The Mocking of Jesus (Mark 15:27-32)

Big Idea: Mocking Jesus shows what is in our hearts, and it also shows Jesus' merciful heart towards those who deserve to be judged by him.

It’s very difficult to read about the death of Jesus. They questioned him. They acquitted him. But because of pressure from religious leaders and the crowds, they sentenced him to death. The trial of Jesus was a travesty, full of injustice.

But that’s not the hardest part. It’s very difficult to read about the process of crucifixion. One of those details that’s hard to read about is the mocking that Jesus endured.

In the passage we just read, they mock Jesus mercilessly. We read in verses 27 to 32:

And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

Everybody mocks him: the Jerusalem public, chief priests and scribes, even crucified outlaws. It’s bad enough that they condemned and killed an innocent man. The horrible part is that everyone mocked him too.

The mocking of Jesus reveals a couple of things to us.

First: it reveals our hearts.

I was talking to someone last week who was saying, “How could God presume to judge people just because they sin? Why is God so judgmental?” One of the assumptions behind that is that sin isn’t that serious, and that God is overreacting.

But this passage gives us a look in the mirror. Everyone turns against Jesus. Everyone. The general public. The religious people. Even outlaws. Mark is showing us we’re all equal. We’re all implicated. The natural human condition is to mock God and reject the very author of life. We’re not just broken. We’re rebels whose natural tendency is to mock God himself.

So that’s the truth about us. It’s humbling because it’s all of us. The mocking of Jesus gives us a look in the mirror, and what we see is not pretty.

But I want to highlight something else that the mocking of Jesus reveals to us.

Second: it reveals Jesus’ heart for us.

It’s the Creator of the universe on the cross. They were taunting him to show his power. He could have, too. He could have brought an end to what was being done to him. But what did he do? He stayed on the cross. He endured the cross and despised the shame (Hebrews 12:2). He was shamed so that he could remove our shame and guilt.

Look at how they mocked Jesus. The one who created the universe, who rules all things, who announced the kingdom, preached the gospel, expelled demons, fed the multitudes, healed the sick, and raised the dead was mocked for you. But God did not reject him. He stayed on the cross, bearing our sins, experiencing and absorbing the hatred and evil of humanity, refusing to lash back and instead offering God’s forgiveness. What a picture of grace, grace that he extends to you and to me. By refusing to save himself, Jesus is saving others, giving himself as a ransom for sins. What mercy. What a Savior.