Jesus Led Away to Death

(Mark 15:16-32)

Jesus had been tried, convicted and condemned in a kangaroo court. There was no justice and the greatest casualty of the process was the truth. He was taken off to his death on the basis of lies.

Adding insult to injury he was mocked and belittled by the soldiers who led him away. When they had finished their mockery, he was taken away to the place of his death carrying the beam to which he would be nailed. Clearly he was weakened from the trials and tribulations of the preceding days for the soldiers compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene to carry the beam for Jesus.

Here is an interesting situation. Some churches talk of the “Stations of the Cross.” I have seen different variations of this teaching with up to fifteen different “stations.” However most of these so called stations are the invention of man and are not written in the bible. They indicate at least three times Jesus was supposed to have fallen. They speak of two instances where Mary, his mother, is supposed to come to him. They speak of one instance where someone wipes his face and another station where Jesus is supposed to whisper “Thank you” to Simon of Cyrene. None of these events are shown in the Bible and so they should not be relied upon as truth.

It is important to know the truth in ALL matters. Even simple things like this, which could be thought of as harmless actually are not. The two instances of Mary’s presence are intended to heighten her role in this process as something greater than it was and to give her glory. In fact Mary was there during the process, but she looked on from afar. She did not come up to Jesus as he walked and she did not hold him in her arms when he was taken down after he had died. Do not be taken in by things that are simply not true. If you accept a part of a false teaching you might accept more.

The following parable Jesus gave talks expressly to this issue. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23) We perceive much of the world through what we see and take in through our eyes. If you allow any “darkness” in then it can darken your understanding and prevent you finding the truth. Thus it is critical to learn the truth so your whole body will be full of light.

Back to the scripture. When Jesus was nailed up he continued to be derided by all those around him. Even the two criminals that were put to death with him mocked him and they deserved what they got. It was interesting that the charge Pilate had nailed above him saying, “The King of the Jews,” was actually the truth. And in it the truth was testified, albeit unintentionally.

So we see here the final suffering of the Lord and in the next section we will look at the circumstances surrounding his death.