Mark 15:1-15

It's March 15th and it's just a mere coincidence that we're in Mark 15.

We're starting Mark 15 on March 15th.

And that coincidence means nothing for us this morning except that it was a good reminder of which passage I'd be teaching

when Nathan told me several weeks ago that I'd be doing this on March 15th.

So if you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me there to Mark chapter 15.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

It's in this particular portion of Scripture that we meet a fascinating man by the name of Pontius Pilate.

He's probably known by most, even if you haven't been or grown up in church.

His name is usually at least recognizable, usually for his infamy rather than his fame.

Many equate him with names like Judas, like Herod, like Annas and Caiaphas.

All the other evil characters in Scripture involved in the unparalleled drama that unfolds around the cross,

around what leads up to Jesus' crucifixion.

And if we look from a simple human standpoint, these men are all co-conspirators in what ultimately leads Jesus to his death.

But from a divine perspective, however, God is the true power and the true influence who leads his Son to the cross.

And so it's important for us, before we read this, that we come to an understanding

that there's not a moment in this passage that we're about to read that God is not in control.

And for that matter, there's not a moment in the rest of this chapter as we're going to see Jesus being nailed to a cross

that God is not in control.

And if your life seems like it's out of control this morning, then please know this.

God is in control.

He always has been and He always will be.

This was His plan all along, what we're about to read.

And it's very important for us to understand this if we are to rightly understand our salvation

and the love that God has for us.

Beginning in verse 1, chapter 15.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priest held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council.

They bound Jesus and led Him away and delivered Him over to Pilate.

And Pilate asked Him,

Are you the King of the Jews?

And He answered him,

You have said so.

And the chief priest accused Him of many things.

And Pilate again asked Him,

Have you no answer to make?

See how many charges they bring against you.

In verse 5,

But Jesus made no further answer,

so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the feast, He used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.

And among the rebels in prison who had committed murder in the insurrection,

there was a man called Barabbas.

And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

And he answered them saying,

Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?

For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priest had delivered him up.

Verse 11,

But the chief priest stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

And Pilate again said to them,

Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?

And they cried out again,

Crucify Him!

And Pilate said to them,

Why? What evil has he done?

But they shouted all the more,

Crucify Him!

And so Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,

Release for them Barabbas.

And having scourged Jesus,

He delivered Him to be crucified.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Heavenly Father,

We are so grateful

For this moment in history.

Though tragic to read,

Though difficult to read,

We thank you, Father,

For this moment in history,

Because we know it ultimately led you

To the sacrifice

That leads us to salvation.

And that's something we'll be forever grateful for.

We know that you demonstrated your love

In the biggest kind of way

That you possibly could in this moment.

So Father, I pray that

Your Word this morning

Would reach deeply into our hearts.

That your Spirit would meet with us

And change our hearts this morning

As we take a look

More in detail at Mark chapter 15.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

We pray this in the name of Your Son, Jesus.

Amen.

Before we dive into this passage,

Let's start with a quick review

So that we can kind of refresh our memories

On where we are.

It's the Passover week in Jerusalem.

We've kind of been talking about this week

For several weeks now.

It seems like a couple months now even.

Because Mark decides to zoom in

To kind of really focus a large part of his writing

On this one week, the Passover week

That leads up to Jesus' death.

The Jewish leaders who made up the Sanhedrin,

They want Jesus dead.

The Sanhedrin is essentially

The Jewish Supreme Court in that day

For lack of better terms.

That's the best way that we can really think about it.

They dealt in legal matters

Oftentimes for the Jewish population.

Ultimately, Rome has authority

In this situation

And in their cultural context.

Rome is occupying them.

And so therefore they have authority

There in Judea.

But the Sanhedrin

Dealt in legal matters

For the Jews and things of the temple.

There are 71 total of them

Including the high priests.

So they decided the first step

To having Jesus crucified

Or somehow terminated

Was that they needed to arrest Jesus.

But they don't want to do this in daylight

Because they're afraid of the followers of Jesus

Rising up against them

And it would make them even less popular

Than they already were becoming

Under Jesus' time, his ministry

Here on earth.

So Jesus at this point

Has amassed many, many followers

Sometimes thousands of people at a time

Walking around with him

Following him

And he's teaching them

As he goes everywhere.

And so they're afraid to arrest him

In the full view

Of the swelling populace

That is coming into Jerusalem

For the Passover.

What made things more complicated for them

Is that they didn't know

How to capture him at night

Because they didn't know

Where he would be

Or if he had followers

That would be there with them

To protect him.

Judas Iscariot, however

Is the answer to their dilemma.

He negotiated a price

Of 30 pieces of silver

And it's on Thursday night

As Jesus is meeting

In the upper room

With the 12 disciples

That Jesus calls Judas out on

And he says

Go do what you're going to do

And do it quickly.

And so it happened

In the Garden of Gethsemane

While Jesus is praying

And pleading with the remaining 11

To stay awake

Because something's coming

That Judas leads

A Roman cohort

Along with temple officials

To come and to arrest Jesus.

They take him straight

Into the high priest quarters

First to Annas

And then to Caiaphas.

There's a mock trial

Before Annas

They're looking for some crime

Against Rome

That they can charge him with

That they can bring him

Before the Roman authorities

They couldn't find one

So Annas gives up

On that endeavor

And passes Jesus off

To his son-in-law Caiaphas

Before Caiaphas

False witnesses are bribed

And their testimony

Is simply incoherent.

They can't piece together

A good testimony

To try to frame Jesus

For anything.

They couldn't come up

With anything that made sense

So they finally left

To accuse

They were left to accuse

Jesus of blasphemy

Because he said

That he was the son of God

Thereby claiming

To be a deity.

And all this happens

All these trials

Happen on the same night

That Jesus was arrested.

Happens very quickly.

Then comes sunrise

And the Sanhedrin know

That under Jewish law

They have to hold

A trial in daylight

So trying to maintain

Some sort of legality

In the situation

They know that they have to hold

Some sort of trial

In daylight

Still not a fair

So it's not a real fair trial

But they hold it

Yet another mock trial

For him in the morning.

And then the Jewish part

Is done.

But they must bring him

To trial before the Romans.

Why would they do this?

They've already declared

That he's guilty.

They already have enough

To possibly have him arrested

On the spot right there.

Why do they go

To the Romans

To hold another trial?

John records

The specific answer

In John chapter 18

John 18:31

Verse 31

They said

We are not permitted

To put anyone to death.

The Jews

It seems for good reason

Weren't permitted

To invoke the death penalty.

Rome had to invoke

The death penalty

And Rome had to perform

The execution.

So we learn quickly here

That it wasn't enough

For them to just arrest

And imprison Jesus.

They want him dead.

And this is where we pick up

In chapter 15

Verse 1

As soon as it was born

The chief priest

Held a consultation

With the elders

And scribes

And the whole council.

It would appear

By the way

That the whole council

Is unanimous in this.

They're all committed

To Jesus' death.

So they bind Jesus

And take him off the pilot.

On the secondary note here

It's that this time

If we're kind of

Following the timeline

I'm going to try to

Piece together

As much of the timeline

As we can

According to the other

Gospel accounts as well.

It's around this time

That Judas begins

To feel remorse.

He goes and takes

The silver that he

Bargained to turn Jesus in

And he goes into

The presence of the Sanhedrin

Drops the silver

Down on the floor

And says

I betrayed

Innocent blood

And then he runs off

To hang himself.

So they bound Jesus

And led him away

And delivered him

Over to Pilate.

And they can't just let him

Just give him over to Pilate.

They have to have

Some sort of reason

For him to be arrested

And executed

Under Roman law.

And so they make

Three accusations.

We don't get this

In our particular text

This morning.

We get this from

Luke chapter 23

Luke 23:2

Verse 2.

The three accusations

Are really interesting.

First accusation

They present

Before Pilate

Is that he's

Perverting our nation.

Number two

He's forbidding

To pay taxes.

And number three

He's claiming

To be a king.

All faults

All lies

He didn't pervert

The nation

They did.

He did not

Forbid to pay taxes

He said

Give to Caesar

What is Caesar's.

And while

Yes he claimed

To be a king

His domain

Was not of this earth.

They lied

But that was

Nothing new

To these people.

They were known

To lie.

And when we come back

To Mark chapter 15

Mark 15 · chapter mention

And Pilate asked him

Are you the king

Of the Jews?

He ignored

The first accusation

That they brought

Before him

That

That he perverted

The nation.

He ignored the second.

You would think

That he would at least

Care about the second one

Right?

That he was telling people

Not to pay their taxes.

And he went straight

To the third accusation

Because that's probably

What fascinated him

The most.

Are you

The king of the Jews?

You can almost

Picture him saying

This sarcastically

Because there's

Nothing here

That makes Jesus

Look royal

Or kingly.

He's just been

Beaten and spat upon

By the Sanhedrin.

He's being rejected

And turned into

Pilate

By the very same people

Who are supposed to be

Under his kingly rule.

He doesn't look

Much like a king.

And he

Jesus

Answered him

Sood let go.

The ESV gets it close

You have said so.

And the reality is

That he is a king.

But not in the way

That he

The way that they

Had thought.

The way that they

Were thinking he was.

His kingdom

Was one that they

Could not understand

For lack of understanding

Of who Jesus was

And what he was

About to do.

But Paul in Colossians 1

It's amazing

That Nathan

Opened up with this.

We're going to

Read it again

Just because I had it in here.

Nathan and I

Did not plan this

By the way.

This is

Completely God's sovereignty.

He has delivered us

From the domain

Of darkness

And transferred us

Into the kingdom

Of his beloved son

In whom we have

Redemption

The forgiveness

Of sins

For by him

All things were

Created in heaven

And on earth

Visible and invisible

Whether thrones

Or dominions

Or rulers

Or authorities

All things were

Created through him

And for him.

His kingly rule

Supersedes all

Other kingdoms.

His kingship

Is above

All other kings.

And so I assure you

Brothers and sisters

In case there was

Ever any question

In your heart

Jesus

Is a king

And he now

Reigns in the hearts

Of his people.

He now reigns

In his church

That was established

Upon his life

His death

And his resurrection.

He is the only one

Who can take

A sinful vessel

Like the one

Who stands before you

Right now

And make it pure

And holy.

And that's why

What we're

About to read

Had to happen.

This

Had to happen

For Jesus

To make his

Final work

Upon the cross

This had to happen.

And the chief

Priest

Accused him

Of many things.

And Paul

Again asked him

Have you

No answer

To make?

See how many

Charges they bring

Against you.

He was accused

Of all kinds

Of things.

And he makes

No defense.

There's a part

Of me

That every time

I read this passage

I just want to

Just like

Grab Jesus

By the shoulder

And say

Say something.

Please

Just defend

Yourself now.

Every time

I read this passage

You see it

Pictured in movies.

Every time I see

A picture in a movie

I think the same thing.

Why are you

Not defending yourself?

Every other time

In scripture

When somebody

Comes up to him

And asks him

Leading questions

Or misleading questions

And trying to

Stump him

He has this

Brilliant answer

This wisdom

Full answer

To give them

Whether it's

Asking them

A question

That makes them

Walk away

Thinking about

The way that

They had

Questioned Jesus

At some level

He always

Made them

Walk away

Stumped

Unable to

Answer his

Question

Unable to

Figure out

A way

To stump

Him

Back

He always

Sent them

Walking away

You never

Saw anybody

In scripture

As they

Approached Jesus

And tried to

Trip him up

Walk away

Saying man

I showed him

He always

Had a response

For them

And so

Why does he

Not respond

In this

One moment

Where it

Truly matters

Why does he

Not try to

Redeem himself

And the

Answer is

Ultimately

It's because

Jesus was

Not the one

Who needed

Redemption

It was us

That needed

Redemption

And so

Jesus

Remains

Silent

So that

In condemning

himself to

Death

We would

Be able to

Be redeemed

His church

Would be

Redeemed

And so

He also

Does this

In fulfillment

Of prophecy

Foretold

Hundreds of

Years

Before Jesus

Would ever

Be born

Nathan's

Already

Mentioned

It a couple

Weeks

Ago

But it's

Worth

Seeing here

Again in

Isaiah 53

He was

Oppressed

And he was

Afflicted

Yet he

Did not

Open his

Mouth

Like a

Lamb

Who

Was

Led

To

Slaughter

Like a

Sheep

Who

Is

Silent

Before

Its

Shears

So he

Did not

Open his

Mouth

Isaiah

42

1 and 2

Says something

Similar

So Jesus

Made no

Further

Answer

So that

Pilate

Was

Amazed

The verb

There for

Amazed

Is

Thaumato

To marvel

To be in

Wonder

Or to have

Admiration

For

So I want you

To think about

That for a

Moment

A Roman

Authority

Rome

Already

Didn't

Have

Much

Regard

For

These

People

Because

They

Took

Their

Land

To begin

With

They're

Occupying

A land

That's

Not

Their

To begin

With

But a

Roman

Authority

Of the

Day

Admiring

A

Jewish

Carpenter

This

Is

Something

Different

To happen

Apparently

It didn't

Happen

Much

Where

People

Would

Remain

Silent

When

They

Are

Facing

A

Potential

Death

Penalty

Now

Today

It's

Pretty

Normal

For

Us

To

Invoke

A

Fifth

Amendment

A

Right

To

To

Not

Have

To

Convict

Yourself

In

Court

So

We

Have

The

Right

To

Remain

Silent

In

Our

Culture

Back

Then

He

Had

Only

Himself

To

Defend

Himself

Jesus

May

Have

Been

The

Only

Person

In

That

Day

Facing

The

Death

Penalty

Certainly

The

Only

Person

Who

Was

Innocent

To

Be

Facing

The

Death

Penalty

And

Not

Try

To

Defend

Himself

Although

This

Might

Not

Be

A

Primary

Lesson

In

The

Text

I

Think

There

Is

Something

For

Us

To

Understand

Here

Maybe

A

Lesson

For

Us

To

Grasp

I

Know

It's

One

I

Need

To

Exercise

More

Regularly

In

My

Own

Life

That

Silence

Sometimes

Speaks

Louder

Than

Words

Sometimes

It's

Better

To

Remain

Silent

In

The

Situation

Dr.

Daniel

Akin

The

President

Of

Southeastern

Seminary

Always

Address

The

Orientation

Before

You

Start

In

The

Seminary

There's

A

Separate

Orientation

For

Single

People

And

There's

One

For

Married

People

And

He

Used

To

Always

Say

To

The

Married

People

In

The

Context

Of

Marriage

Who

Was

Addressing

Men

In

This

Situation

He

Says

!

How

Much

More

Do

Your

Words

Mean

When

You

Speak

Up

Only

When

It's

Things

That

Matter

Only

When

The

Things

Are

Important

Enough

To

Speak

Out

On

Like

The

Gospel

Like

Sharing

Salvation

With

Your

Friends

Let me

Get

Back

To

The

Actual

Text

Before

I

Veer

Too

Far

Off

Of

The

Central

Theme

Here

Pilate

Marveled

At

Jesus

Because

Of

The

Silence

And

This

Put

Pilate

In

A

Tough

!

He's

Not

A

Biblical

Thinker

He's

Certainly

Not

A

Follower

Or

A

Disciple

Of

Jesus

But

He's

Conflicted

Here

Because

As

We're

Going

To

See

In

A

Few

Moments

Pilate

Is

A

Coward

I

Don't

Know

Any

Other

Way

To

Put

That

But

He

Is

Simply

A

Coward

And

He

Does

Something

Between

Verses

5

And

6

What

Does

He

Do

!

He

Sends

Jesus

To

Herod

We

Don't

Get

This

In

Our

In

Our

Portion

Again

But

Again

It's

In

Luke

Luke 23 · chapter mention

Chapter

23

Luke

Gives

Us

This

Account

That

Galilee

Is

Herod's

Jurisdiction

And

It

Just

So

Happens

That

Herod

Is

In

Town

That

Day

And

So

Pilate

Decides

That

He

Might

Have

A

Way

Out

Of

This

He

Might

Be

A

To

Send

Jesus

To

Herod

And

Let

Herod

Deal

With

Him

By

The

Way

This

Is

The

Same

Herod

Herod

Antipas

Who

Tragically

Had

John

The

Baptizer

Beheaded

Because

John

The

Baptizer

Spoke

Out

About

Herod's

Adulterous

Relationship

Herod

Had

An

Adulterous

Relationship

With

A

Woman

He

Eventually

Married

But

He

Married

His

Brother

In

Laws

Or

Sorry

His

Brother

In

Laws

Wife

Something

Like

That

So

John

The

Baptist

Was

Beheaded

And

His

Head

Was

Served

On

The

Platter

All

Under

Herod

Antipas

I had

The

Distinct

Pleasure

Of

Preaching

That

Passage

Here

A

Few

Months

Ago

Herod

Antipas

Was

A

Wicked

Immoral

Adulterous

And

Murderous

Man

He

Was

Not

A

Good

Man

Now

Did

Herod

Know

About

Jesus

He

Absolutely

Did

We

Find

That

Out

In

Luke

23

And

He

Feared

That

Jesus

Wasn't

Get

This

He

Feared

Jesus

Was

John

The

Baptist

Back

From

The

Dead

And

Coming

To

Punish

Herod

Antipas

If

That's

Not

A

Guilty

Conscience

I

Don't

Know

What

Is

So

Jesus

Now

Stands

For

Yet

Another

Trial

Harry

Questions

Him

He

Mocks

Him

He

Asks

To

See

Signs

And

Miracles

Come

From

Him

And

Jesus

Stands

Completely

Silent

He

Has

Nothing

To

Say

To

Herod

Antipas

Not

A

Good

Place

To

Be

In

If

You're

Herod

By

The

Way

When

You

Have

The

Son

Of

God

Standing

Before

You

And

He

Has

Nothing

To

Say

To

You

At

All

It's

Not

A

Good

Place

To

Be

In

When

Herod

Had

His

Fun

Herod

Thought

This

Was

A

Joke

He

Kind

Of

Treated

It

Like

A

Joke

He

Had

His

Fun

With

Jesus

And

He

Sends

Him

Back

To

Pilate

So

We

Pick

Back

Up

In

Mark

Mark 15:6

Chapter

15

Verse

6

Now

The

Feast

To

Be

A

Placate

The

People

That

They

Are

Occupying

Rome

At

This

Point

In

History

Has

Lots

Of

Experience

In

Occupying

Foreign

Lands

And

So

They

Would

Come

In

And

They

Would

Use

Certain

Techniques

To

Be

Able

To

Placate

The

People

That

They're

Occupying

Ancient

Sources

Tell

Tell

Us

That

This

Was

A

Provision

Of

Goodwill

That

Roman

Governors

Did

A

Lot

In

Places

That

They're

Trying

To

Maintain

Some

Sense

Of

Mercy

They're

Trying

To

Show

That

They're

Being

Merciful

And

Pilate

Is

Sure

In

This

Moment

That

The

Crowd

Is

Going

To

Pick

Jesus

Over

Barabbas

Because

He's

No

Longer

Speaking

To

Just

The

Sanhedrin

He's

Speaking

To

The

Jewish

People

As

A

Whole

In

This

Moment

And

It

Says

!

So

This

Is

The

Son

Of

The

Father

Being

Offered

In

Place

Of

The

Divine

Son

Of

The

Divine

Father

There's

Some

Symbolism

Going

On

There

And

The

Crowd

Came

Up

And

Began

To

Ask

Pilate

To

Do

As

He

Usually

Did

For

Them

And

He

Answered

Him

Saying

Do

You

Want

Me

To

Release

For

You

The

King

Of

The

Jews

There's

So

Much

Scorn

In

That

Statement

Pilate

Is

A

Man

Full

Of

Bitterness

And

Guilt

And

Hate

Let

History

Record

That

This

Man

Knew

That

Jesus

Was

Innocent

Of

All

Charges

He

Is

Standing

Before

Him

Before

A

Crowd

And

Acting

As

If

Jesus

Had

Some

Sort

Of

Guilt

In

Him

Knowing

That

He

Had

No

Guilt

And

He

Gives

The

People

Of

Israel

The

Chance

To

Stop

This

Corrupt

Efforts

Of

The

Sanhedrin

From

Convicting

Jesus

And

He

Fully

Expects

Them

To

Want

To

Release

Jesus

And

The

Reason

That

He

Thought

That

He

Was

On

Safe

Ground

Here

Is

In

Verse

10

For

He

Perceived

That

It

Was

Out

Of

Envy

That

The

Chief

Priest

Had

Delivered

Him

Up

So

Pilate

Is

Finished

Talking

With

The

Sanhedrin

He

Is

Speaking

With

The

People

Of

Israel

Hoping

That

They

Would

Let

A

Man

That

He

Knows

Is

Innocent

Go

Free

And

The

Chief

!

Priests

Are

So

Envious

He

Been

On

The

Outside

Of

The

Situation

Until

Right

Now

He

Has

Been

On

The

Periphery

Of

The

Whole

Situation

The

Whole

Conflict

Between

The

Sanhedrin

Between

Jesus

Even

He

Understands

Even

He

Can

See

From

The

Outside

Their

Envy

The

Envy

Of

These

People

They

Didn't

Like

It

That

Jesus

Was

A

Greater

Teacher

Than

They

Were

Following

Him

And

Hanging

On

Every

Single

Word

That

He

Would

Say

And

They

Didn't

Like

It

That

He

Had

Far

More

Influence

Among

The

People

Than

They

Did

Even

Pilate

Sees

This

In

Verse

11

But

The

Chief

Priest

Stared

At

The

Crowd

To

Have

Him

Release

For

Them

Barabbas

Instead

This

Is

Scandalous

It's

Unthinkable

What

Did

Barabbas

Do

For

Anybody

What

Good

Was

There

Found

In

This

Man

Named

Barabbas

In

Effect

They

Are

Saying

Let

The

Guilty

Live

And

Kill

The

Sinless

One

Treat

The

Innocent

As

Guilty

And

The

Guilty

As

In

In

Verse

12

Pilate

Again

Said

To

Them

Then

What

Shall

I

Do

With

The

Man

You

Call

The

King

Of

The

Jews

I

Want to

Pause

Here

For

A

Moment

Because

Isn't

That

The

Ultimate

Question

Isn't

That

The

Question

That

Every

Man

And

Woman

Who

Walks

On

This

Earth

Has

To

Ultimately

Answer

At

Some

Point

In

Their