Tried, Mocked and Crucified.

In Mark's gospel the story of Jesus' being tried before Pilate (Mk 15:1-15) is followed by the account of Jesus being ‘mocked and crucified’ (Mk 15:16-32). Watch the video and or listen the story and then read the comments below.

The whole company of soldiers gathered around Jesus. They were used to using force to keep the peace. The Roman soldiers would have resented the Jewish fighters violently rebelled.  Jesus would have been an easy target for their frustrations. They put a purple robe normally reserved for kings and nobles and put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They fell on their knees and mocked Jesus saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Compared to a Roman Emperor Jesus would have looked to them like a rather impotent king and not worthy of their respect. They spit on him and beat him repeatedly with a centurion’s staff. When they were done mocking and laughing at Jesus they led him away to face Rome’s weapon of intimidation, the cross! 

Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming into Jerusalem from the country. He was likely a Jew from Cyrene in North Africa on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Often a prisoner would have to carry the cross-beam on which they were to be hung. The vertical pole would have already been at site of crucifixion.  Jesus must have been too weak to carry his own cross-beam after being repeatedly beaten. That Simon carried Jesus’ cross reminds us how Jesus had called people to take up the cross and follow him. Simon was forced to carry the cross of Jesus to Golgotha, the ‘Place of the Skull’. There, at the third hour, Jesus was crucified on the charge of claiming to be ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS’.

At Golgotha Jesus refused to drink the drugged wine for he had chosen to drink the ‘cup’ given him by his Father (10:38; 14:36). The soldiers stripped Jesus and they gambled for his clothes (Psalm 22:19). They crucified Jesus as a rebel king between two rebels, one on his right and one on his left. He would die the death that was reserved for those who tried to take up arms to overthrow Rome. These were the reserved seats on Jesus’ right and left when he would come into his kingdom as God’s true king (10:40). Those passing by insulted Jesus by referring to how he had said that he would destroy the temple and build it again in three days. They misunderstood what he had said about the temple, but what he did say must have seemed ridiculous as he hung suspended apparently defeated on a Roman cross. 

At his crucifixion Jesus looks like he could not rescue himself, let alone destroy and rebuild the Temple in three days. The Messiah was to defeat the Romans but Jesus dies the death of a failed Messiah on a Roman cross.  The chief priests and the teachers of the law want Jesus to come down from cross to save himself. They mock Jesus by saying let this Christ, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so that they might believe in him. But precisely because he was the Christ he chose not to come down. Because he was and is the King of the Jews, he must stay on the cross. To those looking on at the naked and despised Jesus, he would have looked foolish, feeble and weak. Even the thieves crucified beside Jesus hurled insults at him. But none the less God was using the foolishness of the cross to save those who would believe.  This is the story of the crucified Messiah who was forsaken of God in order to ransom and rescue his people. This is how the kingdom of God would come.