Mark 15:1-5 1And immediately early in the morning after formulating a decision, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, after binding Jesus, led him away and betrayed him to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he said to him, “You are saying.” 3The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. 4Then Pilate asked him again, saying, “Do you not answer? Look at how many accusations they bring against you!” 5But Jesus gave no further answer, so Pilate was amazed.
The trial of Jesus had come to an end. Mark finally gives a clear time indicator of early in the morning. As readers, we knew the morning was coming because of the rooster crowing two times in the previous passage. It had been a long night for Jesus, starting with his prayer vigil in the garden and ending with the trial before the Sanhedrin and the beating he received from the Jews and guards. After interrogating Jesus, the council deliberated to determine officially what to do with him. Their power to put someone to death was limited (John 18:31), so they had to seek the permission of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect or governor for Judea from AD 26-37. Pilate officially lived in Caesarea Maritima but would go to Jerusalem during Jewish festivals to ensure order. He was known for his insensitivity and brutality against opposition.
Mark’s phrasing in verse 1 is a bit awkward as he attempts to capture the significant move the ruling council made that morning. There are four action words, with two participles that show what they did at the trial of making a decision and binding Jesus, followed by two verbs that show the result of their decision. The second verb translated as betrayed () or “handed over” is the same used in verses 14:10, 11, 18, 21, 41, 42, and 44 in relation to what Judas did. Basically, the Sanhedrin joined in Judas in their betrayal of Jesus to a higher authority who could help dispose of him. Mark also emphasizes that many people were involved in this betrayal by listing four different groupings that made up the Jewish leadership.
Mark gives no details about how Jesus got to Pilate or where the next scene takes place. He is more concerned in his account with issues of identity, as Pilate’s question indicates. Pilate gets right to the heart of the issue. Who is this Jesus? Pilate’s question is similar to the high priest’s in 14:61 and focuses upon the issue of Messiah. The question is more of a statement, with the option for the responder to agree: “You are the King of the Jews, are you not?” For Pilate to call Jesus King would be equivalent to the Jews calling him Messiah. The reader of the original Greek might catch the nuance of agreement in the statement. So far, Mark has shown the high priest and Pilate both making claims about Jesus, even though they both refuse to believe what they said. The Jews believed the Messiah would be a king. As Roman governor, Pilate would have his eyes and ears open for any insurrection. Someone who was claiming to be a king would have caught his attention. He needed to determine if Jesus was a political threat or just a nuisance.
Jesus’ response is simple and puts the ball back in Pilate’s court. It is not a direct affirmation but a quote of Pilate’s own words, like “as you are saying.”Pilate had the opportunity to believe but refused. He likely saw all this as trivial, another day in court. Time to resolve another problem with the Jews and make them happy and keep the peace. The Jewish leaders stepped in to make strong accusations against Jesus. They may have perceived that Pilate was not taking the situation seriously. They could not let Jesus get out of this one. Pilate did not know what to make of Jesus who did not defend himself against what the chief priests were accusing him of, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7. Jesus’ silence was a testimony that amazed Pilate.
Everyone thus far in this story and all of Mark’s Gospel has been confronted with the need to decide about Jesus. Who is he? Will we as the readers accept the claims about him?
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