TEXT [Commentary]

10. Jesus’ trial before Pilate (15:1-15; cf. Matt 27:11-26; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28–19:16)

1 Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council[*]—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.

6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.

9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

NOTES

15:1 took him to Pilate. The actual Gr. is “handed him over” (paredōkan [TG3860, ZG4140]). This verb appears frequently for the “giving over” of Jesus (9:31; 10:33; 14:10, 11, 18, 21, 41-44). As the Roman governor, Pilate collected the taxes for Rome, kept the peace, selected the high priest, and protected Rome’s interests in Israel.

15:2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” Jesus responded by acknowledging that Pilate had made the remark. This was a roundabout way of saying, “Yes, I am, but not in the sense you intend.” This was Jesus’ qualified acceptance that he was (and is) the Messiah (on the grammar, see BDF §441; cf. Matt 26:25, 64; 27:11; Luke 22:70; 23:3; John 18:37; Lane 1974:551). Ironically, Pilate gave recognition to who Jesus was.

15:3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes. Mark gives no details, but Luke 23:2 speaks of leading the people astray, not paying taxes to Rome, and claiming to be a king. The last charge was already on the table, as 15:2 makes clear.

15:4 Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to respond. The structure of the Gr. indicates that Pilate fully expected a reply.

15:5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise. Pilate was amazed that Jesus remained silent. The scene again evokes Isa 53:7. Jesus’ silence suggested that something was not right about the charges.

15:6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. We have no outside corroboration of this custom, but that is because we know very little about what Pilate did except when he upset the Jews or was involved with Jesus. Lane (1974:553) notes a singular amnesty enacted in AD 85 by the governor of Egypt as a parallel.

15:7 Barabbas, a revolutionary. Pilate allowed the crowd a choice between Barabbas and Jesus. Barabbas is described as a participant in a disturbance (stasei [TG4714, ZG5087]) who commited a murder during the incident. He is described in the Gr. as part of a group of insurrectionists—a “revolutionary” (stasiastōn [TG4955A, ZG5086]; see BDAG 940). There is precedent for similar use of this term and related words in Jewish literature (Jdt 7:15; 2 Macc 4:30; 14:6; Josephus War 6.2.8). Ironically, Barabbas’s name means “son of the father” in Aramaic, though Mark does not note that. Barabbas’s freedom at Jesus’ expense highlights the substitutionary nature of Jesus’ death.

15:11 the leading priests stirred up the crowd. Mark holds the chief priests responsible as the major force behind Jesus’ demise. The verb anaseiō [TG383, ZG411] means to “shake up,” so “stirring up the crowd” is a good English rendering (Luke 23:5; BDAG 71; Cranfield 1959:450).

15:15 flogged. On ancient descriptions, see Josephus War 2.306, 308; 5.449; Livy History 33.36. Mark says that Jesus was scourged, and the NLT has noted the kind of whipping this was likely to be.

turned him over. The NLT explains that when Jesus was “delivered over” (paredōken [TG3860, ZG4140]), he was given to Roman soldiers (for this key term in Mark for being “delivered over,” see 15:1). These soldiers were most likely mercenaries—legionaries from surrounding areas. Luke 23:2 and John 19:12 tell us that if Pilate did not deal with Jesus, the charge could be made he was not doing his job, since it related to keeping the peace in the region and the possibility of a king other than Caesar.

crucified. On crucifixion, see TDNT 7:573-574; it is regarded as the cruelest form of execution and as “servile punishment” (Evans 2001:482, citing Valerius Maximus 2.7.12; Tacitus Histories 2.72; 4.11; for details, see Hengel 1977). Mark gives no details about it when he narrates Jesus’ death.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The section begins with “the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law” (the entire high council) taking Jesus to Pilate. This is the same group that had been driving events since Jesus was arrested (14:43). Since Pilate was in Jerusalem for the feast, it was seen as wise to get this resolved while Pilate was present. So they went to him “very early in the morning” (15:1).

For Pilate, the political dimensions of Jesus’ claims were important. Was he claiming to be another king in competition with Caesar? If he was, it was Pilate’s duty to eliminate this threat. In Mark, “King of the Jews” is a description attributed to Jesus exclusively by those who were responsible for his execution—namely, Pilate, the hostile crowd, the soldiers, the chief priests, and the scribes (15:2, 9, 12, 18, 26, 32).

According to Mark, it was the crowd that sought the customary amnesty for a prisoner this Passover. Cranfield (1959:450) suggests that the crowd might have been filled with Barabbas’s supporters, just in case amnesty were offered. The crowd, stirred up by the leading priests, asked for the release of Barabbas, a revolutionary (see note on 15:7). Pilate turned Jesus’ destiny over to the crowd: “Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?” (15:9). As Pilate asked if Jesus should be given his freedom, he mockingly described Jesus as king. To Pilate, Jesus was an insignificant figure from Galilee, but Pilate “realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy” (15:10). Pilate recognized that the battle between Jesus and the leaders was a power struggle. The leaders were jealous of the things Jesus could do and were protecting their own power (12:12, 37b).

After hearing that the crowd wanted Barabbas, he turned to them and asked, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?” (15:12). This is the third use of “king of the Jews” in this chapter, with two more instances to follow (15:18, 26). The response from the crowd was startling. “They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’” (15:13). Although the leaders had driven the movement to have Jesus killed, the crowd supported it. Incredulous, Pilate asked the crowd, “Why? . . . What crime has he committed?” (15:14). Pilate still viewed Jesus as innocent (see also 15:10) and as not deserving death. But as the crowd continued to ask for Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate was faced with a public disturbance, so he decided to pacify the crowd by acting in a way that would preserve his popularity rather than serve justice. His alternative plan had failed and he released Barabbas to them. If this move did not go well, Pilate could say that he had simply listened to the locals.

Pilate “ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified” (15:15). In preparation for crucifixion, those who were to be executed were flogged with whips tipped with lead or animal bone chips, often with the prisoners attached to a pillar (Taylor 1966:584). The idea was to get the victim bleeding so that death would come more quickly.

In this section, Pilate’s examination of Jesus shows the pressure that the Jewish leaders placed on the governor. The leaders brought Jesus to him, got the crowd worked up over Jesus, and pressed for the death penalty. Although he tried to get Jesus released, Pilate found the public pressure, and the resulting political threat, to be too great. He knew that Jesus was innocent, but sent him to death anyway. The crowd opted for Barabbas instead of Jesus when they had a chance to free a prisoner, and Jesus was substituted for a state criminal. Jesus died for another, who was freed by his death. In that exchange, Mark pictures the substitutionary death of Jesus (10:45).