Introduction
Will you follow Jesus even when His way to victory looks like suffering, shame, and apparent weakness? The central teaching of Mark 15 is that Jesus is truly King, and His coronation comes through the cross, where He bears the curse, refuses self-preservation, and redeems sinners by obedient love. Mark 15 is sobering because it doesn’t need extra stories to hold our attention. God’s Word is the anchor. And as we walk through this passage, I want you to see how “upside down” the kingdom of God is compared to the kingdoms of this world: Christ takes His throne not by glittering honor, but by humble, substitutionary suffering.
Main Points
Will you follow Jesus even when His way to victory looks like suffering, shame, and apparent weakness? The central teaching of Mark 15 is that Jesus is truly King, and His coronation comes through the cross, where He bears the curse, refuses self-preservation, and redeems sinners by obedient love.
Mark 15 is sobering because it doesn’t need extra stories to hold our attention. God’s Word is the anchor. And as we walk through this passage, I want you to see how “upside down” the kingdom of God is compared to the kingdoms of this world: Christ takes His throne not by glittering honor, but by humble, substitutionary suffering.
The King Is Crowned in Mockery
Mark 15:16–20 opens with soldiers gathering the whole garrison to stage a cruel, counterfeit coronation. They dress Jesus in purple (royalty), twist a crown of thorns, and salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they strike Him, spit on Him, and bow the knee in mock worship.
Don’t miss the sharp contrast: the world recognizes kingship through spectacle, robes, scepters, ceremony, acclaim. But here, the true King is revealed through humiliation. Even in their mockery, they can’t escape the truth: Jesus really is King. People may intend evil, but God is proclaiming reality.
As your discipler, I want to press this into your heart: if you only recognize “kings” who look impressive by worldly standards, you’ll struggle to worship Jesus for who He is. His kingdom advances through sacrifice, not show.
The Crown of Thorns Bears the Curse
The crown of thorns is not a random detail. It reaches all the way back to Genesis 3:17–18, where the ground is cursed because of sin: it will produce “thorns and thistles.” Thorns become a visible reminder that creation is broken and that human rebellion brought death, toil, and misery into God’s good world.
So when Jesus wears thorns on His head, He is publicly wearing the symbol of the curse. The soldiers mean it for pain and ridicule; God means it as a sign: the King has come to break the curse by bearing it Himself.
Learn to read your suffering and the world’s brokenness through this lens: the thorns tell the truth, something is deeply wrong. But the thorns on Jesus’ head tell a deeper truth, God has acted in Christ to redeem what sin has ruined.
The Procession to the Throne Is a Cross
After the mock coronation, they lead Him out “to crucify Him” (Mark 15:20). Instead of a royal procession with celebration, Jesus walks the path of a condemned criminal. He is so weakened that Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry His cross (Mark 15:21). They bring Him to Golgotha, “Place of a Skull” (Mark 15:22), a destination named for death.
This is where Jesus’ teaching becomes vivid. Earlier, He told His disciples what would happen in Jerusalem (Mark 8), and He called anyone who would follow Him to “take up his cross” (implied from Mark 8:34). Discipleship is not merely admiring Jesus; it is following Him in the same pattern, dying to self, surrendering our rights, embracing obedience.
Let me say it personally: if your Christianity is built around comfort, applause, and control, you will continually stumble over the cross. But if your Christianity is built around Jesus Himself, you’ll learn that the cross is not a detour, it’s the way.
The King Chooses Full Suffering for Our Salvation
They offer Jesus wine mixed with myrrh (Mark 15:23), a kind of dulled-senses drink meant to reduce pain and prolong the spectacle of crucifixion. “But He did not take it.”
Why does that matter? Because Jesus is not drifting into redemption half-aware. He embraces the suffering fully. In Gethsemane (Mark 14), He submitted: “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Now, He continues that obedience without anesthetic. This is part of His qualification as our compassionate Savior, He enters suffering to its depths.
If you are tempted to believe Jesus can’t understand your darkness, pain, or fear, this moment confronts that lie. He did not numb Himself. He went all the way in, so you could never say, “He doesn’t know.”
The Cross Publicly Proclaims the True King
They crucify Him and divide His garments by casting lots (Mark 15:24). What looks like meaningless cruelty fulfills what God had long promised in Scripture (implied connection to the messianic psalms). The King of kings owns no wealthy wardrobe here, His clothes are treated as trivial prizes.
Then the charge is written above Him: “The King of the Jews” (Mark 15:25–26). John 19 adds that it was written in multiple languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek), so the whole watching world could read it. Rome intends it as a warning sign: “Don’t challenge Caesar.” God intends it as a gospel sign: the crucified Jesus is King not only of the Jews, but of every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Here is a discipleship question for your week: which “kingdom” are you living for, the passing kingdoms that rise and fall, or the eternal reign of Christ? Earthly power always looks impressive for a moment. Jesus’ kingship looks weak for a moment, but His dominion is forever.
The King Identifies With Sinners, Not the Powerful
Jesus is crucified between two robbers, “one on His right and the other on His left” (Mark 15:27). Mark connects this to fulfillment: “He was numbered with the transgressors” (implying Isaiah 53).
This is astonishing when you remember the disciples’ old ambition. In Mark 10, James and John wanted seats at Jesus’ right and left, positions of honor. Jesus told them they didn’t understand the “cup” He would drink. Now we see who is at His right and left in His coronation: not dignitaries, not leaders, but condemned sinners.
That is the heart of the gospel: Jesus doesn’t climb upward to join the elite; He descends to rescue the guilty. He didn’t come for those who think they are well; He came for the lost.
So I want you to stop making peace with pride. Pride always seeks status. Jesus seeks sinners. If you want to be near this King, you come the way thieves come: empty-handed, dependent, needing mercy.
The King Saves Others by Not Saving Himself
The crowd and leaders mock Him: “Save Yourself and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:29–32). The chief priests and scribes say something chillingly true: “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.”
They mean: “Look how powerless You are.” But God is revealing the deepest logic of substitution. Jesus could come down. But if He saves Himself, He cannot save us. The King remains on the cross because love holds Him there, obedience to the Father, mercy for enemies, salvation for sinners.
And I need to speak to you directly: some people still “mock” Jesus today, not always with words, but with unbelief, with delay, with refusing His authority, with treating the cross as irrelevant. Yet the offer stands: the One who would not save Himself is the One who can truly save you.
Discipleship begins when we stop demanding Jesus prove Himself on our terms (“Come down so we may see and believe”) and instead we bow, confess, and trust the King who reigns from a cross.
Conclusion
Mark 15 shows me a coronation unlike any other: a purple robe used for ridicule, a crown made of thorns, a procession marked by weakness, a throne made of wood, and a kingdom purchased by blood. This King is not crowned because He takes from others, but because He gives Himself for others.
So I’m calling you to respond as a disciple: don’t measure Jesus by worldly power; worship Him as the crucified King. Don’t run from the cross-shaped life; take it up and follow Him. And don’t stand at a distance as a critic; come near as a forgiven sinner who trusts the Savior.
Father, Your Word is sobering and holy. Forgive us for the ways we crave the kind of power the world celebrates and for the ways we overlook the glory of Christ in His suffering. Open our eyes to see Jesus as the true King, crowned with thorns, obedient to Your will, and saving others by giving Himself. Teach us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him with humble faith. Strengthen those who are suffering today with the comfort that Jesus understands and has gone to the depths for us. And draw those who still doubt to repentance and trust in the crucified and risen King. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Mark 15 shows me a coronation unlike any other: a purple robe used for ridicule, a crown made of thorns, a procession marked by weakness, a throne made of wood, and a kingdom purchased by blood. This King is not crowned because He takes from others, but because He gives Himself for others.
So I’m calling you to respond as a disciple: don’t measure Jesus by worldly power; worship Him as the crucified King. Don’t run from the cross-shaped life; take it up and follow Him. And don’t stand at a distance as a critic; come near as a forgiven sinner who trusts the Savior.
Closing Prayer
Father, Your Word is sobering and holy. Forgive us for the ways we crave the kind of power the world celebrates and for the ways we overlook the glory of Christ in His suffering. Open our eyes to see Jesus as the true King, crowned with thorns, obedient to Your will, and saving others by giving Himself. Teach us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him with humble faith. Strengthen those who are suffering today with the comfort that Jesus understands and has gone to the depths for us. And draw those who still doubt to repentance and trust in the crucified and risen King. In Jesus’ name, amen.