Mark 15:1-17

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law ¹  and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ²  15:2 So ³  Pilate asked him, “Are you the king ⁴  of the Jews?” He replied, ⁵  “You say so.” ⁶  15:3 Then ⁷  the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. 15:4 So Pilate asked him again, ⁸  “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” 15:5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Jesus and Barabbas

15:6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, ⁹  whomever they requested. 15:7 A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. 15:8 Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. ¹⁰  15:9 So Pilate asked them, ¹¹  “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 15:10 (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) ¹²  15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release ¹³  Barabbas instead. 15:12 So Pilate spoke to them again, ¹⁴  “Then what do you want me to do ¹⁵  with the one you call king of the Jews?” 15:13 They shouted back, “Crucify ¹⁶  him!” 15:14 Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15:15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, ¹⁷  after he had Jesus flogged, ¹⁸  he handed him over ¹⁹  to be crucified.

Jesus is Mocked

15:16 So ²⁰  the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) ²¹  and called together the whole cohort. ²²  15:17 They put a purple cloak ²³  on him and after braiding ²⁴  a crown of thorns, ²⁵  they put it on him.

[15:1]  ¹ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[15:1]  ² sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

[15:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.

[15:2]  ⁴ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.

[15:2]  ⁶ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).

[15:3]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “Pilate asked him again, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Coming up the crowd began to ask [him to do] as he was doing for them.”

[15:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Pilate answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:10]  ¹² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[15:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “to have him release for them.”

[15:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “answering, Pilate spoke to them again.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:12]  ¹⁵ tc Instead of “what do you want me to do” several witnesses, including the most important ones (א B C W Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 892 2427 pc), lack θέλετε (qelete, “you want”), turning the question into the more abrupt “what should I do?” Although the witnesses for the longer reading are not as significant (A D Θ 0250 Ï latt sy), the reading without θέλετε conforms to Matt 27:22 and thus is suspected of being a scribal emendation. The known scribal tendency to assimilate one synoptic passage to another parallel, coupled with the lack of such assimilation in mss that are otherwise known to do this most frequently (the Western and Byzantine texts), suggests that θέλετε is authentic. Further, Mark’s known style of being generally more verbose and redundant than Matthew’s argues that θέλετε is authentic here. That this is the longer reading, however, and that a good variety of witnesses omit the word, gives one pause. Perhaps the wording without θέλετε would have been perceived as having greater homiletical value, motivating scribes to move in this direction. A decision is difficult, but on the whole internal evidence leads toward regarding θέλετε as authentic.

[15:13]  ¹⁶ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[15:15]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:15]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”

[15:15]  ¹⁹ tn Or “delivered him up.”

[15:16]  ²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the soldiers’ action is in response to Pilate’s condemnation of the prisoner in v. 15.

[15:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”

[15:16]  ²² sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.

[15:17]  ²³ sn The purple cloak probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king (cf. 15:2).

[15:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “weaving.”

[15:17]  ²⁵ sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.