Mark

15:1-20

Entering the Promised Land, 11:1-16:20

4. Victory, 14:1-15.39

v] The trial of Jesus before Pilate's tribunal

Synopsis

Early on the Friday morning, after sunrise, the Sanhedrin meets to officially confirm Jesus' conviction of blasphemy. Jesus is then led off to face Pilate, the Roman governor. The religious authorities have had to cook up a charge against Jesus which is political in nature, given that Pilate is unlikely to get involved in matters of religious observance. Obviously the charge is sedition, given that Pilate asks Jesus whether he is "the king of the Jews." Luke, in 23:2, actually outlines the charge laid against Jesus. Jesus' answer to the charge is unclear, and presumably unclear to Pilate as well, since he pushes Jesus to answer the charge. Jesus' answer is probably "The words are yours" - Jesus is a king, but not a king as Pilate understands the word ("my kingdom is not of this world", Jn.18:36). Other than his noncommittal reply, Jesus has nothing more to say.

Pilate has obviously read the political posturing of the religious authorities and attempts his own political manoeuvre - two can play at this game! Nothing is known of Barabbas, nor the custom of releasing a prisoner as a gesture of grace on a high feast day. None-the-less, Mark records this manoeuvre by Pilate, a manoeuvre that backfires. Presumably Barabbas, "a notorious prisoner" according to Matthew, and in prison for leading a riot in Jerusalem (obviously against Roman authority), according to Luke, is favoured by the people. So, the gathered crowd, assisted by the chief priests, call for the release of Barabbas, and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Pilate hands Jesus over to be flogged and crucified. Taken back to the "Praetorium", Jesus is flogged and then subjected to a bit fun. Dressed in a soldier's red robe, and with a diadem of thorns on his head, the soldiers kneel before him and hail him "king of the Jews." The humiliation complete, Jesus is led away for crucifixion.

 
Teaching

Humiliation leads to vindication, and ultimately salvation.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 14:1-11. In Mark's account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we are presented with a set of five units, each identified temporally:

15:1-20;

15:21-32;

15:33-41;

15:42-47;

16:1-8.

 

ii] Background: Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the fifth Roman governor of Palestine, holding the official title of Prefect. His official residence was in Caesarea, but on important occasions, the Roman governor came to Jerusalem and stayed in Herod's palace on the Western side of the city. Pilate held the position from AD 26-37. He was appointed by the emperor Tiberius and was removed from office by Caligula after violently putting down a Samaritan uprising. Pilate had, over his tenure, acted impulsively in dealing with the religious and political aspirations of the people of Palestine. As Josephus writes, he was "inflexible, stubborn and cruel."

Mark's account of Pilate's dealings with Jesus may well reflect the time of his writing; the mid 60's when Nero was emperor. The trial and execution is performed under Roman authority, but Mark highlights the part the Jewish authorities play in Jesus' death, along with the attempts by Pilate to free him. Pilate's willingness to comply with the decision of the religious authorities may seem like weakness, but it is more likely down to cunning. As Edward's puts it, "in the case of Jesus, he responds with a combination of instinct and calculation typical of his office. Judging Jesus to be unworthy either of a stand on principle, or of a show of force, Pilate opts to stand down, thus consigning Jesus to a routine crucifixion."

 

iii] Structure: The secular trial of Jesus:

Pilate examines Jesus, v1-5;

Jesus or Barabbas, v6-15;

The mockery of Jesus, v16-20.

 

iv] Interpretation:

The five-part conclusion to Mark's gospel contrasts guilt with innocence / weakness with strength / humiliation with vindication. The downside dominates to the middle of the third unit, to the moment when the curtain of the temple is torn from top to bottom and the soldier standing beside the cross utters the words "Truly this man was the Son of God." From this moment on, we are confronted with innocence, strength and vindication.

The vindication of messiah, and thus the salvation of mankind, is preceded by humiliation, both before the religious authorities, and the secular authorities. Jesus is "handed over" (by God / under the will of God), and in similar fashion his people will be "handed over." He, "who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession" (1Tim.6:13), precedes those who in similar fashion will make their good confession.

Marcus makes a point of the parallelism evident in the account of Jesus' trial before the high priest, and his trial before Pilate. "The same inimical power that masterminded Jesus' condemnation by the Jewish authorities is now bringing about his condemnation by the Gentiles in a strikingly similar manner. Behind that power of evil, however, lies the overarching will of God."

 

v] Synoptics:

Jesus' trial before Pilate, v1-15: Matt.27:1-2, 11-14; Lk.23:1-5; Jn.18:28-38. Again, there is substantial agreement between the synoptic gospels. Note Matthew's addition of the dream of Pilate's wife, Pilate's hand-washing, and the death of Judas. These stories complicate the account of Jesus' death, an intrusion avoided by Mark. Luke also provides the actual charge laid before Pilate, Lk.23:2.

The mocking of Jesus, v16-20: Matt.27:27-31; Jn.19:2-3. Again, there is substantial agreement between the synoptic gospels. Note Luke's record of Jesus' confrontation with Herod Antipas, Lk.23:6-12, , and the case for Jesus' innocence, v13-16, and Matthew's emphasis on the people's acceptance of their guilt, Matt.27:24-26.

 
Text - 15:1

The trial of Jesus, v1-20: i] Pilate examines Jesus, v1-5. The Jewish authorities, unable to execute Jesus themselves, hand him over to the Roman governor on what amounts to a trumped-up charge - Jesus is no political aspirant. Pilate soon realises the nature of the charge.

The opening verse is problematic. Does it refer to the meeting held at the palace of the high priest, or a second meeting held after dawn in the temple precinct, an official meeting of the Sanhedrin to ratify the verdict of blasphemy against Jesus? The reading sumboulion eJtoimasanteV gives the sense "having prepared (reached) a decision" and would refer to the informal gathering of the Sanhedrin. The preferred reading is sumboulion poihsanteV, "having held a council (consultation)", presumably referring to an official gathering of the Sanhedrin after dawn to confirm the decision of the earlier informal gathering; See Cranfield.

poihsanteV (poiew) aor. part. "made [their plans]" - [and immediately early, in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and entire council] having made = held [a council, consultation]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "Then, as soon as it was morning, the high priests held a council meeting with ....."

dhsanteV (dew) aor. part. "so they bound [Jesus]" - having bound [jesus they carried him off = led him away]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "after binding Jesus they led him off and handed him over to Pilate", Moffatt.

pilatw/ (oV) dat. "to Pilate" - [and delivered him] to pilate. Dative of indirect object.

 
v2

twn Ioudaiwn gen. adj. "of the Jews" - [and pilate questioned him. are you the king] of the jews? The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, idiomatic / subordination; "king over the Jews."

oJ de "-" - but/and he. Transitional, indicating a change in subject.

apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "-" - [and] having answered [he says to him]. Redundant attendant circumstance participle, "answered and said" / adverbial, modal, expressing manner, "saying", or instrumental, expressing means, "by saying."

su legeiV "you have said so" - you say. Jesus' answer to Pilate is not as strong as his egw eimi, "I am", to the high priest, 14:62. It is probably something like, "Yes, but ...." The issue lies with the meaning of "king of the Jews." We most likely have here a secular version of Jesus messianic claims, packaged by the Jewish authorities for Pilate. So, yes, Jesus is Israel's king, messiah, about to be crowned on the cross, such that from humiliation may come glory, vindication, and salvation. Yet, Jesus is not a king as a Roman official would understand a king; "If you like to put it so", Barclay. None-the-less, many commentators and translators have taken the response as an unequivocal "Yes", so Goodspeed; "Certainly", Moffatt; "I am", Weymouth, ......

 
v3

kathgoroun (katagorew) imperf. "accused" - [and the chief priests] were accusing [him]. The imperfect may be inceptive, "began to accuse him", but again, possibly just used for speech, even backgrounding.

polla adj. "many things" - many, much. Either as a substantive, accusative complement of the direct object "him" standing in a double accusative construction, as NIV, so Decker, or an adverbial accusative modifying the verb, "accused him much = strongly", so Gundry, ie., a vigorous accusation. Although there is a technical issue here (see Decker), a vigorous accusation is more likely than a package of charges. There is only one charge against Jesus, his claim to kingship, and Jesus is unwilling to address it, and so the chief priests are pressing it home to Pilate.

 
v4

oJ de "so" - but/and he. Transitional, indicating a change in subject; again in v5.

legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - [and pilate again questioned him] saying. Redundant attendant circumstance participle / adverbial, modal, expressing manner, "saying", or instrumental, expressing means, "by saying."

posa pro. "how many things" - [do you not answer anything? look] much, many. Again, Gundry argues for an adverbial accusative, "how much", rather than a substantive, "how many things." The chief priests are pressing home their charge of sedition - Jesus' messianic claim with respect to Roman authority (which claim has nothing to do with secular authority).

sou gen. "you of" - [they bring a charge against] you. Genitive of direct object after the kata prefix verb "to bring a charge against."

 
v5

wJste + inf. "-" - [but/and he jesus no longer answered nothing] so as [to amaze pilate]. This construction serves to introduce a consecutive clause expressing result; "Jesus, however, would not utter a word in reply, with the result that Pilate was greatly surprised", Cassirer.

 
v6

iii] Jesus or Barabbas, v6-15. Pilate concludes that Jesus is not really guilty of any secular crime and so "decided it would be politically expedient to deal with the case in terms of the paschal amnesty", Lane. First, in v6-7, Mark provides some background information, the paschal amnesty, v6, and the notorious prisoner, Barabbas, v7.

de "now" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

kata "at the festival" - according to [festival he was releasing]. The preposition here is adverbial, distributive; "at each celebration of this festival", Decker. The imperfect verb "he was releasing" carries durative force; "he used to release a prisoner for them", NRSV.

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - [one prisoner] to them [whom they were asking pilate for]. Dative of indirect object / interest, advantage. The adjective "one" may be intended as an indefinite pronoun, "any one", "someone", TH; "any one prisoner of whose life they begged of him", Rieu.

 
v7

Nothing is known of the revolt, or of Barabbas, but Jewish nationalism constantly prompted revolts against Roman authority. Anyway, it seems he had a popular following.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative to a new point.

oJ legomenoV (legw) pres. pas. part. "a man called" - one being called [barabbas]. The participle serves as a substantive, with "Barabbas" its nominative complement; "At the time there was a prisoner named Barabbas", CEV.

h\n ... dedemenoV (dew) perf. pas. part. "was in prison" - was having been bound. The participle could be treated as adjectival, attributive, limiting "Barabbas"; "Now there was a man called Barabbas who was kept in custody, along with the rebels .....", Cassirer. Yet, TH, Decker, take it as verbal, "in accordance with Markan style." So, the perfect participle with the imperfect verb to-be forms a periphrastic pluperfect construction; "Now, the man called Barabbas was bound with the insurrectionists", TH.

meta + gen. "with" - with [the rebels]. Expressing association / accompaniment.

en + dat. "in [the uprising]" - [who had committed murder] in [the revolt, uprising]. Temporal use of the preposition; "during the revolt."

 
v8

Pilate probably has his office in the military headquarters within the fortress of Antonia, rather than in Herod's palace, part of which was used as a residence for the governor. Pilate deals with Jesus within his headquarters, and then in his dealings with the public, he moves to a paved outdoor area.

kai "-" - and. Possibly consecutive here, "And so ......"

anabaV (anabainw) aor. part. "came up" - having come up. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to begin"; "And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate ....", ESV. The movement of the crowd is probably toward the Praetorium, the military headquarters, up toward the entrance where Pilate would be sitting to adjudicate the matter of the paschal amnesty.

aiteisqai (aitew) pres. mid. inf. "asked" - [the crowd began] to ask pilate. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to ask."

kaqwV "-" - as, like [he was doing]. Comparative; "they began to ask him to do just like he was doing on previous years for them" = "The crowd ....... began asking him to do them his customary favour", Rieu.

autoiV "to do for them" - to them. Dative of interest, advantage.

 
v9

Pilate makes his suggestion on who to release, but the crowd, supporters of Barabbas, had probably made up their minds days before.

oJ de "-" - but/and he. Transitional, indicating a change in subject.

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - [pilate replied] to them. Dative of indirect object.

legwn (legw) "-" - saying. Redundant attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to reply, answer", "answered and said" / adverbial, manner or means.

apolusw (apoluw) aor. subj. "to release" - [do you wish] i should release. Deliberative subjunctive.

uJmin dat. pro. "to you" - to you [the king of the jews]. Dative of indirect object / interest, advantage. For the genitive "of the Jews", see v2.

 
v10

gar "-" - for, because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Pilate has asked the question.

oJti "-" - [he was knowing] that. Introducing an object clause / dependant statement of perception expressing what Pilate knew. The imperfect verb "to know" is obviously used to indicate the provision of background information.

dia + acc. "it was out of [self-interest]" - because of, account of [jealousy, envy the high priests had handed him over to them]. Causal use of the preposition.

 
v11

The chief priests make sure the crowd doesn't shift from their favoured freedom fighter.

oiJ de "but" - but/and they [the chief priests incited the crowd]. Transitional, indicating a change in subject from Pilate to the chief priests.

iJna + subj. "-" - that. The hina here may be adverbial, introducing a final clause expressing purpose, "in order to release for them Barabbas instead", on the other hand, it may introduce an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what they incited the crowd to say, namely, "that Pilate release Barabbas to them instead".

mallon adv. "instead" - rather [he might release barabbas]. This adverb of manner takes the sense here of "rather", "instead", "on the contrary."

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - to them. Dative of indirect object / interest, advantage, "for them."

 
v12

Pilate's question assumes the innocence of Jesus. See Lk.23:22 for a more definite statement.

oJ de "-" - but/and he [pilate]. Transitional, indicating a change in subject.

apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "-" - [again] answering, replying [was saying to them]. Redundant attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to say", "answered and said" / adverbial, manner or means.

oun "then" - therefore. Drawing a logical conclusion.

poihsw (poiew) aor. subj. "[what] shall I do" - [what do you will that] i should do. Deliberative subjunctive.

o}n acc. pro. "with the one" - whom [you call king of the jews]. This pronoun serves as the object of the verb "to do", the accusative being adverbial, reference / respect; "what shall I do with respect to whom." It is also the accusative object of the verb "to call", "you call whom", with the "the king of the Jews" standing in apposition / accusative complement, standing in a double accusative construction.

 
v13

oiJ de "-" - but/and they. Transitional, indicating a change in subject, here, back to the crowd. Also for v14 and v15. "They shouted back 'Crucify him.'"

palin adv. "-" - [they cried out] again, [crucify him]. The sequential adverb "again" doesn't quite work here, although, given that the crowd has previously asked for Barabbas, they do again shout out something. BDAG provides five possible meanings of the word in this context. The word is probably used to express the second time the crowd shouted at Pilate, but Brown's suggestion that it means "back" is worth considering, "They shouted back, 'Crucify him'", Goodspeed.

 
v14

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - [but/and he pilate was saying] to them. Dative of indirect object.

tiv gar "why" - for what [evil did he do? but/and they all the more they cried out, crucify him]. This construction is used to introduce a question, "Why", or "What"; nicely expressed "Why, what crime has he committed?" Decker.

 
v15

boulomenoV (boulomai) pres. mid. part. "wanting" - [but/and he pilate] desiring. The participle is adverbial, best treated as causal; "because he wanted to please the crowd."

poihsai (poiew) aor. inf. "to satisfy" - to do, make [the sufficient the crowd]. The infinitive may be classified as complementary, completing the sense of the participle "willing, wanting, wishing", but also to introduce a dependant statement of perception expressing what Pilate was desiring, namely, to please the crowd. The phrase "to make sufficient" is regarded as a Latinism, "to satisfy", BAGD.

autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - [released barabbas] to them. Dative of indirect object / interest, advantage, "released for them."

fragellwsaV (fragellow) aor. part. "he had [Jesus] flogged" - [and] having beat with whips, scourged him. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "after he had scourged him", Moffatt. The whip, a Roman flagello, is made up of strips of leather with attached lead pieces. The whipping is part of the punishment, but note in John where Pilate may use it to gain sympathy for Jesus from the crowd.

iJna + subj. "-" - [he handed jesus over] that = in order that [he might be crucified]. Here introducing a final clause expressing purpose.

 
v16

iii] The mockery of Jesus, v16-20. The soldiers have a bit sport at Jesus' expense. This obviously takes place inside the military headquarters, the Praetorium, presumably the fortress of Antonia.

oiJ de "-" - but/and they [soldiers led away him inside the courtyard]. Transitional, indicating a change in subject, from Pilate to the soldiers.

o{ estin "that is" - which is [the praetorium, and they call together the whole military unit]. Explanatory, although the courtyard is in the Praetorium, it's not the Praetorium itself, the governor's military headquarters. The military unit, "cohort", speiran, a cohors = one tenth of a legion, amounts to 600 men, so obviously oJlhn, "whole", is somewhat of an exaggeration. Still, the whole regiment should be present for the crowing of a king!

 
v17

Matthew describes the robe as a "scarlet military cloak", but for Mark, Jesus wears the purple of a king, the purpura regum.

porfuran (a) "a purple robe" - [and they clothed, dressed, him] purple. Accusative complement of the direct object "him", standing in a double accusative construction and asserting a fact about "him"; "they dressed him in a purple robe."

plexanteV (plekw) aor. part. "then twisting together" - [and they put on him] having been woven, plaited [made of thorns = a thorny crown]. The NIV treats the participle as adverbial, temporal. Moffatt, "a crown of thorns which they had plaited", treats the participle as adjectival, but it is nominative, as is often the case with an adverbial participle, and "thorny crown" is accusative. Note that the peri prefix verb "to put on" takes a dative of direct object.

 
v18

aspazesqai (aspazomai) aor. inf. "[they began] to call out to [him]" - [and they began] to greet [him]. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to begin."

caire (cairw) pres. imp. "Hail" - greeting [king of the jews]. The imperative of the common form of greeting, "Welcome", in Latin Ave, is used for a mock salutation, so "Hail". For the genitive "of the Jews", see v2.

 
v19

kalamw/ (oV) dat. "with a staff" - [and they were beating the head of him] in = with a stick, staff. The dative is adverbial, instrumental, expressing means, "by means of a staff."

autw/ dat. pro. "[spit on] him" - [and they were spitting on] him. Dative of direct object after the en prefix verb "to spit on."

tiqenteV (tiqhmi) pres. part. "falling on" - putting = bending [the knees they were bowing before him]. Barclay treats the participle as attendant on the verb "to bow before", "they knelt down and offered him a mocking homage", but an adverbial function may well be intended, probably modal, expressing manner, "and with bended knees they did him homage", Berkeley.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - Dative of direct object after the proV prefix verb "to bow before."

 
v20

oJte "when" - [and] when. Adverbial conjunction introducing a temporal clause.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - [they ridiculed] him. Dative of direct object after the en prefix verb "to mock."

thn porfuran (a) "the purple robe" - [and took off him] the purple [and clothed him the garments of him]. Accusative complement of the direct object "him", standing in a double accusative construction and asserting a fact about "him." So also "the garments." "They disrobed him of the purple robe and they clothed him with his garments."

iJna + subj. "to [crucify him]" - [and they lead away him] that [they might crucify him]. Here introducing a final clause expressing purpose; "in order to crucify him."

 

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