Mark 15:1-15 The Great Irony
We are nearing the end of Mark’s Gospel, in my Bible there’s only a page and a half left. But what remains is the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We are going to look at the first stage of that climax in Mark 15:1-15, page 852 in the pew Bibles, when Jesus was brought before Pilate.
I can’t help but see the great irony in everything that happens in these verses, where Jesus Messiah, the Lord of Glory was condemned to death though He had committed no sin and no violence was in His mouth. Maybe you’ll see it too.
So you’ll remember from last week that Jesus had been brought from the Garden of Gethsemane to an illegal night meeting of the Sanhedrin in the palace of the high priest Caiaphas.
And though they couldn’t find two witnesses whose testimonies against Him agreed they condemned Him for blasphemy. The high priest asked Him if he was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, and Jesus answered, “I am,” and they freaked out.
The next step in their plan would have to wait a little while though because according to the Law they were not supposed to do this sort of thing at night. Fortunately for them, night was almost over as during this farce of a trial the rooster had started to crow.
And 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.
Let’s pray.
So as soon as it was morning the whole council got together for an official meeting, knowing that their night trial couldn’t be considered official.
I’ve been to a lot of meetings over the years, I’ve been on lots of committees. But what I can tell you for sure is that real work gets done in the post-meeting meeting, the meeting that happens in the parking lot after the official meeting is over.
But in this post-meeting meeting, the work that the Sanhedrin got done was to decide on exactly what charges they would bring against Jesus before Pilate.
Pilate wouldn’t care anything about charges of blasphemy, or claims of destroying the Temple. The only charge that they could come up with that would concern Pilate is that to be Christ was to be King and to claim to be king was treason.
Now we’ve got to understand that Pilate was a politician, he was no friend of the Jews, and he didn’t care about the truth, all he cared about was peace. He didn’t care about the hippy-dippy kind of peace, not peace and love, more like peace and quiet. As his judgment here in our text proves.
And 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.
Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question was not exactly a straight answer but He wasn’t disagreeing with him either. It’s almost as if He said, “If that’s what you want to call it…”
“Are you the King of the Jews?” “If that’s what you want to call it, yeah.”
But John’s Gospel records that Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world, if it were, my servants would be fighting.”
In fact, if this scene wasn’t accomplishing the redemptive plan of God, there’s no way Jesus would just stand there, tied up like a criminal.
This reminds me of the scene in the movie, “The Man of Steel,” where Superman chose to submit himself to the army and they put him in handcuffs so that they would feel safe. But eventually Superman just pops them off like they weren’t even there.
Jesus, who was present at creation, the Word by whom all things were made, who holds the stars in place, and was keeping the atoms and molecules in those ropes that bound Him from flying apart, willingly humbled Himself and stood before an unjust human judge.
Why? Here’s the irony!
The Son of God humbly stood before an unjust human judge so that we who believe in Him will be able to boldly stand before the Just Divine Judge.
Christ stood before Pilate in sorrow so that we who believe in Him will be able to stand before God with joy!
Christ was silent before the Sanhedrin so that we who believe in Him can confidently cry, “Abba, Father!”
Christ was silent then so that He could serve as our intercessor now.
6 Now at the feast [Pilate] 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.
Pilate chose peace over justice.
He chose what was popular over what was right.
The last thing that Pilate wanted was riot, not because he cared about the safety of the people, he just didn’t want to look bad, he didn’t want to look like he was incapable of keeping the Jews under control.
So the people chose: the life of the innocent was exchanged for the life of the guilty, the Son of God for a notorious criminal, a murderer and insurrectionist.
Barabbas’ sins went unpunished while Jesus would be punished for sins not His own.
The people chose perpetual slavery rather than accept their Redeemer.
And the One to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father willingly submitted to the hands of evil men.
The innocent was condemned as guilty, so that, we who are guilty will be declared innocent.
The Jews and Gentiles were united in His condemnation and death just as, through faith in Him, we can be united in His life and glory.
John Calvin wrote, “That the Son of God was reduced so low none can properly remember without the deepest horror, and displeasure with themselves, and detestation of their own crimes. But hence also arises no ordinary ground of confidence; for Christ was sunk into the depths of shame, that he might obtain for us, by his humiliation, an ascent to the heavenly glory: he was reckoned worse than a criminal, that he might admit us to the society of the angels of God.”
And that is the great irony, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
This is the gospel, the Good News, that God, in Christ, exchanged the righteous for the unrighteous, the sinless for the sinful. Jesus willingly took our place, the condemnation that we justly deserve for our sin, he bore Himself because he loves us that much.
16For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.
Amen.
