Choices

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Opening Prayer

Lord, awaken my heart to be responsive to You. Alert me to how You want to work in and through my life today.

Read Mark 15:1–15

^[1] Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. ^[2] “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. ^[3] The chief priests accused him of many things. ^[4] So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” ^[5] But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. ^[6] Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. ^[7] A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. ^[8] The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. ^[9] “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, ^[10] knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. ^[11] But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. ^[12] “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. ^[13] “Crucify him!” they shouted. ^[14] “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” ^[15] Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Meditate

“None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8).

Think Further

Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God, was translated into a

charge the Romans would take seriously and treat politically: “The King of the Jews” (the

Emperor Augustus had called himself “son of a God”). The title or idea appears six times in this

chapter, three in this passage. It is the central image, used in mockery, but is the truth. The cross

is Jesus’ route to his crown, to a kingdom that will last forever.

Pilate was amazed (5) as Jesus retained his dignity and refused to answer trumped-up charges.

Pilate did not trust the priests, but he was outmaneuvered (12–14). He offered to release a man

convicted of armed rebellion and the crowds accepted. The Sanhedrin was up all night securing

evidence for a death sentence, but the hearing before Pilate seems to be over in a few minutes.

The hearing was perfunctory; the subsequent torture was not. A Roman flogging could kill a

man. Jewish morality and Roman law, allegedly the best in the world, conspired to torture and

kill the Son of God. They judged the King, but in a deeper sense his innocence and dignity

judged them, showing them as they were. No one is better fitted to be the judge of us all. Jesus’

humanity shows us the nature of his deity. We see the fullest revelation of the nature of God at

this moment, in this human life.

The choice between Jesus and Barabbas was a choice between kingdoms. The one chosen by the

priests and the crowds would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem, the priesthood and the Temple

a few decades later. Centuries after the Roman Empire had fallen, however, men and women

across the globe bow the knee to the true Lord Jesus.

Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God, was translated into a charge the Romans would take seriously and treat politically: “The King of the Jews” (the Emperor Augustus had called himself “son of a God”). The title or idea appears six times in this chapter, three in this passage. It is the central image, used in mockery, but is the truth. The cross
is Jesus’ route to his crown, to a kingdom that will last forever. Pilate was amazed (5) as Jesus retained his dignity and refused to answer trumped-up charges. Pilate did not trust the priests, but he was outmaneuvered (12–14). He offered to release a man convicted of armed rebellion and the crowds accepted. The Sanhedrin was up all night securing
evidence for a death sentence, but the hearing before Pilate seems to be over in a few minutes. The hearing was perfunctory; the subsequent torture was not. A Roman flogging could kill a man. Jewish morality and Roman law, allegedly the best in the world, conspired to torture and kill the Son of God. They judged the King, but in a deeper sense his innocence and dignity judged them, showing them as they were. No one is better fitted to be the judge of us all. Jesus’
humanity shows us the nature of his deity. We see the fullest revelation of the nature of God at this moment, in this human life. The choice between Jesus and Barabbas was a choice between kingdoms. The one chosen by the priests and the crowds would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem, the priesthood and the Temple a few decades later. Centuries after the Roman Empire had fallen, however, men and women across the globe bow the knee to the true Lord Jesus.

Apply

How can you relate to each of the following: Pilate: selling short my convictions in exchange for “peace”? Jesus: acting on my convictions and suffering the consequences? Barabbas: guilty, yet released?

Closing prayer

Lord, in times of pressure to take an easier way, empower me always to choose Your service, honor and glory.

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