Mark - Chapter 15
15:1-20
Jesus before Pilate:
Jesus' trial before Pilate takes the same path as His trial before the Jewish Temple leaders, interrogation, condemnation, and mocking. This passage draws our attention to the responsibility of both religious and civil authorities for the death of Jesus. He is rejected first by Jerusalem (the Jews) and by Rome (the Gentiles). This passage also adds a third party which was the crowd. There were no spectators. All present were participants.
The central section of the beginning of this story contains both the interrogation and the condemnation. Pilate immediately asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews. All four gospels quote this question. Pilate wants to know if Jesus is a revolutionary challenger to the authority of Rome. His prime directive in his rule is to keep order and this is his initial concern. The chief priests accuse Jesus of many things and Pilate quickly notes there are many charges against Jesus. The silence of Jesus is a concern to Pilate. It makes sense to look at the verse in John (19:10-11) that covers this moment:
“Then sayeth Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
Just as we saw in Mark 12:40 where Jesus warns of “greater damnation”, here He specifically teaches us there are some sins that are greater than others, and some damnation that exceeds others due to greater sin.
The condemnation has an added plot twist as Pilate, who says Jesus has done no evil, tries to release Him by offering, as was tradition, to release one prisoner. He likely felt the people would ask for Jesus to be freed. Instead the Temple masters had the people to choose a murderer, Barabbas, instead. When Pilate asked what was to be done with Jesus, the people cried out “crucify him”. It is important that Pilate found Jesus to be innocent. Only by the sacrifice of innocent blood can sin be atoned so the only divine blood of innocence was used to atone for the sin of all. Pilate avoided disorder by setting free Barabbas and turning Jesus over to be scourged and crucified. Pilate knew the truth and said in verse 10 that it was out of envy the chief priests offered Him up. In Acts 3 Peter reminds the people that Pilate wished to release Jesus but the people themselves were responsible for the death of the Holy and Righteous One.
In this drama rival authorities contend to keep and secure their power. The Temple masters have religious power which they exercise by manipulating a Roman governor and the crowd gathered there. Pilate has civil authority but will not act on his own judgment because he fears the crowd will turn into a mob of disorder. The crowd wants blood and gains it.
The one quiet figure in the middle of all this confusion is Jesus. He does not claim His own ultimate authority. In this one quiet figure we, like Mark, find the real power in the one who gives His life for us, and also for those who abuse him so badly. He begs forgiveness for those who do this cruel deed.
Jesus actually exercises the ultimate authority in this story as He bends His own will to the will of His father and lays down His life to accomplish the eternal plan. In Jesus, God identifies with the unjustly accused and the wretched of the earth. The freeing of the guilty Barabbas by the death of innocence in Jesus foretells the freeing of every sinner from then onward from the penalty rightly due . Jesus exercises His authority through what appeared to be weakness but was actually the greatest of all authority as seen through His act of eternal love.