Would you turn back to Mark chapter
15? I've entitled the message, Christ Mocked, Railed On, and
Reviled. Verse 29, And they that pass by railed
on Him, wagging their heads. Now I want you to picture that
in your mind. As they passed the cross, they
wagged their heads in glee, making fun of Him, railing on Him. Just a human scene to see someone
coming by somebody nailed to a cross and making fun of them
and being happy in their pain and gleeful, wagging your head
in exaltation as you see their suffering. That's bad on a human
term, isn't it? Just a merely human term. But
this is the Son of God nailed to this tree. And they that pass by railed
on him, wagging their heads and saying,
oh, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three
days, save thyself and come down from the cross. Likewise, also
the chief priests mocking, making fun of him, said among themselves
with the scribes, he saved others. Himself, he cannot save. Let Christ, the King of Israel
descend now from the cross that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified
with him, the two thieves, reviled him. Now in that passage of scripture,
three words are used to describe their speech. They mocked him. They made fun of him. They railed
on him, which means they blasphemed him. It's where we get the word
blasphemy from. And they reviled him speaking
reproachfully and with contempt. That was their language toward
the Lord as he hung from a cross. Now there's a scripture in Psalm
76 verse 10 that's so glorious. the wrath of man shall praise
thee. And the remainder of wrath shalt
thou restrain. And with their wicked motives
and their vile speech, their mocking, their railing, and their
reviling, Everything they said was to the praise of the glory
of His grace. And every statement sets forth
some beautiful aspect of the gospel. That's what we're going
to consider. I'm going to read these. I'm
not gonna ask you to turn to them. I'm gonna read these statements
of reproach. There's some 14 or 15 of them.
while the Lord was hanging from the cross, and see how that the
prophecy is fulfilled. The wrath of man. And man's wrath
was never more expressed than the cross, was it? Their hatred
of Jesus Christ and the things they said, the wrath of man shall
praise thee. Now they mocked him in all of
his offices as the Christ, As prophet, prophesy thou Christ. Who is it that smoked thee? If
you're a prophet, you can tell us. They mocked him as a priest. He saved others. Himself, he
cannot save. They mocked him as a king. Hail,
king of the Jews. What cruel, heartless contempt. Now, the first thing that I would
think of when I think of the betrayal of the Lord is Judas
selecting a kiss to betray him with. He said, whomsoever I kiss, the
same is he. He didn't say I'll point him
out, but the one that I kiss, the same is he. Now you think
about this thing of, kissing the Lord. Would you feel comfortable
kissing his cheek? I wouldn't. I'd feel comfortable
kissing his feet. That's what the woman who was
a sinner did. She kissed his feet. But there's something about
kissing the cheek. In some respect, you're a peer,
or so you think you are. And Judas felt as though he could
kiss him on the cheek. And how? vilely hypocritical
to betray him with a kiss. What wickedness brought that
on to betray? And the Lord said, Judas betray
us out the son of man with a kiss. Is that how you're betraying
me? This deceitful kiss. But you know what I thought about
kiss the son lest he be angry. and you perish from the way when
his wrath is kindled but little. Blessed are they that put their
trust in him. And I would feel so much more
comfortable with the woman that was the sinner kissing his feet. Judas felt no need for that,
but oh, the kiss of his feet. The dog with its master. when he's brought before Pilate.
In John chapter 18, verse 30, the chief priest said to Pilate,
if he were not a malfactor, which means an evildoer, if he were
not a criminal, if he were not a malfactor, we would not have
brought him to thee. I say this first so as not to
be misunderstood. Jesus Christ, the Lord, never
committed a sin at any time. Even when he was made sin, he
never committed a sin. The holy, harmless, undefiled
Son of God, he knew no sin. He never committed a sin. That being said, when he was
made sin, and I say this reverently, I
say this fearfully, I say this knowing I don't understand it
very well, nor does anyone else, but he became the greatest malfactor
to ever live. That's a sobering thought, isn't
it? You see, the high priest responds
to Christ's answer to his question, art thou the Christ, the son
of the blessed? He said, I am. I love the way he said that.
I am. And after, shall you see the
son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the
clouds of heaven? The high priest rent his clothing
at that time and accused him of blasphemy and asked the crowd,
what think ye? What do you think of him? And
they said, he's guilty of death. That's the only thing he deserves.
He's guilty of death. But they didn't realize he really
had become guilty of death. God's justice demanded his death. Did they understand that? No,
but we have some glimpse of it. You know why Christ didn't try
to defend himself? Because he's guilty and he knew
it. He was guilty of death. That
is how truly he was made sin. In Luke chapter 23, verse five,
This accusation was brought against him. He stirs up the people. He promotes anarchy. He promotes rebellion against
the Roman government. He stirs up people to wrong action. No, he didn't. But oh, how he
stirs up the people. How he stirs up his people. He does do that. He's so glorious. He's so altogether lovely. He's
so other that he does stir up his people. To this extent, if the Lord would allow me to
die for his namesake, it would be an honor I could never deserve. That's how he stirs up his people. He stirreth up the people. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner
condemned, unclean. I think of what Paul said, the
love of Christ constraineth us. He Indeed, stirs up the people. And then in Mark chapter 14,
verse 67, prophesy thou Christ. Who is it that smote thee? Can
you imagine them striking him in the face with the palms of
their hands after he'd been blindfolded? And then with such contempt saying,
prophesy thou Christ, tell us. Who is it that hath thee? Who
is it that smote thee? Listen to this scripture. Awake,
O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my
fellow, saith the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. You know, they were scattered
at that time, didn't they? But who is it that smoked the shepherd? The sword of God's justice. Many hands were raised against
him, none did interpose to save, but the greatest stroke that
pierced him was the stroke that justice gave. Who smoked him? Listen to this scripture. It
pleased the Lord to bruise him, to crush him. He hath put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, thou shalt see his seed, thou shalt prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. Who is it that smote thee? His
father. When the bloodthirsty mob cried
in response to Pilate's claim, I'm innocent of the blood of
this just man. And he washed his hands before
them. And they said, his blood be upon
us and upon our children. We hate this man so much. We
think he's so vile that we are glad to take full responsibility
for his death. We think it is so right to kill
him that we want our children to be charged with this. His
blood be on us. You say you're innocent. Okay,
we'll take the blame. His blood be upon us and his
blood be upon our children. Well, there's two things that
strike me about that. Here's what me and you are guilty
of. Murdering the Son of God. That's what we're guilty of.
Somebody says, no, I'm not. Yes, you are. When Adam did it,
you did it. When he fell, you fell. When
those men put Christ to death, you would have been right there
with them. If God didn't restrain you, you would. Believe that. You might not understand it,
but believe it. It's what the Word of God says. That's what
we're guilty of. That's why God made hell the
murder of his son. That's why hell is eternal, it's
because of the murder of his son. That's why hell's internal,
because if you got out, or if I got out, or if anybody got
out of hell, we'd try to do it all over again. That's what men
are guilty of. But oh, here's my plea. His blood be
upon me. His blood be upon us. May I be
seen in His blood. May I be washed in His blood.
May His blood be upon my children, all my loved ones. What can wash
away my sin? Nothing but the blood. of Jesus. What can make me whole
again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is that flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. So when those people in this
malicious attempt, His blood be upon us and our children.
Isn't that the greatest desire of your heart? That His blood
would be upon you and upon your children. In Matthew chapter 27, verse
27, after they stripped him, they put a purple robe on him,
a crown of thorns on his head, And they took a reed and struck
him in the face and then handed it to him. And then they bowed
before him. Hail, King of the Jews. And they said it with content.
They said it with unbelief. Hail, King of the Jews. What was his accusation written
over him as he hung on the cross? Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. Now, wasn't that what they said? Mocking. Is there ever a truer statement
ever made? He is the king of the Jews. Now, he's king of kings. He's
everybody's king, whether they know it or not. He's king of
kings. He's everybody's king. Somebody
says, he's not my king. Yeah, he is. Yeah, he is. You
don't have any choice. He's your king. But he's most
especially the king of the Jews. Every believer is a true Jew
with a circumcised heart. The Jews are not the people over
there in the Middle East in what is known as the nation of Israel.
The Jews are everybody that believes the gospel. And he is the king
of the Jews. Now in Mark chapter 15, verse
19, it was said of the soldiers bowing the knee, they worshiped
him. Now picture that in your mind.
What contempt, bowing the knee, they worshiped him. And you know
where the scripture says they spat in his face? I read where
every time somebody bowed the knee to worship him, they didn't
get up and spit in his face. Bowing the knee, they worshiped
him, saying by their sarcastic gesture, you're not worthy of
worship. You are not worthy of worship.
You know, they didn't know that they
were the answer to that prophecy. The wrath of man shall praise
thee. They didn't know that he is the
object of eternal worship. Let all the angels of God worship
him. Now, we don't know much about
those heavenly beings, but we know this, they worship him.
Oh, he's the object of divine worship that we bow before in
our hearts. Luke 23, verse 11, Herod and
his men of war set him at nought. They set him at naught, mocking
him. They said by this, you are nothing. You are a zero. You are nothing. All this ado
about you, you are nothing. Being in the form of God, he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now the only
one who's equal with God is God. He made himself of no reputation. You know what that means? He
made himself nothing. He said from the cross, I am
a worm, not even fit to be called a man. Now, man at his best state
is altogether vanity. Well, take the best man you know,
what is he? According to the scripture, altogether
vanity. Solomon proved that with regard
to man, because he's the wisest man to ever live. And yet, look
what happened to him. He's an example of man at his
best state is altogether vanity. But here, it's different. Here's
where the Lord made himself vanity. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. John chapter 19, verse seven,
we have a law. This is the Jews speaking to
Pilate. We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because
he made himself the son of God. Listen to me. Unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given. He wasn't born. He's the eternal
Son of God. And Jesus Christ, when they said
he made himself the Son of God, no, he didn't make himself the
Son of God. He is God the Son. The second person of the blessed
Trinity. Declared to be the Son of God
by the Spirit of holiness and the resurrection of the dead.
As that Roman centurion cried as the, he heard the Lord cry
out, it is finished. And he was shaken during the
earthquake. What did he say? Surely this was, and this is
the son of God. You believe that? I do. I love what the Ethiopian eunuch said, here's
water, what hinders me from being baptized? You can if you believe
with all your heart. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the son of God. That's what faith is. Faith is
believing who he is. Mark chapter 15, verse 29, as
they wag their heads and pass by, oh, thou that destroyest
the temple, and buildest it in three days." The thing they thought
impossible, and they're referring to what happened early in his
ministry. When he said, destroy this temple, in three days I'll
raise it up. Oh, thou that destroyest the
temple. You know, the Lord did destroy his own temple in the
sense that he allowed those men to kill him. Everything they
did was according to His will. I mean, when they struck the
nails in His hand, He was giving them the strength to do it, causing
them to do it. It was all according to His purpose,
Him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of
God, of a truth against the holy child Jesus, whom thou has anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel, were gathered together to do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. Now he destroyed
the temple. They thought that's impossible
to do that in three days. And he said, in three days, I'll
raise it up. He raised himself from the dead. Somebody says,
explain that to me. I can't do it. But he said, I
have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. Now, how could
he raise himself from the dead? I don't know, but he did. Yes,
his father did. Yes, he did. Whatsoever the father
does, he does. And when they were mocking him
like that, well, they didn't know what truth they were speaking. He destroyed himself in the sense
that he willingly took on what it took for him to die, and he
raised himself from the dead. When they said, save thyself,
save thyself, They said that in ridicule, but listen to this.
He did. You see, when he saved you, he
was saving himself because every one of his people is his body.
And that's how close this union is. He that loveth his wife,
loveth himself. When Christ loved his wife, he
was loving himself. That is how real, that is how,
mysterious this union is. When Christ loved me, he was
loving himself because I'm united to him. When Christ died for
me and saved me, he was saving himself. Now, understood? No. Believed with all my heart. In Mark chapter 15, verse 31,
the mocking of the chief priests and scribes, he saved others. Himself, he cannot save. Never have true words been spoken. For me or you to be saved, he
couldn't save himself. If he would have saved himself,
you know what? I mean, you'd go to hell. but he saved others. Himself, he could not save. I think of his words in Gethsemane's
garden, if it be possible. Let this cup pass from me. Question, was it possible? No, it was God's eternal purpose. And there would be no salvation
for him of his people if he didn't. If it'd be possible, let this
cup pass from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but thy will
be done. In Mark chapter 15, verse 32,
in our text, Let Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from
the cross, that we may see and believe. Now notice the order.
Let Christ descend so we can see with these eyes, then we'll
believe. Well, Christ is gonna descend
from heaven with a shout. And you know what? Everybody's
gonna follow that order. They'll see, they'll believe,
They'll know exactly who He is, but they know nothing of believing
and seeing. You see, it's not see and believe.
Everybody's gonna do that when He comes back. They're gonna
know exactly who He is. But the Lord said, said us, said
us, I not to thee that if thou wouldst believe, you would see
the glory of God. You're not gonna see until you
believe. And when you believe, you will
see. But not these people. Prove to us that you are who
you say you are. Come down from the cross that
we may see, then we will believe. And then in Matthew chapter 27,
verse 43, he trusted in God, Let him deliver him. If now he
will have him. They were saying your trust was
vain. It was misplaced. God's not doing anything for
you. He trusted in God. He said he did let God deliver
him. If that's so they were saying
your trust is vain. Look where it got you. But how powerful is his trust? when he says even from the cross,
though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Now here's faith. Here's
faith. I believe that I have some understanding
of what Paul meant when he said, knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. My faith, I trust his faith. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Jesus Christ,
I'm saved by His perfect trust. He trusted Him even when He was
slain and we're saved by His faithfulness. Now I want you
to turn with me to this, Matthew 27. This is our final scripture. Verse 62, now the next day, that
followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees
came together in the Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that
that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days I'll
rise again. Now, that's amazing they remembered
that, but how come none of the disciples did? Interesting, isn't
it? These guys knew it, and he didn't
say it to them, he said it to the disciples. And they We know
what this deceiver said. After three days I'll rise again,
command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure into the third day
lest the disciples come by night and steal him away and say to
the people, he's risen from the dead. So the last error shall
be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, you have
a watch, go your way and make it as sure as you can. Do what you can. Can you prevent
him from? Walking out of that too? No,
no. But the point I want to make
is they called him a deceiver. This deceiver said while he lived,
well, this deceiver is the one who will send them strong delusion
that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned
who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. No, he doesn't deceive in the
wicked sense, but as an act of justice, he'll send strong delusion. Now you can see From every one
of those statements, while they were meant to revile Christ,
to rail on him, to mock him, every one of those statements
express the glory of the cross of Christ and the glory of his
salvation. Let's pray.