Liturgy of the Passion - 3

Mark 15:1-3

"Pilate asked him 'Are you the king of the Jews?' He answered him, 'You say so'" Mark 15:2

The gospel accounts agree on the substance. Jesus was taken before Pilate. While the details may vary it is still God's story, revealed through faithful servants whom the Spirit has inspired to communicate the Truth - and to show us Jesus and the way God has graciously dealt with all of creation since the beginning of time.

Following a brief consultation with the whole council or Sanhedrin Jesus was taken before Pilate. This was to bring the weight of the civil authorities down upon Jesus, for without Pilate's approval there could be no capital punishment

From Mark's sources the incident is brief. Pilate's question about Jesus kingship brings no answer that would condemn Jesus, and the accusations of the chief priests were given no response, Jesus remained silent in the face of his accusers.

John's gospel offers a much fuller account - even a philosophical discussion that would have been appropriate for the Greek mind. The oft quoted line "What is truth?" comes from John's gospel. For the followers of Jesus that question is answered simply by the words of Jesus that prompted that question "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

For John is was truth that was at issue. For Mark that particular dynamic is missing from the words in this part of the narrative, yet is still hidden beneath them. His accusers could not obtain valid testimony against him (14:56), even though they continued to pour forth their accusations (15:3). From Pilate there is no guilty verdict - but Jesus was not set free. Truth became the victim of expediency.

So it is at times with the Word of God. Often the words are lifted out of their context and made into something they are not. The Word becomes a weapon to wield against others. It is no longer a light to guide or a medicine to bring healing to people and relationships. It becomes a means of control rather than a source of liberation. It becomes an immutable and unchangeable set of rules and a source of dogma, rather that an encounter with the Living God. It becomes an object of worship rather than a revelation of the One we worship.
What is truth? It is Jesus, who continues to reveal the ways and working of God, and who through the Spirit guides us into fullness of life.


Mark 15:6-15

"So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified." Mark 15:15

Never ask a question that you do not know the answer for! Not good advice if you are a learner, but certainly good advice if you want to get your way.

Pilate is portrayed as a rather weak leader in these verses. AS Roman Procurator of Judea he was the supreme ruler, answerable only to Rome, and that w as a long way off.
Pilate ruled Judea for about ten years (27-37 CE) and was not known for recognizing the sensitivities of the Jews. The gospel accounts are far more sympathetic to Pilate tan other early writings of his activities and character.

Mark's account of Jesus before Pilate is the simplest. Having been presented with so many charges that were not denied or defended by Jesus Pilate appears to have accepted that Jesus was to be crucified, even though he had not been persuaded of the truth of these accusations. With Jerusalem alive with pilgrims, and the fear of having to cope with a riot or major disturbance in the overcrowded religious centre, Pilate offered to release Jesus to the crowd. His custom at Passover was to release one prisoner, and in his mind Jesus would be the one. His plan did not succeed, for he had not reckoned on the scheming of the chief priests or the fickleness of the crowd.

They rejected the one Pilate called "King of the Jews' and cried for Barabbas instead. They opted to set Barabbas free, and cried 'Crucify him' when Pilate asked what he should do with Jesus,

For Pilate this seems to have been an unexpected reaction. For the disciples and followers of Jesus this was yet another blow to any hopes that were left. He had 'come to his own, but his own received him not' (John 1:11)

How does one begin to understand the change in crowd opinion? From triumphal entry to total rejection in less that a week! Was it just a success propaganda campaign by the chief priests? Was it unfortunate timing for Jesus? Was it that his disciples and followers had fled and were not longer on the scene, or were they there and simply politically naïve?

However it came about Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. The masses had won out, and the only satisfactory explanation for the gospel writers was the manipulation of the crowd by the chief priests. The opponent of Jesus were well organised, The followers of Jesus had lost their leader, and were not prepared or equipped to organize against the religious establishment. Despite what may have been the desires of the majority - a well-organised and well-connected elite had their way. It has long been so, and a populist movement standing up for the right takes a long time to gain support and generate enough momentum to topple the established powers.

Jesus was swept into Jerusalem on a wave of emotion (Mk 11:1-11) and just as quickly cast aside as the crowd cried out for Barabbas.




Mark 15:16-20

"They stuck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him." Mark 15:19

When he was before the Council Jesus was blindfolded, stuck and spat upon (14:63). There the guards also had a turn to beat him. Even though Pilate found nothing wrong in what Jesus had done, he still had Jesus flogged (15:15). Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the governor's palace, and the whole cohort came to offer abuse. It seems he was not beaten again - but the purple robe and the crown of thorns were used as objects of derision and ridicule. The soldiers, some of them at least, mockingly knelt before this 'King' and others spat upon him. Jesus became their sport for that morning.

Why is it that the victors need to humiliate the vanquished? In Iraq stories of captives being shamed by their captors at least resulted in charges being laid and the abusers punished.
Why is it that we are not able to offer dignity and respect to those who are different from us, whose views we reject, when they area after all flesh and blood like us, with thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams? It seems that for so many, whether they be Jewish or Roman leaders or just people like us, there is a need to exercise power over others to make ourselves feel good, important powerful be demeaning others,

Jesus was silent before his accusers, and submitted to the abuse handed out by those whose power was only a minute fraction of his own. Walking the way of Jesus is hard, especially when you become the abused. Even so we are called to follow him, even if it means death on a Cross.


Mark 15:21-32

In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes were also mocking him among themselves and saying, 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah the King of Israel, come down from the cross now so that we may see and believe.' Those who were crucified with him also taunted him." (Mark 15:31-32)

It was less than three hours from the first morning consultation of the council (15:1) until the crucifixion. Whatever the official system required was concluded with unseemly haste, Even the general public had been involved in that time.
The Jesus carried the cross to Golgotha, the place of the skull, but along the way he had a little help from Simon of Cyrene. There outside the city Jesus was crucified.

Mark offers no detail, no elaboration. It was for him a matter of fact. The little detail about Simon of Cyrene was no doubt added only because of a connection with Mark's community.
Jesus rejected the wine mixed with myrrh, his clothes were given away as the prize in a game of chance, and he was crucified. It was matter-of-fact stuff!
The response of those around him was more important.

The inscription above Jesus referred to him as "The King of the Jews". Pilate would have liked this touch as it annoyed the chief priests and members of the council, and showed the Roman superiority over their 'king'. The Roman soldiers would have enjoyed the slur on the natives as well. It was a little joke, mocking both Jesus and the Jews.

Those who came to watch picked up on the theme, and made fun of his predictions. The chief priests and scribes added their words of derision, and invited Jesus to save himself and come down from the cross. Mark notes that even the bandits alongside him, strung up on crosses of their own, also taunted him.

Could Jesus have come down from the cross? If he was the Son of God, co-equal in power and glory with God, the answer must be yes. It was possible for Jesus to save himself. Another miracle could have been added to the long list that Jesus had performed. His powers were able to command the forces of nature - surely it would only be a small matter to free himself from the cross. It was such a physical demonstration that the crowd called for. That was the salvation they had in mind.

Yet such an act would achieve nothing. It was the power of death that had to be confronted and defeated. Since sin had come into the world death had been an ever-present reality. The rules of this life were that the span of a person's life extended from birth to death. Few had glimpsed anything beyond, yet all hoped and prayed and worked and appeased the gods in the hope of something more.
To come down from the cross would demonstrate Jesus power over this world. He had to die to reveal the true extent of his power - and the power of God - that extended beyond the physical realm and beyond the boundaries of time. Save himself? He could, and yet to truly reveal the power of God, he could not!


Mark 15:33-41

"And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38)

Three hours! After the beatings and the abuse Jesus was stretched upon the cross for three hours. It does not seem like a long time, unless you area the one who is suffering, or if you are watching and wishing that the pain would end. Then, even five minutes seems like an eternity.

Days and hours or usually of little consequence to Mark, but the passion narrative, especially the day of the crucifixion, contains specific time markers - the cock crow, nine o'clock (the third hour), noon (the sixth hour), three o'clock (the ninth hour) and evening. For Jesus followers these hours must have passed agonizingly slowly as they saw their Master hanging in pain and being taunted and mocked by the crowd.

"And darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon." (15:33)
Was this a natural phenomenon? Passover is at the time of a full moon - so it was unlikely to be an eclipse. A 'breaking in' of God marked all the birth of Jesus, his baptism, and the transfiguration. Here Jesus death is also marked by an event of cosmic significance. This time it is the absence of light. Was it a divine breaking in? Did the darkness hide the agony of the one who is the light of the world?
We struggle to comprehend such an upheaval in the natural order of things. To say it is just a metaphor is to deny the power of God over the natural and physical world. Darkness at noon, and for three hours, cannot be dismissed as a mere metaphor, yet the imagery itself should not be dismissed. Jesus, the light of the world, strung upon that cross. The flame of his life was being extinguished by a Roman instrument of torture and punishment at the instigation of the Jewish leaders. The hopes and dreams of his followers were being dashed. It was indeed a time of darkness.

The darkness ended when Jesus 'breathed his last". "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom". (15:38)

The centurion recognised the unique nature of Jesus, and while we read the phrase unambiguously the Greek and the usage of terms is not so clear. The blessing of God was on Jesus, Jesus was a child of God - that w as clear- but was Jesus truly God? That is not clear from the centurion's statement.

It is in hindsight that the story was told, it was in hindsight that Mark wrote, but the events happened 'in real time'. Those who watched on grappled with all that was taking place. For them it was the agony of the moment. Bringing meaning to what had taking place was an activity for later.

We, too, need to grapple with these events and seek to understand their significance for ourselves, and for our communities.

As this section concludes Mark points to a forgotten group - the women who would follow Jesus and provide for him. There were more to be numbered among Jesus' company than just the Twelve, and his followers included many women whose support went mostly unrecognised in the patriarchal society and by writers immersed in that culture. Mark now points to their presence, and to their influence.


Mark 15:42-47


"Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." Mark 15:43


It was the day before the Sabbath, and whatever needed to be done needed to be done quickly. From an unexpected source, the council itself, came one who seems to have either avoided entering the conflict or been changed by the events of the day.

We want to see in Joseph a sympathizer, or even perhaps a believer. What other reason might he have for asking for the body of Jesus, and placing it in a new tomb!

Perhaps the unseemly haste, and lack of damning evidence had left him uncomfortable about the judgment and the penalty that followed. Somehow this action might make amends or at least appease his conscience.
Perhaps the events of the day, the peace of Jesus in the face of such suffering and the darkness at noon, had convinced him that Jesus was no ordinary man. As such he deserved a proper burial, and this decent man wanted to make sure the he got it.
Perhpas he had become convinced of the truth of Jesus teaching, and became a secret follower.

We cannot know. But Joseph stepped out of the crowd, and stood up against the prevailing view of the chief priests, and acted as a friend would. He braved the court of Pilate, and probable antagonism of the council, and did what was right. It was a courageous act, with consequences Joseph could not foresee.

Joseph was waiting expectantly for the kingdom that Jesus had preached, taught about and lived. The time had come, and he aligned himself with the crucified Jesus.

There was courage in his action. We can never know where support will come if our cause is just