The Seven Questions of Pilate (Mark 15:1-15)

Today we look at the interaction between Jesus and Pilate, as Jesus continues his march toward the cross. Pilate asks six different questions in the Mark text, and we’re going to look at each one of them to with a statement from Jesus:

John 18:38 (NLT) “What is truth?” Pilate asked.

• What is truth? Such a profound question for a politician to ask!
• Today’s fluid concept of truth in the postmodern world
  • ChatGPT: Postmodernism challenges traditional notions of truth by suggesting that truth is not objective and universal, but rather subjective and context-dependent. In this view, truth is not a fixed reality waiting to be discovered, but rather a product of social, historical, and cultural influences. Postmodernists argue that different groups or individuals may have their own truths that are valid within their own frameworks or perspectives, and that these truths are not necessarily in conflict with each other. 

Here’s today’s key question:

How will you handle the truth about Jesus?

Now we’re ready to turn to the text. Mark chapter 15…

Mark 15:1 (NLT) Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

Let’s talk about Pilate.

(Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) Early in the morning, because that is when Pilate held trials, Jesus was led to Herod’s palace. This explains why the Sanhedrin held their session late at night and very early in the morning.

(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The Gospel of Mark was probably written in the middle 60s during Nero’s reign. The Roman Empire, in contrast to the earlier Republic, was a totalitarian state, and at no time more so than under Nero. Discretion, if not loyalty, dictated that Rome be portrayed in the best possible light in Mark’s Gospel. Mark desired to encourage Christians in Rome, who were themselves victims of persecution, by Jesus’ faithful example before Pilate. At the same time, he wanted to avoid making claims that could be regarded treasonous, lest his Gospel become cause of further trouble for Christians in the Empire. The delicate task before Mark in chap. 15 is how to report the crucifixion without causing unnecessary offense to the Romans who crucified him. Mark needed to exercise sensitivity in the crucifixion narrative because the tyranny of Pilate paled in comparison to the tyranny of Nero, under whom the recipients of the Gospel were living.

The Jewish historian Josephus and the Jewish philosopher Philo both provide some insights into the character of Pontius Pilate, although their accounts differ in some details.

1. In his work *Antiquities of the Jews*, Josephus mentions Pilate in the context of several incidents during his governorship of Judea. Josephus describes Pilate as a harsh and inflexible ruler, known for his corruption and cruelty. One notable incident Josephus mentions is Pilate’s use of temple funds to finance the construction of an aqueduct, which sparked outrage among the Jewish population.
2. Philo, in his work *Embassy to Gaius*, portrays Pilate as a brutal and insensitive ruler. He describes an incident where Pilate displayed Roman military standards in Jerusalem, which were seen as idolatrous by the Jews and caused widespread protests. Philo also criticizes Pilate for his lack of respect for Jewish customs and his heavy-handed approach to governance.
3. Luke 13:1 (NLT) About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.

 Here’s Pilate’s first question in the Mark passage:

Mark 15:2 (NLT) Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

A couple of notes:

1. Where’s Waldo? – Look for this phrase “king of the Jews” 5 more times in ch 15 (vv. 2, 9, 12, 18, 26, 32).
2. 2. Pilate didn’t care if Jesus was called “Messiah”. This was a Jewish term, what did it matter to him? But he did care about someone claiming to be “King”. That was a threat to Caesar’s rule.
3. (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Pilate, the Roman prefect, asks Jesus, “‘Are you the king of the Jews?'” The wording of the question in Gk., is exactly the same as was the high priest’s question in 14:61, i.e., it is a statement with a question implied (lit., “‘You are the king of the Jews?'”). As in the case of the high priest, Mark’s wording makes Pilate an unknowing confessor. Again, even the mouths of Jesus’ enemies unwittingly confess him.

Philippians 2:10-11 (NLT) … at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Application: What you believe about Jesus is the most important thing about you, because it is the one thing that will determine your eternal destiny. 

Mark 15:3-5 (NLT) Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.

Pilate’s second and third questions in the Mark text. 

• Leading priests “kept accusing him of many crimes” – a continuation of the sham trial from earlier
• Most people would defend themselves against false accusations. What kind of person just sits there
  • The point = Jesus is not insecure. He is not defined by what the leading priests think about him. He knows who he is. 

Mark 15:6-8 (NLT) Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.

Mark 15:9-12 (NLT) “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

Q4 and Q5 are directed to the crowd, not to Jesus. 

Q4 “Should I release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

• There it is again. Is Pilate mocking now? 
• Or maybe he’s testing them to see what the crowd thinks of him? 
• Maybe he’s using the term over and over to justify the eventual crucifixion

Q5 “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

• Notice: Pilate is trying to avoid personal responsibility
  • Trying to keep his hands clean
  • Trying to avoid the “Who is Jesus?” question

The crowd takes the bait:

Mark 15:13-14 (NLT) They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

That brings us to Pilate’s final question in the Mark text:

“Why? What crime has he committed?”

• This makes me look favorably on Pilate for at least a moment
  • Was he a good guy, trying to give Jesus a chance?
  • Pilate is symbolic of a spiritual seeker, caught in the middle of two choices. It’s hard to hear the real Jesus when the world is so loud in its hatred against him.
• Back to the question: What crime has he committed? Answer: none.
  • Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. 
  • These charges were all trumped up by the religious elite.
  • Jesus would go to the cross for our sins, not his.
  • But note: the crowd didn’t care about the answer.

And now the crowd has turned into a mob. 

(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The description of the vehemence of the protest at the building of the aqueduct is particularly similar to the description of the crowd in vv. 13-14.

• “Tens of thousands of men assembled and cried out against him. . . . Some too even hurled insults and abuse of the sort that a throng will commonly engage in. . . . the Jews were in full torrent of abuse” (Antiquities of the Jews 18.60-61).

Mark 15:15 (NLT) So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Back to the question at the top, which we’ll now call the seventh question of Pilate (adding it to the 6 from Mark’s gospel):

John 18:38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked.

Here’s the context for Pilate’s question; Jesus’ bold statement:

John 18:37 (NLT) “I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

• Jesus: There is truth, and I was born to tell you about it
• Truth is not about ideas or theories; truth is about a person. The pathway to life starts with trusting the truth about Jesus.

John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Here’s today’s key question:

1. How will you handle the truth about Jesus?