Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

- Mark 15:1-11

Yesterday we read that, while Jesus was being accused in the home of the high priest, Peter was below in the courtyard, and one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  My study bible comments that while the Jewish religious law gave the death penalty to blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), under Roman occupation the Jews could not carry out an execution.  Therefore, in order to have Jesus put to death, they needed to have a sentence which would be issued by Pilate, who was the Roman governor.  This verse also makes it clear that Jesus "trial" was not a formal one done by the whole council; rather, there was a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council in the morning, after a night trial at the home of the high priest.  It suggests, once again, that the proceedings against Jesus have not been done in full accordance with the Law.

Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  Pilate's question arises from the political charges deliberately made against Jesus in order to procure a death penalty.  Pilate would not execute a person over religious matters, but a political crime, such as declaring oneself a king over against the power of Rome would be tantamount to insurrection, and guarantee the death penalty.  In this light we must also remember the welcome Jesus received from the people in Jerusalem, at the Triumphal Entry, when He was greeted as befits the Messiah.  Therefore, Jesus has been accused by the chief priests of making Himself an earthly king, which would bring a charge of treason.  Jesus' answer is literally, "You have said."

And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  My study bible notes that the fact that Jesus answered nothing is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, which gives us an image of the Messiah being silent as He is led "as a sheep to the slaughter."  He makes no defense, so that Pilate marveled.

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.   My study bible says here that Pilate was hoping to release Jesus, whom he knows to be innocent (vv. 10, 14; John 18:38, 19:4-6).  Therefore Pilate turns to the crowd for support, hoping they will ask for Jesus to be released, in spite of the chief priests.

The trial of Jesus continues, and this time before Pilate.  But the behavior we observe from the chief priests is more of the same.  It is a depiction of low or non-existent standards, a picture of men in positions of responsibility and authority, who rather than nobly pursuing their duties, behave badly, shabbily, in the lowest of ways.  They falsely found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, had a sham of a trial that conformed to no law they should have upheld, found false witnesses who contradicted one another.  Moreover, as we are told by the text, they are given over to envy.  This is something that Pilate knows and understands, being no stranger to the power politics of striving for position within a hierarchy of rank and power.   Perhaps we don't get a full picture of this time unless we also understand the power of Rome.  Herod the Great first ruled for Rome as "king."  He was known as a great builder, with the magnificent second temple being the crowning glory of that pursuit.  But he was also extraordinarily ruthless, even for the time, killing some of his own children in the aim of holding power.  His son Herod Antipas now rules Galilee, and we're given a picture in the Gospels of Antipas as corrupt and decadent, whose impulsive grandiosity results in the awful martyrdom of John the Baptist.  But although Pilate the governor rules within this environment with the power of the Roman Empire, he still understands the innocence of Christ.  Jesus makes no defense at all.  It is not only as the Scriptures foretell, as noted above.  But Christ understands what is happening and accepts what is coming.  He knows what God the Father wishes of Him and why, that He goes to the Cross for purposes of salvation and Resurrection (John 3:14-16; 12:32).   In this role He is the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14).  That is, Christ stands in as first witness -- in Greek, the word for witness is martyr.  His testimony to that which is in this world is what He experiences and accepts, as in the words of Isaiah, "like a sheep to the slaughter."  What appears to be no defense at all is, in fact, that which permits what is happening, in order to defeat the very evil that seeks to put Him to death.  If that is difficult or strange to accept, we must understand that Christ's battle is not simply with the Jewish leaders of His time; it is a battle for the salvation of the world, a battle to defeat the evil that works through corruption and murder.  It is a battle for our own souls, so that we might follow Him, even through the worst of times.  It is a spiritual battle that teaches us what it is to endure to the end, and to be faithful and true, so that we live with Him and He is in us.  As St. Paul writes, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  There may be times in each of our lives when we know there is nothing we can do about a bad decision, a false outcome, and unjust set of circumstances, and the corruption we find ourselves within at any moment.  We cannot always control everyone or everything.  Sometimes there are those who will do their worst, even out of envy of the righteous.  These evils are not strange to us, but rather they are all too common.  Let us consider our Lord and what He teaches us; that we place all things in the hands of God and seek God's guidance for the time in which we find ourselves.  We do what we can to live a good life, we are called to a better order, a righteousness that helps to bring peace and goodness to the world, and to endure to the end through all things (Mark 13:13).  But let us remember that with God, all things are possible, and Resurrection is on the way.  It is how He gets there that makes His victory possible, and that victory is for us, so that we follow Him.