Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are picking back up in our study of 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 then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what the Bible means in our lives today.

With that said, we are currently walking through the Gospel of Mark, a Gospel written primarily to teach us who Jesus is, what He came to do, and what it means to follow Him.

As we come back to our study today, we find ourselves once again in chapter 15 and the final few hours of Jesus’s life on earth.

You may recall from last week, after being sentenced to death, we watched as Jesus was mocked by Roman soldiers.

A mocking that involved a game of dress up.

A mocking that resulted in 300-600 soldiers sarcastically praising, spitting, and beating Jesus as they dressed him as a wanna be king.

And as we learned, this is type of treatment is par for the Christian course.

In other words, as Christ followers we can expect the same.

Because the truth is, if you’re going to follow Jesus, you’re going to be mocked.

People are going to make fun of your faith.

People are going to ridicule you for what you believe, the values you hold, and maybe even where you go to church.

There’s no getting around it.

The

That being the case, the real question then is, “How should we respond to mocking?” Thankfully, Jesus gave us an example to follow, and from that example He gave us two guidelines.

First, when mocked we shouldn’t mock back.

We saw this through Jesus’s example.

Throughout the entire mocking Jesus didn’t say a word.

He didn’t mock or talk back.

Why? Primarily to fulfill the prophecy of as Jesus becomes the innocent lamb of God that will be sacrificed for the sins of mankind.

Jesus must remain silent to fulfill this prophecy.

But even if he spoke words they would have fallen on deaf ears, because as we learned last week, it’s nearly impossible to reason with a mocker.

The fact is, when people mock us they are not in a state to reason or listen to what we have to say.

In that moment they are driven by emotion and a hard heart.

Not only that, but if we choose to mock back, we may lose our ability to share our faith with that person.

The truth is, you can’t fight evil with evil.

Mocking back won’t win that person to Jesus.

Mocking back will only drive a wedge further between us and them.

The fact is, our silence will speak louder than their mocking and may even open a door to share our faith.

Second, when mocked we need to be patient and pray for those who mock us.

The truth is, those who mock us aren’t mocking us, they’re mocking God.

And as we read in , God will not be mocked and there are consequences when we mock God.

Because a day is coming when the mocker will stand before Jesus and give an account for their unwillingness to put their faith in Him.

As a result, when somebody mocks us, instead of making us angry, it ought to break our hearts.

Because their mocking is a sign they don’t know Jesus and are spiritually blind.

A sign that if something doesn’t change, a day is coming when they will have to give account.

Paul writes in , “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.”

(ESV)

As a result, instead of mocking back we should pray their hearts would be softened and their eyes would opened.

To pray like Jesus did on the cross as he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

So, that’s how we are to handle mocking.

So, that’s how we are to handle mocking.

But, unfortunately, as we continue in chapter 15 today, the mocking isn’t over.

Having been privately mocked by the soldiers, Jesus will now be publically mocked and executed.

So, before we dive into our passage today, and to help us get our minds, emotions, and spirits engaged, I want to begin by building some framework for what we are about to read.

And in order to do that, I have a question and a request I’d like to ask of you before we begin.

Let’s start with the question - Have you ever watched a movie or maybe even read a book, and at some point, something unexpected happened in the story.

Something you didn’t see coming or that took you off guard.

Maybe something tragic.

A main character died.

The good guy didn’t win.

Or evil seemed to win the day.

And as a result, you walked away from the movie or you put the book down with a knot in your stomach.

The story didn’t end like you hoped it would.

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.

Years ago I watched a movie with my wife called “Message in a Bottle”.

If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, I’m sorry, because for me it was a depressing and frustrating story.

Depressing because it’s about a guy who lost his wife, a woman named Catherine.

And as a result of her death, he's struggling to move forward.

But then through a series of events he begins to find hope again as he meets a new love interest named Theresa.

And so the movie takes an uptick as he and Theresa begin to explore a possible life together.

And so the movie takes an uptick as he and Theresa begin to explore a possible life together.

But then through a series of events their relationship deteriorates because he’s still in love with his late wife and he can’t seem to move past it.

But as time goes on, hope is rekindled once again as he decides he really does love Theresa and wants to pursue a relationship with her.

But before he can tell her how he feels, he goes out on his boat and tragically dies in a storm.

And that’s how the story ends.

Dumbest movie I’ve ever seen.

Took me two days to get over it.

But then through a series of events their relationship deteriorates because he’s still in love with his late wife and he can’t seem to move past it.

But wouldn’t you know it as time goes on, hope is rekindled once again as he decides he really does love Theresa and wants to pursue a relationship with her.

But before he can tell her how he feels, he goes out on his boat and tragically dies in a storm.

And that’s how the story ends.

Dumbest movie I’ve ever seen.

Took me two days to get over it.

Have you ever watched or read a story like that?

A story that left you feeling empty, frustrated, discouraged, maybe even depressed.

Here’s why I ask you to consider this question.

Our passage today is that kind of story.

In other words, if you were reading the Gospel of Mark for the first time, and you didn’t know how the story truly ends, the end of chapter 15 would throw you for a loop.

Might even shock you.

Would probably leave you feeling empty.

Because in our passage today the unexpected is about to take place.

Something the reader didn’t think would happen.

In our passage today, the main character, the hero, the savior, is going to be taken out.

To put it in modern terms, it would be like if you were watching a Jason Bourne movie, and Jason Bourne died before the movie was over.

You’d be like, “What!

Surely he’s not dead.

He’s Jason Bourne.

He’s the main character.

He can’t be dead.”

If it was

That’s what our passage today would have been like for the first time reader.

“What!

Jesus actually dies!

This can’t be! He’s Jesus.

He’s the Son of God.

How can he be dead!

What kind of story is this?”

For the person reading this story for the first time, this part of the story is a moment of disbelief.