The Verdict

The Verdict

Mark 15:1-15

            Many of us have had the privilege of being on a jury. You probably didn’t volunteer for the job, but you couldn’t get out of it, so you did your civic duty and you served. A friend of mine was recently selected to a jury in the case of a woman accused of drunk driving, and since her blood alcohol level was .2 and the legal limit in Michigan is .08, he thought it was a slam dunk. He thought it would only take a few minutes and he would be home by lunch. Boy was he wrong.

            When they convened back in the jury room, one man completely ignored the law and all of the judges’ instructions. He said, “the limit was too low, and he could drink way more booze than she did and still drive safely. I say she is innocent.” To my friends surprise other people were agreeing with him. This went on for hours until finally my friend and another man made them realize the simple truth; the law is .08 and she was .2, so, she is guilty of breaking the law.

            But still, one woman said she wouldn’t convict her because we are not supposed to judge, lest we be judged. Finally, as they were approaching five o’ clock, they all looked at each other and said, “The woman is guilty. We have to vote guilty so we can go home and not have to come back tomorrow.

            Sometimes we are forced to make a decision, about someone we don’t want to make, and like jury duty we didn’t ask to be involved but it was thrust on us and remaining neutral is not an option. That is the situation Pilate finds himself in our story. Before he even had a chance to eat breakfast the Jewish leaders show up at his door with Jesus. Pilate didn’t want to be bothered, but they wanted Jesus to be put to death. So, he was forced to hand down a verdict and make a decision concerning Christ.

            That same thing is true in each of our lives, whether we realize it or not, we must hand down a verdict on Jesus. We can open up our hearts to Him or we can reject Him, but ignoring Him and putting Him off is not an option because our eternity depends on our verdict. That is what we learn from this story, our verdict concerning Jesus Christ is the most important decision we will ever make in life.

    1      Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.

    2      Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”

    3      The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.

    4      Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!”

    5      But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

    6      Now at thefeast he used to release for them anyone prisoner whom they requested.

    7      The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.

    8      The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

    9      Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

  10      For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

  11      But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

  12      Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

  13      They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

  14      But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

  15      Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

In our passage this morning we have come to the second phase of the trial of Jesus. Phase one has been taking place all night in the palace of the high priest. Jesus has been condemned to die by the Sanhedrin, but they don’t have the authority to carry out capital punishment. All they can do is gather evidence and present it to the Romans.

            This is where we find ourselves in today’s passage, and for the first time we are introduced to a man named Pontius Pilate. Interestingly, Mark doesn’t give us much information about Pilate. Remember, Mark is writing to Christians in Rome who are familiar with Pilate and who he is. Matthew tells us Pilate was the governor of Judea. So, Pilate was a politician put in charge by Caesar to oversee the affairs of Jerusalem for the Romans. His task was to collect taxes, keep the peace, and serve as a judge.

            However, it is important to understand that Pilate despised the Jews, especially their religion. In fact, he hated them so much he refused to live in Jerusalem and only came there when he had to. The Passover was one of those times. Thousands of people would come to Jerusalem for the Passover so there was always the potential for trouble.

            But the feelings were mutual. The Jewish leaders despised Pilate as well. Because when Pilate first came to Jerusalem, he showed no respect for their religion. He set up images of Caesar throughout the city, and when the people saw it they were appalled and started to riot. Later, Pilate wanted to build an aqueduct to bring water into the city and to pay for it he robbed the temple treasury. So, the Jews hated Pilate as much as Pilate hated the Jews.

            These are the people our Lord Jesus Christ stands before and ultimately with the blessing of the people, they will condemn Him to die and hang Him on a cross. That is their verdict, they reject the Messiah, the Son of God, and the gift of grace to the world. But the question is what is your verdict? Because Jesus is on trial in this world and in our hearts every day. Our verdict concerning Jesus Christ is the most important decision we will ever make.

            The first thing I want you to see in this story is the final charge, Vs. 1-5. The Jewish leaders have been questioning Jesus all night. They have been looking for something to charge Him with and not finding any evidence. Finally, out of frustration the chief priest asks Him, “Are you the Christ? The Son of the Blessed One?” and Jesus says, “I am.” They’ve got Him, that is blaspheme. He has indicted Himself with His words, but I want you to notice that is not what they take to Pilate.

            Notice Vs. 1, “Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council, immediately held a consultation.” It is about six o’clock in the morning now. The sun has come up and these men do not want to hesitate. They are sharks that can smell the blood in the water. So, the whole Sanhedrin, 70 members in all, that make up the Jewish ruling Council, come back together to talk about this. And they do this for two reasons.

First, as wicked as they are in plotting the death of an innocent man, they are very concerned with obeying their own self-imposed laws. They know the trial they held last night was illegal, it was unjust. Their own laws stated that all trials were to take place during the day. So, this meeting in the morning was a formal sentencing. Their minds were already made up. They condemned Him to die but these hypocrites wanted to make sure they followed the rules and did it the right way.

Second, notice the word “consultation.” They want to get their story straight. They want to get their ducks in a row. Remember, as much as they would like to, they don’t have the authority to execute Jesus. They would like to take Him out back and stone Him, or throw Him from a cliff. But, they can’t do that, they have to take Him to Pilate.

So, this charge of blaspheme, which is a slam dunk to them, a sure thing, something no one can argue against. It doesn’t hold any water with Pilate. That bucket has got holes in it. He doesn’t care about their religious laws. He only cares about the laws of Caesar. So, they have to come up with a plan. They need something more. Something that will push Pilates hot buttons and make Him see Jesus must be crucified.

Notice what they do, “Binding Jesus, they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.” Well, this is interesting. Last night they arrested Him in the garden of Gethsemane with no incident, other than Peter overacting and cutting off a man’s ear. But Jesus healed that man. They accused Him and questioned Him all night in the palace of the high priest and there was no resistance from Jesus. They even slapped Him around and mocked Him and He never fought back.

But now they bind Him like a wild animal to take Him to Pilate. They have to make Him look dangerous and out of control. They want Pilate to see just what a threat Jesus is to society. Surely, this man must die.

I don’t want you to miss the fact that everything is happening according to the plan of God. Jesus warned the disciples that He would be handed over this way. None of this has caught Jesus by surprise. Mark 10:33 Jesus said, “Behold we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles.” That is exactly what is happening. They deliver Him to Pilate and the Gentiles will do what the Jewish leaders can not do, they will carry out the plan and crucify Jesus on the cross.

But notice why, look at Pilate’s question in Vs. 2, “Are you the King of the Jews?” wait a minute. I thought He was condemned for blaspheme. I thought they were going to put Him to death for claiming to be the Son of God. Now, He is being condemned for claiming to be a King?

 It is important that we understand that there is no jury, there is only a judge. Jesus is in the hands of Pilate now. He is the authority of Caesar. He has the power of life and death. He will make an example out of anyone who opposes Rome. Pilate is a politician and the only thing that matters to Pilate is power. The last thing he wants is for word to get back to Rome that things are out of control in Jerusalem.

So, he begins to question Jesus about this claim to be a King. And because Mark gives us the reader’s digest version of the story, we need to go to John 18:36. Jesus says, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My Kingdom is not of this realm.” In other words, Jesus makes it clear to Pilate that He is not interested in ruling over Rome, but in ruling over the hearts of man.

Notice Vs. 3 of Mark 15, “The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.” There is no doubt they began to huddle up together at this point. They can feel this thing slipping away. The venom begins to spew from their mouth, and they begin to twist the truth and make all kinds of false accusations. Luke tells us exactly what they were saying.

Luke 23:2 says, “And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying He Himself is Christ, a King.” See Pilate doesn’t care about their religious accusations. They need political reasons so, they become snake oil salesman and liars, and they come up with three false accusations.

1 we found Him misleading the nation. In other words, He is teaching the people there will be a revolution. 2 He is teaching the forbidding of paying taxes to Caesar. We know that is a flat out lie because when they questioned Jesus about taxes He said, “render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give to God that which belongs to God.” But you see they know Caesar will not like it if the income is going down. 3 The make Him out to be a king who is leading an uprising, and the idea is if Pilate lets this go on, he will no longer be in charge.

In Vs. 4 we see Pilate’s response, “Do you not answer? See how many charges they bring against You?” In other words, “why are you not standing up for yourself?” Pilate had never seen anything like this before, and we are told in Vs. 5 “Jesus made no further answer and Pilate was amazed.” Every other person in this position would fight to vindicate themselves but Jesus was silent and Pilate was dumbfounded.  Jesus remains completely silent and offers no self-defense.

He shows us the virtue of humility and a gentle quiet Spirit. He sets the example for us of great dignity. That is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 2:21-24, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in His steps, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return, while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept in truting Himself to Him who judges righteously. And He himself bore our sin on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds, you were healed.”

You see in many ways the silence of Christ in judgment represents the silence of sin in judgment before God. All of us will stand before God one day and we will stand silent. Because what will you say, “I never knew about Jesus. I never heard.”

The next thing I want you to see in this story is the great exchange, Vs. 6-10. This is a story that we find in all four gospel accounts and that is so rare. There are 38 verses in the gospels devoted to the exchange of Christ for Barabbas. So, this is a very important piece of the pie. And we have to ask ourselves why this passage is so important that it is included in all four gospels.

The answer is it is a picture of the substitutionary death of Christ. This story is a picture of the gospel. Barabbas represents you, and me, and the grace of God given in exchange for our lives. Spiritually, Christ died for all who believe, but physically, Christ died on a cross that was originally intended for someone else. And it is reasonable to assume that was Barabbas.

Jesus was crucified between two thieves and the thief that would have been in the middle was Barabbas. So, Barabbas becomes the visual image of the exchange on the cross. One sinner was exchanged so that all sinners might be saved. That is the story of the gospel.

In Vs. 6-10 it becomes clear Pilate did not believe Jesus was guilty and he is looking for a way out of this dilemma. Notice Vs. 6, “Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.” As a sign of good will and diplomacy Pilate’s custom was to let a prisoner go. It was like a presidential pardon, but the people got were allowed to choose.

Pilate sees this as his way out. He doesn’t want to decide, and this is a compromise he thinks will keep the peace. Then in Vs. 7 we are introduced to Barabbas. He is public enemy number one. He is a first century terrorist, and a threat to everyone around him. In Vs. 7 we learn three things about Barabbas.

1 He is in prison. He is locked up. He has been tried and convicted. So, he is a man condemned to die. 2 We learn that he is an insurrectionist. He is apart of an uprising that has attacked the Roman government. He has led a revolt. 3 He is a murderer. He has killed someone in this uprising, probably a political leader and he will stop at noting to create social upheaval. This is exactly the kind of person Pilot wants to do away with.

Notice how evasive Pilate is, vs. 8 “The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.” By this point in the morning the crowd was beginning to gather. The word was spreading fast that court was in session. This was something that took place every year. It was time for the custom to be observed and a chance for the voice of the people to be heard. But Pilate sees this as a way out. Certainly, they will want Jesus, an innocent man to be released.

We read in Vs. 9, “Pilate answered them saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Pilate is anticipating a positive response, and this is the perfect escape. He is the consummate politician. It doesn’t matter to Pilate what is right or wrong only what works.

Notice in Vs. 10 what is driving this whole situation. “For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.” Pilate knows Jesus is innocent and he wants to release Him, but he also wants to pacify the Jewish leaders. Rome doesn’t have a problem with Jesus He is not even on their radar. But these religious leaders can create a lot of political problems for Pilate.

What we see in this story is, a morally weak man’s attempt at compromise. Compromise weakens our character and our testimony. When the truth is known the truth needs to be proclaimed. Compromise means agreeing to do less than what you know should be done. It is important that we understand that God doesn’t allow compromise when it comes to His Son. We either stand with Jesus or we stand against Him. There is no neutral ground, Jesus is the sinless, Son of God, who all men should trust with their lives

Jesus said in Luke 11:23, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not scatter with Me, scatters.” What we learn from this story is, our verdict concerning Jesus Christ is the most important decision we will ever make.

The final thing I want to show you in this passage is the instigation of the crowd, Vs. 11-15. Notice Vs. 11, “The chief priests stirred up the crowd.” These so-called religious leaders circulated among the people to manipulate them. The phrase “stirred up” means to be shaken. It is the same word used to describe an earthquake. The idea here is they were shaking and agitating the people to reject Jesus and ask for Barabbas.

The people of Jerusalem respected their leaders, they trusted them, and they were easily swayed by them. And we see the same thing taking place in the world today. False religious leaders make a living manipulating people. They will pull your strings to get what they want. It is one of the evilest things that exist in the world.

Notice how explosive this crowd gets in Vs. 13. They shouted back, “Crucify Him.” Pilate never expected this. He is shocked they would choose a murderer over an innocent man. He underestimated the influence of the religious leaders. Now, the pressure is on, he is at a crossroads. He is going to have to decide one way or another what to do with Jesus.

He makes one final appeal in Vs. 14 he says, “Why, what has he done.” In other words, “what is wrong with you people that you would put this innocent man to death” But there is no excuse, there is no answer. Their hearts are hard, their minds are closed, and His fate is sealed. And they became louder and more determined as they shouted, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!!”

There is nothing more wicked than for people to have evil leaders over them. That is what we see in this story.  Jesus said they were the blind leading the blind. That is the only way to account for this. The human heart is so easily deceived and led astray. Just look at the advertisements we see on television. Men will spend millions of dollars to just to have the opportunity to manipulate your mind for 30 seconds. We buy n to it.

Notice Vs. 15, “Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” Pilate’s decision was final. He gave into the pressure of the world, not because it was the right thing to do, but because he wanted to satisfy the crowd.

I can’t help but think that so many of us pass our verdict on Jesus for the same reason. We give into the pressure of the world, and we reject Him. Not because it is the right thing to do but because we want to satisfy the crowd.

Also, in the story of Barabbas we see the guilty man set free, and the innocent Son of God condemned to die. This is the gospel. And we are left to make our own judgment of Jesus in our life. His sacrifice demands a verdict, and we are part of a jury whether we choose to be or not.

The verdict we make is expressed by the way we live our life. Salvation is not found in the words we say, the church we attend, or the works we perform. Salvation is found in the substitution of Jesus for us on the cross. Our verdict concerning Jesus Christ is the most important decision we will make in life.