The Path to Calvary

Mark 15:15-25

The scene was set / All the actors in their places / Everyone knows their lines even though they have never rehearsed their parts / The greatest act in human history is about to be played out before our eyes /

Verses today / talk about the aftermath of our Lord’s trial before the Jews / Remember / Both Jewish leaders / and Roman governor condemned Jesus / declared Him to be worthy of death

Jews did it because they hated Him / They hated Jesus because He claimed to be their Messiah / He was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting / so they rejected Him / sent Him away to His death

Pilate condemned Jesus to death to save his position with Rome / Pilate violated every conviction he held / He convicted a Man without a valid charge / Pilate sinned against his conscience / integrity / principle / He allowed an innocent man to be crucified to ensure earthly security / Let’s follow JC / from Pilate’s judgment hall to Calvary / where He will die for the sins of His people / As Jesus makes His way from Pilate’s hall to Golgotha / several scenes are played out in the tragedy of His death / I want to look at those scenes today

I. Jesus and the Soldiers

15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head.18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

A. The Scourging

1. When the soldiers got their hands on Jesus / the abused Him / scourged Him

a. If you read over this too quickly / you would think there is not much said here / BUT…

1. Scourging was one of the most feared punishments given out by Roman government

a. Victim stripped naked / forced to bend over low pole / skin on back stretched tight

b. Then flogged / by instrument called The Scorpion = Cat of Nine Tails

2. Wood handle / strips of leather / with bone or metal at end / to beat Him

a. Metal would rip out chunks of flesh / servering arteries / many died from this alone

2. I can’t fully describe what this would have been like / don’t have vocabulary to do so

a. Remember this / He ALLOWED IT / because He loves you / to save your soul / Even prophetic…

1. Isa 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.

B. The Scoffing

1. After the beating / took Him back to the fort / called out the whole band = 600 men / all coming out to have fun!

a. As long as they did not KILL a prisoner / they could do with them as they pleased / heartless / cruelty

1. Imagine this scene / Jesus standing there before them / probably in a pool of His own blood / flesh

2. You would think that would be enough / but they don’t stop there

2. They then play a cruel game / draping Him in a cloth / crown of thorns / placed a reed in His hand

a. Dressed Him as a King / mocked Him / even bending their knees to Him / saluting Him in mockery!

Is this not what our world still does to Jesus? / The world still pays Him lip service / bows a mocking knee before Him, but they do not love Him / respect Him / Have no desire to live for Him / They do not care about His Word / His will / His ways… The world pays Jesus lip services / but there is no love for Him in their hearts.

3. This can even happen in the church

a. People who claim to know Him by WORDS they say / but deny Him by the way they live

1. The way you live / speaks louder than your words

As someone once said, “What you do speaks so loud that I can’t hear what you say.”

b. When we claim to Love Jesus / but fail to serve Him / no better than soldiers mocking Him that day!

C. The Smiting (Didn’t end with beating / mocking)

1. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe / put his own clothes on him again.

a. Re-opened wounds again / led broken / humiliated / Christ to His death

1. I mention this / because it’s a picture of God’s grace in action!

b. Just so you remember / this is God they are beating / God they are spitting on / abusing

1. He created these men / had power to destroy them / but endured this all for YOU / ME !

2. He wore a scarlet robe that morning / then wore my scarlet sins that night on the cross

II. Jesus and Simon

21 A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

A. His Selection

1. All we know / from Cyrene (Africa) / in Jerusalem / probably a Jew in town to worship / probably with family

a. Came to offer a Passover Lamb / came face to face with the Lamb of God / no chance!

1. Simon was compelled = forced / Romans could enlist civilians / people had to obey

a. Matt 5:41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

B. His Shame

1. To carry cross of a condemned man was degrading / no soldier would do it / no Jew would want to

a. You would be branded as ceremonially unclean

1. For Simon / the Passover was over / minute he touched the cross / resembles shame

2. Did you know cross still associated with shame?

a. Heb 12:2 Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

1. Jesus said the mark of a follower / would be willingness / desire to carry the cross

b. Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”

3. Bearing the cross / might bring reproach of the world / but a smile to God’s face

a. Bearing cross = living differently from world / way we think / what we give ourselves to / conduct / relations

1. Part of this is learning to be like Christ / not like the world

b. Don’t even pretend to be carrying your cross unless you have surrendered every area of life to the will of God

1. Is God pleased with everything you do?

Could you invite Jesus to listen to your music? Could you invite Him to watch TV with you? Could you take Him along on a date? Could Jesus join you in everything you do? If not, then someone needs to change, and it isn’t Him!

C. His Salvation

1. No accident Simon was there at that moment / God’s providence / allowing their paths to cross

a. God will bring everyone to that crossroad / has a way of bringing people to Him / need to be saved

1. Woman at the Well / Ethiopian Eunich / Same for Simon

2. Alexander & Rufus = Later Paul writing to Romans / mentions them / even adopting her as his own mother

a. Rom 16:13 Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me.

3. Something happened to Simon / and his family / changed them forever! / Grace of God!

a. Did same for me / He can do the same for you!

III. Jesus and the Skull

22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. 24 Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

A. Place of Choices

1. He was offered a narcotic mixture / not only to ease His pain / but to keep prisoners from struggling while they nailed

a. When offered / Jesus refused / choosing to drink Father’s cup of wrath / dying for not so innocent!

1. He kept a clear mind / without choosing the easy way out!

B. Place of Callousness

1. The depths of human depravity were on display that day / after nailing to cross / soldiers sat to gamble His clothes!

a. Fulfillment of prophecy – Ps 22:18 “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

1. The soldiers turned blind eye / deaf ear to sufferings of condemned ones on crosses that day!

2. Before we’re too hard on the soldiers... Most of us can demonstrate the same kind of callousness in our lives

a. We live for ourselves / barely thought toward others

1. If it doesn’t touch us or our families… it really isn’t too important to us

2. People are going to hell… not our problem

3. People suffering… I am to busy to care about that

4. Work needs to be done… but I have things to do / can’t expect me to get involved

C. Place of Crucifixion

Bible is amazing book / all 4 gospels mention most important moment in human history / with very little description / 25 …they crucified him.

1. Although little description / still centerpiece of all history / day sin / Satan were defeated for those who believe

Frederick Farrar, in his book The Life Of Christ, describes a crucifixion in this way.

A death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of the horrible and ghastly - dizziness, cramps, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of intended wounds-all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness.

The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened [when a victim took several days to die]; the arteries-especially at the head and stomach-became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood, and while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning and raging thirst, and all these physical complications caused an internal excitement and anxiety, which made the prospect of death itself-of death, the unknown enemy, at whose approach man usually shudders most-bear the aspect of a delicious and exquisite release.

One thing is clear. The first century executions were not like the modern ones, for they did not seek a quick, painless death nor the preservation of any measure of dignity for the criminal. On the contrary, they sought an agonizing torture which completely humiliated him. And it is important that we understand this, for it helps us realize the agony of Christ’s death.

a. Even though earth failed to see the significance that day / the death of JC made news in Heaven!

2. God witnessed death of the son / was satisfied / sins penalty paid / sinners could be saved

a. His death opened a way to God / never be closed / now all who come to Him / be saved

Have these scenes caused you to see that you are a sinner / Has it become clear to you that Jesus died to save you from your sins? / Wouldn’t you like to come to Him today? / Why not make today the day when you stopped holding back / Come to Jesus / Today can be your day of salvation / If He is calling you to come, you need to hear His voice and do as He is telling you to do.

Are you reminded of His love for you? Are you filled with praise and thanksgiving for a Savior Who gave Himself for you?

Are you reminded of vows you made to Him to follow Him? Are you reminded of vows you have broken? There was a time when you loved Jesus. You loved Him enough to come to His house, pray and read His Word like you should. Now, you have strayed away from Him. You are no longer close. But, hearing about His love and sacrifice has reminded you of where you need to be. Come to Him today and let Him forgive you and restore you to the place you need to be with Him.