Jesus Before Pilate
Mark 15:1-20
14:64b-65
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Jewish leaders have determined that Jesus is worthy of death. But they have a problem! They do not have the authority to put Him to death. Why have Him Crucified? Why not just stone Him? Apparently, their decision making is fulfilling prophecy without their knowledge! In any event, we see the necessity of the unholy alliance between the political and the religious in the unlawful killing of Jesus.
- Jesus is Taken to Pilate
- Two beasts
By beast I refer to the metaphor started by Daniel in his vision in Daniel 7, the resolution to the beasts in Daniel’s vision is the coming of the Son of Man!
17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
Later more information:
The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
John uses the beast metaphor from Daniel to speak about…
Heavenly rebellion and war reflected in earthly troubles
Revelation 12: 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Revelation 13: 1The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.
Beast is a reference to Daniel’s apocalyptic visions and refers to different kingdoms of the world. Babylon, Medo/Persia, Greece and Rome.
A second beast in Revelation functions as a false prophet: A Religious beast.
They are beasts because they attack God’s people.
They are beasts because they receive their authority from Satan, instead of submitting to the authority of Jesus!
Here they are at Jesus’ Crucifixion: The political beast is Pilate, the religious beast is the Jewish leadership.
But the ultimate issue is whether or not they will submit to the authority of God or not. Will they submit to God’s kingdom and will. They will not, they will advance their own, which is ultimately Satanic.
- Pilate tries to release Jesus
Pilate offers to release Jesus. Why?
Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent. Why does he not just let Him go?
Politics is interested in power. The Jewish leaders figure a way to threaten Pilate’s security. He then gives in to them because he values His own security and power over the life of one man.
It is not difficult to find examples of political leaders sacrificing the lives of people.
- Personal pragmatism as the ultimate good
This is the fountain of bad governance. People acting in their own interests instead of in the interest of truth and good.
Pilate in John’s gospel cynically: “What is truth?!”
This is why politics must submit to the authority of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Way and Jesus is the Truth and Jesus is the Life.
Jesus is the vine of God and as we abide in Him, we will bear fruit.
Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self- evident. They are not self-evident. All men are created equal. This is true in a sense, but not in every sense. But the definition of what a man is did not include slaves. All men are endowed by their Creator: Biblically defined, yes. And yet there were believers, especially in the Southern Colonies that viewed slaves as cursed by God and therefore enslaved according to the will of God. Endowed with certain rights that may not be taken from them. The right to life, the right to liberty and the right to pursue happiness. The pursuit of happiness is really just an expression of liberty that means that we have the right to pursue the good life as best as we understand it.
The failure to recognize the dignity of all people is beastly!
This is exactly what Jesus is enduring!!!
- Jesus is Mocked and Beaten
- The purpose of mockery
Why spit on someone? The goal is to strip them of their human dignity. Why is murder outlawed by God? Jesus in Matthew 5: extending the murderous behavior. Disrespect, dishonor, low esteem.
Demonstrate superiority or inferiority?
Meet power with power and force submission.
War.
Isaiah 53:
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
- Blindfolding the one who enlightens
Can Jesus answer their taunts? Yes He can. Does He submit to their ill treatment? Yes He does. Why does He do this? Because His current sufferings are a picture of what our sins deserve. God’s wrath is being poured out.
- Physical abuse accomplishes what?
Struck him with their fists
Beat him with rods
“He had Jesus flogged”
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
So, beasts, murderous behavior, rejection of all that is from God. What is going on???
III. God Means This for Good
I am that I am.
- Joseph submits to God’s redemptive will
As we have studied the gospels, we see ways in which Jesus identifies with Moses, with David, and here at His Crucifixion, especially with Joseph.
Joseph was his father’s favorite. Jesus is preferred by God.
Joseph is mistreated by his brothers, the Patriarchs after whom the tribes are numbered, minus Joseph’s two half tribes that is.
Joseph is blessed by God regardless. And Joseph’s confession applies perfectly to these events in Jesus’ life!
Genesis 50:
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Sin brings a curse, but what Satan meant for evil, God means for good!
See this statement as the conclusion of the entire book!!! What would it mean to the Jewish people who find themselves as slaves in Egypt?!
Genesis 1 and 2. God’s plan and potential. Genesis 3, 6, 9 and 11 Four big judgements. Sin has caused things to spiral out of control and God seems more and more distant. His chosen people seem pretty sorry! What you meant for evil, God meant for good. This is such a powerful statement. Good will never be defeated by evil for long. God will act. God will save. Jesus will suffer. Jesus will die. But…
Romans 8: 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Jesus submits and is exalted
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Revelation 5: 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign[b] on the earth.”
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Philippians 2:
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
- Earthly authorities lose
In Revelation 12, Satan is defeated every time by God, Jesus and the Angels. Paul confirms this is the reality in our story today!
I Corinthians 2:
7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Revelation 19: 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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