Sermon Title: WHO IS REALLY ON TRIAL?
Sermon Text: MARK 15:1-15
Sermon Series: THE PASSION NARRATIVE: FROM BETRAYAL TO THE CROSS
By: PTR NIC SY
SERMON NOTES
I. THE CHIEF PRIESTS: ROBES DON’T MAKE YOU RIGHTEOUS
envy | Greek phthonos | “displeasure for another’s good”
Jealousy wants what another person has. Envy goes further: it resents the other person for having it.
The most dangerous corruption isn’t the kind that looks evil; it’s the kind that looks holy.
Reflect: When someone else is praised, promoted, trusted, or used by God, what happens inside you?
Envy is not a small sin. In this passage, envy helps send Jesus to the cross.
II. PILATE: POWER DOESN’T MAKE YOU BRAVE
Many people do not reject Jesus because they are convinced he is false. They reject him because following him would cost too much.
Reflect: Who gets to decide what faithfulness looks like in your life — Jesus or the crowd?
The cross is not only proof of human cowardice. It is proof of divine courage.
III. THE CROWD & BARABBAS: GUILT DOESN’T HAVE THE LAST WORD
BARABBAS: Bar (son) + Abba (Father) = son of the father
Substitution: The guilty goes free because an innocent one takes the sentence.
Reflect: Have you ever truly sat with the fact that you are Barabbas?
The final word of this passage is not envy, cowardice, or crowd pressure. The final word is grace.