you have the ability to pray, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And I can promise you, if you’ll pray for those who mock you, those are words that will win battles. That kind of response has the ability to literally save lives.
Let me ask you something, “Do you pray for those who mock you? Or do you mock back? Can I challenge you this morning to consider that there’s a better way to win that battle. That instead of mocking those who mock you, you pray for those who mock you, and trust that God can win a battle that you can’t win.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Let’s Pray