And they that passed by reviled him, shaking their heads, and saying, Aha, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days,
At the cross the crowd walking past turns the Lord's own words into a joke. They throw back a charge that had already failed in court — but what had He said about the temple, and why does Mark record the sneer of strangers?
These people were only walking past. Nothing forced them to get involved.
You might think that the passers-by would at least hold back from taking part in this terrible scene. But even they wag their heads, insult Him, misuse His words, and challenge Him to "save Himself, and come down from the cross."
The insult fits a pattern that runs through the whole account.
Verses 16-32 paint a vivid picture of the terrible circumstances around the crucifixion. All classes combined against the Lord. Pilate had already scourged Him. The Roman soldiers mocked Him in ways that were cruel as well as contemptuous. The ordinary people — just passers-by — railed at Him. The priests mocked Him with sarcasm. The two thieves crucified with Him insulted Him too. They stood for the criminal class, the very lowest of humanity. High-born and low-born, Jew and Gentile, were all involved. Yet in the end they were all helping to fulfil the Scriptures, though no doubt without knowing it.
The temple line did not come from nowhere. It goes back to a twisted report of something Jesus had said, and the twist is easy to trace.
His accusers tried to use false witnesses to prove a charge that carried the death penalty. But it failed. No two of them agreed... "We heard him say," claimed two witnesses, "I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands" (Mark 14:58). What the Lord had said was this: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). Within three days of His examination before Caiaphas, those words came true. The Jews put Him to death. They destroyed the temple of His body. On the third day He rose again. The Lord's words and the statement of these witnesses were really very different.
So the crowd is repeating courtroom gossip. He never said He would pull the building down. He said they would destroy, and He would raise — and the temple He meant was His body.
The mockers had the roles the wrong way round.
The passers-by insult Him, wagging their heads as they look at Him hanging there. Their false accusation said He was going to destroy the temple and build it up again in three days. In fact it was they who were destroying it. In a little while they will begin to see the true meaning: "In three days I will rise again."
Their timing was worse than they knew.
His words were turned against Him, not only at His trial, but in His dying moments... How little they knew that His very words were now about to be completely fulfilled!
The gesture is not a small detail. It appears in Psalm 22, the psalm that describes this death. The mockers played out the script without knowing there was one.
The "reproach of men" followed Him into this place which He had taken for men. He was "despised" even "by the people" — Israel, the nation He had been sent to in particular. Yes, He was the common mockery of everyone who saw Him. The gospels make a point of noting this wagging of the head by those passing by. They note too the very words of the psalm, used by the chief priests along with the scribes and elders to mock Him. On the surface it might look as if the government of God supplied them with this reproach. In fact they were hard, and blind to what they themselves deserved and to the holiness and mercy of God. That blindness hid from them the meaning of the scriptures they were so plainly fulfilling.
- Words twisted. The taunt repeats a charge the court had already thrown out. He said they would destroy the temple and He would raise it (John 2:19).
- Words turned back. The passers-by mock Him with His own words. Within hours those words came true in His resurrection.
- Roles reversed. They were the ones destroying the temple of His body; only He could raise it up again.
- Script unread. The head-wagging acts out Psalm 22. Hard hearts blinded them to the Scripture they were fulfilling.
- All hands guilty. Governor, soldiers, priests, criminals and passers-by, Jew and Gentile — each added a share. None of them knew they were serving God's written purpose.
save thyself, and descend from the cross.
The crowd at the cross did not just watch. They taunted the dying Man, daring Him to step down and prove Himself. Their words raise the question at the heart of the gospel. If He had the power to save Himself, why did He stay?
The abuse came from every direction.
Verses 16-32 show us in vivid detail the terrible circumstances surrounding the crucifixion. All classes combined against the Lord. Pilate had already had Him flogged. The Roman soldiers mocked Him in ways that were cruel as well as scornful. The ordinary people — just passers-by — jeered at Him. The priests mocked Him with sarcasm. The two thieves crucified with Him — the lowest of criminals — insulted Him. High-born and low-born, Jew and Gentile, were all involved. Yet the result was that they all helped to fulfil the Scriptures, though no doubt they never realised it.
You might expect people with no stake in the trial to walk on by. They did not.
It might be thought that the passers by would at least refrain from taking part in this terrible scene, but even they wag their heads, rail upon Him, misapply His words, and challenge Him to "Save Himself, and come down from the cross."
The challenge was attached to something Jesus had once said about the temple. The irony was total.
Men turned His words against Him, not only at His trial, but in His dying moments. How little they knew that His very words were now about to be completely fulfilled!
The temple He spoke of was not the building.
In fact, at that very moment they were destroying that temple, which was His body. And He would indeed raise it up, as He did in three days. He would wait for the three days: He would not save Himself and come down from the cross, as they suggested. He would willingly bear its agony for the sake of the sinful souls of men!
Commentators are clear that the demand was not beyond Him. What kept Him there was not iron.
He could have come down from the cross. It was not the nails driven through His hands and His feet that held Him there. I could only admit it if I am allowed to spell out one word on them. The nail in His right hand is L. The nail in His left hand is O. The nail in the right foot is V. The nail in the left foot is E. It was LOVE that held Him there, the love of a Saviour-God.
There is a sense in which the taunt spoke the truth, though the mockers had no idea of it. His inability was moral, not physical.
In fact, He could not save Himself, not being able to think of Himself: the love which had saved others went farther and gave Himself for us. Perfect love for His Father, obedience to His commandments, His perfect love to us, hindered His saving Himself. He might have had His twelve legions of angels, but He came for others, not for Himself. If He was to save others, He could not save Himself. What marks the terrible blindness of these priests is that they quote words which, in the Psalm where His death is described just as it is described here, come out of the mouth of the godless and the wicked (Psalm 22:7-8).
The offer — believe on a Christ who steps down — is one people still make, and it would have cost them everything.
They are saying today, as they said when He was here, "Come down from the cross, and we will believe on you." What would have been the use of any of us believing on Him if He had come down from the cross? The only way He could save us was by staying there. If we receive the Lord Jesus Christ at all, we must take Him as He is: Christ crucified, the power and the wisdom of God.
- Everyone mocked. Soldiers, priests, criminals and passers-by all joined in, high and low, Jew and Gentile. Without knowing it, they were fulfilling the Scriptures.
- Blind irony. They threw His words about the temple back at Him. At that very moment they were destroying that temple — His body — which He would raise on the third day.
- He could. He was able to come down; nails were never what held Him. Love held Him there.
- He wouldn't. Love for the Father, obedience, and love for us held Him there. Saving Himself was the one thing He could not do. He came for others, not for Himself.
- So we are saved. Had He stepped down, there would be nothing to believe in. The only Christ who saves is the Christ who stayed.