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Gospel of Mark
Part 85: Jesus Condemned and Mocked
By Rev. Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
- Introduction
- John the Baptist
- The Baptism of Jesus
- Temptation of Jesus
- The Preaching Ministry of Jesus I
- The Preaching Ministry of Jesus II
- The First Disciples
- A Teacher with Authority
- At the Home of Simon and Andrew
12. Jesus and the Tax Collector
13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting
15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025
16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts
18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles
24. Parable of the Growing Seed
25. Parable of the Mustard Seed
26. Benefits of Private Teaching
30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt
32. Weakness in the Seat of Power
34. Feeding 5000
38. The Source of True Defilement
39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith
40. He Has Done All Things Well
41. Jesus Feeds 4000
42. Jesus Sighs
43. Beware of Leaven
44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida
45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?
46. Mindful of the Things of God
49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word
51. The Disciples ask Questions
54. Principles of Discipleship
58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship
59. A Couple Days Before Palm Sunday
61. Greatness in the Kingdom Comes from Serving
62. Blind Bartimaeus
63. Triumphal Entry
66. Is it from Heaven or from Men?
67. Parable of the Wicked Vine Grower
68. Our Duty to God and Country
69. The Resurrection of the Dead
71. David’s Son and David’s Lord
72. Beware the Pretentious Scribes
76. The Preparations
79. Peter’s Denial
84. Binding the Hands of Jesus
85. Jesus Condemned and Mocked
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Mark 15:2-20 “And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and *said, “You yourself say it.” 3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 4 Then Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, “You answer nothing? See how many accusations they bring against You!” 5 But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate marveled.
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. 7 And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. 9 And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they shouted again, “Crucify Him!”
14 But Pilate was saying to them, “Why? What evil did He do?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.
16 So the soldiers took Him away into the court (that is, the Governor’s official residence), and they *called together the whole Roman battalion.
17 And they *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they *put it on Him; 18 and they began to greet Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they kept beating His head with a staff, and spitting on Him; and kneeling, they were bowing down before Him.
20 And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.
INTRODUCTION
It is Friday, the week of Passover.
Over the previous few days of Passover, we have read in Scripture of;
Judas’ Betrayal of Jesus (Mark 14:43–46). Accompanied by an armed crowd sent by the chief priests, scribes, and elders. Judas identified Jesus with a kiss, and the men immediately seized Jesus and placed Him under arrest.
We then read of the Disciples Abandoning Jesus (Mark 14:47–52). Peter had drawn his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus rebuked the use of violence and challenged the crowd for treating Him like a criminal when He had done nothing wrong. As Jesus was arrested, all His disciples fled, fulfilling His earlier warning that they would scatter, thus fulfilling prophecy.
Jesus was then Taken Before the High Priest (Mark 14:53–59). The chief priests, elders, and scribes had assembled. The religious leaders sought testimony that would justify putting Jesus to death. Numerous witnesses offered false accusations, but their statements contradicted one another. Even those who accused Jesus of threatening to destroy the temple could not agree in their testimony.
In Mark 14:60–64, when the high priest questioned Jesus about the accusations, Jesus initially remained silent. The high priest then asked whether He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One.
Jesus answered plainly, declaring His identity and announcing that they would see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.
The high priest, so distraught at the words of Jesus, tore his garments and accused Jesus of blasphemy, and the council judged Him deserving of death.
Jesus was then mocked and beaten by them (Mark 14:65). Some spat upon Him, blindfolded Him, struck Him, and demanded that He prophesy who had hit Him. Even the officers who held Him participated in the abuse.
Outside at the fire, Peter denies knowing Jesus Three Times (Mark 14:66–72). Three times Peter was confronted about his association with Jesus, and three times he denied knowing Him. At the third denial, a rooster crowed for the second time. Just as Jesus predicted. Overcome with grief, Peter began to weep over his sin.
Jesus is now Bound and Delivered to Pilate (Mark 15:1). It is early Friday morning of the week of Passover, the chief priests consulted with the elders, scribes, and the entire Sanhedrin. Having determined to seek Jesus' execution, they bound Him and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The reason for this was that only Rome had the legal authority to execute someone. They had to bring Him before Roman authority to pursue His execution.
Today we read about Jesus being condemned by Pilate, and once more, He was beaten and mocked.
In a matter of a few hours, Jesus experienced betrayal by one of His own disciples, abandonment by His closest followers, false accusations from religious authorities, physical abuse, the denial of one of His most outspoken disciples, and now He faced His civil trial.
Yet throughout these events, Jesus never lost sight of His mission.
This is our example of being founded upon the Rock: to withstand whatever storms come, and remain not only standing, but focused on calling and obedience to the Lord.
Jesus did not resist His arrest and run, like the disciples in the garden, nor attempt to escape His suffering, which He could with a single command to the angels in heaven, or deny His identity to preserve His life, like Peter did when challenged about being a follower of Jesus. Jesus remained obedient to the Father in heaven.
What appeared to be the triumph of the enemies of Jesus was actually the unfolding VICTORY of God's redemptive purpose.
Jesus first faced the ecclesiastical trial of the Sanhedrin, with His preliminary hearing before Annas (John 18:12-24), then a midnight trial before Caiaphas and the council (Mark 14:53-65), and lastly the morning consultation of the council where they found Jesus guilty of blasphemy and sent Him to face His civil trial.
His civil trial was also in three stages. First, standing before the Roman Governor Pilate (Mark 15:2-5), then before the tetrarch over Galilee, Herod (Luke 23:6-12), and lastly once more before Pilate (Mark 15:6-15).
I. THE PARTICIPANTS
a. The Roman Governor Pilate
i. Pontius Pilate was the 5th Roman Governor of Judea from 26-36 A.D.
ii. History records him as often harsh, Jewish sources charge him with greed and cruelty.
iii. In today’s verses, we see he was also weak, giving in to the crowd's demands simply to keep peace with them
iv. Regardless of whether it was right or not.
b. The Chief Priests
i. They had plotted to kill Jesus since the beginning of His ministry
ii. They were the ones who sent guards to arrest Jesus, working out a deal with Judas for 30 pieces of silver
iii. They then delivered Jesus to Pilate
c. Barabbas
i. Not much is known of him, except that he was part of a failed rebellion that caused someone’s death and landed him in prison
ii. According to scripture, Barabbas was both a murderer and a thief.
d. The Multitude
i. There was a great crowd this day because they anticipated the annual release of one prisoner for the Passover.
ii. Just another way Pilate tried to keep peace with the crowds to control them
iii. We read the priests ran around manipulating the people to ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus.
iv. Prompted by the priests, the crowd eventually cries out “Crucify Him!”
e. The Soldiers
i. Mark 15:16-20 they mocked and beat Jesus
ii. They are also the ones who eventually crucified Him
II. THE CHARGES
a. Made by the Chief Priests
i. One of the false charges by the Sanhedrin against Jesus was “He perverts the nation.”
Luke 23:2 “…they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
ii. They lied and said Jesus said not to pay taxes to Caesar
Yet in Luke 20:22-25 Jesus says the opposite. “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
iii. For good measure, they threw in, Oh, by the way, He says that He is Christ, which is like a king…we know no one can be a king with Rome in power!
And also, (Luke 23:5) “…they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”
1. You don’t want an uprising on your hands, do you?
b. Considered by Pilate
i. Pilate asked Jesus, are you the king of the jews?
1. Jesus admits it
In John 18:36-38 when Jesus answers Pilate He says, “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You yourself said I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”
ii. Pilate marveled at the silence of Jesus before His accusers
iii. Pilate also understood that the only reason Jesus was being accused before him was because of the envy of the chief priests
iv. After questioning Jesus, Pilate saw no guilt in Him
v. Do you remember in Matthew 27:19 when Pilate's wife warned him to have nothing to do with Jesus because she had terrible dreams about Him?
vi. Finally, Pilate wanted to gratify the crowd. Right or wrong mattered not, and he condemned Jesus to a scourging, and then death by crucifixion.
III. THE ONGOING ABUSE
a. Jesus was Scourged
i. “This involved being tied to a post and beaten with a leather whip that was interwoven with pieces of bone and metal, which tore through skin and tissue, often exposing bones and intestines. In many cases, the flogging itself was fatal." - English Standard Version Study Bible.
b. Jesus was Mocked
i. By the Sanhedrin
ii. By the soldiers
1. Placing purple cloth about Him and a crown of thorns upon His head
iii. They saluted Him, saying Hail, King of the Jews
iv. They struck Him in the head repeatedly with a staff
v. They spat on Him
vi. Mockingly worshiping Him
They did not understand that one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
They do not know that one day, every person, rich, poor, great or small, will stand before Jesus for judgment.
CONCLUSION
Again, the barbarous injustice at these trials Jesus endured is evident. The false charges and the physical abuse. A weak and cowardly governor who easily gave in to a crowd who were manipulated by the priests.
FINAL THOUGHT
The entire time, it appears as if there is nothing but chaos surrounding Jesus. However, this could not be further from the truth.
This was all in keeping with God’s divine providence. God was not only in full control, but also gave prophecy in Scripture, telling exactly what would take place.
We see Jesus acknowledge this in His prayers (Mark 8:31-33; Mark 14:36), and we read Peter proclaiming this very fact in his first sermon on Pentecost (Acts 2:22-24).
All fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 53:4-12.
How then should we respond to this?
James tells us that hearing and not doing is dead faith, and can “dead faith” save? He also warns we must become “doers” of the word, not just hearers who deceive themselves.
There are many today who hear the word, read the word, know the word, but their fruit reveals something about them. Their faith is dead, and therefore, so are their fruits.
We must respond accordingly to hearing the word of God, not in arrogant and prideful delusions just because we know about God and the bible, but by submitting and surrendering to the will of the Father in heaven.
Acts 8:30-35 “And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“As a sheep is led to
slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33 In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will recount His generation?
For His life is removed from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.”
How did the eunuch respond to hearing the truth? By believing and being baptized, which is the outward expression of the spiritual truth of dying to self and being born again.
Acts 8:36-38 “the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.”
Do not deceive yourselves. If you truly believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then you better start living it and being a doer of His Holy Word.
We have people all over calling themselves Christians who live however they choose, look, act, and talk like the world, produce the fruit of the flesh, and do not truly love the Lord.
Jesus says in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.”
Reading scripture doesn’t save you. Knowing bible trivia doesn’t save you. Getting dunked in water doesn’t save you. Believing with all your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, and obeying Him, that’s what saves you.
Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,”
Colossians 1:23 “if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard…”
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Run the good race until the end. That is how you win the prize. Never giving up. Never surrendering. Always trusting in Jesus.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Philippians 3:14
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