The sermon explores the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus, emphasizing the fulfillment of prophecies and the concept of exchange. It contrasts the actions of the chief priests, elders, and scribes with Jesus' silent submission during his trial before Pilate. The sermon highlights the crowd's choice of Barabbas over Jesus, illustrating the hypocrisy and blindness of the religious leaders. It discusses the spiritual significance of Jesus' garments being divided by Roman soldiers, symbolizing the extension of God's kingdom to the Gentiles. The narrative of Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus' cross serves as a metaphor for true discipleship. Throughout, the sermon underscores Jesus' voluntary sacrifice and His role as the stronger man who willingly submits to crucifixion to offer redemption.

Early in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council immediately held a consultation, and binding Jesus they led him away and delivered him to Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus, Are you the king of the Jews?" And he answered him, "'It is as you say.'" The chief priest began to accuse him harshly. Then Pilate questioned him again, saying, "'Do you not answer? See how many charges they bring against you.'" But Jesus made no further answer, so Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast, he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them saying, Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews? For he was aware that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

Answering again Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with him whom you call the king of the Jews?" They shouted back, Crucify him! But Pilate said to them, Why? What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, Crucify him! Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified The soldiers took him away into the palace that is the praetorium and they called together the whole Roman cohort.

They dressed him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on him, and they began to acclaim him, Hail, King of the Jews! They kept beating his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling and bowing before him. After they had mocked him, they took the purple robe off of him and put his own garments on, and they led him out to crucify him. They pressed into service a passerby coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. May God bless the reading of his word.

Amen. Amen. And then you may be seated. Our text this morning begins with the phrase early in the morning. Early in the morning.

Now that's quite a contrast, isn't it, to what Mark wrote last time? You'll recall that these same men mentioned in Mark 15, the chief priests, elders, scribes, they seized Jesus in Mark 14 at night. And they bring him to the house of the high priest late at night. But now it's early in the morning. Now is when the trial should have happened.

And again, in verse one of chapter fifteen, Mark mentions the same group of men. Just in case you haven't gotten it yet. The very one who was blindfolded and told to prophesy, Jesus in Mark 14, the one they've tried to blind with the blindfold, in case you haven't gotten it yet, he's the only one in the narrative who isn't blind. These are the exact groups of men whom Jesus had time and time and time again prophesied about the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes who would reject Jesus, who would hand him over that he might be killed. And what's happening?

The blindfolded one told to prophesy Jesus, Well his prophecy is coming 100% true. Jesus is the only one who actually sees and everyone else around him, they are the truly blind ones. They are the blind ones handing Jesus over to Pilate. They're supposed to see the iron. And you'll notice that the text says, and binding Jesus, they led Him away.

Beloved, do not skip over that incredible phrase, binding Jesus, they led him away. That's really important. You recall in Mark chapter 3 verse 27 that this same language of binding was used by Jesus referring to why he was able to plunder Satan's kingdom. Remember that? Mark chapter 3.

Jesus was accused of working for Satan. He was accused of being the prince of demons himself and Jesus looked at the Pharisees in Mark chapter 3 and he said to them, that's a really dumb strategy if that's true. If I am the prince of demons, if I am Satan himself and I've been casting out demons, that's a losing strategy if what you say is true. I'm killing my own troops. It's no way to win a kingdom.

So Jesus tells them in Mark chapter 3, no, no, no, far from serving Satan, far from being Satan or the prince of demons, far from serving Satan, I am plundering Satan. I am plundering his kingdom, Jesus says in Mark chapter 3. And the only way to plunder another man's goods, The only way to plunder another man's goods, the only way to plunder another man's house is to first bind the strong man and then plunder his kingdom. If and only if you bind the strong man, then you can plunder the strong man's kingdom. And does Jesus plunder Satan's kingdom?

You should be saying yes. You've seen it. A whole bunch. Jesus does just that. He plunders Satan's kingdom throughout Mark's Gospel.

You've seen it. He's been plundering Satan's kingdom. He's been casting out demons, restoring men and women to their families. Jesus is taken terrorized, and demon possessed men and women, and in power with a word, he's transformed them into men and women who are clothed and in their right minds. That's plundering Satan's kingdom.

That's binding the strong man Satan so you can go in and take what used to belong to Satan for himself Jesus is plundering the kingdom of Satan is even going to the land of the Gentiles and liberating pagan Sinners from bondage he does that with the Gatine in Mark chapter 5 many others Here's the point If Jesus is plundering the strong man Satan's house, what does that tell you about Jesus? If Satan's the strong man, what does it tell you about Jesus? It tells you that Jesus is the stronger man. It tells you that Jesus is the strongest man. If he combined the strong man, that would necessarily make him the stronger man, the strongest.

We talked about that number over a year ago. That's who Jesus is. If he's going to plunder Satan's house, he has to bind Satan, which means he has to overpower Satan he has to be stronger than Satan and that's exactly who Jesus is he has bound the strong man and so when you read this exact same terminology binding Jesus that should get your attention are you at all following why should it get your attention Because in your mind you should be saying, and you should be saying this, You should be saying, binding Jesus. Nobody, nobody can bind the stronger man. He bound Satan.

If he bound Satan, who on earth can bind Jesus? And the answer is, nobody. This Jesus bound Satan, the same Satan who was at work in the heart of Judas, patting Judas on the back, As Judas betrays Jesus. Jesus bound this Satan, the same Satan who is at work in the hearts of all these men who are bringing Jesus to Pilate at this moment. Jesus is bound that one.

It's already been established Jesus is stronger than Satan so then what's going on here? How are these men able to find Jesus the stronger man, the strongest man? How are they able to do verse 1? What's going on here? And in this verse you're supposed to realize something really simple.

Jesus is going willingly. He is giving Himself up to a cross freely. Freely for you. That's exactly what He says in John chapter 10. Jesus says, I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.

No one has taken my life away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down. Praise God, I have authority to take it up. We spoke last Lord's Day, and maybe things will make more sense of why we went to Psalm 46 last Lord's Day. We spoke on Psalm 46 last Lord's Day about the one who is what the Lord of hosts who was Psalm 46 talking about you remember It was talking about Jesus the Christ.

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Lord of hosts from Psalm 46. And with one word, Jesus could call down a host of angels and all of these evil men in Mark 14 and in Mark 15 could be wiped out with a word, with a thought. They'd be obliterated with one word, this Lord of hosts, the Lord of Psalm 46, Jesus, he could melt the earth like wax, it said in Psalm 46. Did it not?

How much more than with one word, the Creator of the world melt these men like wax, Jesus could have done that, couldn't He have? That's what Jesus could absolutely do, and it would be entirely just, it would be entirely righteous to melt the world like wax to obliterate these men and indeed all the world to call down a host of angels and reap destruction upon evildoers that would be righteous holy but is that what Jesus does? Wonder of wonders? No. Instead, what does Jesus do?

Instead of melting the earth like wax, instead of calling down a host of angels to obliterate these workers of iniquity, like you, like me, instead, what does Jesus do? He goes freely to a cross. For you, Christian, I just don't want you to gloss over verse 1. I just don't want you to gloss over verse 1. I just don't want you to gloss over verse 1.

But these men whom Jesus knew were coming, He's been talking about it for chapters. He knew they were coming. These same men that He knew were coming, they show up in the garden and Jesus doesn't run away. These same men show up exactly like Jesus said they would, and Jesus doesn't wipe them out. Jesus doesn't call down a host of angels.

These men show up exactly like Jesus said they would, and they take Jesus away, they treat Him shamefully, they blindfold him, and then they bind him. And you're supposed to pause and say, you know what? Jesus, the one blindfolded, he is actually the only one who really sees in this narrative, and Jesus the one bound, he's the only one not bound by sin in this entire narrative. Jesus is doing all of this freely on his own initiative. Nobody, hear this beloved, nobody can bind the stronger man unless the stronger man lets them.

So that he could go on to a cross and set prisoners bound fast in their sin free forever In his death and resurrection you got that Jesus the stronger man He let these men find him and he let these men put him to death so that those bound in sin like you, like me, would be loosed from bondage and be made alive. He has authority to lay his life down. He has authority to take it up again. And he has that authority so too in your life, Christian. Church, if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, no one, nobody is stronger than this God-man, the stronger man.

Nobody. Therefore, no one can snatch you out of his hand. He has with authority crucified you with himself, and he has with authority raised you up with himself to newness of life. That's power. That's strength under control.

That's meekness. That's the Savior. That's your Savior who will inherit the earth. And that's the one giving himself up freely in verse one for you in Mark chapter 15. Freely, voluntarily, willingly, all while he knows your faults, your failures, your your failures, your shortcomings, and he decides to do verse 1.

That's love! That's a Savior! That's an exchange. That's an exchange That you, sinner, once in bondage would go free because he willingly put himself in bonds. I think that's an amazing exchange.

Guy could almost end a sermon. But, just getting started. So, the word exchange, that's the word that we're going to use to frame the rest of this sermon exchange exchange There are four exchanges in our passage this morning with four implications of those exchanges. Four exchanges and that's going to form the rest of our time together. So exchange number one.

Exchange number one. Jesus delivered over to the Gentiles. We see that in verses one through five. This first exchange we see in verses one through five. Whose care was Jesus in in Mark 14?

He was taken in by the Jewish religious leaders into a religious court, a sham trial. He was taken in by Israel, but now Jesus is taken and delivered to who? Pilate. Who is Pilate? Well, Pontius Pilate, he was a Gentile.

He was the Roman governor of Judea. He governed over Israel and civil matters, which means that in the first trial of Jesus in Mark 14, the religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, they convicted Jesus and condemned Jesus as deserving death, but the power to put to death, well, it was only in the hands of the Romans, namely, this man, Pontius Pilate. And so these Israelite leaders, they now take Jesus and they deliver him into the hands of Gentiles so that these Gentiles can put him to death. Jesus here has exchanged hands. Why is it important?

Why would I bring that up? Why is it important that Jesus exchanged hands? Well it's important because the last time we read about Jesus he was being blindfolded and told to prophesy. And now immediately when we come back to Jesus in the narrative, what's happening? A prophecy that he made, a prophecy that the blindfolded one made is being fulfilled now perfectly.

He's not blind. Turn back a few pages to Mark chapter 10. You'll see this. Mark chapter 10. Look at verses 33 and 34.

Mark 10, 33 and 34. What does Jesus say there? Look at verse 33. And Jesus was saying, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. And they will condemn him to death, and then what?

And will hand him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him and scourge Him and kill Him and three days later He will rise again. Five chapters later in Mark chapter 15, prophecy fulfilled. All of it fulfilled who's the one with the blindfold on not Jesus and listen to this It wasn't just this prophecy of Jesus that was fulfilled, but a myriad of Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled as well. If you just think about it, you can write these down and you can look at them later.

But if you were to go to Leviticus chapter 16, God had promised a Savior who would come and be the sin offering like the scapegoat in Leviticus chapter 16. That scapegoat was going to be placed outside the camp, outside of Israel, delivered over to the Gentiles. This prophecy in Leviticus 16 was fulfilled by Jesus being delivered over to the Gentiles himself, being placed outside of the camp. Think on the 22nd Psalm, and We could just go on forever here. But think on the 22nd Psalm.

Psalm 22 verse 16. The Savior was to be, and I quote from Psalm 22, the Savior was to be surrounded by dogs. A band of evildoers was to surround him, and they would pierce his hands and feet. That's Psalm 22. Surrounded by dogs.

What did Jesus call the Gentile woman in Mark chapter 7? A dog. Gentiles were the dogs. And now here is Jesus surrounded by Gentiles surrounded by dogs and evildoers. Jesus in Mark 15 is the fulfillment, the Leviticus 16, and the 22nd Psalm.

Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy. We've been seeing that like crazy, haven't we? Is Jesus the promised King of Kings? Well according to prophecy, you bet he is! Is Jesus the Christ?

We've been asking that question since the beginning of Mark. Mark begins with that question and by the end of the book you're supposed to be saying, duh! Right? You are. And here at the end, the same question that Mark's been asking and the same question that we should be asking, Well now Pilate joins in and asks the same question.

Pilate wants to know. He asks Jesus in verse 2, Are you? Are you the king of the Jews? Are you who you say you are? Are you who these guys say you are?

And what does Jesus say? Jesus says, yes. He says, it is as you say. Now, I love English. It's the only language I really know.

Well, but in this particular instance, it's just It's weak When you read the phrase it is as you say it is if you go back to the original language there is it's declarative The Greek is very declarative. It's not Not that it is a clear it is as you say it is. Yes. That's the sense of the original language. There's no doubt in Jesus' response, yes I am.

Jesus is the promised king. Prophecy fulfilled declares it. He's been condemned to die and he's been delivered over to the dogs. He's been delivered over to the Gentiles prophecy fulfilled demands it Jesus is fulfilling all prophecy Jesus is even fulfilling prophecy like Isaiah 53, verse 7. Do you remember Isaiah's prophecy, Isaiah 53, verse 7?

The Savior promised would be oppressed and afflicted, yet he would not open his mouth, like a lamb that is being led to the slaughter, like a sheep that is silent before it sheers, so he did not open his mouth. And what do you see here in these verses in Mark 15. You see in verses 3 through 5 of our text this morning, even Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled to perfection by this Jesus who will not open his mouth after he's said one phrase to Pilate he will not respond prophetic fulfillment and again again I just got to emphasize this because you need to feel it again this Jesus is not responding All it would have taken would be for Jesus the Lord of Hosts to call down fire and brimstone to call down a legion of angels and the story would have been a lot different. And you and I, if the story was different, would still be dead in our sins. But hallelujah, that isn't the story that God Almighty has written.

Instead, Jesus is silent, prophecy fulfilled. He's going to a cross, and at the cross, he's going to crush the serpent's head to fulfill even that first prophecy prophesied way back in the beginning. Second Corinthians chapter one, verse 20. By the end of Mark you should be saying with the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20 how it just rings totally true. All of the promises of God, all of the prophecies of God are yes and amen in this Jesus the Christ.

Who was handed over to Pilate, handed over outside the camp, delivered to the dogs, delivered to the Gentiles. That's the first exchange. And Mark tells us, Pilate was amazed. And in the other gospels we find that inside that amazement, there is fear. Pilate is afraid.

And so in his amazement And in his fear, Pilate, in the other gospels it says, sought to release Jesus. But instead, his plans are foiled and the second exchange occurs. Exchange number two, Barabbas for Jesus. Look at verse 6. Now at the feast, Pilate used to release for the Jews any one prisoner whom they requested.

The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them saying, do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? For he was aware that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy Pilot here had cultivated a sort of regular practice Wherein he would release a prisoner on Passover back to the Jews and so he thought perhaps that the people would ask for Jesus to be released. But what does verse 11 tell us?

Verse 11 tells us that the chief priests, the same Jewish leaders who handed Jesus over, the same ones who know that Jesus is innocent, there they are again, stirring up the crowd to do what? They stir up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus. Okay, now this is really huge. Can't miss this. Who was Barabbas?

Barabbas, it says in our text, was a murderer. Verse 7. He had committed murder in the insurrection. So there had been some kind of insurrection against the Romans by the Jews, and Barabbas had played a role in it and murdered Romans as a result. And He was imprisoned for his participation in the insurrection, especially for his murder in the insurrection.

You got that? Barabbas was a Jew guilty of murdering pagans. He was also a robber according to John's Gospel. So here we have a thief and a murderer of pagans. That's who Barabbas was.

Got that in your brain? Compare that to Jesus. Far from being a murderer of pagans, who's Jesus? A healer of pagans. You see that contrast?

Mark chapter 5, Jesus heals the pagan Gatarene from the legion of demons. Mark chapter 7, Jesus heals the daughter of a pagan woman who will take just the crumbs from the master's table. As long as you can just have the crumbs and her daughter is healed. Mark chapter 8, Jesus feeds the 4, 000, most likely 4, 000 Gentiles, 4, 000 pagans. That's a huge contrast.

You have over here a robber and murderer of pagans and because of his part in the resurrection, in the insurrection against the Romans, no doubt the people of Israel have suffered on account of this Barabbas. You have a man who creates suffering for the Jews and their children, a robber and a murderer of pagans, Barabbas. And then in contrast over here, a healer of pagans, one who blesses the Jews and blesses their children if they but come unto him, Jesus. Can't get more of a contrast than that. It's been Mark knew what he was going to write in Mark 15, so he's been setting that contrast up for you for all this time.

Here it is. A murderer, a thief, a healer of pagans, made his people suffer, blesses his people that they will come unto him. A robber, a murderer, a healer, who do they choose? Give us Barabbas. You take Jesus, pirate, and in exchange give us Barabbas.

They pick the murderer of pagans. In case you haven't gotten it already, what is it that Mark is showing you? He is once again showing you the hypocrisy of Israel and her leaders. These same men who have presided over a rigged trial, These same men who have closed off the temple to the Gentiles, instead of making God's house a den of robbers, instead of a place of prayer for the nations, these same men choose the robber. These same men don't just choose a robber either, they choose a murderer of the nations.

I mean they simply double down on their hypocrisy. Mark chapter 11, you remember it? It's the beginning when Jesus begins to reveal greatly the hypocrisy of Israel, namely her leaders in the temple. And they're hypocrites because they shut out the nations. And now they're doubling down on their hypocrisy in Mark 15 by saying, not only will we shut them out, we'll pick the one that kills them.

That's a doubling down of hypocrisy. It's a doubling down of madness. I mean you just don't have to have the prophetic gift, even though we're cessationists, you don't have to have the prophetic gift to be able to understand why AD 70 is going to happen. Jesus had just told these men Jerusalem and her temple is going to be destroyed. There's not going to be one stone left upon another.

And here we are now seeing exactly why. Here's a doubling down on the hypocrisy that God hates. Exhibit A. His reason for destroying Jerusalem. Right here.

And, and, by the way, exhibit A for the reason the Romans want to destroy Jerusalem Because the Jews are siding with murderous rebels It doesn't take a lot of brain power to realize these men are blind again who's the blindfolded one I just want to keep coming back to that not Jesus claiming to be wise they became fools And they exchanged the glory of God, literally, the radiance of the glory of God in Christ Jesus. They exchanged Him for evil. And God gave them over to judgment. That's Romans chapter 1 played out in Mark's Gospel, before Romans was even written. The crowd gets stirred up by the chief priests.

Give us the one who robs and kills and makes our people suffer and in exchange take away the one who heals and brings peace to our people and to our children. Crucify that one. It's madness. It's the exchange of Romans chapter 1, God giving you over to your own devices kind of judgment. And that's what the people cry out for.

Verse 13, crucify him. Crucify him. And what does Pilate say? How does Pilate respond to that? In Verse 14, I love Pilate's response.

But Pilate said to them, why? What? What evil has he done? Beloved, in these verses, you are supposed to see two things really clearly. You with me?

Two things, really, really clearly. You're supposed to see how Israel has doubled down on her hypocrisy and sin. You're supposed to see their sin clearly. You see it? I do.

But you're also supposed to see the sinlessness of Jesus. Pilate knows that the only reason that Jesus is on trial is because of envy. And the other Gospels are very clear on this pilot is very afraid pilot is told by his wife in Matthew 27 don't have anything to do with that man Jesus and just verses later in Matthew 27 pilot says I'm innocent of this man's blood he washes his hands I find no fault in this man. In Luke chapter 23 verse 4, the pilot deliberately says, I find no guilt in Jesus. And that's the point.

It's the point. The one who is plainly guilty, Barabbas, is released in exchange for the crucifixion of the one who is plainly not guilty. The answer to Pilate's question in verse 14 of our passage, what evil has he done? What's the answer? The answer is none.

None. And yet they shouted all the more, crucify him. The evil being done is being done to Jesus. The evil is being done to the sinless one. Why?

Why is the only sinless one in all the world being treated this way? Here's the answer to that question. Here's why. So that the barabases of the world, like you, like me, so that the rebels and murderers and thieves of this world, so that people depraved, people corrupt, foolish people like you and I, so that law breakers and sinners would be forgiven and cleansed and made new into new creations so that because the sinless one would give his life as a ransom for sin, we would be set free. Someone has to pay the bill.

You know that? Someone has to pay the fine. Someone has to pick up the wages from all the sin that you have given yourself to. Someone has to pay the bill from all the rebellion that you're guilty of before God. And God sees all things.

Someone has to pick up the wages of your sin, and those wages for your sin is death. Someone's going to pay that fine. You or a substitute. God's not going to sweep sin under the rug. God will punish sin.

It's who He is. God will punish your sin. And someone's got to pay that fine. You or a substitute. And just as Jesus here in these verses, on the day of preparation for the Passover, just as Jesus is given over in exchange for Barabbas, so that the guiltless Jesus is punished while the guilty Barabbas goes free.

So Jesus has gone to the cross. He has bled and died in your place, Christian, for your sin, in your place. That's an exchange that if it's true for you, you can't stop talking about. Jesus died in my place to atone for my sin. That the guilty would be free and that the one not guilty would willingly put himself under that kind of bondage.

That's amazing. That's an amazing exchange and yet there is even more. Exchange number three. The garments of Jesus. The garments of Jesus.

Beloved, as good as having a substitute is for your sins, as good as it is to have a substitute for your sins, it is not enough simply for your sins to be removed. You need also the righteousness of Jesus Christ to cover you like a garment if you are to be right with the Father. This is true. You just can't have a substitute to take your sin if you're to be right with the Father you must have the substitute But you then must also have the righteousness of the substitute to cover you That's exactly what Jesus does in his finished work of redemption JC Ryle says it best and I quote in verses 15 in verses 16 through 20 Ryle writes We see Jesus stripped of his garments, and then later crucified naked before his enemies. The soldiers who led him away divided up his clothes and cast lots to see what each would get.

And why was this? It was so that we who have no righteousness of our own might be clothed in the perfect righteousness that Christ has worked for us, and that we might not stand naked before God on the last day. It was done so that we who are defiled with sin might have a wedding garment to wear as we sit down by the side of angels and not be ashamed." End quote. Adam and Eve, naked and ashamed, their covering of fig leaves insufficient to cover their shame and guilt. But Jesus comes, and He Himself is the perfect covering that in Him there is no longer any shame or condemnation forever.

All because 2 Corinthians 521 is true. For God the Father made God the Son who knew no sin to be sin for you so that in Him you might become the very righteousness of God." Well here at the end we see in verses 16 through 20 That Jesus is taken away by pilot soldiers into the palace. We see this exchange of clothing getting ready to happen. They take Jesus into the praetorium. Most likely this was where pilot lived most likely.

Jesus has been in the home, think about it, he's been in the home of the high priest in the first trial. Now he's in the home of the civil magistrate, Pilate. He just keeps going, bouncing between homes here. He's in the home of Pilate, and in both of these places, what happens to him, he's abused, he's mocked, slapped to the face, evil is done to him. But the abuse here in Mark 15 has now turned up quite a bit.

It's turned up another notch. Verse 15, if you go to verse prior, verse 15 says that Jesus was scourged and then handed over to be crucified. That scourging involved severe beatings. It involved severe whippings and floggings. And In fact, so great were the whippings of Jesus and the beatings of Jesus that in verse 21, Jesus can't even pick up His own cross and make it to Calvary.

That's how severe the beatings were. A severe loss of blood. One of the most vainest parts of your body would have been the head, crown of thorns, he's losing blood up here, he's losing blood throughout his body. It's a severe and grotesque level of physical pain and torture. But all of that just paled in comparison to the spiritual agony he faced in the verses coming up when he was crucified and he bore the wrath of God for sin for your sin.

It paled in comparison to that agony. We're going to get to that next week, Lord willing. But in the midst of all of this abuse, slaps to the face, they dress... In the midst of this scourging, notice what happens to the garments of Jesus, okay? Look at verse 17.

Look at verse 17. The Roman soldiers, they dressed Jesus up in purple and put a crown of thorns on his head and it began to acclaim him hail king of the Jews What do they call Jesus? They call Jesus the King of the Jews. And they dress Him up like a king. Do they not?

They put kingly garments, royal clothes around this one that they're mocking. Well, we'll mock him and we'll put mocking clothes on him. This is the king. They dress him up like a king and call him king. I know it's mocking, but that's what they do.

And what do they do with the garments? What do they do with the kingly garments? Look at verse 20. After they had mocked Jesus, they took the purple robe off of him and put his own garments on him. They took His robe and they let Him out to crucify Him.

Now, there's a spiritual side to that that I've already touched on just a moment ago. His robe's for mine, a wonderful exchange. Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered neath God's rage. Yes and amen. Do not lose that.

But there is also more going on here. So I hit on that earlier in this point. I want you to see something else that's going on here. They took away the garments of the king of the Jews. Does that sound familiar at all to you?

What did the high priest do at the end of last chapter? He tore his robes as a symbol of his office being given over to Jesus. Yes? And now we have Gentiles, Romans, taking the robes of Jesus and divvying them up amongst themselves. They're proclaiming Jesus is king, king of the Jews.

They're mocking him. They're taking his clothes away. I wonder if you understand part of what Mark's telling you here. If the king of the Jews garments go to Rome, if the king of the Jews garments get divvied up by Rome, so will the Imperial Army divvy up Israel. And that's what happens in AD 7.

There's something else incredible at work here. First Samuel 15, Saul and Samuel, a robe is torn. What happens? So too God tears Saul's kingdom away from him. Saul's kingdom torn away from him.

1 Kings chapter 11, the prophet Ahesia tore his robe as a sign that God would tear the kingdom out of the head of Solomon and give it all to Jeroboam except for one tribe. The kingdom would be given to another. And now in Mark 15, the king of the Jews' garments are torn. The king of the Jews' robe is taken away by these Gentiles, and the kingdom is given to the nations. I don't want you to get it twisted.

Please don't get it twisted. It's not the Romans taking away the kingdom from Jesus the Christ. It's not that. No, no. This is symbolic of God taking the kingdom of His Son and extending it to the nations, indeed to the whole world.

That's what it symbolizes. And Indeed, if you think about it, this king of the Jews and the king of the world, this king of kings, he gives his life on the cross for the sins of the world and he wins the world and he wins the nations as his sacrifice in that moment tears the temple curtain in two. So, you understand what happened? Maybe you don't. Do you understand what happened when the temple curtain tore in two?

Ephesians chapter two, the second half of it, is true. I'm going to say this again. It's not the Romans taking away the kingdom from Christ. No, no, no. It's symbolic of God taking the kingdom of the Son and extending it to the nations, to the world.

And indeed, this King of the world, Jesus, He goes to a cross for the sins of the world. He wins the world. He wins the nations as his sacrifice tears the curtain in two at the temple, so that Ephesians chapter two would forever be true, that the Gentiles, the uncircumcised, the nations, once excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. I'm just quoting Ephesians 2 right now. So that the Gentiles, the uncircumcised, once excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope that without God in the world, those nations, those pagans, through the shed blood of Jesus the Christ, have been brought near.

For Jesus himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, reconciling the two into one new man, both in one body, to God through the cross. For what reason? So that you who were once pagans, you who were once outside the camp, you who lived in Earl of Iowa on the other side of the world. So that you, in a pagan land, so that you are no longer Christian, you're no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household being fitted together, growing into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling of God in the Spirit. That's what happened for you, saint of Crossroad Church in Earlham, Iowa.

That's what happened for you, saint all the way on the other side of the world where this is happening, so that you could say in a pagan land that has been claimed for Christ, you could say with Father Abraham and all the patriarchs, that you could say, wonder of wonders, All of God's promises are yes and amen, even for me, on the other side of the world, in Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God. Huge, huge. Through the Romans' mockery of Jesus, in this passage God was displaying just how vast his son's kingdom would be. The nations, the whole world, bought with His blood. It's all His.

And that's symbolized in exchange number three. One final exchange. Exchange number four. Verse 21, it's really simple. Jesus has been so abused, he's been laid so low by the scourging and he cannot bear his own cross.

And so the soldiers leading Jesus to Golgotha, they pressed into service Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. Now, I think it's really interesting to note, after What I just said about the Romans divvying up Jesus' garments and the kingdom of Jesus going to the nations, which is why you have at the end of the gospels you have the Great Commission. What was symbolized here, he now makes explicit, go and get what I bought. Go and get what's mine. What I just said about divvying up Jesus' garments and the kingdom going to the nations, I think it's interesting to note that the way Mark writes after that lines up with what I just said perfectly.

You have Simon, a Jewish name. Then you have Alexander, a Greek name. And then you have Rufus, a Latin name. You think I said this is a mistake? I just happened to happen like that?

For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, and to the Romans, to the ends of the earth. I think that's interesting to note. And so the cross of Jesus, before He is crucified, is given to Simon to bear. Simon.

Simon! Does that make you think of anyone else? Simon should. There is absolute, I have absolute certainty that Mark writes the way he writes, so that you put two Simons together. It seems pretty clear to me, Mark wants you to think of another Simon named Simon Peter.

Simon Peter says to Jesus just a little bit ago, I will not betray you Jesus, even if I have to die with you, Even if everyone else leaves you, even if it means I have to go to a cross with you, I'll go. I won't betray you. I won't leave you. Well, the rooster has crowed twice, and Simon Peter's gone. That was right before this passage.

You remember that? That was right before this passage. You remember that? That was right before this passage. And now here in the middle, here's Jesus being scourged, suffering, and now the end of this ordeal is a different Simon.

Carrying his cross. You see that? Verses 1 through 20 are book-ended by Simon's. Simon Peter, Jesus and Pilate, Simon of Cyrene. It's not a mistake.

Simon Peter's gone, and another Simon appears, and this Simon was most likely a stranger to Jesus, just passing by, the text says, a passerby. But this Simon, he becomes a disciple of Jesus picking up the cross. He doesn't, Simon Peter should have done. Is that not the picture that Jesus has been painting for his disciples of what true discipleship looks like? He's been painting this picture since Mark chapter eight verse 34.

This is the picture that Jesus has been painting. Mark chapter 8 verse 34. And Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross And follow me. And here is Simon of Cyrene, whose son, Rufus, by the way, is probably the one mentioned in Romans 16, which would mean that Simon ended up believing upon Christ, him and his household. Here is Simon of Cyrene demonstrating to us what it means to be a disciple of Jesus the cross taking up his cross.

So beloved the exhortation to us is very simple. Let us follow our Savior in the same way as this man. Let us obey the call of our Savior who stood in our place as a substitutionary sacrifice to set Barabbas free and clothe them in his own righteousness. Let us take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus, the Lord of hosts. Because why?

Because the Lord of hosts raised up and the Lord of hosts is with us always. And there was no one stronger or mightier than He. So to that end, I want you to hear this final word of exhortation from the precious pen of Matthew Henry, and I quote and I close with this quote. The cross was a very troublesome, unwieldy load. But he that carried it a few minutes, Simon, had the honor to have his name upon the record in the book of God, though otherwise an obscure person, so that wherever this gospel is preached, there shall be this told for a memorial to this Simon of Cyrene in like manner, Though no affliction, no cross for the present, be joyous but grievous.

Yet afterward it yields a crown of glory to them that are exercised thereby. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. And those who have mouths to sing, let them sing. And let's do that now as we respond to what we just heard Isaac if you come