Key truth: Jesus silently suffered on our behalf in order to set God’s people free from our sin and equip us to endure suffering and mockery for His glory.

Mark 15:1-5: Our King Is Accused and yet Silent

“He was silent because of every word that has proceeded from your lips; because of every word that provides adequate reason for God to damn you for all eternity, because you have cursed him or his image. The Lord Jesus came into the world to bear the judgment of God against the sin of our tongues. When he stood before the High Priest and the judgment seat of Pontius Pilate, he accepted a sentence of guilt. But that was my guilt. He bore in his body on the tree the sins of my lips and my tongue.”

- Sinclair Ferguson, “The Bit, the Bridle, and the Blessing,” in The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor.

Q: What makes it possible for us to endure suffering and injustice as Christ endured suffering and injustice?

Mark 15:6-15: Our Righteous King is Condemned but the Sinner is Set Free

“Our heroes become the Barabbases of the world, who take matters into their own hands and dispatch the enemy with brute force or clever trickery. If the vote came today, then, Barabbas would likely win again, hands down. We are more comfortable with the violent machismo of the knight-errant than with the passive suffering of a seemingly powerless savior who submits to beatings and mockery.”

- David E. Garland, The NIV Application Commentary: Mark

Q: How does the fact that Jesus is the substitute for our sins affect how you live?

Mark 15:16-20: Our King is Mocked yet Endures to the End

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him . . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

- Philippians 3:8-11

Q: Are you prepared to endure mockery and scorn for your faith? How are you using the means of grace to prepare for such mockery and scorn?

Mark 15:1-20 teaches that:

- Jesus’ silent suffering makes it possible for us to endure injustice and suffering.

- Jesus’ substitution for our sins sets us free unto newness of life.

- All who follow Jesus will eventually endure suffering and mockery, but He is with us and equips us by the means of grace.