AM March 3rd Mark 15

March 3rd

51: And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: 52: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

Jesus before Caiaphas

53: And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 54: And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. 55: And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 56: For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. 57: And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, 58: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 59: But neither so did their witness agree together. 60: And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 61: But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62: And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 63: Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? 64: Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

Peter denies Jesus

65: And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. 66: And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68: But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69: And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70: And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. 71: But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. 72: And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Mark 15 Jesus before Pilate

1: And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. 2: And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 3: And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. 4: And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. 5: But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

Jesus sentenced

6: Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. 7: And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8: And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9: But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 10: For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. 11: But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12: And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13: And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14: Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15: And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

Jesus mocked

16: And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17: And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18: And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19: And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20: And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

It is usually thought that the young man was JohnMark. However l think it was Lazarus who had been raised from the dead, they wanted to arrest him too to kill him in spite. The first trial of Christ was before the High Priest. Peter followed afar off and sat with the servants. They tried to find witnesses but found none that could agree in testimony. They were false witnesses. Christ had nothing to say in response to false testimony. Finally Jesus is asked outright, ‘Are you the Messiah?’ and Christ says. ‘Yes’. At that moment the High Priest rent his clothes and thus brought his ministry to an end. They abuse Christ, spitting on him and beating him up. These are the religious leaders of Israel! Down in the court yard Peter denies Christ. Christ is taken to Pilate where the charge of Blaspheme is now changed to Treason against the Roman rulers. This is done to ensure crucifixion. Pilate sought to release him but eventually caved in, passing the death sentence. The religious leaders encouraged the mob to demand the death penalty. Pilate was a week man and buckled under pressure to condemn Christ when he knew him to be innocent. Christ was taken away to be brutalised by the Roman guard.

• How did Christ stand up to his trials?
• Why did the religious leaders hand him over to the Romans?
• Why did Pilate cave in on this?