Trial and Torture of King: Mark 15:1-20. Signers of Declaration of Independence Captured, Tortured, and Sacrificed

2. The Trial and Torture of the King Mark 15:1-20

3. What Happened to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence? • 5 captured by British as traitors, tortured before they died • 12 had their homes burned • 2 lost sons in Revolutionary War • 2 had their sons captured • 9 others fought and died in the Revolutionary War

4. What kind of Men were they? • 24 were lawyers or judges • 11 were merchants • 9 were farmers • Carter Braxton died in rags • Thomas McKeam was harassed constantly by the British • Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton all had their homes looted • Thomas Nelson Jr, Francis Lewis, John Hart, Norris, Livingston

5. Their Sacrifice Cost them Dearly • However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross redeemed all who would trust Him to eternal life! • Heb 9:27-28 “27Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

6. Mark 14: 53-65 • They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire. • 55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council[h] were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight! • 60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” • 62 Jesus said, “I am.[i] And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand[j] and coming on the clouds of heaven.[k]” • 63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” • “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!” • 65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.

7. Mark 15:1-20 • Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council[a]—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor. 2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” • 3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise. 6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual. 9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!” 15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. 16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

8. An Innocent Man Falsely Accused • Trials can get crazy sometimes • Jesus did not receive a fair trial • His trial had both a Jewish phase and a Roman phase

9. An Innocent Man Falsely Accused • This was a Kangaroo Court from the very beginning. Consider: • Trial at night- Illegal • Looking for witnesses after beginning of trial- Illegal • Announcing a verdict on same day- Illegal • Having a capital case at Passover- Illegal

10. An Innocent Man Falsely Accused • Jesus was silent before His accusers • Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,    so he did not open his mouth.

11. Substitute: A Guilty Man Graciously Excused • Passover is about escaping judgment • Release Barabbas, Release Barabbas!! • Does Barabbas get under your skin a little?

12. Substitute • We all know what a substitute is • 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” • What do you think happened to Barabbas?

13. Suffering: A Strong Man Shamefully Abused • C Truman Davis ““The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs. At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper in the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles… Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue.” • Isaiah 52:13-14 "See, my servant will act wisely[a];    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him[b]—    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being  and his form marred beyond human likeness—

14. The Retrial of Jesus: You are the Jury • 4 Choices: Liar, Lunatic, Legend, Lord • Was He a Liar?

15. The Retrial of Jesus • Was He a Lunatic? • Clark H Pinnock asks "Was He deluded about His greatness, a paranoid, an unintentional deceiver, a schizophrenic? Again, the skill and depth of His teachings support the case only for His total mental soundness. If only we were as sane as He!"

16. The Retrial of Jesus • Was He a Legend? • Richard Dawkins thinks so • What happened to the Disciples?

17. What Happened to the Disciples? • Peter and Paul were both killed in Rome about 66 AD. Paul beheaded and Peter crucified upside down. • Andrew went to what is now the Soviet Union, Turkey and Greece. He was crucified. • Thomas went to Syria, possibly to India as well. He was stabbed with the spears of 4 soldiers’ at the same time. • Philip went to northern Africa where he was executed. • Matthew went to Iran and Ethiopia where he was stabbed to death. • Bartholomew likely went to India with Thomas, then to Armenia, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia where he was executed. • James, son of Alpheus went to Syria where he was clubbed to death. • Simon the Zealot went to Iran where he was killed after refusing to worship the sun god. • Matthias went to Syria where he was burned to death. • John likely was the only one who died of old age.

18. Was He a Legend? • CS Lewis said “"I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this [the Gospels]."

19. Only One other Option Remains • “There’s a foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.” (Mere Christianity, p. 55)

20. One Word of Caution • John 8:24 “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”