Mark 15:1 And immediately in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, and having bound Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. 2 And Pilate questioned Him, Are You the King of the Jews? And answering him, He said, It is as you say. 3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things. 4 And Pilate again questioned Him, saying, Do You answer nothing? See how many things they are accusing You of. 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled. 6 Now at the feasts he released to them one prisoner whom they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, bound with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask him to do even as he had been accustomed to do for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews? 10 For he knew that it was because of envy that the chief priests had delivered Him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd that instead he should release Barabbas to them. 12 And Pilate again answered and said to them, What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews? 13 And again they cried out, Crucify Him! 14 But Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has He done? But they cried out the more, Crucify Him! 15 And Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released to them Barabbas and scourged Jesus and delivered Him up to be crucified.
Under God's sovereignty, the Slave-Savior was judged not only by the Jewish leaders as a sheep before the shearer (Isa. 53:7) in 14:53-65, but also by the Roman governor, as a criminal before the accusers (14:64) in 15:1-15. He was judged both by the Jewish leaders and by the Roman governor so that He might die to serve sinners with His life as a ransom (10:45), not only for the Jews, represented by the Jewish leaders, but also for the Gentiles, represented by the Roman governor. Mark 15:15 tells us that Pilate, seeking to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and delivered up Jesus to be crucified. This exposed the darkness and injustice of man's politics to the uttermost. It was a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the Slave-Savior's suffering in Isaiah 53:5 and 8. The Jewish death penalty was by stoning (Lev. 20:2,27; 24:14; Deut. 13:10; 17:5). Crucifixion was a heathen practice (Ezra 6:11), adopted by the Romans for the execution of slaves and heinous criminals only. To crucify the Lord Jesus was not only a fulfillment of the Old Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13; Num. 21:8-9), but also a fulfillment of the Lord's own word concerning the mode of His death (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32), which could not have been fulfilled by stoning. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 398-399. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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