"The Passion of Our Lord: Suffered under Pontius Pilate" (Lenten sermon on Mark 15:1-32)

My Facebook page ^ | March 13, 2024 | The Rev. Charles Henrickson

[Charles Henrickson]

“The Passion of Our Lord: Suffered under Pontius Pilate” (Mark 15:1-32)

Tonight we continue our series on “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark.” During this series, we’re going through Mark chapters 14 and 15 piece by piece. Now we come to chapter 15. It’s Good Friday, when Jesus is handed over to the Roman governor to suffer and die. And so our theme tonight: “The Passion of Our Lord: Suffered under Pontius Pilate.”

To set the scene: Jesus was betrayed and arrested the night before, was tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and found guilty of blasphemy. The Jewish ruling council wants Jesus dead. But they don’t have the authority to carry out a death sentence, since the nation is under the rule of the Roman Empire. So they decide to hand Jesus over to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and try to convince him to put Jesus to death.

Which they proceed to do. Early on Friday morning, they take Jesus over to the governor’s headquarters in Jerusalem. Normally, the Roman governor would be in the city of Caesarea Maritima, “Caesarea by the Sea,” but on special occasions he would go to Jerusalem as needed. Now, this week, it is needed. Because it’s the Jewish Passover, and so many thousands of Jewish pilgrims are in town for the festival. Pilate figures he needs to be there, too, in order to keep order with all those crowds being there.

Pontius Pilate was a mid-level Roman bureaucrat, the prefect or governor of Judea. He was assigned there to oversee this far-flung outpost of the mighty Roman Empire. His job was basically twofold: 1) Keep the place under control, maintain law and order, make sure no insurrections arise. And 2) Make sure the taxes keep coming in. That’s about it. He doesn’t care about any internal Jewish religious disputes. But he can’t let the crowds get out of control and start a riot.

So here comes the Jewish ruling council, and they’re all hot and bothered. They’re bringing a prisoner with them and handing him off to Pilate. “Here, you deal with him, governor. We’ve tried him, and we find him guilty of death. Now we want you to do the same and actually order and carry out the death sentence.”

“Well, fine, but on what basis? What is the charge you have against him that would merit a death sentence?” You see, again, Pilate does not care about some internal religious dispute among the Jews. But he does care about keeping control and at least making some show of doing the right thing.

So the Jews try to come up with some charges that sound convincing and persuasive. Well, during the trial before the Sanhedrin, the high priest had asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ?” Jesus answered, “I am.” So the Jews took that and twisted it and tried to make Jesus’ messianic claim into a political threat, that he was some sort of revolutionary who wanted to lead a rebellion against the Roman occupation. Of course, that would get Pilate’s attention. So Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” But Pilate can see that Jesus is no insurrectionist. The chief priests come up with other charges against Jesus, but Pilate isn’t buying it. He knows it was out of envy that the priests had delivered him up.

So Pilate tries to get this obviously innocent man off the hook. To show how merciful and magnanimous the Roman governor can be, Pilate would release one prisoner to the Jews during their feast. He gives the crowd a choice: “Do you want me to release the prisoner Barabbas,” who actually was an insurrectionist, “or should I release this other fellow? “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” he asks, using the “King of the Jews” title in an almost humorous way. He thought they might pick Jesus. But no, the priests stir up the crowd to pick Barabbas.

So now Pilate is stuck with what to do with Jesus. “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” “Crucify him” is the cry of the crowd. “Why, what evil has he done?” “Crucify him!” they shout all the louder. Well, now Pilate’s hand has been forced. He knows Jesus is innocent of any crime, but still he can’t risk a riot breaking out. So the coward Pilate yields to the will of the mob. He orders that Jesus be whipped and then handed over for crucifixion.

Suffered under Pontius Pilate: The suffering continues, although not directly by Pilate’s hands. His soldiers do the dirty work. They beat him up and mock him. “Hail, King of the Jews!” Yeah, right, some king this is! That’s even the inscription Pilate places over Jesus’ head when he’s nailed to the cross: “The King of the Jews.”

The mockery continues, even as Jesus is going through excruciating pain and suffering. The passersby yell at him: “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” The priests and the scribes mock him: “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.”

So this is how Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate: unjustly sentenced to death, beaten, mocked, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, mocked and reviled most unmercifully by both Jewish enemies and Roman soldiers as “the King of the Jews.”

But now, why is it important to you that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate? Let me give you a couple of reasons. First, that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate anchors your salvation in real human history. This is no legend. This is no myth. No, Pontius Pilate was an actual historical figure. We have evidence not just from the Bible, but from other sources as well. I mentioned that the Roman governor’s main headquarters was in the city of Caesarea Maritima. Well, in the year 1961, an archaeological dig there discovered a limestone monument that Pilate himself had commissioned in honor of the Roman emperor. It reads, in Latin, “To the Divine Augustus Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, has dedicated this.” I’ve been to Caesarea Maritima and seen the stone replica that’s displayed there. Look, this stuff really happened! This is no made-up fairy tale. The suffering and death of Christ is real historical fact. And that’s good news for you! Your faith is not in some legend or myth, but in a real-life Savior who did indeed suffer under Pontius Pilate.

So that’s the first point: That Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate shows that your salvation is anchored in real human history. The second point has to do with this: Why Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate. Why did he go through with this? You know, he didn’t do much to defend himself. He kept his mouth shut most of the time. He didn’t use his divine power as the Son of God to set himself free. Oh, he could have, hypothetically. Even the mocking crowds acknowledge this: “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” Likewise, the chief priests and the scribes: “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” But no. Jesus doesn’t do that. He does not come down from the cross.

Why? For you. Jesus hangs there, on the cross, in your place, as your Savior. Jesus suffers shame and scorn and unjust treatment, so that you and I will not suffer the very just wrath of God for our sins. Jesus took upon himself your sins, so that you would be saved. The priests mock him by saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.” They spoke better than they knew! For it is precisely in not saving himself that our Lord saves others! He saves you! Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The King of the Jews is reigning and ruling as the King of all nations right there on the cross. His crown of thorns means the crown of life for you!

That Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate is a historical fact. Friends, your salvation is grounded in real-life history. Why Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate--well, that’s even better! He did this for you! Jesus did not shy away from his suffering, but entered into it boldly and willingly, so that you and I would be forgiven and saved forever. Thanks be to God!

[Charles Henrickson]

Mark 15:1-32 (ESV)

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

[Charles Henrickson]

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