In preparation for the sermon today, we'll be reading Psalms 22, the first 22 verses. If you're using the hymn Bible, that's page 457 and 458. This is a prophecy of how terrible the crucifixion was. Starting in verse 1, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groanings? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy and thrown on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted. They trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued. In you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by mankind, despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They make mouths at me. They wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, for he delights in him. Yet you are he who took me from the womb. You made me to trust you at my mother's breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb, you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me. They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, My tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing, they cast lots. But you, oh Lord, do not be a far off. Oh, you, my help, come quickly to my aid. Deliver my soul from the sword. my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion. You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will tell your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation. I will praise you. The ushers will come forward and pray for the offering. Mark chapter 15. If you're using a pew Bible, that's page 852. Mark chapter 15. This morning we're going to read verses 16 through 25. We'll actually be studying more than that, but just to begin with, I'd like to read verses 16 through 25. Mark chapter 15. Mark 15, verses 16 through 25. This is the word of God. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is the governor's headquarters, and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him. Hail, King of the Jews. And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put on his own clothes on him. And they let him out to crucify him. And they compelled the passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull. And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. I'll stop there. I approach the preparation of sermons with a certain assumption. I assume that different sermons ought to prompt different emotional responses from people. You know what I'm saying? Different sermons ought to prompt different affections, different feelings, different emotional responses from those hearing the sermon. You know, depending on the point God is making, my goal is to prick you, or to comfort you, or to encourage you, all based upon the point God is making in that passage. For example, if I could illustrate what I'm getting at, how should a sermon on sin make you feel at the end of it? Imagine this is a sin that you struggle with. Really, you should feel convicted and humbled and desirous of hating that sin. A sermon on forgiveness should move you to feel comfort and relief and joy. A sermon on something like the Trinity or God's sovereignty or the Incarnation, that should move you to amazement, awe at the mystery of God. A sermon on hell should move people to fear, to angst. And a sermon on heaven should move us to joy and delight. I assume different sermons ought to prompt different emotional responses in those listening. And while I might not always achieve this goal, this at least is the ideal I'm aiming for. Well, if that's the case, what affections, what feelings, what emotions ought a sermon on Jesus' crucifixion prompt in your soul? How ought you feel at the end of this morning's sermon on the murder of the Son of God? As I was working on this sermon this last week, a thought that kept coming back into my mind is just the incredible importance of the cross. I mean, the centrality of this event. I mean, does it get any more important than this? I mean, really, in the Bible, this is it. The 4,000 years prior to this are pointing forward to the cross. Everything after is pointing back to the cross. Your personal history, world history, divine history, all rotates, all revolves around this one event. And as I kept thinking that, I was wondering, how on earth do I do justice to this event? How do I preach it in a fitting way where people will rightly appreciate it and where God will receive the glory? Well, if I understand the Bible correctly, there are two emotions, two affections you should walk away with after this sermon. First, there should be feelings of sorrow, grief, sadness at the execution of Jesus. I mean, this is the most innocent person in the world being murdered slowly in the most painful way that we can think of. And there should be some grief there. But more than that, I believe this sermon should also move you to joy. and worship and adoration. For Jesus is not merely dying but he's dying for your sins. He's dying as a demonstration of love for you. So my explicit goal this morning is to hopefully fill you with both sorrow and joy, sadness and worship. That's what happened to our Savior. And I'd like to move through this in an interesting structure. I'd encourage you to follow along on that little note sheet there. The structure of this morning's sermon's gonna be a little unique, so I think it would help you to follow along. And what I'd like to do first is to talk about how the cross is a physical depiction of the wrath of God. That's where we're gonna begin. The cross as a physical depiction of the wrath of God. From there, we're gonna move to Mark 15 and look at three ways in which God's wrath was poured out on Jesus. specifically in his torture, then in the cross, the crucifixion itself, and then lastly in humiliation. From there, I'm gonna move to how the cross is an expression of God's love. And again, my hope and prayer throughout this week is that God, through this sermon, will fill you with both sorrow and joy, grief and amazement, sadness and worship at the crucifixion of our Lord. Well, let's begin. The cross as a physical depiction of the wrath of God. What does that mean? The cross as a physical depiction of the wrath of God. Now the simple fact that the man known as Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross 2,000 years ago, that is well established. I mean if you know really anything about ancient history you'll know that people from all walks of life believe this event happened. Obviously all Christians, many Jews, some Muslims, many Hindus, even many atheists who are careful in their historical research agree that this man Jesus died on a cross. Well, the disagreement then is not over what happened, but why it happened. You get that? Not over what happened, that's obvious, but why did it happen? What is going on at the cross? And if we listen to Jesus, he tells us very clearly what's going on at the cross. And if we listen to the Bible as a whole, it becomes obvious what is going on at the cross. Listen, for example, to what Jesus taught us in Mark 10, 45. Jesus said, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. So in Jesus' mind, He's dying there on the cross, not merely as a martyr, not merely as this revolutionary whose revolution failed, not just as a political prisoner, but in some way He's ransoming people, redeeming people out of some kind of slavery. Another passage that helps us is John 3. Listen to what Jesus taught us in John 3, 14-16. He said, Just like that bronze snake was lifted up in the wilderness and those who looked to it were saved, so also Jesus will be lifted up on the cross in such a way that those who believe in Him, trust in Him, will be saved from the wrath they deserve. If you turn to the Old Testament, this reason for Jesus' crucifixion becomes even clearer. I know I've read Isaiah 53 many times before, but listen to this. This is 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah 53. Jesus would be wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. But it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. So that is what we need to keep in the forefront of our mind as we study the crucifixion of Jesus. The cross is not merely a bloody execution. Let me reiterate it. The cross is not merely a bloody execution, but it's a bloody execution for the sins of others. Somehow, in a manner that's really beyond our comprehension, as the Romans are nailing nails through His hands, through His feet, in that very same instance, God the Father is pouring out His wrath on the Son, for those who would believe. The Apostle Paul put it this way, Galatians 3.13, this is the verse on your bulletin this morning. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, curse it is everyone who is hanged on a tree. So that is the biblical interpretation of the event we'll be looking at this morning. Not simply an execution, but being cursed by God for our sins. On the cross, Jesus fell into the hands of an angry God. You realize that? On the cross, Jesus was immersed into the fire of the fury of God's anger. On the cross, Jesus not only experienced incredible physical pain, but some sort of spiritual suffering that we can't pick up merely looking at the event itself. And while I don't think Jesus ever descended bodily into hell, what I think happened is that on the cross, He absorbed the hell we would experience if we did not trust in Him. Now unless we begin here, Jesus' crucifixion, it's really nothing more than a gross murder. You realize that? Without this understanding, what we're gonna be reading is not gonna make a whole lot of sense. It's not gonna be much more than Spartacus' death, if you've ever seen that movie. This was a culture where they executed thousands of people through crucifixion. It happened pretty much every week. And unless there's something that sets Jesus' death apart as unique, Mark 15's just not gonna make much sense. This, by the way, is one of my concerns with Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. I imagine you've all seen Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. Artistically, it's a beautiful movie, incredibly moving. As far as I can tell, it's historically, archaeologically accurate. So I have no criticism of that aspect of the movie. What concerns me, however, is that nothing in that movie is said as to why Jesus is dying. I mean, you just see a gory event and the resurrection, praise the Lord for that, but why is he dying? What is going on there? You could watch that whole thing and walk away and have no idea why Jesus died on the cross. Now, we're going to discuss in a moment some of the slightly gory details of crucifixion. We're going to get into what it means that Jesus was scourged and nailed to a cross and beaten. But the whole time, keep in the front of your mind that what we're reading about here is not merely physical. It's a physical depiction of the wrath of God being poured out on His Son. Otherwise, Jesus' death is no different from the thousands of people who have been crucified. Well, keeping that in mind, let's now consider the wrath of torture. Again, this is where God's wrath is being unleashed on his son, in the wrath of torture by the Romans. And jump back to verse 15. I realize we studied this last week, but I'd like to key in on that little verb, scourged, there. Look at Mark 15, 15. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him up to be crucified. Now, if you've been with us, you'll remember that to this point, Jesus has already been through a horrendous ordeal. I mean, just think back, if you can, over the last 24 hours. I mean, he's been up all night. He's been betrayed by a friend. He's been abandoned by his disciples. He's been arrested by the Romans. He's been spit upon and beaten. He's been tried twice and unjustly condemned twice. He's already been through an enormous ordeal before he gets here. And as we see, Pilate condemns Jesus to crucifixion. But just before that, what happens? What does Pilate do to Jesus? He says they scourged him. just before crucifixion they scourged him." Now it's possible that to you that word scourge doesn't mean a lot. We don't use that word very much in English. You probably have never seen a person scourged. But realize that to the original readers they would have known exactly what it meant for Jesus to have been scourged. Scourging was a form of punishment used in the Roman Empire for those who had committed fairly serious crimes. Say, for example, you were a habitual thief or some sort of violent person or just a revolutionary of some kind, they would scourge you. And what this involved, they'd take a whip, they often called it a cat-of-nine-tails, and it was a chain with these little hooks and sharp edges in it, and they'd whip it onto your back and pull it off. That was a terrible, imagine, you know those choke collars they put on dogs with all the hooks and everything? That plastered onto your back and ripped off. Before they did that, they generally strip you down naked and then chain both of your hands to a post sticking out of the ground. So at the end of this experience, your back, the back of your legs would just be lacerated like you were sent through a meat grinder. Sometimes this particular punishment was used on its own and someone, you know, they were punished, they were released. Sometimes, as we see with Jesus, it preceded crucifixion and on many occasions, people died from this torture itself. Explaining this process of scourging, Larry Hurtado writes, the Greek word used here for scourge designates the Roman scourging, which involved the use of a whip made of leather thongs connecting pieces of bone and metal like a chain. This instrument was capable of filleting the flesh, think about filleting fish, filleting the flesh, so that the victim's bones and entrails were made bare, and some died under the ordeal. There was no regulation about how many blows a person might receive and the object of this punishment, as even more so with crucifixions, was to cause the victim the maximum pain and suffering. It was this scourging that was probably in Isaiah's mind, believe it or not, when he said 700 years before Jesus in Isaiah 52, 14, many were astonished at you. His appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. Now admittedly, that's pretty gruesome. I mean, that's pretty gory. But keep in mind, it is only by his stripes we are healed. Well, let's move on. Look next at what the soldiers did. Verse 16, Mark 15, 16. After scourging Jesus, it says, And the soldiers led him away inside the palace. That is the governor's headquarters. And they called together the whole battalion. Now stop there. If I could just make a couple of observations about the location here. This is most likely Herod's Palace. It really wasn't a palace like we think a palace is. It's not like the Snow White Palace. It's more like a castle. Huge structure, had rooms for at least 100 visitors, and a large barracks for soldiers. Now into this fort sort of thing, It says in verse 16, they called together the whole battalion. Now take a guess at how many soldiers that is. That was 600 soldiers. That's how many comprised a battalion. 600 soldiers. So if not 600, pretty close to that number are here to torture Jesus. Now here's one more detail. The place where they've taken Jesus is not really public property. This is a place behind closed doors. So imagine, what you've got to imagine is something similar to say a high school guy's locker room. Those of you who are guys probably know what can take place behind closed doors with lots of men. That's similar to what we have here with Jesus in a closed area with 600 rough soldiers who are looking forward to abusing him. We'll continue on, look at verse 17. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. and they began to salute him, hail king of the Jews. And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they let him out to crucify him. Now we don't have time to meditate on all the details here. I'd encourage you to do that in your devotions. But in order to dishonor Jesus, to debase Jesus, to mock Jesus, you'll notice they have a sort of enthronement ceremony, sort of a coronation for the King of the Jews. They take a purple cloak, most likely something, a soldier's cloak that had been perhaps faded with time and become purple. They throw that on him and then they make this crown of thorns. We don't know exactly what kind of thorns these were, but we know that in Palestine, there are these thorns that are three, four inches long that grow. Chances are they took something like that, braided it together, and smashed it into his head. Now look at verse 19, and they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. When it says reed, don't think like a blade of grass or a piece of hay. Think more like a bamboo cane pole. You know what I'm talking about? That's what they're smashing Jesus on the head with. And what's he got on his head? He's got that crown of thorns. So all those blows are driving that deeper and deeper into his flesh. Interestingly enough, this aspect of Jesus' suffering was also prophesied in previous scripture. Isaiah 50 verse 6, I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. Another detail you see here is how they're mocking in worship of him. The Romans and the Jews did not get along very well. So they're probably expressing some of their hatred, not only for Jesus, for the whole Jewish people. Look at your king, Jewish people, we're beating him up. They're saying, hail, king of the Jews. They're bowing down, pretending to do homage to him, and yet all the while, they hate him in their hearts. You might pause here and just reflect, is that you? Are you verbally giving homage to Jesus while inwardly you despise him? Maybe you just say the right stuff to please your wife, say the right stuff to please your kids, and yet internally you're no different than these soldiers, despising Jesus and wanting him dead. It's a terribly easy thing to do for those of us who have grown up in church. Now all this torture, all this mockery, all this abuse, realize it's an expression of the wrath of God. It's an expression of the wrath of God. It's all to teach us the horror of our sin. It's all to teach us what it means to fall into the hands of an angry God. Well, moving on, let's look at the wrath of crucifixion next. It's the next way in which God's wrath is poured out on Jesus, the wrath of crucifixion. In verse 22. Actually, I'm gonna skip verse 21 for the sake of time. If you've got questions about Simon of Cyrene, you can ask me afterwards. We're gonna skip over it this morning. Look at verse 22. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull. And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take. Now if I could just quickly summarize what's going on here. After his horrendous scourging, where he doesn't even look like a human anymore, they march him to this place called Golgotha. Golgotha is also known as Calvary, that's the Latin form of it. It's approximately two miles away from the center of Jerusalem. It's also known, as you can see, as the place of the skull. We're not entirely sure why it's called that. Some scholars think it's because the hill looked kind of like the head of a skull, but we don't know for sure. Now, at Golgotha, it says in verse 22, they offered him wine mixed with myrrh. Now, that was a powerful intoxicant. It was kind of like Novocaine that you might take before you get your teeth pulled out. If you take wine and mix it with myrrh, it becomes very potent and can dull your senses. And this was really a merciful thing. They'd let victims drink some of this before they were crucified just to dull the pain a little bit. But notice what Jesus does. Does he drink this? He doesn't. He wants his senses sharp. He knows what he's enduring and he wants his mind clear. So important what he's going through. You look at verse 25, it says, it was the third hour when they crucified him. Realize that was nine in the morning. It might be earlier than you generally think of the crucifixion taking place, but it was nine in the morning, just as people are maybe going off to work, maybe waking up for the day, maybe kids going off to play in the field. That is when Jesus is being nailed to the cross, taking away the sins of the world. And just consider the brevity of the account of Jesus' crucifixion. You ever think about this? Look at verse 24. And they crucified him. That's the most significant event in all the world, and they crucified him. Now again, like scourging, this is not something we see very often in our world today. But again, this is something the first readers would have known exactly what was going on. Writing about the horror of crucifixion, Peter Bolt says, the first century world knew that crucifixion was a horrible way to die. It was so horrendous that it repelled people even to talk about it. This is often illustrated by Cicero's famous words during the trial of Serebrius, namely that the very word cross should be far removed, not only from the person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears. And yet, despite the odium attached to crucifixion, the Christians were known for worshiping a crucified God, and their message soon began to attract people in droves. Crucifixion was so common in Jesus' day that it's almost certain that Jesus saw many crucifixions growing up. I mean, literally, this was as common compared to, say, a funeral procession. You ever seen a funeral procession before? As common as those are, that's how common crucifixion was in Jesus' day. So he probably saw this many times. And you gotta think, Jesus knows, as, say, like a 12-year-old, he knows this is my fate. What does that make him feel? How does he live his life in light of the fact that he's seeing frequently what's gonna happen to him? Well, if I could describe crucifixion just a little bit, we don't know exactly where crucifixion came from. We know that the Persians used it very early on, but we're not certain whether or not they invented it. Since crucifixion didn't puncture any vital organs, it was an extremely painful way to die. It was really the way to maximize pain and suffering from the victim. You've probably heard of the word excruciating. We use that in English from time to time. Did you know that's actually Latin for from the cross? Excruciating, from the cross. And that word well illustrates the pain that's involved in this death. Crucifixion obviously began with a cross. So imagine a, what's this called? Vertical beam, eight, 10 feet tall. To this vertical beam was attached a horizontal beam, maybe six feet wide, and it's attached maybe a foot down from the top. The victim usually was required to carry the cross beam, not the entire thing, but the cross beam, which probably weighed about 100 pounds, to the place of crucifixion. So Jesus, after having been scourged, is carrying this 100 pound beam about two miles to the hill called Golgotha. Now that cross would eventually be stood up and dropped into a hole, but before that happened, the victim had to be fastened to it. Now after carrying this crossbeam, they'd put the beam down on the cross, kind of hook it together, and then they'd throw the victim down onto the cross. Then long nails, about five, seven inches long, with a square shaft were taken, and they were driven through both wrists and then through the feet or the ankles. Sometimes they put the nail right behind the Achilles tendon. These nails would punch your major nerves, resulting in just excruciating bolts of fiery pain shooting through the body. Finally, the cross would be lifted up and dropped into a hole, and that's where the victim would hang. Again, fascinating, but the events surrounding the crucifixion are also foretold in the Old Testament. Our brother Daniel read this earlier, but listen again to Psalm 22, 16. This is hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented. Psalm 22, 16. Dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet. Now the primary way, the primary means of death through crucifixion was not blood loss. You know that it was not blood loss, but you want to know what it was? It was suffocation. Asphyxiation, oddly enough. The victim's body weight combined with exhaustion would result in them not being able to expand their chest cavity anymore, and they couldn't get air in, and then they'd just eventually suffocate to death. If you ever want to get a feeling of what this is like, find yourself a pull-up bar or a playground, and put your arms out as far as you can put them, and then just hang there. I tried this, and after about 20 seconds or so, it gets incredibly uncomfortable. And then imagine hanging there for three, four, five, six hours. That's similar to what crucifixion was like. Eventually your strength just gives out, can't breathe anymore, and you suffocate to death. That's how the typical victim died. Yet something we need to remember as Bible-believing Christians is that Jesus was not your typical victim in any way, shape, or form. And a truth I want you to ponder, maybe write this down, is that while Jesus died on the cross, he did not die by the cross. Write that down, if that doesn't make sense, I'll clarify what I mean. While Jesus died on the cross, he did not die by the cross. While yes, the cross was the instrument used to take his life, Jesus was laying down his life voluntarily. Now let me explain what I mean by that. Jesus taught us in John 10, 18, No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up. This charge I have received from my Father. So no one was really, in the end, forcing Jesus to go to the cross. He was willingly, voluntarily going there. More than that, think of Matthew 26, 53. This is after his betrayal. Jesus says, do you not think that I could not appeal to my Father? And he could at once send me 12 legions of angels. So he had every right, every ability to get himself out of there. But he didn't. He didn't, he hung there until he died. And the question I want you to think about is why? Why is it, why when he could have gotten himself out of there, did he not? We'll expand on this more in a minute, but the reason ultimately is love. Well, I know it might sound trite, but it was. Ultimately, not the nails that held him there, but his love. Love ultimately for the Father, but also for those of us who would believe. That is what kept Jesus on the cross when he could have otherwise quickly have gotten down. Now, as Jesus is hanging there, dying on the cross, did you see what the soldiers are doing? This is ironic. 24. and they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take. Think about that. These soldiers, they're more concerned about Jesus' wardrobe than they are that he is the Son of God. They're more concerned about clothing and attire and looking cool than they are with knowing God and pleasing God and worshiping his Son. So while the Son of God is taking away the sins of the world, there they are playing dice. Oddly enough, this too was prophesied in the Old Testament. Back again in Psalm 22. It says, I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Now look at the charge that is brought against Jesus. This is important. Verse 26. In verse 26 we read, and the inscription of the charge against him read, the king of the Jews, Now it was customary in those days when a person was crucified to list the crime for which he was condemned. This was kind of a deterrent to others. You know, if a person committed murder, they'd put a sign up there saying this guy's guilty of murder. And other people would see that and say, oh, I probably shouldn't commit murder, that might happen to me. And you can see what they charge Jesus with here. What does it say? He's the king of the Jews. That's the crime for which he's dying, he's the king of the Jews. Now, in reality, this was probably an effort of Pilate to mock the Jews. Again, like we discussed last week, he hated the Jews. So he's probably saying, look, Jews, there's your king. But in reality, how much is Pilate saying here that he doesn't realize? I mean, because in reality, this is the king of the Jews, and he's not merely the king of the Jews, but he's the king of kings and lord of lords. Pilate didn't realize that, but God did realize that, and that is all conveyed, ironically enough, in this plaque. If you look at it, this is fascinating, but there's so much kingly imagery in this passage. Enthronement imagery is the technical term. You see that? I mean, just maybe scan your eyes back over what we've looked at and see the kingly imagery here. Obviously, there's the whole fake coronation that those soldiers carried out. Then there's this sign put above Jesus' head saying he's the King of the Jews. There's one more detail I'd like you to notice. Look at verse 27. It says, with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. Now ponder that just for a second. You see that phrase, one on his right and one on his left? That identical phraseology is used in other contexts of a king sitting on his throne. On a throne, kings often had a right-hand person and a left-hand person. That identical phraseology is used here of Jesus on the cross. So you put all of this together and what God is saying, He is saying, this is my King. Even though you're killing Him, I am orchestrating things in such a way that the world will see this is my King. He is the King of the Jews, even though you hate Him and even though you kill Him, He is my King. This is why the early church fathers, if you've read any of their stuff, they spoke of Jesus reigning from the cross. You ever heard of that? Reigning like a throne. Even though he is being crucified by lawless men, he is also the King of kings and Lord of lords. Meditating on this theme many years ago, Pastor J.L. Reynolds wrote, when Christ uttered in the judgment hall of Pilate the remarkable words, I am a king, he pronounced a sentiment fraught with unspeakable dignity and power. His enemies might deride his pretensions and express their mockery of his claim by presenting him with a crown of thorns, a reed, and a purple robe, and nailing him to the cross. But in the eyes of unfallen intelligences, he was a king. A higher power presided over that divisive ceremony and converted it into a real coronation. That crown of thorns was indeed the diadem of empire. That purple robe was the badge of royalty. That fragile reed was the symbol of unbounded power. And that crossed the throne of dominion, which shall never end. God is saying, even through the acts of sinful men, this is my king. This is my king. And the question I want you to think about is, is he your king? Is he your king? Certainly he is God's king, the one day king of the world, the universe, the one to whom every knee will bow, but is he your king? All of this is the wrath of crucifixion. Ponder next and lastly, the wrath of humiliation. Verses 29 through 32, the wrath of utter humiliation. And look at verse 29. And the spirit says, and those who pass by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, aha, you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. Now if you want to imagine it, you've got to remember that crucifixions, they were often intentionally placed right on the sides of roads and oftentimes at intersections. And again, this was kind of a publicity effort. They wanted people to see what would happen to those who defied Rome. And as our account makes clear, some were walking by that day when Jesus was crucified. We don't know where they were going. Maybe off to market, maybe off to synagogue, whatever. And they're walking by and they're looking at Jesus and all they can do is mock. I mean, they're not even stopping to give Jesus the time of day. They're walking and mocking. I mean, continue to imagine the situation with me. Jesus is there, bleeding like a piece of hamburger meat, almost, if not entirely naked, nailed hand and foot, hanging there for hours, and all these people are doing is making fun of him. Have you ever been the recipient of mockery? Have you ever been made fun of, say, at a party or at school or on the school bus or anything like that? You know how painful that is. I mean, sometimes it can feel even worse than physical pain, and yet that's exactly what Jesus is experiencing here. Utter humiliation. Utter humiliation. Again, this was predicted in the Old Testament, Psalm 22. I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads. Ponder again the irony of what they're saying. You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. Where's the irony in that? The irony in that is that it's only by destroying the temple of his body that he is saving others. They don't realize that. But again, God is saying he is saving others through destroying his body. You might ask yourself, do you fall into this category? You just pass by Jesus and mock him. Don't even stop to consider his claims. Don't even pause and think, you know, maybe he is the son of God. Just keep on walking, keep on wagging your head and making fun of him. Is that you? Well, look at verse 31. Here's another group of people mocking Jesus. Verse 31, so also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, he saved others, he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. Now we mentioned this before, but the chief priests, they were longtime priests in Israel. The scribes were scholars of the Old Testament. So these are the religious elites in Judaism. They were the guys that knew their stuff, and yet when their God and King is standing before them, all they can do is make fun of them. And again, notice the irony. He saved others. He cannot save himself. If what we've been saying up to this point is true, then what they're saying is, in a sense, true, though they did not realize it. He's saving others, and if he were to save himself and come down from the cross, none of us could be saved. But the fact that he's not coming down from the cross and saving himself is the only reason why any of us are saved today. Again, Peter Bolt writes, both the passersby and the religious leaders demand that Jesus come down from the cross, that he save himself. The religious leaders acknowledge that Jesus has saved others, but of course, the second part of the chief priest's mockery is also ironically true. He saved others, but he cannot save himself. Ultimately, since Jesus is dying as a ransom for many, he cannot save himself if he wants to save others. This is God's wrath in the form of humiliation. Now to wrap our time up, and if I could just tie some of this together, let's conclude by reflecting on the cross, a powerful demonstration of God's love. That's where I'd like us to end. The cross, a powerful demonstration of God's love. Now admittedly, a lot of this is gory stuff. I mean, this is the kind of stuff, as a father, I would not expose my sons to were there not some huge spiritual significance in it. We've seen God's wrath in the form of torture. We've seen God's wrath in the form of crucifixion. And we've seen God's wrath in the form of utter humiliation. All of that is true. God unleashed His wrath on His son. But I'd like you to take a step back and ask an even deeper question. A deeper question. Why? Why did the Father make His Son an object of wrath? Why did God take the sinless Son of God and treat Him as if He were a filthy, wicked sinner? Why did God require Jesus to suffer this way? We actually don't need to speculate to answer this question. Paul addresses this very question, exact question, in Romans 3. And listen in response to this, in Romans 3, to this question, why did Jesus die? It was to show God's righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Now if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, if you're not a follower of Christ, we're delighted you're here. There is nowhere at 1045 on a Sunday morning we'd rather you be than right here with us. But it's quite possible that what I'm saying about God being just and the justifier, the one who has faith in Jesus, it might not make perfect sense. So give me two minutes if I could and just explain the background to that. The Bible teaches that you were made to know God. That's why you're on this planet. That's what makes you different than a horse or a donkey, you were made to know God. And yet you have sinned. And what that means is that you've attempted to live life your own way. You've attempted to live life as if there were no God, when in reality there's a loving God in heaven who desires to be reconciled to you. Now because God is good, he will punish us for our sins. Because he's good. But that's exactly when God, in His amazing love, took on human flesh in the form of Jesus. Takes on a human body. Jesus lives a perfect, sinless life of utter obedience, and then He dies bearing the wrath of God, like we've been discussing. And He's bearing the wrath of God in the place of sinners. He's being punished for all of those who would ever repent of their sins and believe in Him. That is the way God can remain just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus by taking the punishment I deserve and putting it on Him. Three days later, God the Father raised Jesus back from the dead to demonstrate that everything He taught was true and to make us right with God. And now He calls us to repent from our sins, to turn from our sins, to trust in Jesus and be made right with God. Turn from our sins, trust in Jesus, and be made right with God. And before I go any further, that's exactly what I'd invite you to do now. The invitation's open. Turn from your sins, trust in Jesus, be forgiven. Be made right with God. If you've never committed yourself, body and soul, to Jesus, if you've never turned from your sins and trusted in his loving leadership, do it now. Right now, as I'm looking at you. This is the only way God can remain just and forgive your sins. So if any of you would like to discuss this further, would like clarification, would like someone to pray with you, please see me out. See one of our deacons maybe after the service. We'd be delighted to pray with you. Now to conclude our time this morning, let me just say one quick word to those of us who are Christians. those of us who are brothers and sisters in Christ. And what I'd like you to think on as we conclude, and this is especially as we approach singing together, what you need to meditate on is that the wrath expressed in this passage is the wrath you and I deserve. You realize that? The wrath expressed here in the form of torture, in the form of crucifixion, in the form of utter humiliation, it's what I deserve, it's what you deserve for our sins. And yet we don't. I'm not the one getting my back ripped to pieces by that scourge. I'm not the one nailed hand and foot there. I'm not the one being utterly humiliated in public in nakedness. Why? Romans 5.8, God shows his love for us. And that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Commenting on this reality, Pastor J.C. Ryle writes, The passage we have now read, Mark 15, 16-32, is one of those which shows us the infinite love of Christ towards sinners. The sufferings described in it would fill our minds with mingled horror and compassion if they had been inflicted on one who is only a man like ourselves. But when we reflect that the sufferer was the eternal Son of God, we are lost in wonder and amazement. And when we further reflect that these sufferings were voluntarily endured to deliver sinful men and women like ourselves from hell, we may see something of St. Paul's meaning when he says, the love of Christ passes knowledge. Let the cross of Christ be often before our minds. Rightly understood, no object in all Christianity is so likely to have a sanctifying as well as comforting effect on our souls. In a moment, we will sing, and as we sing, let us praise God that the Son was made a curse for us. Let us praise God that He who knew no sin became sin for us. Let us praise God that on that cross, our sins were taken away, and the blood of Christ washed away all our sins. Let us praise God that in the words of Romans 8, 28, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Praise God for Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Pray with me. Gracious God, work now, we pray, in our hearts. Lord, please give us the appropriate emotional response to this passage. Lord, fill us with joy and sorrow, with grief and worship at the cross. Lord, we pray that as this song says, the cross would humble us when we survey the wondrous cross, we would be humbled by the love demonstrated towards sinners like ourselves in this. And we pray that out of humility we would rise up in joy and delight and passion. We pray this through Christ our Lord, amen.