Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross

 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

- Mark 15:12-21

 Yesterday we read that, immediately, in the morning following His trial before the Sanhedrin, 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.

Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  My study bible points out an important difference between the Jewish leaders and Pilate, in terms of their judgment of Jesus.  That is, the Jews had the Law and the prophets to instruct them, and Pilate did not.  But Pilate also bears sin, because he gives in to his desire to gratify the crowd, knowingly sending an innocent Man to death.  Not only has Jewish law been violated in the process of convicting Christ to death, but so has Roman law.


Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.  The whole garrison of soldiers are gathered to mock Jesus, the "King of the Jews."  My study bible says that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention here is mockery, it is also prophetic that Jesus is crowned and hailed as King by the soldiers of Pilate, the Roman governor.  (See another inadvertent prophesy in which Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies Christ's redemptive work in John 11:49-51).  In accordance with Isaiah 53:3-9, the mockery here shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by men, and who bears the iniquity of us all. 

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.  Mark calls Simon the father of Alexander and Rufus, possibly because they were still living and expected to be known by Mark's hearers.  My study bible says that the spiritual message is that we, like Simon (whose name means "obedience"), are not only called to carry whatever cross is set on us by Christ, but also seeing Christ in others, we are called to bear one another's burdens as well (Galatians 6:2).

It's interesting to think about how any encounter with Jesus changes people's lives.  Simon, a visitor to Jerusalem from Cyrene (an ancient Greek coastal city in what is now Libya) is compelled to carry Jesus' cross.   The text tells us that Simon was simply passing by, and so was in a sense commandeered by the soldiers for this job.  It gives us a sense of life under the Romans, and also how an inadvertent and chance meeting with Christ can change lives.  If the sons of Simon, Rufus and Alexander, are expected to be known to the readers of Mark's Gospel, then somehow this family has become a part of the Church.  In the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul asks that his greetings be given to Rufus, and also to the mother of Rufus, as well as St. Paul's own mother (Romans 16:13).  Somehow this chance meeting, this being compelled to carry Jesus' cross, becomes a touchstone for Simon and his entire family.  It is a way in which he becomes entwined with Christ and with those others who are His followers and friends and who love Him.  Pilate, too, will be changed by his encounter with Christ.  After sending Jesus to Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, both Pilate and Herod become fast friends and apparently mutual admirers, after having been at odds with one another (Luke 23:12), united by the custom of courtesy of jurisdiction that Pilate gives to Herod, but also certainly in their mutual understanding that they have sent an innocent holy man to be executed.  (In this, it wasn't the first time for Herod - see this reading.)  We know of the things that will come to be in Jerusalem, what will befall the leadership and even the temple.  But each encounter with Christ seems to bring its own consequences in accordance with the ways in which people respond.  He is at the center of things:  as the vine to which all branches must flow and from which branches are trimmed, He is the touchstone for all things (see John 15).  His is the place where all things meet, where all are found -- if they are to be found at all.  As Judge He will sit at the center of all things, as the crucified Messiah He alone is in position to judge.  No encounter with Him, regardless of response, is without its consequences.  He creates relationships, and He also breaks them.  He tells us, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:23).   As Christ has sent to us the Holy Spirit, Who is, according to one prayer, "everywhere present and filling all things," then Christ is encountered everywhere and by all people, regardless of whether or not they have nominally heard of Christ and regardless of whether or not they call themselves Christians.  In today's reading, we get a taste of what conscience means, when we learn that Pilate is more willing to please the crowd (most likely in order to keep his job and position as governor, just as the Jewish leadership worries about their places) than to prevent the unjust execution of an innocent man.  St. Paul writes about the conscience, and the judgment of all:  "For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel" (Romans 2:12-16).  As we each have encounters with our own conscience, so we are also all blessed with the gift of the Spirit, and where the Spirit is, so is the Father and the Son.   We are all, in some measure, living in response to an encounter with this reality and presence, whether we are aware of it or not.  The idea of neutrality is delusional; we are all in a place where we respond to the presence of Christ, knowingly and unknowingly, just as St. Paul spoke to the ancient Athenians about the God they worshiped without knowing His name (see Acts 17:22-28).  While all will be judged by Christ according to the depths of their hearts, the essence of this gospel is the living encounter and our own capacity to "grope for Him and find Him," as St. Paul writes (Acts 17:27).  Each of these individuals in the Gospels comes to this place of encounter, and each life reflects the response.  Let us remember that the work of grace is ongoing and living.  The stories we read in the Gospels are illustrative of what is a living, ever-flowing reality, present to each of us and to each choice we make in our own hearts.  This process hasn't stopped and isn't frozen in time; rather, encounters happen constantly and ever-presently, everywhere and in each one.  From the mocking soldiers (at least one of whom will be converted at the Cross) to Simon to all the rest in the crowd that demands His crucifixion, to the present day and each encounter we know (both internal and external), Christ is present, shaping and forming lives and relationships and even who we are as persons.  How do you encounter Him?  How does that shape you, one way and the other?

They clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Icon of Christ the Bridegroom

 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

- Mark 15:12-21

Yesterday, we read that immediately, in the morning after Jesus' night trial by the Council, 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.

 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  My study bible says that Pilate's sin was less than the deliberate "framing" of Christ by the religious leaders who delivered Him to Pilate.  Pilate, after all, did not have the Law and the prophets to instruct him, and knew nothing about Jesus' preaching and teaching and how it linked to the whole heritage of Jewish spiritual tradition.  But Pilate's desire to gratify the crowd means nevertheless that he knowingly sent an innocent man to death.

Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.   Here's the ironic twist that evil puts on these scenes of Jesus on trial.  He tells the truth, and even His mockers, jesting at a framed up charge, inadvertently reveal the truth.  My study bible says that it's prophetic that Jesus should be crowned and hail as King by soldiers of the governor.  It notes, "This mockery shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by men who bears the iniquity of us all (see Isaiah 53:3-9).   It notes also the prophetic pronouncement inadvertently made by Caiaphas as written in John's Gospel (John 11:49-51).  The royal purple was closer to what we would call a reddish color (red/purple) -- representing both His royalty and the sins of humanity that He's taken upon Himself.  (Here is a photo of a mosaic depicting Empress Theodora dressed in what is called Tyrian puple, 6th century.  Here is another example, an 11th century Byzantine robe.)

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.  My study bible suggests that Mark mentions that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus because they were still living and possibly even known to Mark's contemporary hearers.  It says, "The spiritual message is that we, like Simon (whose name means 'obedience'), are not only called to carry the cross Christ sets on us, but seeing Christ in others, we are called to bear each other's burdens as well (Galatians 6:2)."

So here is the picture of Christ bound, mocked, spat on, ridiculed.  And in the contempt, there is inadvertently truth.  It's a strange way in which evil circumstances still can't really hide truth.  The twisted nature of evil isn't something new to observe at all, but there are so many ironies in all the ways that people try to belittle and hold Jesus in contempt, in all the varied scenes of those who -- one way and another -- seek to take Him down.  Perhaps there's a clue in the element of truth that makes a person genuine, who they really are, an internal reality that can't really be denied.  Oh, we can try and deny and cover up all we want.  But when something is a truly genuine part of an intangible internal reality, then it becomes a different matter.  That can't be taken away.  It's a force that comes from a different place than a worldly crowning or declaration of a king.  It's not something that belongs to Christ because others say it's so or assent to it or recognize it.  It simply is -- as in the name I AM.  Jesus' reality is transcendent of His circumstances and the opinions of others.  There's a lesson there for all of us, particularly in a time when we so value images and publicity or fame, and we're bombarded with its values all the time.  What makes a person genuine?  What gives us the quality of dignity or honor?  Whose praise matters when it comes to declarations of true reality and identity?  What can't really be taken away, no matter how much contempt or mud or spittle is cast at it?  That's what we think about when we look at this icon of Christ as prisoner.  The icon above is called "The Bridegroom."  It's a portrait of Christ in captivity, but more truly, an icon of love.  He's bound to us with His covenant.  As His hands are bound in the scene of imprisonment, so we are bound with Him, and to those whom we love.  All He goes through is for our sake, humiliated as vulnerable human being -- His voluntary sacrifice for love.  All for us.  As Bridegroom He is a picture of what it means when we, too, love enough to sacrifice, to carry the burdens of others as Simon does:  and that becomes another glimmer of the truth that can't be hidden although it's twisted as conscription, compulsion, weakness.  It's the truth that dignifies, even if others mock because of it. Sound familiar?  Simon becomes a believer, and his sons well-known members of the Church, crowned and honored as true soldiers of Christ.  Let us think about Bridegroom, the heavenly Jerusalem and Church as His bride, and truths that can't be hidden although mocked, and twisted, and ridiculed.  Let us remember who we are, in His name and His truth for us, His love.

Let Him be crucified!

 Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to the, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"

- Matthew 27:11-23

Yesterday, we read that when morning came, after the Sanhedrin's night trial, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."  And they said, "What is that to us?  You see to it!"  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

  Now Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.  My study bible notes here:  "The chief priests hide their real charge against Jesus -- the claim of equality with God -- because this would not persuade the governor to sentence Him to death.  Instead, they present a charge of treason -- that Jesus called Himself the King of the Jews.  This crime would carry the death penalty, for it was a challenge to Roman rule."

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to the, "Whom do you want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"  My study bible points out that, while Jesus is the true Son of the Father, here the name Barabbas means "son of the father."  Ironically, it notes, the crowds now must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  It says, that by influencing the crowds to choose Barabbas, the chief priests indicate to which father they belong (see John 8:44).

So what do we have here?  It's an odd -- not to say, completely crazy -- picture of a world that is in reverse, or upside-down, however we could characterize it.  The NU text, which uses fragments of Alexandrian texts as opposed to the traditional Byzantine Greek texts, even uses "Jesus Barabbas,"  although even ancient scholars (Origen) raise doubts about the use of the name Jesus here.  So, the Son is the one in chains, before the governor, on charges that He called Himself, "King of the Jews."  This is Jesus, who, in John's gospel, has refused to be forced to be made a king.  In our eyes, perhaps, we would say that the Lord of the Universe is bound in chains to be judged by the Roman Governor, Pilate.  And at the same time, the crowd wants to set free Barabbas, another "son of the father."  And who is Barabbas?  In Matthew we are told he is a "notorious" prisoner.  Elsewhere he's named with a word for "bandit" which was used to describe revolutionaries.  Mark and Luke suggest Barabbas was involved in a riot, perhaps a sort of insurrection.  At any rate, we have here a violent man, perhaps one who wishes to bring about a "kingdom" of the Jews in the revolutionary, violent sense, overthrowing the Romans in this way.  And then there is Jesus who brings a different kind of Kingdom into the world.  It clearly has other "rules" than the sword of insurrection to create a physical kingdom, as led by Jesus of Nazareth.  He's the One who entered Jerusalem one week earlier, riding on a donkey.  This is the Man who preached the Beatitudes in His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, given to us in fullness in Matthew's gospel.  The Beatitudes also teach about a world that sees "upside down" in some sense.  We're told that those who mourn are blessed, that those who are poor in spirit are blessed, and indeed, that those who are meek are blessed -- that it is they who will inherit the earth.  Jesus is no revolutionary bandit; His Kingdom and His preaching are not about an immediate grasp of material power, but teach about endurance, forbearance, the strength of love, even turning the other cheek.  His disciples are taught to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.  So, in some way, this picture of this crisis point gives us our picture of the world, because we are always asked to make this choice.  Are we to be stirred up by people who would be populist leaders, in the name of some sort of immediate gratification of a thirst for power or movement?  Are we to be mobilized through deceit and lies, intended to make a scapegoat of others?  Are there demagogues among us?  These are choices that, in some sense, we are offered every day.  It's greatly telling that Pilate's wife had a dream about "this just man."  This pagan woman has glimpses of the heart, of the thing that is within us all, even those who may have never heard the name of Christ.  (See Romans 2:14-16.)  With Jesus standing before Pilate, the governor understands the envy behind the charge; after all, he's a political man in a world of politics and power.  But everything is upside down here, and the power of a stirred up crowd takes its toll, as it well may do anywhere today.  This is especially true when laws are ignored in favor of what is seemingly a popular choice or one made through political pressure.  So, it really breaks down into two deep choices:  do we listen to the heart, to the good that we know, even what has been enshrined in the law for the sake of justice?  Or do we go with what looks expedient, by manipulation, by force, and all kinds of pressure?  It's up to you and it's up to me, to all of us.  Prayer is a refuge, where we find what we need, even as we appeal to this bound and sentenced Prisoner.  There are countless numbers of times we may see this scene played out again in history, with other players in the roles -- maybe in the present right now when we look around.  But He was there first, for us, to show us the way out of this thinking of an upside down world, where we may not know how to choose of ourselves, where hypocrisy means we can't judge by any appearance.  Jesus prepares us for a complex world, one set in spiritual battle, not a simple and easy picture of life -- but one in which truth becomes the one thing we really need to be truly free  (John 8:32).