04/01 (Wed) – Mark 15:1-20 – Worldly Eyes

Grace, peace and mercy be yours in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Worldly eyes is the title of this message. That can have two meanings and tonight we mean both. “Worldly” can mean “having a lot of practical experience in life.” It can also mean “being of the world rather than of God.” In our Passion Reading today we see both meanings at work as Pontius Pilate, the Jewish chief priests, the crowd, and the Roman soldiers look at Jesus through worldly eyes.

I n the Roman Empire you didn’t rise to the level of power that Pilate had without being worldly-wise. To become a governor you have to look out for number one, not for others. Pilate was a man with worldly desires and ambitions. Pilate also was worldly in the sense of not personally caring about religious matters. As governor of Judea the large population of highly religious Jews was a thorn in his side.

W ith that understanding it is a odd to see Pilate cooperating with the Jewish leaders in the trial of Jesus. Especially when it is clear he he thought Jesus was innocent, based on his own investigation, but Pilate’s worldliness won out in the end. His religious skepticism is on full display when he asks Jesus, “What is truth?” In doing that he rejected the Truth¹ standing right in front of him.

One can also see his work and efforts at worldly affairs as he grants the Temple authority the execution of Jesus, while wicked Barabbas walks free. No doubt he thought it better to pacify the Jews rather than place his position of power in jeopardy, should they decided to rebellion over this insignificant Jew called King by some of them.

The Temple authority had worldly eyes as well. The Sadducees saw the popularity of Jesus as a threat to their power; the Pharisees saw Jesus as a competitor to their own religious influence and as an opponent of their legalistic theology. So the worldly Temple authority stirred up the crowds to demand the crucifixion of Jesus.

T he Roman soldiers had worldly eyes. They knew a king when they saw one, and Jesus was their view of nobility. No doubts some of them had seen Caesar; others had seen kings of the East during military campaigns, but this Jewish carpenter, beaten and bloodied and wearing a crown of thorns? What a joke. Their bowing down and praising Jesus was all mockery: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Ironically, Pilate and the soldiers got it right. Regardless of what was in their hearts, they correctly called Jesus ‘King of the Jews.’ He is in fact the eternal Messiah promised to Adam and Eve,² to Abraham,³ Isaac,⁴ and Jacob.⁵ Jesus is King, but as Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.⁶” Jesus came to this world from heaven “to bear witness to the truth.⁷” The truth is: Jesus is a king, but not a worldly one. He is the heavenly, divine King, God the Son in the flesh! While the way of the world is to look for power and glory, the true God glories in suffering and the cross, and He displays His power to save in the Gospel of Christ crucified and risen.

“ Crucify Him!” cries the crowds.

“Crucify Him!” cries the Father from His throne.

“Crucify Me!” cries the obedient Jesus.

St. John said in the epistle reading, “Whoever does the will of God abides forever,⁸”, and this of course refers to Jesus first. He came from heaven to do His Father’s will, to draw all men to Himself on the cross, bearing the sins of all people, dying for the life of the world. “God loved the world so much, that He gave His only Son⁹” to reconcile the whole world to Himself, not counting our sins against us.¹⁰

Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!¹¹” As your worldly sins are placed on Him on the cross, they are no longer on you. As your sins are placed on Him through Holy Baptism, Absolution, and the Holy Communion, they must not continue to weigh you down in guilt and shame. You should consider them to be as far from you as Wast is from West.¹² That is the Truth of the Gospel. In Jesus you have been set free from sin, death, and Hell, and you get to look forward to eternal righteousness, everlasting life, and resurrection in God’s heavenly kingdom!

As Jesus said, His kingdom is not of this world. You are called not to a worldly way, but to a heavenly one. St. Paul writes to those Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection:

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.¹³

Jesus prayed to His Father for you on the night when He was betrayed:

Father, I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.¹⁴

Satan, the evil one, would lead you to share the worldly view expressed by Pilate: “What is truth?” This kind of religious skepticism leads people to despair, or live lives of worldliness: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.” That is the world, but not you. You know the Truth about the world. St. John writes:

All that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.¹⁵

The will of God is to embrace the truth of the cross, on which the world was crucified to you, and you to the world.¹⁶ This is God’s saving way, no matter what your worldly status might be in this fallen world.¹⁷ St. Paul writes:

Consider your calling. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”¹⁸

Be in the world but not of it.¹⁹

Amen.

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