Sermon Title: WHO IS REALLY ON TRIAL?Sermon Text: MARK 15:1-15Sermon Series: THE PASSION NARRATIVE: FROM BETRAYAL TO THE CROSSBy: 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.