105 - Mark 15:16-32 - The Suffering of Christ

We’re diving into Mark 15:16-32, where we confront the raw reality of Christ’s suffering on the cross. This isn’t just a familiar story—it’s a call to see anew the emotional, physical, and spiritual torment Jesus willingly endured. Why did He, the One who calmed storms and cast out demons, choose to bear this agony? We’ll unpack His resolve, His love, and the Father’s will that led Him to the cross for us. Join me as we wrestle with the weight of His sacrifice and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

105 - Mark 15:16-32 - The Suffering of Christ

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 15.
  • Today we step into a familiar and difficult passage that presents us with a unique challenge.
    • How can we know about Jesus, His life, His death, without growing comfortable with these stories that we know so well?
  • R. Kent Hughes, pastor and author pointed this out specifically regarding the cross and our current society.
    • “It is so easy to become desensitized to reality.  We daily view scenes of real violence - such as attacks on the Pope or the President - as we pass the potatoes and gravy.  Crosses and crucifixes are so much a part of the landscape that we do not even see them, much less be moved by them.”
    • Pastor Hughes touches on something that we can all struggle with, growing so comfortable with the cross of Christ that we are no longer moved by it.
  • So our challenge from the start today is to not cast aside these familiar verses, but to look intently at them and consider what our Lord endured and for what cause.
• Today we will be considering the suffering of Christ and what He endured as He willingly made His way to the Cross.
  • Let us strive today, as we read our verses, to act as if we are hearing this story for the first time…
    • As if we are, for the first time, learning of what Roman suffering looked like.
  • Would you please follow along with me?

Mark 15:16-32

• As we begin with these verses let us first consider that our Lord, though seemingly weak, was not weak but willing.
  • It would do us well to remember that…
    • This was the man who gave sight to the blind…
    • This was the man who fed thousands with meager rations…
    • This was the man who set many free who were bound by demons…
    • This was the man who commanded the wind and waves and walked upon the sea…
  • Let us not at any point think that the reason our Lord suffered in the way that He did was because of weakness…
• Any time we approach these verses and our Lord seems to be weak, let us first remember that He was not weak in the way we think of weakness.
  • He was not powerless, He could have commanded the host of Heaven to stand by His side and demand the worship He deserved.
    • However, that would not have been necessary, He could have withstood His oppressors by simply the words of His mouth.
  • We actually see this in His arrest…
    • One of my favorite, often overlooked, parts of the account of His arrest is found in John’s Gospel.
      • John tells us that when the mob approached to carry Him away that Jesus asked who they sought.
    • They replied, Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus replied by saying “I am He”, the result of that confession is found in John 18:6…
      • John 18:6 - “When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”
  • His mere words caused their bodies to fall to the ground.
  • His simple confession knocked them off their feet.
    • A subtle reminder that they possessed no real power over this man.
• Jesus is not weak…
  • Even as we read these verses and as we begin to talk about what all He endured…
    • It was not because He was weak but it was because He was willing.
      • I urge you to consider that with me, that He was willing to endure what He faced.
    • There are times in our lives where we face suffering or pain and we want to change our circumstances but we are powerless to do so.
      • That is just not the case with Christ…
        • Which should cause us all the more to marvel at what we just read.
      • He could have ended it at any point, He could have stopped the beatings, the mockings, and the pain.
    • Yet He chose to endure…
  • As we walk through this account, and as we consider this willingness to endure such pain and suffering…
    • The question I want you to keep fresh in your mind is this…
      • Why was He willing?
  • Knowing that He possessed the power to cast aside any of this, why did He endure?
• As you hold on to that question, let us begin considering together…

The Suffering of Christ

• It would do us well to think of His suffering in three parts, those parts are…
  • His Emotional Suffering…
  • His Physical Suffering… AND
  • His Spiritual Suffering…
• Often when we consider the Cross and the events surrounding it we are found primarily focusing on the physical aspect.
  • Where that is important and where we should pause and consider what He physically endured…
    • If that is where our consideration stops then we will be lacking a complete picture of His suffering.
  • Since we want to see what He endured and ask ourselves,  “Why was He willing?”.
    • We need to be sure to look upon all three aspects of His torment.
  • Let us start with…
• His Emotional Suffering
  • We start here because this is where His suffering seemed to begin.
    • To see this I want us to look back a bit and be reminded of what we have witnessed previously.
    • That is because the emotional suffering of Jesus began prior to our verses today.
  • So let us go back to where this emotional torment began, Mark 14 beginning in verse 32.
    • As we turn back to this chapter we turn back the clock a few hours to Jesus in the garden praying.
    • Though I am certain the cross weighed on Him before this point, this is where we see the dread of it falling upon Him in full force.
      • Mark 14:32-36
        • There are key words to consider in these verses, we are told that He was…
          • In verse 33, “distressed” and “troubled”...
          • In verse 34 He says to His apostles, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.”
            • Confessing that He is facing this deep emotional pain.
          • This is so intense that In the next two verses we see Him asking the Father to cause this cup to pass from Him.
        • He was in distress and emotional pain, and He had good reason to be.
      • He knew, better than anyone, what suffering was to come…
        • He knew the deep pain He would be experiencing and the judgment that would be falling upon Him.
        • His time had come and He knew exactly what that would mean.
    • Luke records this scene with an additional comment that is worth considering as we think about His emotional suffering.
      • Luke 22:44 - “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
  • He was so consumed with what was to come that His body had a physical response…
    • There is actually a medical term for this condition, hematidrosis [He-ma-ta-Dro-Sus].
      • It is extremely rare and only a handful of cases were confirmed in the 20th century.  
      • However it has been documented enough to know a bit about what happens.
      • Hematidrosis [He-ma-ta-Dro-Sus] “is a very rare medical condition that causes you to ooze or sweat blood from your skin when you're not cut or injured.”
      • It is assumed to be brought on by either extreme physical execution or extreme emotional execution.
    • In our case with Christ it is because of His emotional suffering, His dread of what the next day would hold.
      • He was in such emotional distress that His blood vessels in His forehead burst and poured forth blood as sweat.
  • As we consider His emotional suffering that He endured let us note that He desired to avoid such pain.
    • Yet, even in His request to have this pass from Him, there was an unshakable commitment to do as the Father had commanded.
    • He prayed, “...not what I will, but what you will…”
      • Such resolve even in the midst of emotional suffering…
  • So then the question we must consider, that I brought up at the start is…
    • Why was He willing?
  • Now let us consider…
• His Physical Suffering
  • Let us do this by walking through Jesus' final hours and recount the physical suffering that led to the ultimate pain of the crucifixion.
  • This also begins back in Mark 14 but down in verse 65.
    • Jesus at this point is standing before the Jewish council, the High Priest and He has just confessed that He is the Son of God and will reign at His Fathers side.
    • Their response is that they cry, “blasphemy”, and then mock Him and beat Him.
  • Mark 14:65
    • This is where Jesus’ physical suffering began, with blows that landed before dawn.
      • We are not told just how bad this beating was but it is worth noting that it did occur.
    • The second occurrence of the physical suffering of Christ is found in the verse that just precesses our text today.
    • Please turn forward with me to Mark 15 and verse 15.
      • Let us read this verse together…
  • Mark 15:15
    • This verse simply records that Jesus was scourged without adding any description.
      • That is because when Mark was originally written all his readers would have known exactly what that meant.
      • For us, though, without a historical consideration we might read over this verse…
        • Perhaps thinking that what this word describes is what happens in the next few verses.
    • That is just not the case…
      • A Roman scourge usually happened to those who were already condemned to die, although this was not always the case.
        • One nickname for a Roman scourging was “the halfway death”, because the scourging alone could often lead to death.
      • What they would have done to our Lord is tie Him to a small stone pillar that would have forced Him to bend forward exposing His back.
        • It is important to note as we think of this that He would have been stripped of His clothing during this process.
        • Humiliation was as much a part of the pain as the physical agony brought on by what was about to occur. 
      • After He was secured and unable to defend Himself the whipping would then begin.
        • They would use a short whip that was constructed with two or three leather pieces.
        • At the end of those pieces they would embed the leather with different objects…
          • Sometimes metal, sometimes bone, other times glass.
        • So that the whip when it hits the skin would hold fast to the flesh…
          • Then a second motion would be necessary to rip the embedded object away from the person's flesh.
        • Often this would caused the person's bones to be exposed.  
      • This is a simple description of what Jesus would have endured before the cross.
        • His back would have been a bloody mess as they would have whipped Him nearly to the point of death.  
    • After Jesus was scourged, the soldiers were especially cruel, and mocked Him as we see in our text, let’s read it again…
      • Beginning in verse 16.
  • Mark 15:16-20
    • The Romans were accustomed to mocking those who were subjected to them.
      • Here though there seems to be a description of something that is especially cruel.
      • We are told that the whole battalion joined together in this mockery of our Lord.
    • 600 men gathered to mock the Son of God…
      • Placing a crown of thorns upon His head, think on this with me…
        • They wanted to mock Him to such a degree that they were willing to inflict upon themselves with the pain necessary to weave together thorns that they would then force upon His head.
      • I imagine that the one who constructed the crown also experienced pain from it.
      • Yet as we see it is not only a crown but also they continued to strike Him and spit upon Him as they continually mocked Him.
    • Can you imagine 600 men surrounding you and acting this way toward you, yet this our Lord endured, all before the cross.
    • Again we find Isaiah holding a prophecy that pointed ahead to this time…
      • Isaiah 52:14 - “As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—”
      • Simply put, what Isaiah is writing is that Jesus would not have even looked like a man anymore.
    • He had been beaten to the point where He no longer looked like a human… 
      • Could it be that is why Pilot then introduces Him again to the people in the Gospel of John?
        • John 19:5 - “So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
        • Is it possible that he introduced Jesus in this way because He no longer looked like a man?
      • This could certainly be the case…
    • However, even with all of this physical pain that He had endured up to this point, it is all a mere shadow of what was to come upon the cross.
    • You see, the Romans had perfected this process to inflict the most amount of pain and suffering that a person could endure.
      • Let us consider the crucifixion…
  • Mark 15:21-22
    • Here Jesus was forced to carry the cross beam of the cross, it could have weighed up to 100 pounds.
      • Yet we find He is unable to bear the weight of it at this time.
      • He has been without sleep, been beaten, whipped, and would have lost much blood, He could no longer carry more than just Himself.
    • It is also important to note that the path that they would have taken would have been a long road to the place outside of the city.
      • It was an unholy parade where the people were made examples to anyone who was watching.
      • It was as if Rome was making clear what would happen to those who would cause trouble.
    • They made a spectacle of those who were to die by crucifixion.
      • Look with me at verse 24…
  • Mark 15:24-25
    • Mark does not describe what this looked like but it would do us well to consider it.
      • Again, those who read this at the time Mark was written would be well aware of the horrors of the crucifixion.
    • Jesus would have had His arms spread wide with a nail in each hand.
      • Actually to be more accurate it would have pierced His wrist and punctured His medial nerve causing extreme pain.
      • He would then have His feet pierced…
        • They would have either been on either side of the stake or pierced through the middle in the front.
        • Either way His full body weight was hanging by His hands and His feet as He was suspended between earth and heaven.
      • Though this would have been extremely painful the pain was multiplied by simply taking a breath.
    • Because of how His hands were spread and His weight was distributed, there would have been only one way He could breath.
      • He would have to force Himself up, taking the weight off of His hands in order to take a breath.
        • Then, to exhale He would drop back down.
      • Switching back and forth between the pain of the nails in His hands and the pain of the nails in His feet.
      • Keep in mind that this scene would have caused His back to continually rub up and down upon the cross.  
    • This of course would mean that those fresh wounds upon His back would be continually scrapped and anything that was trying to scab over would be opened once again.
      • For the most part it is without dispute that the Roman crucifixion process was the most painful and cruel death a person could die.
      • Roman citizens were not allowed to be killed in this way, and it was something that they often did not even talk about.  
      • It was the lowest form of punishment that was set aside for the worst of defenders. 
    • The suffering was so extreme that a new term was brought about to describe the pain for those who endured it…
      •  Excruciating, which means “to torture or to inflict very sever pain on.”
      • It is derived from the “crux” which means “a cross”, the word is derived from the crucifixion.  
    • The physical pain that Jesus endured upon the cross is worth considering especially when we are again confronted with the reality that…
      • He did not have to endure this, He could have stopped the whole thing.
      • He did not have to be beaten, He did not have to be whipped, He certainly did not have to go to the cross.
    • He was not weak, He was willing…
  • Why was he willing?
    • Dwell upon that question, let it sink into your minds as you picture Him upon the cross.
    • As you consider that He would not have even looked like a man anymore…
  • Why was he willing?
    • Before we answer it we must consider the worst part of His suffering…
• His Spiritual Suffering
  • There is not a single verse in Mark 15 we could go to in order to see this suffering.
    • It occurred mostly unseen, but it cannot be missed and it should not be ignored.
    • Though there are several places we could go in the scripture to see this I think 1 Peter 2 captures the summary in the best way.
    • Peter writes… 
      • 1 Peter 2:22-24 - “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
    • Quite simply Jesus faced the wrath of the Father as a payment for sins that He Himself did not commit.
  • He died in the place of sinful man so that a Way could be made where there was no way before.
    • In this suffering He faced the worst pain that He had ever experienced, He bore the wrath of the Father.
    • It is why He cried out in verse 34 of Mark 15…
      •  Mark 15:34c - “...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...”
      • He was unjustly suffering because He did nothing to deserve the wrath of the Father.
    • Yet we find Him willing to die in the place of sinful man, He took our place, He bore our sins and paid the price for our redemption.
  • It was not out of weakness that He endured, it was because He was willing…

 Closing - The Willing Christ

• Why was He willing?
  • He willfully endured emotional pain, physical torment, and spiritual judgment.
    • In the place of sinful man, not one of us deserves such a merciful thing.
    • Not one of us deserves the perfect Son of God to stand in our place…
  • Why would He stand in our place…?
    • Scratch that, why would He stand in my place?
    • I know what I have done, I know what sin I have, I know what I am capable of, why would He die for me?
      • Why did He bear the wrath that I deserved?
      • Why would He stand in my place?
  • If you have never asked those questions, if you have never really considered the reason He was willing, oh please consider today!
• As you do you will find two reasons why He was willing…
  • First, because it was the will of the Father and Jesus was about accomplishing the Fathers will.
    • Please do not forget that the cross was on the mind of God before the Fall of man, and before Creation itself.
      • It was not this final desperate act to try and redeem a people, it was a calculated and deliberate act for which He brought a people to Himself.
    • Isaiah 53:10a - “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him...”
      • Jesus was willing even knowing that this path He was on led to this deep suffering.
      • John 6:38 - “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
    • The will of the Father was the cross as His wrath poured out upon His perfect Son.
      • Jesus was willing because it was His Father's will.
    • Yet that is not the only reason, although that reason would be enough…
  • Second, He was willing because of the love that He has for His own…
    • Romans 5:7-8 - “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
      • If you are ever found in a position where you are unsure if God loves you then I urge you to consider the cross.
      • For His love was settled when He sent His own Son to do in our place.
    • John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
      • His love was a settled thing because Christ has come and Christ has died in our place. 
• As we close out here, as we spent time considering the horrors of the cross, the suffering that He endured for our sake…
  • I would ask a final question…
    • Knowing why He was willing to endure such things would you be willing to submit your all to Him today?
  • Whether that means initial salvation where you place your faith in Christ and repent of your sins…
    • Or, whether it means yielding your life to Him in this process of sanctification…
    • Would you submit your all to Him today?
• Let’s pray.