Mocking the King

“Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, headquarters) and called the whole company together. They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on Him. And they began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews! ” They kept hitting Him on the head with a reed and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying Him homage. When they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.” (Mark 15:15-20 HCSB)

Last week we considered the irony of the Son of God being exchanged for Barabbas, the son of daddy. Barabbas the murderer is set free and Jesus, the righteous and holy Son of Man is condemned to flogging and crucifixion. This week, the irony continues as the soldiers now carry out the first of the two cruel sentences, the flogging of the humble and subservient Son of God. 

While Mark doesn’t give us any details of the flogging, we know from historical records and the other gospels that Jesus’ flogging was an extremely cruel ordeal. The whip (Greek: flagella) that would have been used was composed of a short wooden handle with multiple strands of leather woven together or embedded with bits of bone, stone and metal to create a weapon that was greatly feared. Jesus hands would have been bound and then raised above His head and chained to a tall post with a ring at the top or wrapped around the post and then bound together. This would render Him incapable of resisting or pulling away as the soldiers beat Him. 

Roman law placed no limits on the number of lashes a prisoner could receive. This was left entirely up to those charged with inflicting the punishment. Many prisoners died at the hands of the soldiers, simply beaten to death. The details are so gruesome that I am reluctant to share them with you. Suffice it to say, Jesus suffered great physical torture even before He was crucified on a Roman cross. His back and legs would have been left bloody, and ripped to shreds by the whip and the cruelty of the Roman soldiers. Mark then tells us that after the flogging, Jesus was “handed over” to the soldiers to be crucified.

At this point, I think it is important to note that the chief priests, Pilate and these soldiers all believe they are in control of this situation and that they are exercising power and authority over the life of this “man”, one whom Pilate thought was innocent and undeserving of this harsh sentence. But I’d like to pause and remind you that this event has been planned since before time began. This is no accidental death of God’s Messiah. The power and authority that is at work in this story is the eternal plan of the Almighty God. This is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world to carry away the sins of men.

Man always thinks he’s in control of any given situation. We’re arrogant that way. So arrogant that we struggle with just the idea of God’s sovereignty. We look around and see things that seem harsh, cruel and inhumane and we wonder why. If God really does exist, why doesn’t He do something about it? The old argument goes, since God does nothing about these things then He must not be all powerful or else He doesn’t exist. If He can do something but doesn’t, then He must be malevolent and not loving and kind. Yet, those arguments completely ignore the biblical view of man’s free will, sin, redemption and eternal life. For love to be real it must be freely given, not coerced or forced. Jesus told us that the most important things God asks of us is to love Him above everything else in life and to love each other in the same way we love ourselves. If we really were obedient to those things, life on this planet would be vastly different.

With those things in mind, I want you to hear the the mockery that plays out against Jesus, the Son of Man and Son of God. The soldiers led Him away to the Praetorium, or the courtyard of the Prefect’s headquarters and they call together the entire company of soldiers. A company of soldiers could be anywhere between 200 to 600 men. Some scholars think either Mark exaggerates for dramatic effect the number of men by using this term or he simply means all of the men in the barracks at that time. Even if you take the smaller of those numbers, then a large group of soldiers dress one man, Jesus, in purple, twist together a crown of thorns and place it on His head and begin mocking Him.

They mock Him because they don’t believe that He’s a king and if He happens to be a king, He’s not much of one because He is unable to prevent this cruelty and humiliation. Therein lies the irony. Based on what scripture tells us, He accepts their cruelty not because He’s incapable of responding or preventing it, but because it is a part of God’s grander plan. They dress Him in dingy royal color and place a crown of thorns on His head to mock His claim of being king over some impertinent, invisible kingdom. If you listen closely, you can hear the same mocking tone in the words of the skeptics I cited, above.

Is an act of unmitigated force an indicator of great power or of great weakness? Think about that for just a minute. If Jesus really is the Son of God, who is actually the one with the greatest power and the greatest love in these verses? From a human perspective, we look at this and it appears that Pilate and his soldiers have all of the power and authority in this situation and there is no expression of love, in any way. From that perspective, Jesus is an unwilling victim to their cruelty. However, the irony is that Jesus IS the King of kings and Lord of lords and is worthy of their honor, praise and worship. So, from a biblical perspective, Jesus is the one who has great power, authority and love as He restrains Himself and submits to their cruel blows and ironic taunts of humiliation.

The very one who deserves all honor, praise and worship is mocked, ridiculed and publicly humiliated. Instead, He willingly and humbly submits Himself to their cruelty and mocking in obedience to God’s will and for our sake. They placed a mock crown of thorns on His head and handed Him a rod, perhaps the shaft from a broken Roman arrow, as a mock scepter. They began to mockingly salute and kneel before Him as if they were paying Him homage as they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” The one who deserved such honor and glory was being mocked because He seemed incapable of defending Himself and of earning their homage and respect.

It is hard for me to express to you the overwhelming feelings that are flooding my soul as I read Mark’s text and write these words. As I write these words, it is Veteran’s Day in the United States. My Facebook account is filled with images of soldiers who have served in the various branches of our United States military, including my own father and brothers. I do NOT want to downplay the honor and respect these men and women deserve for the sacrificial service they’ve given to our great nation. However, I know I often fail to give Jesus the glory, honor and respect that is due Him for the greatest sacrifice He made for all mankind.

The feelings of rage I sense against these Roman soldiers for their senseless actions against my Lord pale in comparison to my own acts of weakness or my lack of prompt obedience to His commands. Is my lack of faith a slap across His face? Is my continuing disobedience a strike upon His head, driving the thorns deeper into His brow? Are my shallow, self-centered prayers a mockery of His authority, sovereignty and sacrifice? Are my selfish needs and desires a mockery of His kingship and promise of provision. Are my doubts and fears just expressions of my doubts about His power and ever-present Spirit?

Like these men, the religious leaders, politicians and soldiers of our story, I too look for a God who will express Himself in a manner consistent with my expectations and desires. I often want a Messiah who is more forceful, more responsive to my expectations and sensibilities. I too wonder why war, disease, senseless crime and selfish ambitions rule our world. 

I want God to intervene and put a stop to all this nonsense. Then I hear His voice as He calls upon me to love my enemies. I hear the One who tells me to “cut off or gouge out” those things that might cause me to harm someone, steal what’s not mine or to lust after someone else’s love or life. Instead of looking for that dynamic military leader that will set this world right, God send His Son to first transform each of us. At least, transform each of us who are aware enough of our own failures to recognize we NEED His help, His mercy and grace and His cleansing and forgiveness. 

The soldiers may strip Him, beat Him, mock Him, spit upon Him and then lead Him out to be crucified, but I’m going to fall at the foot of that cross and beg His mercy and forgiveness. Why? Because in all of those failures I mentioned above, I recognize that it is only by God’s grace that I will ever be a recipient of His love. I simply don’t deserve it because my actions resemble those soldiers WAY too often. In my weakness, I fail to have faith like I should. In my weakness, I fail to be obedient like He demands. In my weakness, I fail to love and serve Him like He deserves.

That’s why I’m so glad to know that He’s the Lamb whom God offered up as the sacrifice for my sin even before He spoke this world into existence. He knew my sin before I did it, and He had already planned to have Jesus die in my place. That guy, Barabbas from last week, that is you and me – in essence, he is Everyman. We deserved to die for our sin, but Jesus took our place.

So, when you hear your own voice in that crowd who cried out, “Crucify Him!”, just know that Jesus was already prepared to die in your place. He was already prepared to take the beating, to bear the cruelty of their taunts, mockery and spit. 

You choose today, will you mock Him or fall before Him begging for His mercy and forgiveness.