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READ: Mark 15:1-20
LISTEN: Mark 15

“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. Mark 15:2

Standing trial before Roman governor Pontius Pilate, it is clear that Jesus is king. It is a point made repeatedly as Jesus heads closer to the cross. But Mark makes it obvious that Jesus is a different kind of king, a king who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). This is in sharp contrast to Roman emperors who ruled through power and force by conquering others and taking captives. Jesus is the opposite. While other kings place people in captivity through power, Jesus sets people free by setting aside his power.

Our view of Jesus may not always match the kind of king he is. We may think of his kingdom as one of force and power. In this way, we are not so different from the Jews of Jesus’s day. They wanted Jesus to take care of their big problem—Rome. We, too, may want Jesus to take care of our problems, but we often do not recognize that the biggest problem we have is sin. That’s exactly what Jesus came to take care of. By setting aside his life, we can have eternal life and an abundant life that starts now.

TODAY: Pray this model prayer as a first step to seeing Jesus as he really is. “Father, help me see Jesus for the kind of king he actually is. I don’t want to see him as I want him but as he really is. Help me to see Jesus as the king who loves me more than I can know. Amen.”