What Shall I Do with the Man? Mark 15:1-20
Notes
Transcript
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
One of the things that stand our right away in a very striking way are the similarities of this trial, if it can really be called that, and the one that Jesus endured in chapter 14. In both cases many false charges were brought and Jesus was accused of many things. In both cases Jesus refused to open his mouth to defend himself. In both cases he was asked a direct question, and though his answer does differ, they are both essentially in the affirmative. In both cases Jesus eventually suffers beatings and mockery.
—As soon as it was morning. We are now between 5 or 6 am. They have been holding Jesus all night in their mockery of a trial, have beaten him, and now it is morning.
—held a consultation. made a decision. Made their plans. As they are about to take Jesus away to Pilate they get their story straight.
Mark doesn’t record much of the detail here, but the question asked by Pilate in vs 2 is telling:
—Are you king of the Jews? This reveals the primary charge. The Jews primary issue with Jesus is his Blasphemy by claiming to be the Messiah, which they utterly reject. But Pilate has no interest in prosecuting blasphemy. But a rival king? That’s an issue.
The religious leaders have taken this claim to be the Messiah and have turned it into a political issue, and when Pilate hears the charge he asks Jesus directly. Are YOU the king of the Jews??
There is a slight emphasis on the word “you” in Pilate’s question.
Jesus’ reply is fascinating.
—You have said so. The Greek is literally just two words: You said. You said it.
Jesus reply has been of interest to many commentators. When Jesus was asked if he was the Christ by the religious leaders, He directly respond with “I am.” Here he isn’t that direct. Some have even suggested that he evades the question here, but I’m not quote convinced of that.
It’s clear that this isn’t exactly a direct affirmation. He doesn’t say “Yes” or “I am”. But nor is this a denial. He doesn’t say “no, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m being framed” or anything like that.
He simply replies “you said it”
Is Jesus the King of the Jews? Yes, but not in the way that the religious leaders claim, and not in the way that Pilate is thinking.
And that may be the thinking behind why Jesus responded as he did. A few scholars have taken this phrase to mean something along the lines of “yes, it is as you say, but you’re understanding of what that means and my understanding are very different”
The Jews are essentially accusing Jesus of inciting an insurrection.
So Pilate wants to hear from Jesus directly if He intends to take over the throne.
After Jesus’ somewhat cagey answer, the text says in vs 3 that the accusations weren’t done.
—Accused of many things. This is likely more things related to insurrection. They likely were taking some of the accusations they brought at the last trial and were spinning them to make Jesus sound like a revolutionary.
But at all this Jesu remains silent.
We saw a similar thing at Jesus’ last trial, and noted the fulfillment of Is 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
The silence of Christ is deafening here. Where most innocent men would speak up to defend themselves or where most zealots would take the opportunity to speak to the illegitimacy of Roman rule, Jesus remains silent.
Again, this reminds us of Jesus’ submission to the mission and His Father’s will. Jesus is not pictured as a man with an active death wish, nor as a man who wants to escape his fate. He is a man who has submitted himself to the path before him. A man on a mission to being salvation to the world.
Well, Pilate is amazed at all this, but he can tell that Jesus is not a guilty man. As we see in vs 10 and 14, Pilate had a pretty clear understanding of what was going on. But he thinks of himself as in a tough spot politically speaking. But now he has an idea.
In vs 6 Mark provides some background information to set the scene.
As a means of keeping the peace maintaining some level of law and order, Pilate had a habit of releasing a prisoner of their choice to the Jews during the passover festival.
And it just so happened that a REAL insurrectionist was in prison. Barabbas. We don’t catch it in the English, but Mark emphasizes the fact that Barabbas was a murderer. During some insurrection attempt at some point prior to this, Barabbas killed someone and was almost certainly awaiting his own crucifixion.
Now, we come to verse 8, and things start looking interesting.
The crowd comes and ask Pilate to do what we usually did in releasing one prisoner. This crowd is likely a very pro-Barabbas crowd. This is a pro-insurrection crowd.
One commentator noted that this crowd likely didn’t even know that Jesus had been arrested at this point, because it all took place during the night and these people are just arriving before Pilate now.
So to them, they are there for one purpose: Get Barabbas back.
But Pilate now sees an opportunity. If Jesus is being accused of being a revolutionary, and it seems that the people want a revolutionary released, and it also seems that Jesus is actually an innocent man, here is an opportunity to avoid condemning an innocent man while also looking like a hero to the crowd.
So he asks the crowd in vs 9.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?
And he asks them this because, as Mark notes, he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.
Envy. They’re jealous. Pilate can see it clear as day. He knows Jesus is innocent and that the chief priests are only acting out of envy.
They are jealous of his popularity. They are envious of his sway over the crowds.
They are zealous to maintain their own positions of authority and so they are willing to do whatever it takes, even bending the legal system to its breaking point in order to accomplish their evil purposes.
So Pilate things he’s got a way out. By offering Jesus, an alleged insurrectionist but actually innocent man, he might be able to kills several birds with one stone. 1) he appeases the crowds. 2) he saves an innocent man. 3) he gets to keep the real revolutionary, Barabbas, behind bars and on death row.
But now the chief priests get to work again.
Vs 11 says they stirred up the crowd.
That word for “stirred up” is the word that is used to speak of starting a riot. Inciting a uproar. This crowd is a crowd of zealots. They are pro-revolution. It likely wasn’t hard for the priests to get them riled up into a mob-like frenzy and now Pilate has a near riot on his hands.
They are demanding to have Barabbas released.
Pilate has to be taken aback by this. So he makes sure he is understanding them correctly. vs 12 he asks again....alright.....so what do you want me to do with the so-called King of the Jews, then?
There is some irony in the proceedings here.
Jesus was on trial for insurrection and revolution. But Jesus was not a revolutionary or insurrectionist. He is offered to the crowd, but the crowd is fine with his death, likely because Jesus was not the political leader they wanted him to be. They’d rather have their Barabbas for that.
So Jesus is being held for crimes that should have endeared him to the people, but the people don’t want HIM released because he isn’t that sort of man. If he was an insurrectionist, the likely would have received him gladly. But then Pilate would not have been so keen to release him.
The crowd rejects him because the claims are clearly false, and yet he is eventually condemned to death for those same claims.
—The crowd is a pro-Barabbas crowd. Pro-insurrection crowd. Jesus was not a revolutionary, so the crowd didn’t want him, but ironically it is the charge of insurrection that is leading to Jesus’ death.
—Envy. Even Pilate could tell that Jesus was an innocent man. He thought he could weasel his way out of the situation by offering him to the crowd, who would clearly want him over Barabbas, and thus he had cover with the chief priests.
—The preists stirred up the crowd. This is not a crowd that was predisposed to hating Jesus. But they were bro-Barabbas already and were incited by the Pharisees.
—What shall I do with the man. Most important question to be asked. But not asked of those who would speak truth. Pilate’s motivation is not truth or justice, but self-preservation through placating the people.
—Wishing to satisfy the crowd. The pharisees were motivated out of envy. Pilate out of fear of man. His plan backfired because he had no backbone.
—Purple, the crown. All mocking his new title “King of Jews”
Shall I Envy and Conspire like the Pharisees?
Shall I Placate and Appease like Pilate?
Shall I Jeer and Mock like the Soldiers?
Shall I bow in reverence to the King?
