Week 14 | Day 5 | Mark 15:1-32
Check out all the previous readings here.
The Mark Reading Plan ends on Sunday. We are starting a new Bible reading plan on Monday in Acts – exploring what happens after Jesus resurrects. If you’d like to join that, you can text back “Sunday” or “Thursday” (depending on which day you typically attend church services) or sign up at crossroadsgrace.org/bible. There are also hundreds of Bible reading plans you can choose from on the You Version Bible app. Kids and students reading will return this Fall.
Pray
Pause and breathe for a minute. Then ask God to open your eyes and your ears to his Word
Bible Reading (read these verses three times slowly)
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Reflection & Questions
In today’s passage, the religious leaders, and indeed the people of Jerusalem, get their wish: “Crucify him!” they cried and so Jesus was again beaten and spit at and then brutally nailed to a cross. But even that doesn’t satisfy their hate, so while he hangs on a cross, they have to mock him over and over again. If ever there was a time where sin was displayed in unmatchable ugliness, it was this day. The perfect Son of God, unmatchable in love, is hated and hung on a cross.
If we’re honest, we know we’ve been infected by this same sin. We are broken people just like them. We have done things we deeply regret. We have acted in anger, jealousy and hate. We have gossiped, defamed, and lied. Sin has stained our lives and left us broken.
What is our hope? It is an unjust and yet beautiful exchange. In this story, we read about Barabbas, who had tried to overthrow Rome and killed people in the process. He was a prisoner for his crimes. And yet on this day, he is freed, and in exchange, Jesus is killed. That is a picture of us. We are Barabbas. We are prisoners because of our sin, and we should perish for what we have done. But, Jesus takes our place. He’s condemned and we are freed. He dies so that we might live. This is our Servant-King.
Pray
Talk to Jesus about your brokenness and thank him for exchanging his life for yours.
Worship Song
You could use this song to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Reflection and Questions
In today’s passage, the religious leaders, and indeed the people of Jerusalem, get their wish: “Crucify him!” they cried and so Jesus was again beaten and spit at and then nailed to a cross. But even that isn’t enough for them, so while he hangs on a cross, they made fun of him over and over again. If ever there was a time where sin was displayed for everyone to see, it was this day. The perfect Son of God, full of love, is hated and hung on a cross.
It’s easy to see that what the people did to Jesus was awful and hateful, but they aren’t the only ones who sin. We all sin, every day. It might not look like it did on the day that they crucified Jesus, but we’ve all messed up. We aren’t perfect, and sometimes we get things wrong too.
So what can we do? What happens when we sin? Well, because Jesus died on the cross, we are able to be forgiven for our sins! Jesus takes our place, and takes our sins away. That is why Jesus let them crucify Him, because He loved us so much that He wanted to let us live a life that lets us be forgiven of our sins, and be able to be with God in Heaven one day!
Prayer
Pray and thank Jesus for His sacrifice on the cross.
Bible Reading
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Devo Focus
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Vs.20
Devo
I bet you can think of something you did today that was sinful. And over the past week you probably can’t count the number of sinful things you have done. Have you paid for all of them? Probably not – it’s impossible to do so. In today’s passage, the religious leaders, and indeed the people of Jerusalem, get their wish: “Crucify him!” they cried and so Jesus was again beaten and spit at and then brutally nailed to a cross. But even that doesn’t satisfy their hate, so while he hangs on a cross, they have to mock him over and over again. If ever there was a time where sin was displayed in unmatchable ugliness, it was this day. The perfect Son of God, unmatchable in love, is hated and hung on a cross. If we’re honest, we know we’ve been infected by this same sin. We are broken people just like them. We have done things we deeply regret. We have acted in anger, jealousy and hate. We have gossiped, defamed, and lied. Sin has stained our lives and left us broken. What is our hope? It is an unjust and yet beautiful exchange. In this story, we read about Barabbas, who had tried to overthrow Rome and killed people in the process. He was a prisoner for his crimes. And yet on this day, he is freed, and in exchange, Jesus is killed. That is a picture of us. We are Barabbas. We are prisoners because of our sin, and we should perish for what we have done. But, Jesus takes our place. He’s condemned and we are freed. He dies so that we might live. This is our Servant-King.
Prayer
Talk to Jesus about your brokenness and thank him for exchanging his life for yours.
