Sermon Title: THE SOUND OF HIS FOOTSTEPS
Sermon Text: MARK 15:16-20
Sermon Series: THE PASSION NARRATIVE: FROM BETRAYAL TO THE CROSS
By: PTR NIC SY
SERMON NOTES
I. THE RUMBLE OF ASSEMBLED CRUELTY
A crowd can make cruelty feel normal.
Reflect: Where have we allowed a crowd to lower our compassion?
II. THE SMACK OF BRUTALITY AND VIOLENCE
reed | Greek kalamos | “a staff, a measuring rod.”
Reflect: When you think about Jesus’ suffering, has it become too familiar to you?
The physical pain of Jesus reminds us that his love was not sentimental. It was painful.
III. THE SPIT OF MOCKERY AND CONTEMPT
Have you ever been treated with contempt?
The spit of mockery was not just a historical detail of Roman cruelty; it is the proof that Jesus’ love goes beyond our shame.
IV. THE THUD OF FALSE WORSHIP
kneeling down | Greek proskuneó | “to bow down, to prostrate oneself, to worship.”
Reflect: Does the posture of my body match the posture of my heart?
The thud of knees on a floor is either the most hollow sound in human experience or the most sacred.
V. THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS.
led | Greek exagó | “to lead out, to bring out.”
The joy set before him, the thing that kept those feet moving, was you.
Reflect: If Jesus walked willingly toward the worst thing imaginable for the joy of bringing you home, what does that say about how he sees you? And what would it mean to follow someone who walks like that?
Every step was chosen. Every step was for you.
The gospel is the good news that the Son of God walked willingly into the worst of human cruelty and absorbed it, so that you and I could be set free.