The Gospel of Mark
Jesus before Pilate: Mk 15,1-15
15,1 forms a transition verse from Jews to Romans. In this verse Jesus is handed over from the Jewish leaders to Pilate.
Some translations say that another meeting of the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, is indicated here. The Council has already met (15,53) and ended with Jesus' condemnation. So the purpose of another one is not clear. It is best to read this verse as a consultation of "the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin" coming together to bind Jesus and hand him over to Pilate.
"Handed over " was used by Jesus predicting his fate (10,33). It was also used of both John the Baptist (1,14) and the future followers of Jesus (13,9).
Pilate appears only in this chapter and it is assumed that readers know who he is. Matthew makes it clear that Pilate was the governor (Mt 27,2.11) whilst only Luke says he was Pontius Pilate (Lk 3,2).
"King of the Jews" for Pilate would have had a political meaning, Jesus as a possible rival to the Emperor. For the chief priests it would have been their way of presenting Jesus as Messiah (14,62) to outsiders. Whilst for early Christians, the kingship of Jesus following the resurrection would have been quite clear. In the Gospel, Jesus preaches the kingdom of God (Mk 1,15).
Jesus' reply to Pilate is best described as enigmatic, that's not surprising perhaps given the range of understandings we have just considered. This in constrast to Jesus' reply "I am" to the high priest earlier (14,62).
There is nothing specific about the accusations made by the chief priests in verse 3. Jesus' failure to reply in verse 5 just leaves Pilate amazed, baffled or puzzled perhaps. We can note that the servant in Isaiah (Is 53,7) also makes no reply.
Passover was the feast when Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt. So there would have been some symbolism in a release of a prisoner at this time. Barabbas (Son of Abba) is named in all four Gospels but we don't know why he was chosen when his fellow rebels were crucified alongside Jesus (15,27).
It is the crowd which takes the initiative in these verses, both in asking Pilate to release a prisoner (verse 8) and in calling for crucifixion (verse 13). Pilate's reaction both times is to seek for a reason to release Jesus (verses 9 & 10 and verse 14). The role of the chief priests here is to stir up the crowd (verse 11). Following their accusations in verse 3, they act in the background. The responsibility is the crowd.
Pilate therefore "to satisfy the crowd" releases Barabbas. He then had Jesus scourged and handed over Jesus to be crucified. All the Gospels report that Jesus was scourged and it is given some importance by Luke, Lk 23,16. Mark just mentions it as a detail before Jesus is handed over for crucifixion. "Hand over", a key word in this Gospel as we have seen a number of times, forms the bracket around this Roman trial, the word appearing in 15,1 and 15,15.
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