{"id":37477,"date":"2025-09-25T22:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=37477"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T21:05:37","slug":"mark_15_16-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_15_16-32\/","title":{"rendered":"Torture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 15:16-32 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 15:16-32.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 15:16-20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-20:\u00a0 After enduring the extreme physical torture of flogging (v15), Jesus is brought into the palace to be abused psychologically and emotionally by the soldiers.<\/p>\n

All the things Jesus legitimately deserved \u2013 to be robed in royal robes, to be crowned with many crowns, to be bowed down before, to be honoured and praised \u2013 the soldiers took and applied to Jesus in the most mocking, humiliating and violent way.\u00a0 (By the way, I believe people do something of the same today when they use the name of Jesus as a curse word, spoken out of frustration and irreverence.)<\/p>\n

Contrary to what some movies depict, this wasn\u2019t some private mocking session.\u00a0 It involved \u201cthe whole company of soldiers\u201d (v16).\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just Jews who were responsible for killing Jesus.\u00a0 Pilate and his soldiers, who were all Gentiles, had a hand in it too.\u00a0 Symbolically this was the whole world, both Jew and Gentile, turning against Jesus.<\/p>\n

Praise God that one day every knee will legitimately bow at the name of Jesus, even those who mocked him.\u00a0 On that day Jesus will receive what he is due: real royal robes, golden crown upon golden crown, and the honour and praise which he truly deserves (Philippians 2:9-11).<\/p>\n

Mark 15:21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 21:\u00a0 Here the soldiers force a foreigner from Cyrene, North Africa called Simon to carry the cross.\u00a0 Being from North Africa, Simon may have had a different skin colour.\u00a0 Perhaps I\u2019m reading too much into this, and if so, I apologize, but it seems to me that just as the Roman soldiers looked down on Jesus, so they looked down on foreigners and thought they could treat foreigners as sub-human as well.\u00a0\u00a0There is a definite relationship between how we look at Jesus and how we look at people, especially those who are different from us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>If we would see Jesus as he truly is, it helps us so much to see others as they truly are.\u00a0 When we don\u2019t see Jesus as he truly is, we will be prone to seeing and treating people the wrong way.<\/p>\n

Also notice that the soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross.\u00a0 But\u00a0when it comes to following Jesus, no one can force you.\u00a0 You need to choose to carry the cross yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0 Taking up your cross is an act of the will, a personal decision.\u00a0 I believe it\u2019s that personal decision to carry your cross that Jesus is talking about in Mark 8:34 when he says to a crowd:\u00a0\u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the way, the fact that Mark calls Simon from Cyrene \u201cthe father of Alexander and Rufus\u201d suggests that Alexander and Rufus were known to the original readers of Mark\u2019s gospel and were likely well-known members of the early church.\u00a0 In Paul\u2019s letter to the church in Rome, he tells them to greet Rufus (Romans 16:13).\u00a0 I bet Alexander and Rufus never forgot the image of their dad carrying the cross.<\/p>\n

Mark 15:22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 22:\u00a0 It is not surprising that the place where Jesus was crucified is called \u201cThe Place of the Skull\u201d.\u00a0 That\u2019s because crucifixion was a form of not just physical but psychological and emotional torture that led to a slow and excruciating death.\u00a0 The word \u201cexcruciating\u201d is rooted in the word \u201ccrucifixion\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mark 15:23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 23:\u00a0 Scholars believe wine mixed with myrrh had a pain-numbing effect on people being crucified.\u00a0 So why did Jesus refuse to take this drink before being crucified?\u00a0 It could be because Jesus did not want to prolong the suffering but also wanted to feel the full effects of the punishment he was taking on our behalf.\u00a0 It could also be that Jesus wanted to retain full control of his faculties.\u00a0 That way\u00a0there is no suffering you could ever go through that Jesus cannot understand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 15:24-25 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It was the third hour when they crucified him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-25:\u00a0 As Jesus hangs naked on the cross, those who crucified him divide up his clothes and cast lots to see who would get what, in fulfillment of Psalm 22:18.<\/p>\n

Mark 15:26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 26:\u00a0 When a criminal was crucified, the government would write on a sign the crime that the person committed that caused them to be crucified.\u00a0 Then they would do one of two things: (1) hang it around the neck of the criminal as they walked to the place of execution; or (2) someone would walk in front of them holding the sign, almost like some funeral procession.\u00a0 Then when that person was crucified, they would nail the sign at the top of the cross.\u00a0 It was a way of shaming that person being executed as well as warning others not to commit the same crime.<\/p>\n

Now here\u2019s the irony: Pilate writes the sign, and all it says is \u201cJesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews\u201d, which isn\u2019t really a crime; it\u2019s just a title.\u00a0 Then he nails the sign on the cross in 3 languages for everyone to see: in Aramaic (the language of the people),
\nLatin (the language of the government) and Greek (the language for doing business).\u00a0 Somehow Jesus ends up being proclaimed to the Roman empire in 3 different languages as the king of the Jews.\u00a0 God used Pilate\u2019s sign which was meant to bring shame to proclaim who Jesus really is.<\/p>\n

Mark 15:27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
\nOn verse 27:\u00a0 Here is Jesus, in the most literal, visual way, identifying with sinners like you and me, as he is crucified between two criminals.\u00a0 Though he had done nothing wrong, Jesus was punished like a criminal too.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark 15:28?<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 28:\u00a0 Some manuscripts include here a reference to Isaiah 53:12: \u201che was counted among the transgressors\u201d.\u00a0 While Mark may have had in mind a verse like this when considering Jesus\u2019 crucifixion, it is widely believed that this verse reference was added later to Mark\u2019s gospel and not part of Mark\u2019s original writing.<\/p>\n

Mark 15:29-32 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those 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,
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0come down from the cross and save yourself!”
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In 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!
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Let this Christ, 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 29-32:\u00a0 Here we see that as Jesus hangs from the cross, those who misunderstand or doubt Jesus\u2019 words are the quickest to mock and insult Jesus.\u00a0 The same is true today: those who mock and criticize Jesus most harshly often do so based on a misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus said and did.<\/p>\n

How Jesus must have had to fight the temptation to come down from the cross at this very moment when his critics were taunting him.\u00a0 With incredible humility and self-control, Jesus does nothing but continue to suffer on the cross for us.<\/p>\n

Jesus, You are worthy of all praise, honour, reverence and glory for You truly are not just the King of the Jews but the King of all kings.\u00a0 Thank You for willingly enduring such incredible torment, torture, and suffering on every level for us.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 15:16-32.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!
\n\u00a0
\nMark 15:16-20 (NIV)
\n16\u00a0\u00a0The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
\n17\u00a0\u00a0They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
\n18\u00a0\u00a0And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
\n19\u00a0\u00a0Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
\n20\u00a0\u00a0And 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.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 16-20:\u00a0 After enduring the extreme physical torture of flogging (v15), Jesus is brought into the palace to be abused psychologically and emotionally by the soldiers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37477"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37480,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37477\/revisions\/37480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}