Author: Bill Hall

Mark 15:12 “Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

   Pilate could see where this was going and wanted to be clear on the chosen course of action. He needed all of the cards on the table so that he could consider his choices carefully. He had no desire to execute an innocent man. Yet, getting the Jews too stirred up could be, for him, professional suicide.

Heavenly Father, you already know our choices before we make them. Your understanding of our thoughts is beyond our conception. You don’t just know us, you made us. Thank you for making your will plain to us. You could have done it differently. But you are wiser than the wisest of us, and your knowledge is higher than ours. We will praise you forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:11 “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.”

   The priests had likely anticipated this opportunity beforehand. There choice of Barabbas would go over well with the people, and they wanted him released anyway. And so, providing the mob a tempting alternative to Christ was just icing on the cake.
   These men had a lot of experience determining what would go over well with the people, and they could manipulate them much more easily than Pilate was able to. And they knew Pilate would try to please the majority and they could control him in this way.

Heavenly Father, I love you! You always are trying to communicate truth and love to us. It is not your lack that frustrates us, bit our stubborn ears. Thank you for teaching our ears to hear good things. You work differently from this world, and we should listen for what we wouldn’t expect. Thank you, may your Name be praised! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:10 “For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.”

   Pilate was used to the Jews. He understood how they thought. He was not above such motivations himself, so figuring them out wasn’t that difficult. Indeed, he knew this whole case was baseless, and yet proceeded to execute an innocent man in the interest of political posturing. What corruption!

Heavenly Father, thank you for your righteous ways! You cannot be altered by the evil in this world. It has no effect on you and you are wholly separated from it. I praise you for your plan to eliminate the evil and bless the good. You alone are worthy of our worship. I love you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:9 “But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

   Pilate was having a bit of fun here. He had no special love for the Jews. He thought it was pretty funny, Jesus claiming to be their king. To his Roman sentiments, Jesus was weak and not very threatening. Thus, Pilate thought him a good match for the troublesome Judeans.
   But, deep down, Pilate was afraid of Jesus. He didn’t really fit with the Jews, even if Pilate made him out that way. Pilate had never dealt with any one quite like Jesus before. At this point, he was trying to get him released by appealing to the crowds. But, his manipulation failed.

Heavenly Father, you already have all of your plans in place. We cannot know all that you do. But, we can trust your ways. We know you lead us in the right path. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:8 “Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.”

   We might well wonder why the crowd thought of this at this particular time. With this being the Passover, there were a lot of people in Jerusalem. So, this request could have come primarily from a group that wasn’t there because of Christ. Thus, by the end of this charade, there were likely many who got involved in the trial of Christ that were originally present for other reasons. This is just a case of taking advantage of the audience with Pilate.

Heavenly Father, may we never miss your best for us. Life is too short to waste today wondering why tomorrow has never come. We must trust you with our feelings, and learn from your wisdom. Only then can we escape from making the same old mistakes over and over. You are the key to our future, not our own aspirations. Show us your way, for we will praise you. You are the sole focus of our adoration. Thank you for being Who you are! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:7 “And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.”

   We assume that Barabbas’ fellow rebels were the thieves crucified on either side of Jesus. However, this is only conjecture, we cannot be for sure on that point. It is possible that Barabbas’ associates were released with him, though not likely.
   This episode highlights for us something that is important to be aware of at the time of Jesus. There were many who would have claimed to be the Messiah. There were many trying to lead insurrections against Rome. There were many who ended up being in criminal trouble because of their activity in this way. However, Jesus was different from them all. He was not identified as a revolutionary by the Romans. Indeed, had it not been for the Jewish leaders Jesus would not have been in a Roman court on this day.
   The story of Barabbas serves to highlight this fact. Early tradition suggests that Barabbas’ full name was Jesus Barabbas. In Aramaic Jesus Barabbas would mean savior, the son of the father. What a contrast! Jesus of Nazareth, called by Pilate ‘the King of the Jews’, is found innocent by this Roman Prefect. Barabbas, on the other hand, is a thief and murderer. Jesus was only there due to the jealousy of the Jews. Barabbas was already condemned and imprisoned by the Romans as a deadly revolutionary. And yet, who do the Jews want released? Barabbas. This shows us what kind of Messiah they were looking for. As many other nations, they were chafing under the Roman collar. They celebrated such ruffians. And, it ultimately cost the nation its freedom.

Heavenly Father, help us not to trust in our own wisdom. There is a way that seems right to us. But, we will trust your infinite wisdom. Only you know what you have planned for every specific. And, your Word has given us a guideline for the future. Thank you! We will trust you for our revolutions. In Christ will we live and move and have our being. He is peace and love, and he is justice and judgement. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:6 “Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.”

   The Jews were a difficult bunch to control. They tended to get out of hand if they felt they hadn’t been treated well. Despite this, they could be good at governing themselves if they wanted to be. Herod was their king, but he was more of a figurehead when it came to keeping the peace. The Roman officials still had to be the ones to keep the nation in line. Thus, favors such as this could be used to make them feel better about the state of affairs. A little give and take was, for the Romans, a justifiable nuisance. Often the prisoners they requested were likely arrested for sedition anyway.

Heavenly Father, may we always do things decently and in order. Without complaining, murmuring, fighting, and grumbling, may we accept from your hand what you have prepared for us. You know what is best and you love us so much. Thank you for your care. We will praise you with our attitude. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:5 “But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.”

   Jesus solicited this sort of response from many while he was here on earth. He was not what anyone expected, and yet he was exactly what he should be given Who he is. It confused the regular thought processes of persons used to earth only. Jesus was from heaven, and as such his motivations were different from humanity. Christians should be the same, having a heavenly outlook.

Heavenly Father, you are so different from us. But yet, you are so familiar. You made us. You are the Source of what we are. We cannot even exist without you. And, through Christ, we are your family, and you are ours. Wow! I love you so much! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 14:4 “Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”

   Pilate launched into another line of questioning, trying to determine what Jesus was guilty of. He probably felt at this point that Jesus was either a mad man, or he was really smart. He finally ended up coming to the conclusion that all was not right about Jesus, but that he was not worthy of the sentence that the Jews had passed upon him.
   Pilate was surely used to dealing with a totally different kind of clientele. Jesus was far from what he expected. He had anticipated quite a headache coming from both sides. In this case, it was only the Jews who were stirring up trouble.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your gracious loving kindness, your mercy, and your truth. Your love for us is absolutely amazing! We love you because you first loved us. We will live our lives for you, to honor and obey you. That is the greatest thing we can do. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:3 “And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.”

   Jesus had quite a few reasons for not answering his accusers. The biggest reason was that this fulfilled Scripture. It was consistent with what had been foretold concerning him. Another reason is that it was Jesus’ purpose to be condemned by these men. Further, he did not want to make a defence because his defence would have been quite convincing. There were those among the leadership that were not as convinced of his guilt as others. They could possibly have been persuaded to change their minds. But the simplest reason is simply that he was silent because the accusations were totally unfounded, as Pilate well knew.

Heavenly Father, we like to defend ourselves. But remind us that you are our best defense. You can help us when we stand before this world. We need not depend upon our might, but on your infinite wisdom. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.