The Crucifixion of the King

This morning we come to the weightiest moment in the Gospel of Mark, the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We’ve known this was coming since chapter 8, when Jesus made the first of three predictions of his suffering. We’ve seen his warnings to his disciples of their own denials, betrayals, and abandonment. We’ve witnessed the sham trial and the reluctant conviction. All along, I’ve established that it all may seem out of control, but Jesus does all of this willingly. He does it for our sins, that we might be reconciled to God. In our passage today, we see that very reconciliation take place. For that, let’s read Mark 15:16-41. From this text, see three points: The Curse of the King, the Crucifixion of the King, and the Cry of the King.

First, from verses 16-20, see the Curse of the King. When Pilate releases Jesus to be crucified, Mark tells us that the soldiers bring him back into the palace complex for the time-honored Roman ritual of crucifixion. As I mentioned last week, crucifixion did not just involve the cross, it was a process well-established by the Romans. First, came the scourging with the cat-of-nine-tails, intended to beat the body bloody so that the victim would quickly die on the cross. Then, came the mockery. The soldiers enjoyed this part, and that is clear from Mark’s account. It says that the whole battalion participated in the mockery and abuse of Jesus. A battalion could be up to 480 men, so this was no small beating. 480 soldiers took turns striking the Son of God, and they had fun with it. Jesus had previously been stripped of his own clothes for the scourging, but now they cover him with a purple robe and fashioned a crown made of thorns to mock his claim to be the king of the Jews. They gave him a reed to serve as his scepter, and then they took it from him and beat him over the head with it so that the thorns of his crown would drive down into his scalp. As they administered these blows, others knelt before him and offered false worship. No doubt these soldiers believed themselves to be in control, to be superior to this treasonous criminal, but all of this was the purpose of God. To save us from our sins, Jesus must take on the curse of sin for us. The curse of sin literally involved thorns. In Genesis 3:17-18, God curses Adams with thorns and thistles. The first Adam received thorns because of his sin, and the second Adam, Jesus Christ, wore thorns because of our sins. The curse of sin also exposes our shame. When Adam and Eve realized their sin, it says that they recognized their nakedness and where ashamed. In a foolish effort to cover their shame, they sewed fig leaves together for clothing. This could not hide them from God, and yet, in his mercy, God killed an animal and covered them as a foreshadowing of what he would do through his son. Now, the Son of God stands naked before the Roman soldiers, and his covering is a covering of shame.

Jesus faced every consequence of the curse of sin. He faced the violence of the curse. Just as Cain struck righteous Abel, so now the envious Romans strike Jesus. Just as Lamech mocked God after murdering a young man, so now the soldiers mock the Son of God. Just as the people before the flood gave false worship to fallen angels, so now the pagans mockingly worship the true Messiah. Yet, even though they attempt to shame him with a robe and crown, they inadvertently acknowledge him as king. Even though they parody worship of the Messiah, they unwittingly bring the worship of the nations to the rightful king of the world.

Now consider my second point: the crucifixion of the king, from verses 21-32. When the soldiers have had their fun, they begin the march from the governor’s palace to a hill outside of the walls of Jerusalem called Golgotha. Another torture of crucifixion was in this march, where the victim was expected to carry the 100-pound cross beam to his place of execution. We know from the other Gospels that Jesus started out carrying this cross but then fell. So, to speed things along, the soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. As a side note, Mark tells us that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Why does this matter to the story? It matters because these were likely members of the early church, and Mark is calling attention to them because they could corroborate his story. This locates Mark’s Gospel well within the first century, which is extraordinary for historical records of the first century.

When they make it to Golgotha, some of the bystanders offer him wine mixed with myrrh. Rabbinical tradition tells us that this was a common practice among the Jews. It was a small kindness, effectively offering a painkiller to those facing this cruel fate. Yet, Jesus refuses to be numbed by the drug and wine. Why? He refuses it because he is willing to face the full wrath of God for our sins. He will drink the cup of God’s wrath, which was prepared for us, and he will drink it to its full. At every turn, Jesus faced the shame of sin. Before he was nailed to the cross, the soldiers would have stripped him of all his clothes so that he hung on the cross fully exposed to the elements and the glaring of his tormenters. This is implied in the fact that the soldiers gambled over his garments. He faced the shame of being counted with the transgressors, as his cross was centered between two robbers who also joined in mocking him. He was taunted by his accusers, who challenged him to use his power as the Messiah to save himself. 

There is great irony in their taunts, though. They wonder, “He could save others, so why doesn’t he save himself.” But that’s just it: he would not save himself so that he might save others. 1 Pet. 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” It has become popular among modern theologians to call into question the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, which teaches that Jesus died as a substitute for us. These theologians cannot stomach the idea of torment and pain. They cannot abide the idea of a God who would give his son for us. They call such a thing “cosmic child abuse.” But this is the heart of the Gospel. It is for this reason that Jesus came, and it is for this reason that he died. The testimony of the Gospels and the whole of the NT is that Jesus took our place as the second Adam who gives to God full obedience, the Passover lamb that covers our sins with his blood, the scapegoat on which is placed the sins of the people, the Son of Promise who was given as a obedient sacrifice. It does not matter if we like it. It does not matter if we can stomach it. This is the truth of the Gospel, and we must believe it. And praise God for it!

Finally, see my third point: the Cry of the King, from verses 33-41. Mark tells us that Jesus languished on the cross for six hours (from 9 am to 3 pm), when he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” This cry reveals three aspects of the sacrifice of the cross. First, the cry reveals the continued commitment of Jesus to his work. Mark records that Jesus “cried out with a loud voice.” This is no whimper. It is not the fainting, final cry of a defeated man. This is the shout of a conquering king who is right now, in this moment, defeating our enemies for us. It is this cry that causes an unbelieving Roman centurion to marvel and confess, “Surely this was the Son of God!”

Second, this cry reveals the true anguish of the cross. The true anguish of what Jesus faced was not the physical suffering, though that was horrible. The true anguish was in the spiritual hell that he faced. In his suffering, Jesus faced the condemnation of his Father for our sakes. In this moment, God imputes to Jesus the guilt of sins he never committed. This guilt was the anguish of Hell – the abandonment of God, a casting away into the utter darkness without the love of the Father.

Finally, this cry reveals the eternal purpose of the Father and the Son to redeem us through this anguish. At the beginning of the service, we read Psalm 22, which is exactly what Jesus quotes when he cries out here. This Psalm of David prophesied of the suffering of the Messiah 1000 years before it occurred, even down to the very words he would say from the cross. Psalm 22:7-8 tells of mockers who wag their heads and say that God should deliver him. Verse 16 pictures the piercing of the Messiah’s hands and feet. Verse 18 sees the dividing of his garments. Mark shows us that everything that happened to Jesus was foretold and planned by God. These were no random acts of humiliation and violence. They were the purpose of God to bruise the Son so that he might redeem us from our sins.

So, then, how should we respond to this wonderfully awful redemption? Mark places an example right in the heart of this story. At the cry of Jesus from the cross, a Roman centurion marvels and confesses, “Surely this was the Son of God!” I wonder, was this centurion part of the battalion that beat and mocked Jesus? Yes, I think he was. Was this centurion the commander who conscripted Simon to carry the cross? Could be. Did this centurion stand and watch as his enlisted men drove the nails in Jesus’s hands and feet? Certainly, he did. What is it about this last moment of Jesus’s life that changed this brutal man? I think there are three things. For one, Jesus was not like other victims of crucifixion. Isaiah 53 foretold, “As a sheep before its shearers is dumb, he opened not his mouth.” Most people, especially those who were wrongly accused, would not go silently to their punishment. They would scream and protest all the way. Jesus went willingly. Second, Mark says that the sun went dark for three hours during his crucifixion. Even the heavens could not abide the suffering of the Son of God. This was surely a clear sign to the centurion that this was the true Son of God. Third, with his last breath, Jesus did not recant his claims to save himself. He did not call down curses on his accusers. He cried out to his Father in an intimate prayer of anguish. With this cry, the centurion had seen all he needed, and so he confessed Jesus to be the Son of God. Friend, you too have all you need. Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world. He is the only sacrifice that can take away the guilt and shame and curse of your sins. Won’t you turn to him and faith, like this centurion, and follow him today.