Jesus Delivered into Suffering

Good morning everyone. I love that I get to come up here every Sunday morning and greet you whether you are online, or here in person. I love that I have the opportunity to serve in this way and share a little bit of what God is showing me throughout the week.

I spent some time reading this week and studying, and I really enjoyed reading this story this morning. Now, that is going to seem strange that I enjoyed reading and studying this section, because we are really getting into the dark portion of the Gospel of Mark, but it truly was encouraging as I read. Hopefully as we go through these passages this morning you will feel the same way as I did.

Now, you can read from the title this morning that we are going to be talking about Jesus suffering. I am sure that you can infer that we will see a picture of our own suffering in the process of reading about this as well. Well, you would be right…we are going to address suffering this morning. As a way to prepare you to hear a little about suffering, and along with suffering the sovereignty of God, I would like to share with you a quote from a book called, The Practice of the Presence of God, written by Brother Lawrence. In this book he says,

“If we know how much He loves us, we should always be ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the sweet and the bitter.”

In other words, if we know that God loves us, and we do, then we should receive both what we would consider good, and bad, because it comes from him.

So we are continuing in the book of Mark, and this morning we are going to be starting chapter 15 and looking at the first 15 verses there. In that time we will see Jesus suffering through his trials and deliverance to the crowd for crucifixion. We are planning to finish the book of Mark on Easter morning and then we will see what is going to happen after that.

But, for now, let’s say a word of prayer,

Now, let me invite you to read with me,

Mark 15:1–5 ESV

And 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. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Jesus Delivered (to Pilate)

So let’s talk a bit about this interaction that we see here. I want us to really understand what is going on here in a practical sense, and then maybe that will allow us to see a bit more that is happening Spiritually. The first thing we see is that the Sanhedrin is attempting to appear to follow the law. They did not make a decision over night while they were interrogating Jesus. No, they waited until morning because it was a violation of their laws to judge a man during the night. That is why this says, “As soon as it was morning...” They didn’t wait, they acted immediately.

You see, they have been laser focused for a little while on getting rid of Jesus. Jesus was damaging their way of life and they did not want that to continue. So, they planned and worked to have him arrested, using Judas. Then, they next step will be to have him killed. It is not enough to put him in jail, they want him gone forever. There is just one problem with that They are not allowed to have anyone put to death legally. If Israel was free, they could do what they wanted to. However, they are under the rule of Rome, which means that they must follow Roman law. Roman law does not allow the death for a religious crimes. So the Sanhedrin has chosen their words very carefully. They are being deceitful and straight up lying in order to attempt to get what they want. As soon as morning hit, they held a trial and they agreed that they needed to turn Jesus over to Pilate.

Pilate was a Roman official with the Jews around AD 26-36. Pilate did not live in Jerusalem, but it was important for him to be there around Passover and other major Jewish activities because of the large number of people that would come and attend these events. With so many people, there was always a concern that there would be civil unrest. Unfortunately, all writers of antiquity describe Pilate as being cruel with no regard or sensitivity for Jewish beliefs or practices. As a matter of fact, it is Pilate that actually brought in images of Caesar that the Jewish people felt was an attempt to establish emperor worship in Jerusalem. Those were removed due to civil unrest. However, he did have men killed as they were sacrificing, meaning that those murders would have taken place in the Temple of Jerusalem. You see, Pilate was not a kind and benevolent ruler. He was cruel and unusually vindictive against the Jewish people.

Now, Pilate frankly didn’t care about any of the religious crimes that the Sanhedrin has accused Jesus of, he only cares about civil crimes. Pilate is focused on things like sedition, and treason, or terrorism. Therefore, he asks Jesus the only question that really even matters. “Are you the King of the Jews?” Actually, it is a little different wording that this. The more exact question would have been, “You are the King of the Jews”. This is a statement, with a question. (say it as a question) “You’re the King of the Jews?” You see, this is the only question that Pilate cares about. This is the only thing that will cause an issues, because this would indicate a potential uprising with this new leader. The interesting thing is that claiming to be Messiah is not a crime in Judaism. However, when this is translated into the political equivalent, “King of the Jews”, it becomes a problem to this Roman official.

So, Pilate makes a questioning statement that Jesus is the King of the Jews, and Jesus could stop the trial right here, and that would be the end of it. Jesus could answer, “I’m sorry, you have bad information. These people just don’t like me because I am more popular than they are.” or maybe just simply, “No, I am not.” That would have gotten Jesus released from Pilate because he would have enjoyed seeing these men all upset over their religious customs. Jesus also could have stopped everything by saying, “Yes, I am”. That would have triggered an immediate execution and stopped the torture that Jesus was about to endure. However, Jesus responded with “You have said so.” I mean, could that be more cryptic? So, is that a yes, or a no?

Here is the thing though. The night before this happened, when he was in the Garden of Pressing, Jesus released his will to the will of the Father. Jesus emotionally stepped into the role of the suffering servant. Now, Jesus is acting as the suffering servant. Let me ask you, what would have happened if Jesus would have acknowledged plainly who he was? Well, he would have been executed immediately. That means that the thief on the cross would have never had an experience with Jesus, the soldier at the cross would have never acknowledged Jesus’ deity, many more would have never seen Jesus as the suffering servant who was tortured for you and me. You see, it seems that everything that Jesus did, had a purpose, even his suffering.

There is one more thing that I want to point out to you this morning about this particular section. Pilate continues attempting to get Jesus to speak clearly and answer the charges that are brought against him. Well, the charges are fabrications, but with Jesus not responding to them, Sure, we know from John that Jesus and Pilate discussed the nature of political authority. However, Jesus did not answer Pilate’s questions. Jesus remains silent, and his silence in the face of such hatred, abuse, and cruelty is typical of Mark’s portrayal of the passion from this moment on. This is not a silence of defeat though. No, this is a silence of surrender to God’s sovereignty over the passion. Much like the servant of the Lord in,

Isaiah 53:7 ESV

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.

Finally, we see an amazement from Pilate. Throughout Mark’s writings we have seen amazement from various people. However, this time, coming from Pilate feels a bit different. You see, Pilate shows this amazement towards Jesus twice. Both times that we see Pilates amazement it is for words Jesus does not say, by his silence here, and by his death later. Theologian James Edwards says,

“Mark often notes the amazement and astonishment, particularly of the crowds, at Jesus’ words and deeds. Amazement is not the same thing as faith, although it may become the first step to faith. In this instance, Pilate’s amazement may signal a change of mind to seek Jesus’ release from the crowd, for Josephus records the same reaction of Pilate when the crowds protested so valiantly in Caesarea, after which he removed the offending images from Jerusalem”

What we are able to begin to see is the suffering that Jesus is stepping into. We see that Jesus had the opportunity to experience less suffering while still fulfilling his role as the Savior who died. However, that was not the complete purpose. You see, even in Jesus’ suffering there is a plan that is coming together. God is sovereign over those details, and that is what Jesus surrendered to the night before. Now, let’s think about you and I for a moment…You an I suffer from time to time. You and I experience hardship, or trials. Sometimes those hardships are due to our faith, and sometimes those hardships are due to sin. However, in those hardships that we experience one of the more frequent prayers we cry out is, “Please God, stop this!” Sometimes God intervenes, but frequently that suffering continues for a little while longer. Why do I bring this up? Well, because we saw that Jesus cried out, “Father please”, and then he walked into the suffering with his head held high knowing that God was in fact sovereign over the events he was experiencing.

My question to you this morning, “Is your head help high?” as you experience suffering all around you. Is your head help high and your faith strong, or are you at times beginning to doubt and question God’s work in your life. Ill be honest with you this morning…I have definitely doubted God’s work in my life in the midst of suffering in the past. As a matter of fact, not long before I accepted the position to move here and pastor LRBC, I was ready to give up. I questioned if God really wanted me to do this or if I misunderstood things. Thankfully, I talked to Bryan Moak from Converge, and even Steve Wells and God used those men to set me straight so that I would be able to hold my head high and continue walking in faith. So, what about you? Are you willing to accept that God is sovereign over your suffering, and continue to hold your head high as you walk in faith?

Now that’s not the end of what we need to talk about today though. You see, the Sanhedrin delivered Jesus to Pilate so that Pilate could make the judgement and sentence him to death. But that is not the only deliverance that happened that day. No, Pilate actually is going to take Jesus to the people and allow them to make a decision. Lets read,

Mark 15:6–15 ESV

Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Delivered (by Pilate)

So here we have Jesus being delivered by Pilate instead of to Pilate. You see the Sanhedrin has already given over the responsibility to Pilate for the sentencing of Jesus. They were not allowed to do this, and so they wanted it to be another persons responsibility. Now we have Pilate taking Jesus to the crowd, ultimately so that it will be another persons responsibility. Let’s take a look at how this really happens this morning.

Pilate apparently had a custom of releasing a prisoner during a feast. Now, many of those in prison would be friends with many Jews. At this particular time there were some men that were in prison that were a part of an insurrection. Now, this was a real insurrection and within the prison was one man who had actually commited murder during this insurrection. Pilate is a smart man and even though he is ruling over the Jewish population he is also required to keep the peace. There have been a few times that history tells us that there were uprisings from the Jewish population that Pilate had to deal with. One of those times is when he brought in images of Caesar. Another time is when he oversaw the construction of the aqueducts. Then there is this time, which we don’t know much about. However, it seems that it was recent enough that Mark did not see the need to explain what had actually taken place.

Well, knowing this custom to release someone the crowd came and asked Pilate to release someone. Pilate, seeing an opportunity for political favor with the crown assumes that they want Jesus to be released. After-all, Jesus it doesn’t seem has actually done anything. Look at how Mark mentioned that Pilate assumed that the Chief Priest were just jealous of Jesus. Here is where there is a problem. You see, Pilate asked them if they wanted the “King of the Jews” released, and they said “No!” They went on after listening to the Chief Priest that Barabbas is the one that should be released. Now, I want to paint a picture of who Barabbas is. Barabbas in Hebrew actually means “son of the father”, add to that in Matthew we read that his given name is actually Jesus. Now we have a guilty man named Jesus, son of the father who has been chosen by the crowd over Jesus, Son of the Father. Theologian James Brooks says,

Mark 15. The Roman Trial (15:1–15)

Jesus was falsely accused by the Jews and condemned by Pilate for the very thing of which Barabbas was actually guilty. The pseudo “son of the father” was freed, but the true Son of God was executed. Mark probably pictured Jesus as a substitute for one sinner and by implication for all sinners.

This isn’t the end. Jesus’ suffering has only just begun. After Pilate decides to put Jesus to death, and do so the way the crowd requests is, the next step is flogging. This is not an easy process. This is a time where Jesus will be whipped with leather that has bone or metal, or some other sharp pieces. The person being flogged is stripped and tied to a post and then the flogging will begin. There is no prescribed amount of lashes, and frequently this is used as a way to shorten the time on the cross. This tortured caused so much pain and suffering, than some died before ever leaving this post. This was such a terrible experience that women were exempt from experiencing this either as a participant, or as a witness.

We see at this end of this experience that Jesus was delivered by Pilate, to be crucified. Mark points out this deliverance in vs. 15, showing us that was what done from wickedness, was done for God’s purposes.

This morning I want to invite you to think of your own suffering. Whether this is caused by your sin, or another’s we can see that God is sovereign over these events. We are reminded in Genesis when Joseph confronts his brothers he tells them that what they intended for evil, God intended for good.

Genesis 50:20 ESV

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

We see the same idea in Acts, that was was done by lawless men, was done according to God’s plan.

Acts 2:23 ESV

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Therefore, what is done in your life today, while caused by sin, is done according to God’s plan to bring about the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. We see that in,

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

So this morning I want to ask you to step into this moment of suffering and allow God’s plan to impact your life so that you can walk through this trial with your head up and focused on Christ and what he has done for you. Walk through this suffering knowing that Christ is with you in this moment.

—Prayer—