Sunday, July 21, 2013

Mark 15:6-15

Passage

At the time of the Passover, Pilate was in the custom of releasing one prisoner kept under guard.  In prison while Jesus was being tried was a man who had committed murder and led insurrections.  His name was Barabbas.  The crowd gathered before Pilate and asked him to do what he normally did for them.  Pilate conceded, asking if they would like for him to release the king of the Jews to them.  Pilate gave this offer to the crowd because he thought that Jesus’ arrest was only popular among the Jewish religious leaders as they were envious of Jesus’ popularity and fame.  The religious leaders stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead.  Pilate asked the crowd what he should do with Jesus since they did not want him released.  They cried out that Jesus should be crucified. When Pilate asked what Jesus had done, the crowd simply chanted “Crucify Him.”  Pilate released Barabbas and sent Jesus off to be crucified.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

There is no passage that more greatly demonstrates the motivation of the religious leaders than this passage.  The religious leaders voluntarily trade Jesus, who healed people, for a murderer.  But perhaps even more significant than this is the fact that Barabbas was a known leader of insurrections.  What was it that the religious leaders were looking for in a Messiah?  They believe that the Messiah would overthrow worldly power and bring the Jews to the pinnacle of world power.  That’s the Messiah they wanted, not someone who comes to atone for the sin of the world.  They choose the one who is known for insurrections over the salvation offered to the world.

Why are human beings prone looking to their own desires and missing what God is doing in the world?  Why do we have trouble seeing what is really good for us?

Second Thought:

As we look at the timeline of Jesus’ crucifixion, I can’t help but think about what has transpired.  Nobody could have guessed that Jesus was going to be arrested.  When arrested, nobody could have guessed that the Sanhedrin was going to violate their own policy and have a trial after dark.  Nobody could have guessed that they would be ready to deliver Jesus to Pilate this quickly.  Add to that the fact that Jesus’ own disciples were hiding in fear.  When you put all of this together there really were no supporters for Jesus to be found in the crowd.  In addition, as we read this passage from Mark it reads as though the crowd was prepared to ask for Barabbas.  They knew about Pilate’s tradition of releasing a prisoner.  Yes, he was a murderer, but as an insurrectionist he would have had quite a large following among Jews.  They wanted to get rid of Rome and someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Romans would have a good public opinion regardless of whom they had killed.  The murders probably were Romans or supporters of Rome, anyway.  My point is this.  It may seem strange that the crowd would have such ire towards Jesus.  I think this was a crowd that had gathered in support of Barabbas and they genuinely didn’t care what happened to Jesus.  To the crowd, Jesus was superfluous to having Barabbas free.  The religious leaders used this fact to their advantage.

What does this line of thinking tell us about the “crowd?”  What motivates crowds in general?  Where do crowd generally get their values?  How can this make any crowd dangerous?

Third Thought:

Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified.  This is an act for which Pilate will be accountable.  It seems as though Pilate had no reason to crucify Jesus.  He certainly gave plenty of room for Jesus to escape crucifixion.  However, in the end Jesus is crucified by Pilate simply to appease the crowd – and more importantly the religious leaders.  Jesus truly is an innocent man led to the slaughter for no good reason.  He becomes the sacrifice that God intended – but for all the wrong human reasons.

Why is Pilate interested in appeasing the crowd and the religious leaders?  What is at stake for him if the religious leaders or the crowd become upset with him?  Is this a good reason to make a decision to crucify someone?  Why do we as human beings often make bad decisions for the wrong reasons?


Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 15:16-20

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