Mark 15:1-15 - Jesus’ Rejection, God’s Substitution

In this episode, we're diving into Mark 15:1-15, where we witness the complete rejection of Jesus by His apostles, religious leaders, political authorities, and the crowd itself. Yet, in the midst of this condemnation, we see a profound hope emerge through the substitution of Christ, standing in the place of the guilty like Barabbas, foreshadowing His sacrificial death for us. We'll explore how this rejection fulfills prophecy and points to the glorious Gospel where the innocent Savior takes our punishment, offering freedom to the powerless and condemned. Join me as we unpack these verses and discover the depth of God's plan. Let's dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

104 - Mark 15:1-15 - Jesus’ Rejection, God’s Substitution

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to the Gospel of Mark and open to chapter 15.
  • Today we step into the final part of the trial of Christ where He is officially condemned by the governing authorities.
    • Prior to this point the religious leaders desired Him to die, yet they did not have that kind of authority.
    • They only have the power to recommend He perish; it was the Romans who alone had authority to execute. 
  • In our text we find that they do recommend Jesus for death and the Romans give them exactly what they wanted.
    • As a result Jesus is completely rejected and condemned to die…
    • Yet even in this our verses offer hope as we find that in the midst of this scene we find a willing Savior willing to stand in the place of sinful man.
• Please read these verses with me and let’s open in prayer over the Word…

Mark 15:1-15

• There are a couple of things to point out before we jump into our points today….
  • First, please keep in mind the context…
    • Which will come up as we discuss these verses but let me just go ahead and point out right now…
      • If we look back at the previous chapter we find Jesus spending this final evening with His apostles…
        • In this we find them assuring Him that they may die with Him but they certainly would never deny and reject Him. 
        • Yet at His arrest we find them fleeing and as you can tell in our text they are not mentioned.
      • If we look forward to the verses that are to come…
        • By the time we get to verse 23 of this chapter Jesus is hanging upon the cross.
    • I say all that to urge you to consider where we are in this story of Christ and the Cross.  
  • As far as these verses are concerned… 
• These verses can be broken into two parts…
  • In verse 1 through verse 5 we find the official trial of Jesus where He is accused by the whole council of the Jews and questioned by Pilate.
  • Then, from verse 6 through verse 15 we have the final decision of what is to be done with Jesus.
• Though we could look to other Gospels for more context on what happened and even further conversation between Jesus and Pilate, I believe the benefit before us today is to simply consider what Mark included and reflect upon two things…
  • The Rejection of Jesus… AND…
  • The Glorious Substitution…
• Let’s consider this first point…

The Rejection of Jesus

• Really it is a complete rejection of Jesus, all the way around…
  • Once more consider the context before this moment, consider with me what happened the night before…
    • Of His 12 apostles that He had celebrated the Passover with the evening before.
      • One, Judas, had betrayed Him…
        • Sold Him out for 30 pieces of silver…
      • Another one, Peter, had denied Him…
        • Three times, then cursing in the final time…
      • The rest had fled and now Jesus is all alone…
        • It is as Zechariah prophesied…
          • Zechariah 13:7c - “...Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;...”
        • They all together fled from Him.  
    • His apostles, at this time, had rejected Him and counted their own lives as more valuable than their devotion to Him.
  • It really began with that rejection…
• However, across our verses today we see three other levels of rejection that we must consider…
  • The first is what I would call… 

Religious Rejection

• Like with the apostles we do see this occurring in the previous chapter but it comes to a head as they hand over their Messiah to the gentiles for death…
  • Though they were the religious leaders among the people…
  • Though they should have known the scriptures better than anyone else…
  • Though they were tasked with leading the people in how to follow the scriptures…
• They have completely rejected the One who the Scriptures testify about…
  • They were to be God’s representatives among the people, yet they have rejected the Son of God.
    • There exists a irony in this reality.
  • They should have recognized Jesus before any others did…
    • They should have weighed out the teaching and considered the miracles…
    • Instead of crying “blasphemy”, they should have at least pondered what Jesus was claiming.
  • Yet, as we have discussed, they were power hungry and were blinded and would not even entertain the idea that Jesus could have been telling the truth.
• Please take note of this, though they accused Jesus of blasphemy in Mark 14:63 and 64, this was not the charge they brought before Pilate…
  • Look again with me at what Pilate asked…
    • Vs. 2
  • I am certain that Pilate did not lead every trial with a question like this, instead what we find is that this question reflects what Jesus was accused of…
    • He was accused, by these religious leaders, of inciting a rebellion by placing Himself in the position of King of the Jews.
      • Keep in mind as we consider this that the Jews were governed by the Romans.
        • There was but one supreme ruler among the Romans and that was Caesar.
      • Now Caesar had many political rulers under him, even some given the title as “king”, like king Herod, but do not mistake it, they were all subjects of his.
      • Furthermore, any who would arise and claim any type of authority apart from the Roman government was subject to death.
    • This is why they claimed that Jesus was asserting Himself as King in the form of a rebellion.
      • A King that would not answer to Caesar or any other Roman official.  
  • This would not have been unusual in Jesus day, in fact we see another in our text who was guilty of something similar…
    • We are introduced to Barabbas…
      • We are told in verse 6 had “committed murder in the insurrection”.
    • Though Jesus could not have been labeled a murderer what did stick was the idea that He was rising up against the Romans.
  • Which is why we will see Pilate hang a sign over His head while He was upon the cross that read, “The King of the Jews”.  
• Before we move forward consider this religious objection to Christ…
  • Jesus has been rejected by His own religious rulers, rejected because they cared more about maintaining the status quo and keeping themselves in power…
    • More than they cared about whether or not Jesus really was the Messiah.
• The second rejection that I want to point out in our text is…

Political Rejection

• Throughout this account there is one man who has the authority to either release Jesus or crucify Him.
  • That man is Pontious Pilate, in our verses and throughout Mark he is only known as Pilate…
  • He was the Roman governor of the province of Judea for roughly 10 years.
    • He is most well known for being the man who condemned our Lord to die upon the cross.
  • Consider his sphere of influence and control…
    • He would have had control of the military in this region…
      • We did not read it but the next verses outline how Jesus was mocked by the whole battalion of soldiers…
        • A whole battalion being 600 men.  
      • Pilate commanded these men…
    • He would have had control of the courts in this region, which is why we see him passing judgment upon Christ…
      • Again, the Jews of themselves could not condemn someone to death; they relied upon Pilate for such judgments.  
    • Lastly, he would have had administrative authority in this region…
      • Meaning he would have had authority over the taxation and would be held accountable for the peace of the region.  
  • He represented the governmental authority of the day, and before him stood the One who possessed total authority.
    • Yet, just like with the religious rulers, he also rejected Jesus.
• His is a bit different though as he would not have been as familiar with the Jewish scriptures…
  • His evaluation would have been more in line with the threat Jesus was to the Roman government.
    • The question he needed to answer was whether or not Jesus was a real threat. 
  • To that end it seems that Pilate thought Jesus innocent and was instead handed over out of envy…
    • Look at verse 10.
    • Vs. 10
  • A more direct statement of what he thought about Jesus is found in Luke 23…
    • Luke 23:4 - “Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
  • It was quite possibly this belief that drove him to present Jesus before the people…
    • Some speculate that he thought the people would choose Jesus to be released when placed up against one convicted of murder.
      • That of course was not the case and those who make this argument are simply speculating about the situation.
    • However, what is not speculation is that he believed Jesus to be innocent of the charges brought against Him. 
  • Yet even with that belief we find that he handed Jesus over to death, he was the one who signed off on the crucifixion.
    • The reason?
      • We are given the reason in verse 15.
      • Mark writes and tells us…
    • Vs. 15
• What an amazing thing that someone would be so quick to compromise and hand over innocent blood.
  • Pilate agreed to this just to appease the people.
    • As a governor one of his roles would have been to keep the peace among the people.
    • This day he did this by handing over the innocent to suffering and death.
  • This rejection showed that Pilate was not concerned with justice or truth but was instead concerned with squashing anything that would endanger his position.
  • Much like the religious leaders he sought to maintain power instead of seeking justice.  
• There is one more rejection in our verses that we must consider today and that is…

Cultural Rejection

• Jesus was completely rejected and we see this clearly by the actions of the crowd in our text…
  • First, in how they choose Barabbas instead of Christ, look again at verse 11.
    • Vs. 11
      • The crowd, easily swayed by the chief priests, desired a murderer over the miracle worker. 
      • What an amazing thought…
        • Perhaps some of those in the crowd were healed by Jesus…
        • Perhaps some of those in the crowd had been fed by Him…
        • Perhaps some of those in the crowd had welcomed Him into the city days before shouting “Hosanna”, now they are shouting “Crucify Him”...
        • Surely there were some who had heard His teaching…
      • Yet here they chose a Sinner over the Savior.
    • This rejection is surprising and defies logic, however the final part of their rejection is unjustifiable. 
  • Lets read about what they requested in verses 13 and 14…
    • Vs. 13-14
      • This bloodthirsty crowd cried aloud for Jesus' blood to be spilled.
        • These are Jews, they would have despised crucifixion, it was an unclean and shameful act.
      • Yet here they cheered for it.
    • They have all together rejected Jesus and these verses remind us of it.
  • No matter how you look at it Jesus was completely rejected.
• Throughout this we find more fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah 53…
  • Isaiah 53:2 - “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
  • Yet in this rejection let us keep in mind that it was all according to the plan and purpose of God.
• Let us now step into the second point today…

The Glorious Substitution

• What transpires in these verses is something that so clearly mirrors the hope that is found in the death of Christ and preached in His glorious Gospel.
  • Consider the scene with me…
    • There stands Jesus, the perfect Son of God, who is not guilty of any wrong doing…
      • More than that He also taught the masses, healed the sick, and demonstrated authority over demons.
      • Yet Jesus does not stand alone…
    • Beside him stands another, one that is nothing like Jesus…
      • Barabbas by name, a convicted murder and insurrectionist.
        • He is the very type of person that Pilate should be condemning to keep the peace.
        • He is the very type of person who would seek to overthrow the Roman authorities.
      • He is the type of man who would raise a revolt against the Romans.
  • Yet the crowd, prompted by the religious leaders, cried out for Barabbas to be freed.  
    • Our Lord throughout this time is silent, yet in His silence He shows Himself willing to stand in the place of this wicked man. 
• A substitution of sorts, Jesus standing in place of the condemned while the condemned is being set free.  
  • The substitution we see in these verses foreshadows the great substitution that God has orchestrated.
    • Christ stepped in the place of sinful man and died in our place to offer us what we could not attain any other way.
    • I urge you to see yourself in these verses today…
  • I would ask you to consider with me how Barabbas is much like us.
    • Consider some of what we know of this man and how we mirror his position.
      • He was a sinful man and not only assumed to be sinful, we know that he had blood on his hands.
        • He is called a murderer and the Gospel of John calls him a thief.  
      • He was a powerless man, there was nothing he could do on his own to change his circumstances.
        • He is in bondage because of his choices…
      • He was a condemned man, and not only assumed but he was in custody of the Roman authorities prepared for execution. 
      • All of this to consider that he was a man without hope.
    • Does this not mirror our own lives?
      • Are we not sinners?  Have we not rebelled against our Creator?
        • This is not theoretical, we could all test our lives against what the Bible calls sin and we would be found to be sinners.
        • From birth, by choice, it is a stain upon our lives, though you may not have blood upon your hands like Barabbas I assure you that your hands are stained by sin nonetheless.
      • Just as he was powerless so also are we, there are no works that I can do to change my sinful state.
        • In 100 lifetimes of working to attain a place before God, I would only be found to be further from Him.
        • What a humbling thing to consider…
          • That I am powerless to be counted as clean.
      • Which means we are condemned before Him…
        • In our own power and our own strength we stand accused and guilty before this Holy God who sees all. 
        • The weight of this is unbearable, the reality of this is overwhelming.
          • If it is not then you have not considered the weight of your sins enough.
    • The fact is that Barabbas’ situation is a mirror of our own, only on a much grander scale…
      • For we are not talking about human authority we are talking about divine judgment.  
      • If we stand upon our own then we will not be able to stand at all but we will be condemned in our sin and in our rebellion…
  • Yet as I said this story is a foreshadowing of the hope of the Gospel, consider how Barabbas' situation changed.
• Jesus willingly took the place of this man and became his substitute, so also He has done the same for us.
  • This is what the cross was all about, though Jesus was without sin and did not deserve to die…
    • He not only died but took upon Himself the sin of man to pay the price in full for any who would place their faith in Him.
    • Is that not what we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:21?
      • 2 Corinthians 5:21 - “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
    • Grab onto this, just as Jesus stepped in the place of Barabba’s so also he has stepped in the place for us.
      • Taking what we deserve…
        • I know we say that but please truly consider it…
      • We deserve the wrath of God poured out justly upon us, we deserve the cross and a brutal death.
    • Yet Jesus took that upon Himself for our sake.
  • How often do you reflect upon this?
  • How often do you think about what Christ endured for your sake?
• We would do well to consider the cross of Christ and how He willingly laid down His life for you and me.
  • We would do well to consider not only that but consider what our end would be if it were not for Jesus’ willing substitute.
    • J.C. Ryle shared this thought…
    • “...I deserve hell.—But Christ has died for me, and believing in Him I have a hope of heaven.”
  • Do you know that, friend? 
    • I pray you do but if you do not I would ask you to consider it as we prepare to close today.  

Closing

• As we prepare to close today I would ask you to consider these verses and this story once more…
  • Not only was Jesus completely rejected but He was completely rejected to be our substitute.
  • To consider once more Barabbas and Jesus…
    • I doubt these two could have been much different, yet when given the choice between Jesus and Barabbas the crowd chose Barabbas.
      • Amazing, is it not?
      • Why would anyone consider Barabbas over Christ?
        • How could someone have heard Christ, witnessed Him, and still outright rejected Him?
  • The same could be asked of many today.
    • As we have seen in our text we are much like Barabbas, how often do we reject Christ for ourselves.
    • I urge you to consider the text, consider the Gospel and yield yourself to the Spirit of God.
  • Let us pray.