WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.320 The passage that Alistair read for us is, in many ways, one of the most moving passages 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:08.320 in Scripture. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:14.599 This is part of the wider narrative of the final few hours leading up to Jesus' death 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:16.679 on the cross. 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:26.000 The passage that we read, in many ways, describes how Jesus was treated on his way to the cross. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.560 There's an amazing contrast. If you think back just a few days earlier, Jesus had had 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:36.320 the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem where many people had welcomed him and rejoiced at 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:37.320 his coming. 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:44.039 Now, just a few days later, everything is so different. 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:51.159 And reading through this passage, the overriding emphasis is on how badly Jesus was treated. 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:59.959 He was accused, rejected, condemned, insulted, beaten, and mocked. 00:00:59.959 --> 00:01:07.280 And it's a very distressing picture as we read it. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:14.239 As we come to a passage like this, we always do so with a sense of pause and reverence 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:20.039 and awe at all that Jesus did for us. 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.560 And I want us to think together about this passage. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:27.360 In particular, I want us to focus on the words of verse 31, but I'll just read the 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:30.120 wider section that's on the screen. 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:35.120 Those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, aha, you who would destroy 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:41.120 the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:46.120 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, he saved 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.520 others, he cannot save himself. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:55.319 Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. 00:01:55.319 --> 00:02:00.199 Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 00:02:00.199 --> 00:02:03.599 And it's the words in bold that I want us to focus on. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:08.079 He saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:02:08.079 --> 00:02:14.479 And I want us to look at these words in two ways. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:19.840 First of all, we're going to say that these words are wrong. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.679 And then we're going to say that these words are right. 00:02:24.679 --> 00:02:30.359 But before we do that, I want us to just ask ourselves, who's saying all this and what 00:02:30.359 --> 00:02:31.359 is being said? 00:02:31.359 --> 00:02:34.519 If you look at these verses that are on the screen before you, you can see that there's 00:02:34.519 --> 00:02:38.000 three groups of people who are insulting Jesus. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:48.599 There's the passers-by in verse 29 and 30, people just wandering past and seeing a crucifixion. 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:51.199 Then there's the religious leaders, verse 31 and 32. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:57.080 You can see the chief priests and the scribes also join in in the mocking. 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:01.439 And then finally, at the end of verse 32, you can see that the two thieves who were 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:09.840 also crucified alongside Jesus, they took the opportunity to insult him as well. 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.400 And reading that, you can almost, I think, detect a kind of link between the two. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:20.879 The passers-by come along and they shout out, save yourself. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:24.199 As it says, you, the one who could build the temple, destroy the temple and rebuild in 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.680 three days, save yourself, come down from the cross. 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:31.840 And it seems as though the chief priests and the scribes are answering them because they're 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.520 saying he can't, yes, he saved others, but he can't save himself. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:44.360 And maybe the two thieves joined in with this same kind of back and forth. 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:50.120 Just as we aside, I want us to notice a couple of interesting points. 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:54.240 First of all, if you look at that, you can see it's interesting to think about the areas, 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:55.240 if you like. 00:03:55.240 --> 00:04:01.320 But if we're going to be all theological and say, think about the theological topics in 00:04:01.320 --> 00:04:05.120 which Jesus is mocked, you can see that he's mocked as a prophet. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:10.200 They're saying, you said you would knock down the temple and rebuild it in three days. 00:04:10.200 --> 00:04:11.200 It's not come through. 00:04:11.200 --> 00:04:13.400 You're a false prophet. 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:14.960 They're mocking him. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:16.120 He's mocked as a priest. 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:17.840 You can't save yourself. 00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:19.840 You can't, you've got no one. 00:04:19.840 --> 00:04:21.800 You can't approach God. 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:23.800 You can't save yourself. 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:30.400 You've got no kind of power as a mediator, as a savior, as a priest. 00:04:30.400 --> 00:04:34.400 And then he's mocked as a king, as you can see in verse 32. 00:04:34.400 --> 00:04:39.879 Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down and then we'll believe him. 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:41.160 He's mocked as a prophet. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:42.600 He's mocked as a priest. 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:43.840 And he's mocked as a king. 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:49.319 And of course, these are the three great offices, we say, of the Messiah. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.360 Jesus is the Messiah. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:59.360 God's anointed one, and as the anointed Messiah, he performs these three great functions as 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.199 prophet, priest, and king. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:09.000 And yet in these very areas, he's been mocked and rejected. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:15.080 The second thing I want us just to notice is that the tense that's being used here is 00:05:15.080 --> 00:05:18.800 important, particularly in verse 31. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:23.720 Because it says here, the chief priests mocked him to one another. 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:28.040 It's not completely clear in English, but in the original language, the tense that's 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:32.480 been used indicates that they were doing this again and again and again. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:37.680 They didn't just say it once, but they repeatedly mocked Jesus. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:43.480 It's as though if you maybe imagine one set of pastors by saying they're like, he saved 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:44.960 others, he can't save himself. 00:05:44.960 --> 00:05:45.960 Save himself. 00:05:45.960 --> 00:05:46.960 And then more came. 00:05:46.960 --> 00:05:47.960 Same. 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:49.439 He can't save himself. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:06:01.319 There's a repeated continuous emphasis of mocking in their tone and in their words. 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:05.879 And you almost wondered if there was a kind of sense of satisfaction in this chief priests 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:10.879 and the scribes, because this is what they'd wanted all along. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:16.719 Throughout the whole of Mark's Gospel, it becomes very clear that for the chief priests 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:21.520 and the scribes, their number one goal was to get Jesus killed. 00:06:21.520 --> 00:06:23.240 They wanted him executed. 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:28.880 Chapter 11, we read that they were looking for ways to destroy him because the crowd 00:06:28.880 --> 00:06:31.000 were astonished at his teaching. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.720 Same again in Mark chapter 14. 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:38.840 In these last few days of Jesus's time before his crucifixion, the chief priests we read 00:06:38.840 --> 00:06:45.480 in Mark 14, 1, were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him. 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:47.759 This is what they wanted. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:55.960 And I think their mocking is almost like a sort of a kind of horrible gloating in what 00:06:55.960 --> 00:06:58.759 happened. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:07.400 The Bible gives us an immensely vivid description of a crowd of chief priests, scribes, passersby, 00:07:07.400 --> 00:07:11.759 mocking Jesus as he hung on the cross. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:17.800 And as I said, we want to notice first of all that these words are wrong. 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:19.639 And they're wrong for lots of reasons. 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.639 We can focus on five very brief. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:29.959 Firstly, they're wrong because of the motivation behind what's being said. 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:33.039 What they're saying, all these words are said in order to mock. 00:07:33.039 --> 00:07:36.120 Verse 29, it says, passersby derided him. 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:39.360 The word is literally, they blasphemed him. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.439 And it conveys the idea of just hurling abuse at somebody. 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:48.439 Then verse 31, you've got that really important two words at the beginning where it says, 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:50.680 so also the chief priests. 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:57.080 So just as the passersby were just blaspheming and hurling abuse at Jesus, the chief priests 00:07:57.080 --> 00:07:59.360 and scribes are doing the same thing. 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:05.379 Their motivation is to blaspheme and mock. 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:11.719 That word mocked in verse 31 can also mean to make fun of, to make a fool of. 00:08:11.719 --> 00:08:16.920 It's like you can almost hear kind of laughter in their voices. 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:21.560 And in so many ways that's wrong. 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:28.519 At a very basic level, they're standing before somebody who's dying. 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.240 And to shout and mock in that kind of situation is horrible. 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:40.560 And what's even worse is the fact that they knew he was innocent. 00:08:40.560 --> 00:08:42.120 They're the ones who'd been at the trial. 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.000 They're the ones who'd heard Pilate say, what's he done wrong? 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.480 And they're saying, we don't care what he's done, just crucify him. 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:52.279 They're the ones who knew that they'd had to bring false charges or tried to bring false 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:57.480 charges against him in order to get him to be put to death. 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:04.120 They knew he was innocent and yet they gloated in his death. 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:14.399 And perhaps worst of all, that blasphemy and abuse has been hurled at the Son of God himself. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.879 So there's a horrible motivation behind what's being said. 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:20.879 It's wrong. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:28.279 Obviously these words are wrong because they're based on a terrible and gross misunderstanding 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.080 of Jesus. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:37.159 The pastors by demonstrate this when they say, he said he would rebuild the temple and 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:39.720 he destroyed the temple and rebuild it in three days. 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:42.320 Of course, they're completely misunderstanding what Jesus meant. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:46.399 When Jesus had said that, he'd said, yes, destroy this temple and in three days I will 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:47.960 raise it up. 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:52.360 But John makes it very clear that he was speaking about the temple of his body. 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:55.320 He would build one not made with hands. 00:09:55.320 --> 00:10:01.200 These words were used against Jesus in his trial just in Mark chapter 14, a few verses 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:07.280 before this, but they represent a misunderstanding of Jesus. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:20.679 But to the Jews, the idea of a great leader or a king being crucified was just nonsense. 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:26.399 Paul speaks about that, how Christ being crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.079 To them, a cross was a place of curse. 00:10:29.079 --> 00:10:34.559 There's absolutely no way that this man could be their king. 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:36.159 He's been crucified. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.240 That means he's the lowest of the low. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:41.600 That was why when Pilate put the sign above his head saying, the king of the Jews, they 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.559 said, no, no, no, don't write the king of the Jews. 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:49.279 Write, he said he was the king of the Jews because there's no way this man is king. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:53.120 To them, the Messiah was meant to be all powerful, all conquering. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:57.360 He was going to come and get rid of the Romans and give them their nation back and be this 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:02.240 great military and political deliverer. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:06.399 Jesus didn't satisfy any of those expectations. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.639 He didn't match up. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:16.799 The chief priest describes completely misunderstood Jesus, so they mocked him. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:24.919 Thirdly, these words are wrong because they're actually quite mindless and they're a mindless 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:27.840 denial of the evidence that they've seen. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:37.680 In one sense, those words there in bold are a powerful self-condemnation of the chief 00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:44.120 priests and the scribes in their rejection of Jesus because they say he saved others, 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:49.879 reminding us of the fact that they saw Jesus perform miracles. 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:52.440 They saw Jesus heal people. 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.040 They saw Jesus do astonishing things. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.279 They never, ever denied that Jesus performed these miracles. 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:02.519 They just questioned how he did it. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:06.360 Instead of recognizing that these miracles are a test into the fact that he's the Son 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:11.639 of God, they're like, he does that by some kind of demonic power. 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:18.639 They didn't deny that he saved others, but they rejected that it could be anything to 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.679 show that he was divine. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:28.719 Even though they had seen Jesus prove who he was by these signs, they denied it. 00:12:28.719 --> 00:12:34.239 It was just a mindless blocking out of the truth. 00:12:34.239 --> 00:12:40.399 Fourthly, these words are wrong because they're an attempt to manipulate Jesus. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:45.439 They're basically telling Jesus to prove himself, aren't they? 00:12:45.439 --> 00:12:49.039 They're saying to one another, he saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:56.599 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. 00:12:56.599 --> 00:12:57.799 They're trying to make a bargain. 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:01.399 If you do this, then we'll believe. 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:07.559 Now, I'm quite sure that that was not a genuine offer. 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:09.719 I don't think it was. 00:13:09.719 --> 00:13:13.120 But even if it was, it would still be utterly wrong. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:17.480 Who are we to bargain with God? 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:19.480 So the words are wrong because of the motivation. 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.480 They're wrong because of a misunderstanding. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.360 They're wrong because they're mindlessly denying what they've seen. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:28.360 They're wrong because they're trying to manipulate Jesus. 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:36.320 And they're wrong, fifthly, because they are totally misjudging the capabilities of Jesus. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:45.240 Because physically speaking, Jesus is more than capable of coming down from that cross. 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:49.879 When Jesus was in Gethsemane, he'd said to his disciples who were looking to kind of 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:55.039 resort to violent measures, he said, do you not think that I cannot appeal to my Father 00:13:55.039 --> 00:14:01.399 and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:07.039 Jesus has the whole army of heaven at his disposal. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:12.000 And at that level, he is more than capable of coming down from the cross. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.399 He could have saved himself in a moment. 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:19.879 The chief priests and scribes mock him for being unable. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:24.200 But in reality, he is more than able. 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:28.120 They are totally misjudging him. 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:36.759 And so in these five ways, at least the words in front of us of verse 31 are wrong. 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:40.879 And I want us just to pause for a moment there and ask the question, what lessons does that 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:42.960 have for us? 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:47.080 Well I think there's two really important lessons to note. 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:52.320 One here we see very powerfully the danger of a crowd. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:58.879 It's very interesting to notice that in these verses before you, all the mockers who are 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.399 mentioned are presented in groups. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:08.120 So you have a crowd of pastors by, you have a pair of robbers, and you have a group of 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.240 priests and scribes. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:14.200 And notice the priests and scribes aren't actually talking to Jesus. 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:15.519 They're talking to each other. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:16.840 You can see that in verse 31. 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:23.560 They mocked him to one another saying, he saved others, he can't save himself. 00:15:23.560 --> 00:15:29.480 And a crowd can be incredibly powerful. 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:34.360 I remember once experiencing this for myself, probably when I was about, oh I don't know, 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.720 about 10 or 11 years old. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:43.879 I went to my first ever football match, which was Coventry against Aston Villa, way down 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:44.879 in England. 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:48.720 My uncle used to live in Northampton and he took us to this football match. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:53.920 And way back then Coventry were actually a Premier League team long, long time ago now. 00:15:53.920 --> 00:15:58.120 So it was a fairly big match and it was a local Diaryby, Coventry and Aston Villa are 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.960 based in Birmingham, which isn't that far away. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.960 And I had no interest in either of these two teams. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.400 I was just delighted to go along our football match and I thought, I'll go along and we'll 00:16:08.400 --> 00:16:11.360 just see who's going to win. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:17.639 And it was at Coventry Stadium and we were in Coventry's kind of patch around Coventry 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:18.639 supporters. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:23.160 And not far away from us were the Aston Villa supporters. 00:16:23.160 --> 00:16:28.639 And as I said, I had no interest whatsoever in Coventry or Aston Villa as far as I was 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:29.639 concerned. 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.680 They were both just, I was neutral. 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:36.120 But during the course of the match, you're watching it and you're in amongst the Coventry 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:41.239 crowd and you're like, oh, and by after about an hour, I was the most passionate Coventry 00:16:41.239 --> 00:16:42.239 fan ever. 00:16:42.239 --> 00:16:47.120 And I by about an hour and 10 minutes, I kind of loathed this group of people over there 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:49.079 called Aston Villa fans. 00:16:49.079 --> 00:16:52.799 And you were just caught up in it so much. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:56.719 And the crowd just stirred you up whereby you were desperate for Coventry to win and 00:16:56.719 --> 00:16:59.839 desperate for Aston Villa to lose. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:05.319 And full of frustration and hostility to this group of supporters, just 100 yards away who 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:06.319 I'd never met. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.960 At one level, it was completely bonkers. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:12.840 And yet it's so easy. 00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:14.920 A crowd can be so strong. 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:18.120 A crowd can self-validate itself. 00:17:18.120 --> 00:17:19.400 Can't it? 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:22.880 So these chief priests are talking to each other, telling one another the same things 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:23.880 again. 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:26.079 And all the time they're validating their own opinions. 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:34.039 That can so easily happen, a crowd can talk itself into all sorts of strange views. 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:41.159 You can see that if you go online, you'll find crowds who are validating themselves with 00:17:41.159 --> 00:17:43.679 the view that the earth is flat. 00:17:43.679 --> 00:17:48.679 And validating themselves with the view that, I don't know what other conspiracy theories 00:17:48.679 --> 00:17:49.679 there are out there. 00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:54.199 I don't have any interest in them, but I'm sure you can think of examples yourselves. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:56.400 You can all seem so right. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.000 And remember what we said, this is a repeated mocking. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:04.440 It's as though this group is stirring itself up again and again to reject Jesus. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:08.680 And the crucial thing we have to remember is that, yes, the crowd is powerful, but the 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.160 crowd can be so wrong. 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:14.640 You only have to think back to school days to see the great example of that. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:22.920 When you're in school, it's the coolest thing in the world to stand in the corner and smoke 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:26.400 or vape, it'll be nowadays. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:33.080 It's the coolest thing in the world to pick on somebody. 00:18:33.080 --> 00:18:39.279 And you can see that in schools, that the crowd validates behavior that later in life 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:44.039 you look back on and you really cringe in many ways. 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.480 And the same is actually true among adults. 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:53.160 And you only have to look at Scotland today to see that crowds, ideologies, pressure groups 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:58.400 are pulling us as a nation in certain directions. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:04.640 The lesson for us is never depend on the crowd. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:10.160 A crowd can seem so influential, so powerful, so strong, but in the end if it's opposed 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.400 to God, it will come to nothing. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:20.200 Really has been full of crowds that have been shaking their fist at God and they're gone. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:27.200 It's interesting, in the mid-1960s the president of Russia at the time, in the middle of the 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:32.800 space race, had said, we're going to go up into space and we're going to knock God off 00:19:32.800 --> 00:19:35.600 his throne. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:44.039 I would tell you his name, but I can't remember it, and I'm pretty sure nobody here can remember 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:49.439 his name either, or one or two can, but not many. 00:19:49.439 --> 00:19:51.679 But that's the point. 00:19:51.679 --> 00:19:56.359 He's the one who's been knocked off his throne, whatever his name was. 00:19:56.359 --> 00:20:01.679 And we have to be so careful about being part of a crowd that maybe opposes Jesus. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:06.440 And that's something that we all need to just think about. 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.840 Whatever stage in life we're at, in school, students at work, tomorrow you're going to 00:20:10.840 --> 00:20:14.920 go out into crowds who probably don't think that much about Jesus. 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:17.920 And we just need to be very careful how we interact with that crowd. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:22.039 There's nothing wrong with having fun with the crowd, nothing wrong with just getting 00:20:22.039 --> 00:20:26.360 the news and chatting with the crowd, but if that reaches the point of gossip, if that 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:32.359 reaches the point of speaking about somebody in a way that you really would not be happy 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:35.240 with them hearing, then that's when you need to step back. 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:38.639 Nothing wrong with having a laugh with the crowd, but if that leads down the road of 00:20:38.639 --> 00:20:46.439 drinking too much, kind of losing inhibitions, losing self-control, then that is too much. 00:20:46.439 --> 00:20:51.839 We have to be very careful of the power of the crowd. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.399 And there's a great example in this passage of why we should never seek to impress the 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:56.400 crowd. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.680 Jesus could have done that, couldn't he? 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:03.440 He could have come down from the cross and it would have possibly impressed this crowd 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:06.840 or some of them, but it would have been for all the wrong reasons. 00:21:06.840 --> 00:21:11.800 He would have impressed the wrong people in the wrong way, and that's a very easy tap 00:21:11.800 --> 00:21:12.800 to fall into. 00:21:12.800 --> 00:21:17.240 We can try to impress the wrong people in the wrong way. 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:23.920 Instead, we want to make sure that instead of seeking to please man, we want to maintain 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:31.000 our place as servants of Jesus, seeking to please God. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:35.440 But the second thing I want to say is we see the power of the crowd, but as individuals, 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:40.519 we also see many mistakes that we can fall into as well. 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:45.200 So we said that the priests inscribes, they've misunderstood Jesus, they've mindlessly ignored 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:50.320 the evidence they've seen, they've tried to manipulate Jesus, their motivation is wrong, 00:21:50.320 --> 00:21:52.160 and they misjudge him. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:59.279 And we think we would never do that, but actually these are easy traps to fall into. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:06.880 So often Jesus and his message is misunderstood. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:13.160 You can see that throughout our own country today, many people will maybe try to claim 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:20.960 an association with Jesus, but don't really understand what Jesus is calling him to do. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:26.640 Many people try to just block out the reality of all this and the seriousness of all this, 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:31.600 and they kind of just mindlessly think, I don't even want to think about God or Jesus. 00:22:31.600 --> 00:22:35.079 Sometimes people try to manipulate Jesus, they'll say, well, Jesus, I'll follow you 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:38.480 if you do this. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:44.120 Some people have the wrong motivation, that's very easy to fall into. 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:50.919 And I guess all of us at times can misjudge Jesus and forget that we'll all stand before 00:22:50.919 --> 00:22:53.839 him on the day of judgment. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:59.799 We need to watch that we don't make these mistakes. 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:08.159 So these words are very, very wrong. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:14.560 But at the same time, these words are very, very right. 00:23:14.560 --> 00:23:18.040 Now, what do I mean by that? 00:23:18.040 --> 00:23:22.080 Well, the surroundings of this statement are all wrong. 00:23:22.080 --> 00:23:27.440 The attitudes, the motivation, the behavior of the people, all of that's wrong. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:32.480 But in terms of the content of these words, that statement there, those seven words that 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:35.720 are in bold, these words are not wrong. 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:37.320 These words are right. 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:44.559 The scribes and the priests are mocking, but they are making a statement that is 100% 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:46.519 true. 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:55.119 Because the truth is, this phrase here summarizes what Christianity is all about. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:00.240 Christianity is all about Jesus saving others. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:05.319 That's why he came, to seek and to save the lost, to give his life as a ransom for many, 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:15.200 as we read at the start, but the only way he could do that was by giving himself up. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:23.119 If Jesus wants to save others, then the chief priests and the scribes are dead right. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:29.559 He cannot save himself. 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:32.599 And Jesus has known this all along. 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:36.759 Back in chapter eight, he began to teach his disciples about the saying that the Son of 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:41.000 Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.599 scribes and be killed. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:45.759 And after three days rise again. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:50.480 Now, throughout the Gospel of Mark, we've seen that Jesus, well, you'll see if you read 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:55.039 it through, you'll see that Jesus had many opportunities to save himself. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:00.599 At the temptation, he could have given up on his mission, turned back and not had to 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:02.559 endure that suffering. 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:08.039 But Cesarier Philippi in chapter eight, when he began to tell the disciples that he was 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:12.799 going to suffer and die, Peter said, this will never happen to you. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.879 Jesus could have turned back at that moment. 00:25:16.879 --> 00:25:23.679 And then at Gethsemane, you see it really come to a head where Jesus says, in a way, 00:25:23.679 --> 00:25:29.240 really don't want this, but not my will, but yours be done. 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:35.319 And even before Pilate in his trial, we read in John's Gospel, Pilate said to him, do you 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:38.880 not know that I have the authority to release you, an authority to crucify you? 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:44.319 Jesus said, you'd have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:53.279 Jesus knew all along that he could save himself, but he also knew that saving himself would 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:57.599 mean that he would not be able to save others. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:02.759 And for that reason, he absolutely cannot save himself. 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:08.759 And behind that lies the fact that Christ's will was united to the Father's will. 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:13.359 Therefore he cannot save himself because he must do what the Father needs him to do. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:19.039 Coming down from the cross might have been a physical possibility, but in terms of his 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:23.799 relationship with his Father and in terms of the spiritual outcome of his mission, it 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:27.579 was absolutely impossible for Jesus. 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:35.119 He couldn't save himself because if he did, then he couldn't save others. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:40.679 If he did, he couldn't save you. 00:26:40.679 --> 00:26:45.359 And this is the very heart of what Christianity is about. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:51.399 It's about Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice on behalf of his people. 00:26:51.399 --> 00:26:57.079 That's the wonder of the cross, that Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ bore the punishment 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:58.079 of our sins. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:26:59.079 He tasted death. 00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:06.439 He gave himself up for you. 00:27:06.439 --> 00:27:12.319 And the priests and the scribes taunted Jesus and mocked him. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:18.079 They challenged him to come down, but if Jesus had come down, then all of our hope would 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:20.679 have gone. 00:27:20.679 --> 00:27:24.079 Therefore this statement is absolutely true. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:25.240 Jesus would agree. 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:31.359 Just picture Jesus on the cross and imagine you were there and you heard this shouting 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:33.680 and this talking among the chief priests and the rulers. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:38.400 You hear them saying this, oh, he saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:46.160 Imagine that you could say to Jesus, can you come down from the cross? 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:50.920 And his reply would be, no. 00:27:50.920 --> 00:28:00.160 I can't come down because I am here to save you. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:09.320 And the reason why Christ couldn't save himself is because of how much he wants to save you. 00:28:09.320 --> 00:28:14.440 And that's why for us, these words of mocking become words of adoration. 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:23.120 He saved me because he didn't save himself. 00:28:23.120 --> 00:28:27.600 And if you're not yet a Christian, please make that your prayer, Lord, you didn't save 00:28:27.600 --> 00:28:30.840 yourself, so please save me. 00:28:30.840 --> 00:28:34.559 These words are right. 00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:37.279 These words are true. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:41.360 This is the heart of the gospel. 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:46.000 And again, there's some important lessons for us here. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:53.399 First of all, we see that people can declare the truth, but not really get it. 00:28:53.399 --> 00:28:56.199 That's the fascinating thing here. 00:28:56.199 --> 00:28:57.199 They're mocking. 00:28:57.199 --> 00:29:01.000 They don't really have any relationship with Jesus at this point, but what they're saying 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:02.879 is true. 00:29:02.879 --> 00:29:04.039 And that can be so true. 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:08.439 We can maybe know the gospel message. 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:17.080 We can know a passage like John 3.16 off by heart, but do we really understand it? 00:29:17.080 --> 00:29:21.320 And if you're not sure if you do, then speak to any of us, to me, to Alistair, to one of 00:29:21.320 --> 00:29:24.640 the other elders, to a Christian friend. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:28.200 Never be slow to ask questions about Jesus. 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.160 If you're shy about talking, put them in an email. 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:32.799 We don't mind. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:39.639 But just please make sure you know and understand the truth of the gospel. 00:29:39.639 --> 00:29:46.039 People can speak the truth, but not really know it. 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:49.919 Secondly, we've mentioned this a little bit before, but it's worth thinking about a little 00:29:49.919 --> 00:29:50.919 bit more. 00:29:50.919 --> 00:29:54.279 Jesus did not compromise to please the crowd. 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:56.159 Neither must we. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:30:04.759 We live in a strange situation today where often leaders are led by the crowd. 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:12.480 So often you'll see that in politics, especially when a new party leader needs to be elected. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:16.920 So a party has their leader steps down. 00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:19.080 They need to elect a new leader. 00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:22.920 What's usually the number one criteria that the people who are voting them in will vote 00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:29.160 for, they'll say, who will win us an election? 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:34.920 And so they want to vote for the person that the crowd will like the best. 00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:43.440 So they want a leader who's following the crowd. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:47.200 A true leader doesn't follow the crowd. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:49.920 A true leader leads the crowd. 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:54.920 But if he's any good, the crowd will follow. 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:57.279 And Jesus is the perfect example of that. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:59.080 He was not led by the crowd. 00:30:59.080 --> 00:31:00.080 He did not compromise. 00:31:00.080 --> 00:31:02.560 In fact, he leads the crowd. 00:31:02.560 --> 00:31:05.920 He's the head of the greatest crowd the world has ever seen, the church. 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:10.480 And if you want a real leader, then follow Jesus. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:16.440 And the amazing thing is, is that if you leave the crowd to follow Jesus, what you may very 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:21.759 well find is that many of the crowd will probably end up following you too. 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:27.279 There's an amazing version, Acts chapter 6, which talks about the spread of the church 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:29.840 in the early days. 00:31:29.840 --> 00:31:33.279 And it says, the word of God continued to increase. 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.920 The number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:42.400 And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:46.759 Now there's something astonishing there. 00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:51.440 It's the priests who are saying, he saved others, he cannot save himself. 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:58.120 And in Acts chapter 6, it's saying, now a great number of them became followers of Jesus. 00:31:58.120 --> 00:32:04.960 And that's the amazing thing about the gospel. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:10.680 Even people who mock can become believers. 00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:13.240 Over the years I've found it amazing. 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:16.200 I became a Christian in my early teens. 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:18.519 I went through school with not many Christian friends. 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:21.799 There weren't many Christians about when I was in school. 00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:27.799 And you see all these people in your class who are cool and trendy and into all the stuff 00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:30.200 that the crowd are doing. 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:35.600 And you just think, you know, that just seems to be what they live for. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:40.639 And there's been a few times in the years since that I've seen people in school who 00:32:40.639 --> 00:32:47.439 I would probably never have thought would have become Christians. 00:32:47.439 --> 00:32:52.079 I remember one incident in particular in church and seeing somebody walk in and it was for 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:57.159 a communion service and they sat down for the communion service and I remember thinking, 00:32:57.159 --> 00:33:02.719 wow, when did that happen? 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:07.720 And that's the amazing thing about grace. 00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:10.960 Don't follow the crowd. 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:12.360 Follow Jesus. 00:33:12.360 --> 00:33:19.640 And the whole reason that we can do that is because he himself never compromised. 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:26.200 But the third thing I want to say is that, and maybe this is the most important application 00:33:26.200 --> 00:33:30.680 of all, this verse does not just summarize the Christian faith. 00:33:30.680 --> 00:33:39.080 It does, but it is also a guide as to how we are to live as Christians. 00:33:39.080 --> 00:33:45.160 So Jesus put the salvation of others before his own self-preservation. 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:51.759 As Christians, we must do exactly the same because we are not here as members of this 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:54.200 church to save ourselves. 00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:58.160 We are here to save others. 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:02.360 But if we're going to do that, if we're going to see other people saved, we cannot save 00:34:02.360 --> 00:34:03.360 ourselves. 00:34:03.360 --> 00:34:05.759 In other words, we cannot save our energy for ourselves. 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:08.519 We cannot save our gifts or our resources for ourselves. 00:34:08.519 --> 00:34:10.840 We cannot save our prayers for ourselves. 00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:14.880 We cannot save our church building or our church bank account for ourselves. 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:17.079 We're not here to preserve ourselves. 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:20.320 We are here so that souls will be saved. 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:26.519 And if that means losing everything, so be it. 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:30.800 Our duty is not to preserve ourselves. 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:36.679 Our duty is to work so that others will come to know Jesus as well. 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:43.360 Our lives as Christians are not a treasure to be protected. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:47.880 They are a resource to be spent. 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:55.239 And whether that's praying, serving, spending time together, meeting up as twos and threes, 00:34:55.239 --> 00:35:00.799 going to city group, getting to know our neighbors, spending time with our colleagues, whatever 00:35:00.799 --> 00:35:10.959 it may be, we are here to give of ourselves, to serve, so that we can save others through 00:35:10.959 --> 00:35:15.399 the work of Jesus in us. 00:35:15.399 --> 00:35:20.279 So these are amazing words. 00:35:20.279 --> 00:35:24.759 They're wrong. 00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:32.320 And we're so thankful to God that Jesus willingly suffered such abuse. 00:35:32.320 --> 00:35:34.520 But they are right. 00:35:34.520 --> 00:35:38.280 And how we thank God that they are right. 00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:44.760 Jesus couldn't save Himself because He came to save you. 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:46.520 Amen. 00:35:46.520 --> 00:35:49.240 Let's pray. 00:35:49.239 --> 00:36:03.159 Father, we thank you so much for the truth contained in these words, that Jesus saves 00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:10.319 others because He could not and would not save Himself. 00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:20.400 Father, thank you so, so much for that and help us to see more of just how much you've 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:25.240 done for us through your Son, our Savior Jesus. 00:36:25.240 --> 00:36:30.880 And we pray, Lord, that as we seek to live our lives for you, that we wouldn't seek 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:37.720 to just protect our own interests or preserve our own strength, that we wouldn't just be 00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:47.159 about saving ourselves, but our goal would be to save others and to share this good news 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:49.079 with the world around us. 00:36:49.079 --> 00:37:08.000 Amen.