So Mark chapter 15, we're going to read from verse 1 to verse 20.
Last week we looked at Jesus' trial before the Jewish religious leaders.
This time here is Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate.
Let's hear the word of God together.
Very early in the morning, the chief priests with the elders,
the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin reached a decision.
They bound Jesus, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate.
Are you the king of the Jews? asked Pilate.
Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things.
So again Pilate asked him, aren't you going to answer?
See how many things they are accusing you of.
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom at the feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists
who had committed murder in the uprising.
The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? asked Pilate,
knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
What shall I do then with the one you call the king of the Jews?
Pilate asked them.
Crucify him, they shouted.
Why?
What crime has he committed? asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, crucify him.
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.
He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, that is the praetorium,
and called together the whole company of soldiers.
They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
And they began to call out to him,
Hail, king of the Jews.
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spat on him.
Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him.
Then they led him out to crucify him.
Amen.
Let's think about the first 20 verses there.
As we look again at this, now the second trial that Jesus undergoes.
As we see Jesus being rejected as king in this section.
There is a saying that goes along the lines that we need to learn from history,
or we will simply repeat its mistakes.
And I think it's important for us as we focus on this second trial scene,
as we look at Jesus now on trial as king of the Jews.
So the Jewish religious leaders had tried him in the religious court
in order to find him guilty of blasphemy.
But they knew that a Roman court would never convict a person to die for blasphemy.
So they're charging Jesus with claiming to be king of the Jews.
They want Pilate to find him guilty of treason against Caesar.
It's important for us to recognize that while in some ways Pilate and the soldiers are very different from us,
they are also guilty of mistakes that we ourselves can make.
As we find Jesus being subjected to more injustice, as we see him face dishonor,
it's important for us to see that these figures, these stories,
can and should in a way serve as mirrors,
exposing our own hearts and lives,
causing us to reflect on how we respond to Jesus.
So we're going to think about Pilate.
We're going to think about the Roman soldiers.
We're going to think about Barabbas.
We're going to think about how did Jesus impact their lives?
How do they react to Jesus?
And in what ways, if any, am I like them?
How should I pray for myself?
How should I pray for others in light of these character traits?
What difference will it make to see our own hearts being revealed in this story?
So let's look at these characters and let's see what we can learn,
beginning with Pilate, who is the Roman governor.
Now, I think Mark wants us to understand that Pilate doesn't believe Jesus is worthy of death.
He believes Jesus is innocent of this charge that's brought against him.
Well, let's see how this plays out.
So in verse 1, the religious leaders of the Jews bring Jesus to Pilate.
And they've obviously told Pilate that he is claiming to be the king of the Jews.
And so Pilate asks Jesus the question, are you the king of the Jews?
Yes, it is as you say.
One of the interesting things about this trial, same as with the religious trial,
is the silence of Jesus.
And see there in verse 4,
Pilate is struck by the fact that Jesus remains silent despite the many accusations being brought
by the Jewish religious leaders.
Pilate is not used in his courtroom to see someone with this level of composure and dignity
when they're on trial for their lives.
But this is Jesus fulfilling his role as the suffering servant.
In Isaiah 53, we're told that Jesus would suffer silently.
And we see this here.
So here is Jesus before Pilate.
Pilate, we're told in verse 5, is amazed by Jesus.
And it seems that from the beginning,
Pilate wants to find a way to not have to try or sentence Jesus.
And so we're introduced to this custom in verse 6.
It was the custom at the feast, that's the Passover feast,
to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
So the Romans are now in charge over Israel.
But they have set this law where once a year at the Passover,
time of great national celebration, a prisoner can be set free.
So Pilate, naturally, when the crowd in verse 8 come and ask Pilate for a release,
says to them,
Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?
Because at this stage, he's already figured out
that the real motive behind the charge against Jesus is envy,
is self-interest.
That they are issuing trumped up charges
in order to get rid of an opponent
who's taking popularity from the religious leaders.
When it gets to the end,
when Pilate nails his colors to the mast,
when the crowd begin crying out that Jesus should be crucified,
look at verse 14.
Pilate asks the question,
Why?
What crime has he committed?
So there is Pilate's personal verdict.
Pilate, Jesus has done nothing deserving of death.
He's not the dangerous revolutionary guilty of treason
that the religious establishment have set him up to be.
So Pilate believes he has done no crime,
but in verse 15,
nevertheless, he condemns Jesus as guilty.
Wanting to satisfy the crowd,
Pilate released Barabbas to them.
He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.
Here is another injustice against Jesus.
Here is a judge willingly and knowingly
condemning an innocent man
and doing it blatantly in order to please the crowd,
in order to secure his political position.
Now when we see this going on in world politics today,
we are rightly horrified.
But here we see it in Jesus,
that Pilate condemns him as guilty
for his own self-interest.
That begs an important question from us.
Are you and I, are we, like Pilate, people pleasers?
Do we live with the fear of man
so that that's what determines how we live and how we act?
What does that look like for us compared to Pilate?
Well, perhaps it might look like hiding our beliefs,
hiding our values and behavior under pressure
from family, from friends, from colleagues.
Or maybe it's just a perception
that if I stand and be counted as a Christian,
that life will get difficult for me.
Maybe you know that Japanese proverb,
the nail that sticks out will be hammered in.
We instinctively do not want to be hammered.
So it's a challenge for us to count the cost
to stand up and be a Christian.
And so perhaps you know what it is
to hide your belief and behavior.
I was talking to our young people, our edge group,
and that was my experience as a teen, as an early 20,
trying desperately to fit in, to blend in,
to not have anybody ask those questions.
You know, God calls us to be holy.
Jesus said we should be a different kind of people,
living a different kind of culture.
That's hard.
Perhaps for us, we have an inner tug of war
between our convictions that we would love to live out,
but then we get weak and we get fearful.
And so we're constantly feeling guilty
because there's things we should do and say that we don't.
Or maybe you feel really drawn to Jesus,
but you've never committed because you're aware of the cost.
Perhaps what it will mean within your family or friends.
I had a Chinese friend called Larry in Glasgow,
and we spent years reading the Bible together.
And he was really drawn to Jesus.
You could see it.
He went home to visit his family,
and he came back and he sat down with me and he said,
I would love to follow Jesus, but I can't
because my parents would not approve.
Perhaps that's our experience.
Perhaps living with the fear of man means we seek approval
in the wrong places.
Ed Welch has written a book with a great title,
When People Are Big and God Is Small.
We can find ourselves doing that all the time,
not living for God's approval,
but being concerned,
what will other people around me think
if I stand up for Jesus in this way or in that way?
And when we are like that,
if we're Christians and we're struggling
with the fear of man,
one inevitable consequence
is that we will always struggle with sharing our faith,
that our evangelism and mission will suffer.
I read an incredibly convicting sentence
from a man by the name of Tahir.
Tahir is somebody who works in some of the Stan states
in the former Soviet Republic.
He plants churches among Muslim people groups.
And he said this, he said,
the world is more ready to receive the gospel
than the church is to share the gospel.
Because so often we're afraid.
So often we're concerned to please people
rather than to please our God.
When that's you, when that's me,
what do we do about that?
Where does change come from?
Can I suggest that the change will come
when we focus on identity?
First of all, focusing on the identity of Jesus.
To see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us.
To recognize here is the son of God
who has left the glory of heaven.
That he has become fully human.
He's been tried and tested and tempted
as we are yet without sin.
That he's lived in perfect obedience on our behalf.
That he's going through all this suffering,
ultimately taking him to the cross
in order to pay the price for our sin
to bring us to God.
If we understand the cost that Jesus was willing to pay
in order to make us children of God,
as we continue to live in that reality,
as that dominates our thinking,
that's the only way to overcome being a people pleaser.
To be overwhelmed by the love of God
as it's shown to us in Jesus.
So we need to see the identity of Christ,
but we also need to be so clear
on our identity as Christians in Christ.
To see that when our faith is in Jesus,
we are children of God.
That we have this eternal inheritance laid up for us.
We have absolute security.
We have a love that will never let us go.
We have an acceptance that is guaranteed
from the one who matters more than anybody else.
If you get the chance over the summer to read one book,
I've recommended it before,
Tim Keller's The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness.
The Gospel of Self-Forgetfulness.
I can't remember which one it is.
Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, I think it is.
An incredible book on helping us to think less of ourselves,
to think more of Jesus as the way into joy,
and as the way into mission as the people of God.
So there's some lessons from Pilate.
What lessons can we draw from the Roman soldiers?
What do we see of them?
We see men who are professional
in cruelty and humiliation, don't we?
Verse 16,
These Roman soldiers, they're experts in torture.
They're experts in killing.
They're experts in degrading and humiliating their prisoners.
Remember a few years ago,
some of those horrible images
that came out of the Abu Ghraib Detention Center.
Whenever prisoners are treated as less than,
it's not a nice thing to see.
Here is Jesus being treated as less than,
dishonored shamefully,
mocking Jesus' claim to be king.
There's this cruel theater show.
Let's dress Jesus up as a king
in order to tear him down,
is the soldiers thinking.
They would agree with the Jewish crowd at the cross
that cried,
We have no king but Caesar.
They don't see Jesus as a king.
They respond to power,
to the power and glory of Rome.
That's the emperor.
He's the true king.
They look at Jesus.
They see nothing worth value.
And so they mock him
and they continue to go about their business of execution.
Here's one lesson that we can take for ourselves
from the Roman soldiers.
Are you and I too busy for Jesus?
Are you and I too busy to build a relationship with Jesus?
Or too busy to even get to know who he truly is in the first place?
It seems such a tragedy in the case of these Roman soldiers.
They have this unique opportunity to examine Jesus' claim.
You know, he's come from the courthouse.
He's been tried as the son of God,
as the savior of the world,
as the king of the Jews,
but they have no interest in discovering,
is any of this true?
And if that's true, what difference does it make?
They're too busy doing their job
to take the opportunity that's presented to them.
Like them, for us, life can get crazy, crazy busy.
Even in summer, when it should be, in a sense,
a time for many of us to rest,
it seems like things are just relentless.
There are things that we must do to do with work.
There are commitments in the home.
There are family and friends to take care of.
There's stuff that we sometimes just waste time on.
There's good hobbies to pursue.
But all of that taken together means often
we leave very little time for Jesus.
We don't make blocks in our calendar
for reading, for prayer,
making time to be with other Christians.
Sometimes we find that that time
can very easily be squeezed out, if we're honest.
There was some leadership advice
I was reminded of this week,
which I think is really appropriate
when it comes to this.
And it's simply,
don't let the good swallow the great.
We have many good things
that we have to do in our lives.
Many noble things to pursue.
But don't let those block out the time
that we need to build a relationship
with Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.
To grow in our faith,
or to come to faith.
To make this relationship with Jesus a priority.
To really understand who he is
and what he has done.
To not let him simply pass us by
like the soldiers did.
Maybe we can think of the story
of when Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha.
Boys and girls,
I'm sure you remember the story
of when Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha.
Two sisters, Jesus came.
He was their friend.
And he sat down and he began teaching in one room.
There's one sister, Martha,
and she's like super busy.
She's cooking.
She's cleaning.
She's preparing a meal for Jesus.
And she's really annoyed with Mary.
Because Mary is sitting,
simply listening to Jesus.
Boys and girls,
do you remember what Jesus said?
He said,
Mary's chosen the better thing.
Because Mary's listening to Jesus.
It's good to be busy.
It's good to work.
But it's most important
for each one of us to spend time with Jesus.
So again, if we find ourselves,
you know, coming into the summer season
thinking, man, my calendar is absolutely crammed.
How is change going to come?
We're going to have to be really deliberate
about slowing down.
We're going to need to be really deliberate
in our time management,
in our calendar management,
if we want to invest in
our relationship with the Lord Jesus.
If we want to be serious
about knowing him and knowing him better,
perhaps there are changes,
really practical changes,
that need to happen
to how our weeks,
our days look.
It'd be a wonderful thing
if we could look ahead to this summer
and say,
this is a summer
where I'm really going to dig deep
into the Bible,
where I'm going to examine
who Jesus is,
I'm going to think about
what the cross is all about,
and to see how that would change us.
to prioritize church,
whether that's Sunday morning,
Sunday evening,
whether it's Wednesday evenings
and outside of term times,
prioritizing Bible reading and prayer.
Your man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.
We need God's word
for our spiritual life.
The change will come
as we slow down,
as we reevaluate,
as we set new priorities
to build,
to grow a relationship
that will last
so we won't be too busy
for Jesus.
And what about Barabbas?
What lessons can we draw
from Barabbas?
We don't learn too much about him,
but we know that he was
a political freedom fighter.
Verse seven,
A man called Barabbas
was in prison
with the insurrectionists
who had committed murder
in the uprising.
He was a man
who wanted revolution.
There was lots of people
called zealots
who were keen to see
a free Israel.
He wanted to get rid
of the Romans.
And Barabbas is one of those guys
who's willing to kill
for the cause.
What do you live for, Barabbas?
I live for the freedom of Israel.
But he's obviously been found,
captured,
been found guilty of murder.
And here he stands
condemned and guilty
with just a few hours
left to live.
But then that remarkable thing
happens at the feast.
This condemned and guilty man
walks free.
Verse nine,
again,
do you want me to release to you
the king of the Jews?
Ask Pilate,
verse 11,
but the chief priests
stirred up the crowd
to have Pilate
release Barabbas
instead.
So religious leaders
along with the masses,
they choose this murderer,
this political freedom fighter
rather than Jesus.
Perhaps
for many of the people
they thought
this is the kind of savior
that we want.
Of course,
it's not the savior
that they needed.
But perhaps Barabbas
represented the hopes
of many
for political freedom.
We see that in Jesus'
ministry,
the expectations
of God's king
were in many ways
far too low.
Only thinking in terms
of political
and national freedom
rather than
recognizing that Jesus,
the true king,
God's king,
he brings spiritual freedom,
he brings an eternal
global kingdom.
A question
related to Barabbas'
life,
a lesson for ourselves.
What difference
does the substitution
of Jesus
make to our lives?
So at this trial,
Pilate willingly
and knowingly
switches
the guilty Barabbas
for the innocent
Jesus.
Barabbas,
who should have been
condemned to die,
walks free,
expecting death
and judgment,
but he tastes
freedom.
Now we're not told
whether Barabbas
watched
as Jesus
took his place
on that cross.
We're not told
whether he cared,
whether that made
any difference
to his life.
We have
no idea.
It doesn't really
matter for us.
What matters
profoundly
for us though
is
what difference
does that substitution
make for us?
Because this swap
that's happening
prepares us
for the good news
of the Bible.
Barabbas stands
for all of us
as sinners
who disobey God,
who dishonor God.
We stand
with Barabbas
deserving
the judgment
of God.
But then
there is the cross.
There's this wonderful
exchange that takes place.
Paul puts it this way,
God made him,
that's Jesus,
who knew no sin
to be sin
for us
so that in him
we might become
the righteousness
of God.
Jesus takes
my sin,
suffers the judgment
of God
in my place,
gives me
his righteousness
as a free gift
of his grace
so I can be
welcomed,
so I can be
reconciled.
The Bible says
to us,
I am Barabbas
and you
are Barabbas.
I wonder
do we see that,
do we appreciate
the difference
that makes
for how we
think about life?
Here is the grace
of God
being indicated
to us
that Jesus
becomes our
legal representative.
He stands
in our place
in the court
of law.
He faces
judgment
and death
so that you
and I,
we don't need
to because
he has gone
there for us
if our faith
is in him.
Jesus rises
from the dead
and returns
to the glory
of heaven
and as our
legal representative,
we too receive
new life in him
with a promise
of resurrection
life that will
never end
after death.
that he returns
to the glory
of heaven
and he is
our legal representative.
What belongs
to him
belongs to us
too.
So that is
our glorious
future,
the glory
of heaven,
seeing Jesus
face to face
and being
made like him.
Jesus calls
God Father.
Jesus enjoys
the eternal love
of the Father
and in him
that's our privilege
too.
as the church
we can pray
our Father
in heaven.
He belongs
to us.
Mark writes
this
so that we
wouldn't miss
out,
that we
wouldn't walk
by Jesus
out of fear
of what people
might say,
that we
wouldn't put
Jesus to one
side because
of the fear
of our loss
of reputation
perhaps.
See,
don't miss
out because
of our
busyness
or other
priorities
that come
ahead of
the Lord
Jesus.
Recognize
Jesus takes
your place,
is willing
to take
your place
and gifts
you his
place as
a loved
child of
God and
he's on
this journey
towards the
cross.
He's going
to this
trial to
show us
just how
great
God's
love
is.
Let me
just finish
by putting
Jesus'
trial here
in the
big picture
of salvation.
What can
we see?
One thing
that we
see very
clearly is
that the
world in
its sin
chooses to
reject
God's
Savior.
We saw
last week
the Jewish
religious
leaders
reject
Jesus.
Now we
see the
Romans
rejecting
Jesus.
The world
is conspiring
to get
rid of
Jesus
because it
reveals our
hearts that
every one
of us
by nature
rebels,
turns our
back on
our
Creator
and our
Savior.
Every one
of us
in different
ways every
day dishonors
our God.
This trial
reminds us
of that.
But putting
this trial in
the big
picture also
reminds us
that God
can bring
good from
evil.
This trial
is part of
the world's
greatest
injustice
that has
ever been
seen.
Jesus,
the one
who deserves
all the
glory we
could afford,
is treated
so shamefully,
so badly,
yet this is
part of
God's
eternal
plan.
And in
God's
eternal
plan,
this becomes
the greatest
act of
love and
grace and
justice and
mercy the
world has
ever known.
And again,
as we put
this trial in
the big
picture,
we see
Jesus is
the greater,
the greatest
king,
the world
has ever
seen.
The soldiers
couldn't
see it.
They mocked
Jesus.
What kind
of king
is this?
They thought
Caesar was
the ultimate
king,
but of course
the Roman
empire would
collapse,
collapsed in
476.
All its
power,
all its
glory was
gone,
but Jesus'
kingdom,
it's global.
It spans
history,
it spans
continents and
languages and
people groups and
religious
backgrounds.
there is
no Hadrian's
wall that
is strong
enough to
stop the
spread of
the gospel.
Jesus is
showing that
he is building
his church and
nothing and no
one can stop
it.
There's good
news all
around the
world of what
God is doing.
I wonder,
are we part of
that kingdom
today?
Would we like
to be part of
that kingdom?
Do we recognize
Jesus is the
king who
loved us and
gave himself
for us?
Live so,
put your
faith in
Jesus.
Trust that
when he went
to the cross,
he went there
for you in
order to
forgive you
your sin and
to give you
eternal life.
Turn from
your sin,
turn towards
God and
live for
your king.
Let's live
for our king,
let's speak
for him,
let's pray
that his
kingdom would
come here
in Edinburgh
and Scotland
and around
our world.