Agony; Pt 2

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Mark 15:1-20

Introduction: (What?)

In the last message we tracked the Agony of Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Courtroom (actually the home of the high priest) and to the courtyard where Peter denied Jesus three times. We ended with Peter realizing his sin and breaking down and weeping in sorrow. Today we follow Jesus as His Agony continues in the residence of Pilate, the Roman official (governor) of the Jews.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The Verdict of the Sanhedrin (vv 1-5)

As I mentioned in the last message, it was illegal for the Sanhedrin to pronounce judgment on someone during the night. Thus Mark begins with “As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up and led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.” Thus the decision that was illegally made over night was quickly made “legal” so far as Jewish law was concerned. Most of us grew up with some kind of prejudice, which simply means to pre judge someone before getting all the facts. That is exactly what the Sanhedrin did. Their minds were made up, so no amount of evidence to the contrary would change them. Once again we find Luke giving more information in Luke 22:66-71 “When daylight came, the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the scribes, convened and brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I do tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” They all asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” “Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from his mouth?””

Case closed! They immediately began to treat Jesus as a criminal by tying Him up and shuffling Him off to the Roman governor of Judah whose dwelling in Jerusalem was in Herod’s Palace. They did this because they could not put anyone to death. The Romans, however, could condemn someone to death because they held what was called, “the power of the sword”. Also, the Sanhedrin wanted Pilate to declare the death sentence quickly so that the deed could be done before the Sabbath. Because the Roman courts opened at daybreak, and all who were on the docket were ushered into the presence of the Prelate, they had to hurry to make sure they were first in line.

“So Pilate asked Him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He (Jesus) answered him, ‘You say so.’ And the chief priests accused Him of many things. Pilate questioned Him again, ‘Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!’ But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.”

By refusing to answer Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Many of the charges the chief priest brought before Pilate were religious in nature. He ignored those. However they also brought the charge that Jesus claimed to be “King of the Jews”. That caught Pilate’s attention. If this man before him was a king, then he was a threat to the Roman Caesar. Then Pilate would have what he deemed “just cause” to have Jesus killed. Jesus’s response was neither a confession nor a denial. He simply said, “That’s what you say, but you really don’t know what you’re saying.”

In John 18:36 ““My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”” This more complete answer probably confused Pilate even more. After that response Pilate began to look for a way out of the predicament the Sanhedrin had put him in.

2. The Choice (vv 6-15)

“At the festival (Passover) Pilate used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion. The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. Pilate answered them, ‘Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?’ For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed Him over. Knowing that he really didn’t have grounds to convict Jesus to death, and wanting to stick it to the Sanhedrin whom he despised, Pilate was looking for a way out. He thought that by following his custom of granting amnesty to a prisoner of their choice, the Jews would choose Jesus, their “king” to be released. But he was wrong.

“But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Bar-Abbas (son of the father) to them instead. Pilates asked them again, ‘Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?’ Again they shouted, ‘Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Why? What has He done wrong?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’ Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus (the only begotten Son of God) flogged he handed Him over to be crucified.”

Without knowing it the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Barabbas were all complicit with the plan of God for the redemption of mankind. On the surface, the “only begotten Son of God” died, not for His own sins, but for the sins of Bar-Abbas (the son of the father). Going deeper, Jesus also died for the sins of all repentant men and women of all time.

3. More Physical Abuse (vv 15-20)

The agony of Jesus then continued with the flogging with a flagellum. This was a wooden handle to which metal tipped leather thongs were attached. These unlimited number of lashes were administered by two soldiers who would alternate swinging the whip from either side. We’ve been led to believe that the lashes were limited to “40 less one”. However, that only applied to beatings that the Jewish synagogue leaders would administer with rods to the backs of those who had broken synagogue laws. That is the type beating that Paul experienced and wrote about.

John McArthur notes that the result of a Roman flogging was “ripping the flesh down to the bone, causing extensive bleeding. It was a beating from which prisoners often died.” Those who survived the flogging would certainly die more quickly when crucified, thus giving the crucifixion detail some extra time off.

“The soldiers led Him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called the whole company together. They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. And they began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They were hitting Him on the head with a stick and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying Him homage. After they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe and put His clothes on Him.”

The “company” consisted of 600 hardened Roman soldiers. Once Jesus was condemned to death, they decided to have what they considered some “fun” with Him. In the event you don’t get the irony, you and I were among this company because our sins brought Jesus to this place and time. In our sinful state we would be dancing around the victim and shouting derisive “hails” at Him. We, in our sinful state, are the reason for the agony that Jesus endured. When we surrender to Christ, the purpose for His agony is fulfilled in us.

Application: (How should I respond to the message?)

Recognize and repent of the sin in your life that took Jesus to the cross.

Confess Him before man. In our church that means coming forward to say, I have surrendered to Christ.

Be baptized. This is your visual testimony of surrender, and resurrection to a new life.

Realize that you need a support team in the Christian Life. You find that in church membership