Sentenced

Mark 15:1-15

¹And 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. ² And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” ³ And the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” ⁵ But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. ⁶ Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. ⁷ And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. ⁸ And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. ⁹ And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. ¹² And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus’ interaction with Pilate is interesting on many levels. Here, Jesus stands not before the basically powerless Jewish leadership, but before the representative of the Roman government. Pilate in not beholden to the Jews but he does fear a riot. At the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate is already on thin ice with the Romans because there have been too many riots in his jurisdiction. So, he is motivated by a need to keep the peace more than anything else. He certainly has nothing personal against Jesus and that is clear from the text in all of the Gospels. The official residence of the Roman governor of Judea (Pilate) was Caesarea on the Mediterranean. During the Jewish holy days he usually took up residence in Jerusalem in order that his presence might prevent any disorders. While in Jerusalem he usually lived in a section of Herod’s palace. Pilate was procurator of Judea from 26 to 36 ad.

Pilate had it within his power to free Jesus, for he clearly sees that Jesus is innocent. But his fear of the Jew’s ability to cause him trouble forces his hand and he gives them what they want – Jesus’ blood. While he “washes his hands” of Jesus’ blood, he does indeed carry some of the guilt for shedding it. He is not an innocent pawn in the hands of Jews. Jesus does briefly discuss His situation with Pilate while they are in private (see John 19) but when standing before the crowds, He refuses to speak. Why bother with words of self-defense before those who most definitely did not want to hear them.  

All these events lead to the redeeming work of Jesus upon the Cross. At this point, He is just enduring what humanity has to throw at Him. He is submitted to the process and goes obediently into death. It is never a waste of time to ponder His suffering again and again. We have life because He embraced His death for us. We have the benefit of standing on this side of history, trying to imagine what that day was like for everyone involved. It was horrific. But in that horror, our victory is won.

Yesterday, Steve, my only sibling, died. His life was a challenging one. But the he never gave up the faith that my parents raised him to embrace. He loved Jesus and spoke of His Savior with reverence and trust. Today, Steve rests in the arms of his Savior and we will meet again someday. As Christ stood before Pilate, it was for people like me and my brother – and you.