Mark 15:1-2

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 

[15:1]  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).