Reading the Gospels Together

The Trials – Part 2

The Jewish trial has ended and the religious leaders have got what they were seeking but now the matter of fulfilling their goal remains. There is a debate about whether the religious leaders could have simply killed Jesus on their own or not. Likely they could have since in just a few years following the death of Jesus we hear of the stoning of Stephen. But they want to cover their tracks and let someone else be responsible for the death of Jesus. They turn to the Romans and so Jesus is delivered to Pontius Pilate.

Mark’s story of the trial of Jesus before Pilate is rather brief. Mark tells his readers that the Jewish authorities have made many accusations against Jesus but he doesn’t detail any of them. From Pilate’s response it is likely that they have accused Jesus of sedition – claiming to be a king. The high priest’s question was, “Are you the Messiah?” Pilate’s question is, “Are you the king of the Jews?” In truth these questions are virtually the same. The Messiah means “the anointed one” and all of Israel’s kings were known as “the anointed.” So Pilate’s question matches that of the high priest. Jesus’ answer sounds less committal with respect to Pilate – “So you say.” Of course for Jesus to respond to Pilate with the divine “I am” would have been meaningless to him. Mark tells his readers that as before the religious leaders Jesus remains silent. And Pilate is amazed. At this point in his storyline Mark tells of a practice through which Pilate released one prisoner during the festival. When the crowds ask for Pilate to fulfil his practice the suggestion Pilate makes is to release “the king of the Jews” to them. But there was another man in prison named Barabbas – “son of the father” – who the religious leaders manipulate the crowd to ask to be released. Up until this moment the crowd had been the protector of Jesus in Mark’s gospel. But here even the crowd abandons Jesus. There will be no one left to defend him. As Mark tells the story it appears that Pilate wants to release Jesus but in the end the crowd and the religious leaders prevail and when Pilate asks them what he is to do with Jesus they cry out for his crucifixion. And Pilate grants them what they desire. We need to pause at this point and consider Pilate and his role in this story. It would be easy to consider Pilate as the more innocent in this scene. Yet, from everything else we know about Pilate historically he was a cruel, cynical, and evil ruler. It is better for us to hear the responses of Pilate as being sarcastic than genuine. Pilate was not one bit interested in justice. Likely he enjoyed the whole fiasco of the religious leaders coming to ask him to kill Jesus. Pilate sees Jesus as a weak and pathetic person unable even to stand up for himself. What better specimen to brand as the king of the Jews! This weakling is the best king the Jews can put forth. So Pilate makes the most of humiliating both Jesus and the religious leaders – even to the point of releasing a true seditionist, Barabbas. To Pilate all this was a farce! Of course Mark’s readers know that Jesus really is the king of the Jews, the Messiah, and that his death will overthrow both the power of the religious leaders and Rome! The story is ironic through and through.

So both the religious leaders and the Roman governor have condemned Jesus unjustly and both bear responsibility for his crucifixion. The disciples have fled. The crowds have turned against Jesus. There is no one left. All stand accused. And Mark’s readers, including us, must wonder what the meaning of this is? In words that exhibit the worst of humanity Mark tells his readers that Jesus is mocked and beaten and led off to be crucified. Actually at the close of each “trial” Jesus is humiliated by his accusers. Mark’s story has grown very dark.

If Mark was writing his gospel at the very time when the Temple in Jerusalem was under attack and Roman soldiers were about to destroy the city and all hope was lost, or perhaps in the days right after the destruction of the Temple, the dark and foreboding reality in the story Mark is telling would match the dark and foreboding atmosphere of his first readers. Such dark and foreboding days require someone to attempt to interpret their meaning and to point a way forward. That is what Mark’s story is attempting to do. The story of his first readers and the story of Jesus parallel one another. It was not a good time to be alive in either case. And so the story marches on to its climax. Jesus will die alone – abandoned by all. Utter darkness will hover over the whole world. And Mark’s readers will wonder if there is any hope.