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The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Our Lord Jesus Bled For Us
March 9, 2008

TEXT:  NKJ Mark 15:15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. 16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
 
In the Old Testament—when the Passover Lamb was sacrificed, blood had to flow freely from the lamb to affect the saving grace of God—the blood would be painted on the doorposts—the lamb shed enough blood to be collected in a basin—consider Moses’ instructions to the elders of Israel
 
NKJ Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.
 
Paul—a scholar of the Old Testament—a Pharisee—and a man who stood face to face with Jesus on the road to Damascus when he was called into the ministry—wrote in his letter to the Corinthians that Jesus is our Passover Lamb
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
 
Jesus—the Passover Lamb—did not simply allow Himself to be killed—dying was not enough—Jesus had to bleed profusely to fulfill the role of Passover Lamb—in His suffering and bleeding we are reminded that it is by the Blood of the Lamb that we obtain our salvation—in the Old Testament Moses instructed the people to never forget that they were saved by the blood of the Lamb
 
NKJ Exodus 12:26 "And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 "that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.' " So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
 
Pontius Pilate found no fault with Jesus—and Pilate did not want to crucify an innocent man—Pilate offered to let either Jesus or the ruthless and dangerous man called Barabbas be set free—the Jews were persuaded by the Jewish Council leaders to ask for Barabbas to be set free—Pilate ordered Jesus to be brutally scourged—perhaps when the Jews would see the flesh laid open on this innocent man, they would change their mind about demanding His crucifixion
 
NKJ Matthew 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it." 25 And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." 26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
 
The Jewish law allowing no more than 40 stripes with a whip did not apply to men being whipped by the Romans—the Roman soldiers would most likely took turns beating Jesus—our Lord would have been naked to the waist and tied to a post for the beating—His back ripped open with blood flowing freely from His wound—the Passover Lamb provided the blood of sacrifice—without blood there would be no remission of sin
 
NKJ Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
 
Blood is life
 
NKJ Genesis 9:4 "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
 
Jesus began giving up His life as a sacrifice for us when He began to bleed for our sins—His blood is our atonement
 
NKJ Leviticus 17:11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'
 
As the soldiers mocked and beat Jesus—the blood flowed freely from His body—He was scourged with a whip—He was beaten with fists—struck repeatedly with a rod—fitted with a crown of thorns—to say He suffered and bled would be a gross understatement—everything happened just as the Prophet Isaiah prophesied
 
NKJ Isaiah 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away. 6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. 7 " For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.
 
NKJ Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
 
As we consider all the suffering our Lord endured—we must remember His words—Jesus gave Pilate and these Roman soldiers the authority to do these things to Him
 
NKJ John 19:10 Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" 11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
 
As the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus they placed upon His a bloody back a purple robe—Jesus’ blood would be all over the inside of that robe—couple this incident with the white robe placed upon our Lord by Herod’s men, and we see the symbolism—the purple robe was a garment of royalty—and Jesus was King of the Jews—and the white robe would be part of the priestly garments worn into the holy area of the temple—consider the description of Christ in the book of Revelation
 
NKJ Revelation 19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
 
To close our discussion of the robes—we read from the Prophet Isaiah concerning our Lord
 
NKJ Isaiah 63:2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 " I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. 4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come.
 
The blood that stained the robe the soldiers placed upon Jesus was His blood for our sins—and as we think about the royal purple robe—we need to include the words in King David’s Psalm about Jesus’ crucifixion
 
NKJ Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
 
At first this looks like it has little to do with the royal robe covered with Jesus’ blood after His scourging—but if you analyze the word worm in the original Hebrew language—this word is used to describe the little worm which when squashed it squirts its blood in all directions—and that worm blood is what dyes the majestic purple cloth of the day—therefore, the purple robe was colored in blood on the outside—and covered with Christ’s blood on the inside
 
None of the things done to our Lord were per chance—it was all for our learning
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!