INTRODUCTION:

            In our passage today we meet another participant in the death of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.  Let me give you a little background.  When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, there was a cruel man ruling over Israel named Herod the Great, he was called a king but in reality he was put into his position by the emperor of Rome and could be removed by the emperor.  He was the emperor’s ruling representative in Israel at the time.  When Herod the Great died, instead of giving one man all the ruling power over Israel, the land of Israel was divided up among several of his sons.  His son, Archelaus was given the southern region of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.  Herod’s son, Antipas was given the regions of Galilee and Perea.  The northern regions of Trachonitis and Ituraea were given to the half-brother of Antipas, Philip the Tetrarch.  Herod Archelaus quickly showed himself to be an extremely cruel and incompetent ruler and was removed by Rome in 6 A.D. and replaced by a series of governors, one of whom was Pontius Pilate.  Pontius Pilate was appointed by emperor Tiberius in 26 A.D. and was responsible to command the Roman military, collect taxes, and sit as judge in legal matters.  Pilate was the only one in the region of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea who could condemn someone to death.  The Jewish Sanhedrin could recommend the death penalty to the governor, and he would judge whether their case and their evidence warranted the death penalty.  This is what we find in our passage this morning, after the illegal night trial of Jesus and the verdict of guilty of blasphemy, the Sanhedrin must now convince Pilate to execute Jesus.  Let’s pray and then get into our passage.

--PRAY--

 

SCRIPTURE:

            Turn in your Bibles to Mark 15:1-15, our passage for this morning.  As each of the gospels give a different perspective and added details, I will be referring to them to get the fullest picture of the Roman Trial.  Mark 15:1-15 will be our starting point.  Please, stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word, and follow along as I read.

     Mark 15:1-15,

            “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. Pilate questioned Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’  And He answered him, ‘It is as you say.’  The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, ‘Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!’  But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them, saying, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’  For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. Answering again, Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?’  They shouted back, ‘Crucify Him!’  But Pilate said to them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’  But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’ Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:1–15, NASB95)[1]

JESUS BEFORE PILATE (Mark 15:1-5)

            The illegal trial at the house of Caiaphas ended between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. at the same time that Peter’s denials had ended and the rooster had crowed for the second time.  For the next hour or two, Jesus would have been held prisoner by the temple police.  Mark writes that early in the morning, possibly at daybreak, which was about 5:00 am, the Sanhedrin reconvened at the Sanhedrin chambers at the Temple.  Mark writes, “Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation.” (Mark 15:1, NASB95)[2]   If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, I told you that Jewish law required that all trials heard by the Sanhedrin had to be conducted during daytime.  Because of this the Sanhedrin met again to make it appear that they were following the law, they at this time condemned Jesus officially.  Jewish law also required a full day to pass between sentencing and execution to allow for new evidence or testimony to surface and for each member of the Sanhedrin to consider the judgment they gave.  But in their haste to see Jesus executed, the members of the Sanhedrin ignored this law and illegally sought for Jesus’ death that same day.  This early morning consultation was also needed to come up with a political charge that Pilate would accept, he would not execute someone for blasphemy.  So, by twisting things, they would charge Jesus with treason by His claiming to be a king, a very serious crime in the Roman empire.

            This early morning consultation made up the third phase of the Jewish portion of Jesus’ trial.  It was now time to get the Romans involved, which would also consist of three phases.  Jesus would first stand before the governor of Judea, Pilate.  Second, he would stand before Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, and then third, He would stand before Pilate again and be sentenced to death by crucifixion.  From a human perspective, the death of Jesus Christ was brought about by a group of religious leaders who hated Him and who were jealous of His popularity with the people, and a Roman governor who was more concerned with his political position than he was about seeing justice carried out.  But from a divine perspective, God was the true power at work in bringing the Son of God to the cross.  God the Father was sovereignly working to accomplish His plan of redemption in spite of the wicked schemes of evil men.  According to Old Testament prophecy the Son of God would be crushed as the Father’s chosen atoning substitute, bearing the Father’s wrath against sin which would result in reconciling sinners to God.

            Having finished their early morning consultation, Jesus was bound again, and led away and delivered to Pilate.  Pilate is described by historians as being brutal and impulsive, but there were other times that he showed weakness and indecision.  Jesus was delivered to Pilate’s judgment hall, the Praetorium, which was most likely located in Fort Antonia just north of the temple.  Pilate’s official residence was at Caesarea Maritima, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, but he was in Jerusalem for the Passover to keep the peace.  John 18:28 describes for us the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who delivered Jesus to Pilate.  John writes, “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.” (John 18:28, NASB95)[3]  This is wild, the religious leaders self-righteously refused to enter a Gentile building for fear of becoming ceremonially unclean, yet they had no problem lying in order to murder the Son of God.  John goes on to describe the scene for us, “Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this Man?’  They answered and said to him, ‘If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.’  So Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.’  The Jews said to him, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death,’  to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.” (John 18:29–32, NASB95)[4]  From what is recorded here it is clear that the religious leaders did not want Pilate to act as judge, but only as the executioner.  They had already condemned Jesus as guilty; they just need Pilate as the Roman governor to approve their judgment and use his power to have Jesus executed.  These hypocrites were hoping to avoid appearing  responsible for Jesus’ death, pinning the blame on Rome should the people demand answers.  Luke tells us that the religious leaders tried to make Jesus appear to Pilate as a revolutionary and as such a threat to Rome’s power.  They accused Jesus of deceiving the nation, forbidding people to pay taxes and claiming that He was a king which was treason against Caesar (Luke 23:2).  If these charges were true, they would have constituted serious crimes against the Roman government.  But Jesus was not a revolutionary.  He never called for rebellion or even civil disobedience against Rome.  Just opposite of what the religious leaders claimed, He told people to pay their taxes.  And Jesus avoided those who were going to try and make Him King by force.  Though Jesus is the King of kings, His earthly kingdom will be established in the future.  At this time, He had no intention to fight against the Roman empire or to encourage His disciples and friends to do so.

            Pilate as governor and staying in Jerusalem during the Passover to maintain order and keep the peace  must have been aware of Jesus, who He was and all that He had done in the city that week.  The Roman soldiers that had accompanied the crowd to the garden to arrest Jesus would not have been sent without Pilate’s knowledge or permission.  Even with this knowledge, Pilate never believed that Jesus was a serious political threat, as the Sanhedrin’s representatives were claiming.

            Returning to the Praetorium, Pilate approached Jesus, He did not look like a king, standing there with His face bruised and bloody.  His garments stained with dirt, sweat, and blood.  “Pilate questioned Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ ” (Mark 15:2a, NASB95)[5]  Jesus responded to Pilate directly and truthfully.  “And He answered him, ‘It is as you say.’ ”(Mark 15:2b, NASB95)[6]  John supplements Mark’s brief summation of this conversation, John writes Jesus’ words in response to Pilate’s question, “Jesus answered, ‘Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?’ Pilate answered, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?’  Jesus answered, ‘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.’  Therefore Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’  Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’  Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, ‘I find no guilt in Him.’ ” (John 18:34–38, NASB95)[7] Even though Pilate did not let Jesus answer his question, one thing is clear he did not believe Jesus was guilty of a capital crime.  The questioning of Jesus by the Roman governor, who was the highest authority in the region of Judea found Him not guilty, and He repeatedly said that he found no fault in Him.

            Mark tells us that upon hearing Pilate’s verdict, the chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.  Luke tells us in Luke 23:5, “But they kept on insisting, saying, ‘He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.’ ” (Luke 23:5, NASB95)[8] Jesus kept silent and did not respond to their false accusations.  Mark writes, “Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, ‘Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!’ ” (Mark 15:4, NASB95)[9] The unrestrained hatred, anger, and deceit of the religious leaders stood in stark contrast to the majestic silence of the Lord Jesus.  Though they continued to spout false accusations about Him, “Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.” (Mark 15:5, NASB95)[10]  The word translated “amazed” is a Greek word that means “to marvel” or “to be in wonder.”  Pilate was shocked by Jesus’ silence as He was falsely accused of serious crimes.  He offered no testimony in self-defense.  He did not need to, His innocence had already been declared by the Roman governor, He did not need to respond to false claims made about Him.  Besides this His silence fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the silence of the suffering servant before His accusers (Isaiah 42:1-2; Isaiah 53:7).

JESUS BEFORE HEROD ANTIPAS (Luke 23:8-12)

            As the religious leaders continued to throw accusations at Jesus they mentioned Galilee in the midst of their rant.  Pilate asked whether Jesus was Galilean.  When he learned that Jesus belonged to the territory of Herod Antipas, he sent Jesus to him.  Herod was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Hoping for some help in deciding what to do with Jesus Pilate sent Jesus to him to be examined.

            Herod Antipas had heard about Jesus, and he was fearful that Jesus might be John the Baptist, risen from the dead and seeking his revenge for Herod executing him.  His initial interest in Jesus was to kill Him if He truly was John the Baptist.  The Lord Jesus had evaded Herod’s clutches, so this would be the first time that Herod would see Jesus face-to-face.  Luke records the encounter between Jesus and Herod Antipas in Luke 23:8-12, “Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.” (Luke 23:8–12, NASB95)[11]

            When Herod finally met Jesus, he was unimpressed.  He quickly recognized that He was not John the Baptist in a resurrected form.  At this realization Herod quickly transitioned from fear to curiosity to ridicule.  Herod had his soldiers dress Jesus in a royal robe, then treated Him as a mock king and turning the whole encounter into some sort of joke for his own amusement.  After his fun was over he returned Jesus to Pilate without adding any charges, again affirming the Lord’s innocence despite the continued accusations of the religious leaders.

 

JESUS BEFORE PILATE AGAIN (Mark 15:6-15)

            Receiving Jesus back from Herod Antipas put Pilate in a difficult political position.  The Roman governor knew that Jesus was innocent and Pilate wanted to preserve at least a shred of justice.  Pilate’s concern was offending the religious leaders.  Pilate had made several mistakes as the governor of Judea, religious mistakes that had offended the Jewish people and their leaders.  He had paraded banners through Jerusalem that bore the image of Caesar and the people protested that the images were idolatrous.  On another occasion, Pilate seized funds from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct into Jerusalem, again offending the people by using sacred funds for a building project.  Another offense came when Pilate hung gold covered shields honoring Tiberius Caesar in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem.  Again, the Jews saw the shields as idolatrous and asked for them to be removed.  Pilate refused, which led to a Jewish delegation going to Rome and appealing to Caesar, who angered by Pilate’s insensitivity toward the people, ordered him to remove the shields.

            Because of these events, Pilate had put his political career in a precarious position.  If another bad report about him reached Caesar, it would likely mean that he would lose his position and be called back to Rome.  So, when the religious leaders declared to Pilate, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” (John 19:12b, NASB95) Pilate knew this was a threat to complain about him again.  Pilate knew he had to tread lightly in this situation.

            Trying to retain some justice in this situation, Pilate made a final appeal to the religious delegation, explaining to them that he had found no guilt at all in Jesus and neither had Herod.  Pilate knew there were no grounds on which to execute Jesus.  Hoping to appease the religious leaders Pilate offered to punish Jesus unjustly, hoping that a little blood shed would appease Jesus’ accusers.  But they would not relent until He was crucified.

            Pilate was still hoping for a way out of this that would leave this innocent man alive, and maybe he could through the annual Passover tradition.  Mark explains for us, “Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.” (Mark 15:6, NASB95)[12] As a way to promote goodwill and to show Rome’s mercy, each year at Passover Pilate would release one prisoner selected by the people, and that prisoner would receive a full pardon.  Pilate thought that for sure the people would choose Jesus, after all He was very popular with the people, and this would solve his problem of executing an innocent man.  The other option for release was a violent man named Barabbas.  John tells us he was a robber.  Mark says that he is an insurrectionist and was imprisoned with other insurrectionists, and he had committed murder during the insurrection.  It is very likely the cross that held Jesus, was meant initially to hold Barabbas.  Ironically, the name Barabbas is two words, the first word is bar which means “son of” and the second word is abba which means “father,” so Barabbas means “son of the father.”  Here a lawbreaking son of a human father was being offered to the people in place of the sinless Son of the divine Father.

            By this time word had circulated that Jesus was on trial before Pilate and a crowd had gathered, and they began asking Pilate to release and pardon a prisoner for them.  Pilate had heard of Jesus popularity with the people so he thought this was the perfect way to get Jesus released, this crowd would never choose the evil Barabbas.  By doing this he could preserve justice and at the same time earn favor with the people.  Mark writes Pilate’s response to the crowd asking him to give the annual pardon. “Pilate answered them, saying, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ ” (Mark 15:9, NASB95)[13]  By calling Jesus the King of the Jews, Pilate was intentionally snubbing the religious leaders because Mark tells us, “For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.” (Mark 15:10, NASB95)[14] Pilate knew that the religious leaders hated Rome, and their desire to have Jesus executed had nothing to do with loyalty to Rome, but it had everything to do with preserving their position and their influence and prestige with the people.  Because of this there was only one option they would buy into being driven by their pride and jealousy, they had rejected their own Messiah, because He had repeatedly exposed their hypocrisy, challenged their authority, and threatened their religion and power.  In other words, Jesus performed miracles, they could not; He proclaimed truth, they did not; He was from God, and they were not.

            What Pilate did not consider was the influence the religious leaders had among the people, and they moved through the crowd stirring them up to ask Pilate to release Barabbas for them instead of Jesus.  Luke gives the crowds response when Pilate asked if they wanted the King of the Jews released, “But they cried out all together, saying, ‘Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!’ ” (Luke 23:18, NASB95)[15]  Mark writes, “Answering again, Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?’ ” (Mark 15:12, NASB95)[16] No doubt Pilate was shocked when they asked for this violent, evil murderer instead of Jesus.  The crowds on Monday had enthusiastically supported Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem, but this crowd shouted back to Pilate, “Crucify Him!”  “But Pilate said to them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’  But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’ ” (Mark 15:14, NASB95)[17]

            Pilate quickly recognized that this crowd could quickly become a riot, the mounting pressure on Pilate was overwhelming, he was here to keep the peace.  Another uprising would surely end his political career.  He knew the only way to quiet this crowd and restore peace was to give into their demands and sentence Jesus to death.  Using a Jewish custom to symbolize his reluctance to give in to their demands, Matthew writes, “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.’ ” (Matthew 27:24, NASB95)[18]  Pilate had repeatedly declared the innocence of Jesus, and now Pilate tried to maintain his own innocence.  Pilate was blackmailed by the religious leaders and was guilty of deliberately perverting justice for the sake of his political career.  Matthew tells us that those in the crowd had no problem acknowledging their part in the death of the Son of God.  He writes, “And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’ ” (Matthew 27:25, NASB95)[19]  Unbelievable, at the very time when these people were celebrating God’s mercy and goodness through the Passover, they were violently screaming for the death of His Son and acknowledging that they are responsible for the crime.  Incredible!

            The final phase of the Roman trial of Jesus Christ came to an end with a wavering politician caving to the violent demands of a crowd on the verge of rioting.  Mark writes, “Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15, NASB95)[20]  Scourging was intended to hasten death on the cross.  The whip used had a wooden handle with long leather thongs attached to it.  The leather thongs had bits of sharp metal and bones embedded in them.  The purpose was to rip the flesh to the bone, often the muscles in the back would be lacerated, veins cut, even internal organs exposed at times.  After enduring this violent and debilitating form of torture, Jesus Christ, the Son of God was handed over to be crucified.

CONCLUSION:

            With this final sentence, Pilate condemned Jesus to die the death reserved for the worst of criminals, the cruel death of crucifixion.  This passage seems as if Jesus were on trial before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, but the truth is Pontius Pilate was on trial before the Son of God.  Though Pilate lacked spiritual awareness, he expressed the ultimate question that each and every person must answer, “What shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” Mark 15:12b, NASB95)  The eternal destiny of every human being is determined by what he or she does with Jesus Christ, the King of kings.  Those who reject Him will face everlasting judgment, but all who repent and embrace Him by faith as Savior and Lord will be rescued from God’s wrath against sin and receive salvation.  The passage today is tragic for Pilate and those religious leaders and the people they swayed in the crowd, their hatred, jealousy, prideful unbelief sealed their eternal destruction.  What will you do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews, the One who is the King of kings and Lord of lords?  Is He more than just your Savior, is He your King and Lord and Master?

 

[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[18]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[19]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[20]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.