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MARK: WORKING MESSIAH SIXTH DIVISION: HOW WILL THE MESSIAH ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM? 14:1-16:8 FOURTH SECTION: BEHOLD YOUR KING 15:1-28
(The corresponding PowerPoint® presentation is Mark 6th Division 4th Section KING OF THE JEWS or click here on Mark Sixth Division King of Jews PP or click on the same title on Mark studies home page.)
The King of the Jews
The Outline: I. Are You The King Of The Jews? 15:1-5
II. Do You Want Me To Release To You The King Of The Jews? 15:6-15
III. Hail King Of The Jews! 15:16-20
IV. His Accusation Was, “The King Of The Jews.” 15:21-28
Review Questions To Aid In The Study Of This Section Of Mark 15:1-28
When Zechariah wrote in his prophecy, chapter 9 and verse 9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee…,” he also added, “…just and having salvation ...,” (AV/KJV) he went on to describe how the Messiah would ride on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The main point is that the prophet proclaimed Jesus as the King of Jerusalem!
Jesus had lived a just and righteous life in all his dealings. Those who lived most closely with him said he never lied even once. But the prophet also proclaimed that he had salvation.
Mark chapter 15 verses 1 through 28 spreads out before us four scenes in which Jesus is referred to in each as “the King of the Jews”. These four scenes are at the heart of what Jesus, the just and righteous King did to bring his salvation to us.
This is how these four stories fit into the whole section of 20 stories. The first three columns in this chart, which are blank, each represent 1) four scenes in which Jesus is out and about in public, 2) four scenes in which he is gathered with his disciples for the Passover supper, and 3) four in which he is arrested and placed on trial overnight before members of the Jewish council. The last column represents four scenes in which he is in the hands of God, hanging on the cross, buried and raised again. In the fourth column we find the four scenes in which he is taken to Pilate, the Roman governor, ending in his crucifixion. Each of these four scenes is represented by a question or statement including the phrase, “… the king of the Jews.”
I. Are You The King Of The Jews? 15:1-5
No Authority Jewish authorities took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, and humanly speaking, the final authority over them. They had arrested Jesus the night before. They had put him on trial illegally all night. They had accused him falsely and only allowed witnesses into that trial who were against him. They condemned him worthy of death. Now, because they did not have the authority to carry out his execution they brought him to Pilate.
A Question Of Identity Pilate first used the phrase, “the King of the Jews,” to try to determine Jesus’ identity. Did Jesus, himself, believe he was the King of the Jews? Jesus confirmed that he was indeed the King of the Jews. To admit this to the Roman Governor was dangerous. The Romans ruled. They set up and removed Kings. Herod the Great was King because he went to Rome to request that position. Julius Caesar granted it to him.
But we will talk more about this later.
Names And Titles For the moment let’s remember that our names and titles help people identify us. Often when you travel from one country to another the officials ask you to fill out forms. You have to write down your name. They ask what your profession is. When I visit a church people ask me my name. They ask for my title. They ask what I do in my mission. All these things help them begin to identify me in their minds.
I had a problem as a child. My name is Jack and as a small boy my family called me “Jacky”. But I was growing up in Africa and in the language of the Africans “Jacky” meant donkey. I was embarrassed but the Africans changed my name from Jacky to “Zacki”. Zacki meant lion. That’s how I was identified in Africa.
Pilate was trying to identify Jesus. Here was a man standing before him who was being bombarded with accusations by the leaders of his people. Pilate was amazed to find that Jesus answered none of the accusations!
Under His Jurisdiction Today, we also must ask ourselves who Jesus is. Pilate needed to know because Jesus was under his jurisdiction.
We need to know who Jesus is because if he is the Creator and Lord of the universe, as the Bible teaches in the Letter to the Colossians, chapter one, we are under his jurisdiction.
While Jesus was a Jew and the Messiah for the Jews we know the promise of blessing to the Gentiles would come through the seed of Abraham. That was promised to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. If Jesus was that seed then he was to bless and rule both Jew and Gentile.
Is Jesus my King? Is he yours? That is his claim and he must be taken seriously. He did the miracles no other man did. He taught as no other man taught. He loved people as no other man. He made claims that no other man made.
Only God One day he told a paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven (2:5). The teachers of the law objected to this in their hearts, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone” (2:7 NIV)? Jesus knew what they were thinking and challenged them. “Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’” (2:9 NIV)? Jesus was claiming to be God. In Mark’s gospel it was at this point that opposition against Jesus began.
Jesus went on to suffer on the cross a death he could have avoided. Then he rose again from the dead, as no other man did. He conquered death. What a privilege it is to know who Jesus is and to declare him our King!
Accused of Many Things These few verses of chapter 15, verses 1 through 5, are extremely brief but the silence says as much as the words. When the Jewish authorities took Jesus to Pilate they accused him of many things but he said nothing. Pilate was amazed! He was quite used to hearing people accuse and counter accuse each other, accompanied by swearing and cursing. If Jesus was going to die for our sins, and he did, our sins were indefensible, so he said nothing. His silence also seems to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7. One might ask if this verse in Isaiah is strictly true as it says he did not open his mouth, but he did answer the High Priest (14:51-52) and he did answer Pilate (15:2). Isaiah 53:7 says that he was oppressed and afflicted and he did not open his mouth. There is a difference between straight forward questions and “many accusations.” “Many accusations” could be identified with oppression and affliction, and in response to that he did not open his mouth.
II. Do You Want Me To Release To You The King Of The Jews? 15:6-15
A Custom Revisited In the second story in chapter 15:6-15 Pilate asks another question, Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews (15:9 NKJV)? Here is that phrase again, The King of the Jews. Pilate fulfilled the custom of releasing to the crowd during the feast one of the prisoners. The chief priests stirred up the crowd to release Barabbas. Barabbas was an insurrectionist who had committed murder in a rebellion. They wanted Barabbas the murderer back. They would receive him back into their society and crucify the One who had done more good on their behalf than anyone else they had ever known!
So Envy Can Lead To Murder! Pilate, knowing that they had turned him over for envy, repeated his question but he stated it slightly differently. What shall I do then, with the one you call the King of the Jews (15:12 NIV)? Their decided response was. Crucify him (15:13, 14 NIV). They received back a murderer and rejected the Savior.
Have you had any struggles with envy? I have. When another preacher appears and he seems to preach better than I do I am tempted to envy him! But is not that horrific? We need a many preachers of righteousness and the gospel as we can find! Why envy when all of our ministries, styles and emphases are different. Can’t God use all of us? Of course he can! Why envy? Paul exhorts us in Galatians 5:26, Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (NIV).
I was listening to an interview with Howard Dayton and he shared about his struggle with envy. He was in the construction business and had another friend in the same business. However, the friend was putting up buildings that were 10 times as big as the ones he built. He struggled with envy against the friend. But later he finally realized that he did not have the capacity to do the same thing his friend was doing. (Family Life Radio interview with Howard Dayton, cofounder of Crown Financial Ministries, by Steve Moore of Crown Financial Ministries, March 12, 2004)
What Will You Do With Him? Each of us must decide what we will do with the King. Will we receive him or reject him? That crowd demanded his crucifixion and they got what they asked for. We might protest that in their place we would have never done the same, but can we be sure of that? No, not really. In any case he was crucified, and just as he took the place of a murderer on that day, so he takes our place today, if we would have him. We must decide. Will we have God's judgment fall on us or on him? If it falls on us we die. If it falls on him we live, in fact we live forever!
III. Hail King Of The Jews! 15:16-20
Mocking Worship! The next story tells us in 15:16-20 what the Roman soldiers did to Jesus. They mocked him by dressing him in a purple robe and crowning him with thorns. Then as they hit him on the head and spit on him they said, Hail, King of the Jews (15:18)! They bowed the knee to him and paid him homage, but this was a false worship. The mocked him on the one hand and worshiped him on the other.
In Spirit And In Truth If we know who Jesus is, if we have identified him, and if we have received him, let us worship him in spirit and in truth. You see to call him Lord and yet disobey him is mockery. Worship, true worship, follows our receiving Jesus as King. Receiving Jesus into our lives comes from knowing Jesus, truly knowing and accepting that he is King. As we gather to worship him let us do it with all our hearts. Let us put everything we have into raising our whole being in praise to him. Let us think about the words we sing to him.
Every Knee Shall Bow The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians chapter 2 that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Why? Because he humbled himself, becoming a man, a servant and dying on a cross! That is why God has exalted him above every name. What a privilege and what mercy God has shown us by allowing us to worship Jesus now!
IV. His Accusation Was, “The King Of The Jews.” 15:21-28
Title and Charge The last story is of Jesus’ crucifixion. Someone else carried his cross. He refused the drink they prepared. They cast lots for his garments and finally at the top of his cross they put that phrase “The King of the Jews.” But that title was not just a title, it was the charge against him. Supposedly Jesus was being crucified for that reason. You see if you claim to be the king of a people who already have kings and rulers over them you commit treason and rebellion. The Jewish leaders would not obey him. Would the Romans obey him? Of course not. They ruled the world. No little upstart was going to tell them what to do.
Who Will Rule Over Me? We must also decide. Do we obey Jesus or not? If he really is king then we owe him our allegiance and our whole hearted obedience. Knowing Jesus as king should lead to receiving him as king. Receiving him as king should lead to our worship of him as king. Worship of him as king should lead to obedience of him as king.
Any Evidence Of Obedience? If we were accused of obeying Jesus could anyone find any evidence in our lives that we obey him? Do we speak with him on a regular basis? Do we listen to and read his word? Do we ask his help to practice what he teaches us? Are we looking for ways to please him? Do we really care about him? Do we seek his counsel and advice? How can we obey Jesus? By carrying out his word. A few weeks later he commanded his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The Privilege Of Telling Others What a privilege it is to tell others of Jesus. One day in the town where we lived in the USA I met a man in his store. He sold health foods. He told me he was from an area in south Asia. There are very few followers of Jesus there. I told him I had a friend from his region and he asked what his name was. I said he was called “Israel”. The man then said, “Oh, but that’s not a typical name; it sounds Jewish or Christian.” I said, “Yes, he is a Christian.” The gentleman answered, “Oh, then he's one in a million!” I was able to find him a tape in his own language which he received very courteously.
There is an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean consisting of over 1000 islands, over 150 of which are inhabited islands, with a population of over 200,000. During the 1980s New Testaments were offered to people in that country but later the New Testaments were gathered up and destroyed. It was disappointing to hear of this event but in our hearts we simply want to see the people know the Lord Jesus and his great salvation! After reading the Scriptures people can make up their minds about what they have read.
Who will go to places like these? Who will pray for countries like these? Jesus, the King of Kings who died for us, is concerned for them!
Review If he is King, we need to acknowledge him, receive him, worship him and obey him! But more than anything let's remember what Jesus has done for us! 1. Though he was King he made himself of no reputation. Pilate had to ask who he was. 2. He was willing to take the place of a murderer on the cross, and he took our place under God's just judgment. 3. He was willing to be beaten and mocked in an act of false worship. 4. Finally, he was willing to die, apparently, for rebellion and treason against the highest human authority of his day. That was the charge placed at the top of the cross. But that was a trumped up charge. He really died for us. We had all rebelled against God. We had committed treason against the King of the universe.
Surely Jesus, and Jesus alone, is worthy to know, to accept, to worship and to obey, as my King, as our King!
Questions To Aid In The Study Of This Section Of Mark 15:1-28 1. What phrase is repeated in each of the four stories in Mark 15:1-28? 2. To whom do the Jews hand over Jesus and do you know why? Mark 15:1-5 3. What evil attitude did Pilate discern in the religious leaders? Mark 15:6-15 4. What evil attitudes do you struggle with? Is this one of them? Explain. 5. What moral weakness did Pilate demonstrate in his dealings with the crowd? Mark 15:15 6. What did the soldiers do to Jesus that was a contradiction? Mark 15:16-20 7. Do we also sometimes contradict ourselves by our actions towards Jesus and towards others? Explain. 8. Why was the charge, The King Of The Jews, such a dangerous charge at that time in history, and merit being put on a cross in the opinion of the Romans? What was its implication? Taken to its logical conclusion what did it imply for the Jews, the Romans and for us today? Mark 15:21-28 9. How are you learning to know, receive, worship and obey Jesus? ©Copyright 2006-2046 John (Jack) W Rendel. All rights reserved. |
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