Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Early in the morningThis phrase indicates the urgency and determination of the Jewish leaders to deal with Jesus swiftly. In the Jewish context, the morning was a time for new beginnings, yet here it marks the beginning of the end of Jesus' earthly ministry. The Greek word "prōi" suggests the very first light of dawn, emphasizing the haste and premeditated nature of their actions. This timing also reflects the fulfillment of Jesus' own predictions about His suffering and death. the chief priests, elders, scribes
These groups represent the religious authority in Jerusalem. The chief priests were primarily Sadducees, responsible for temple rituals and sacrifices. The elders were respected leaders within the community, often from influential families. The scribes were experts in the Law, akin to modern-day lawyers or theologians. Together, they formed a powerful coalition against Jesus, highlighting the widespread rejection He faced from the established religious order. Their involvement fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah being rejected by His own people. and the whole Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was the supreme council and tribunal of the Jews, consisting of 71 members. It held significant religious, legal, and political power. The mention of the "whole Sanhedrin" underscores the unanimous decision to condemn Jesus, reflecting the deep-seated opposition He faced. Historically, this body was responsible for maintaining Jewish law and order, yet here they are depicted as orchestrating an unjust trial, fulfilling the prophecy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. devised a plan
The Greek word "symboulion" implies a deliberate and calculated decision. This phrase indicates the premeditated nature of their actions against Jesus. It was not a spontaneous decision but a carefully crafted strategy to eliminate what they perceived as a threat to their authority. This plotting fulfills the scriptural theme of the righteous suffering at the hands of the wicked, as seen throughout the Psalms and prophetic writings. They bound Jesus
Binding Jesus symbolizes the physical and spiritual constraints placed upon Him. In a historical context, binding was a common practice for prisoners, signifying control and subjugation. Spiritually, it represents the weight of sin and the bondage of humanity that Jesus willingly took upon Himself. This act of binding is a precursor to His ultimate sacrifice, where He would break the bonds of sin and death for all who believe. led Him away
This phrase indicates the transition from Jewish to Roman jurisdiction. The Jewish leaders, having condemned Jesus, now seek Roman approval for His execution. The act of leading Him away signifies the transfer of responsibility and highlights the collaboration between Jewish and Roman authorities in the crucifixion. It also reflects the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy that He would be handed over to the Gentiles (Mark 10:33). and handed Him over to Pilate
Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea, known for his harsh rule and political acumen. The phrase "handed Him over" (Greek "paradidōmi") is significant, as it is the same term used to describe Judas' betrayal. This handing over marks the final stage of Jesus' trial, where He would face Roman justice. Pilate's involvement fulfills the prophecy of the Messiah being pierced (Zechariah 12:10) and highlights the universal scope of Jesus' mission, as He stands before a Gentile ruler. This act of handing over is a pivotal moment in salvation history, leading to the crucifixion and resurrection, the cornerstone of Christian faith. Persons / Places / Events 1. Chief PriestsReligious leaders responsible for temple rituals and maintaining Jewish law. They played a significant role in the plot against Jesus. 2. EldersSenior members of the Jewish community who held authority and influence in religious and civic matters. 3. ScribesExperts in Jewish law and scripture, often associated with the Pharisees, who were involved in legal and religious decisions. 4. SanhedrinThe highest Jewish council and court, consisting of chief priests, elders, and scribes, which made decisions on religious and legal matters. 5. PilateThe Roman governor of Judea, who had the authority to execute capital punishment, which the Jewish leaders sought for Jesus. Teaching Points The Role of Religious AuthorityReflect on how religious leaders can sometimes misuse their authority for personal or political gain, rather than serving God's purposes. The Fulfillment of ProphecyRecognize that Jesus' trial and crucifixion were part of God's redemptive plan, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. The Injustice of Jesus' TrialConsider the injustice Jesus faced and how it mirrors the suffering of the innocent today, calling us to advocate for justice and righteousness. The Sovereignty of GodDespite human schemes, God's sovereign plan prevails. Trust in God's ultimate control over the events of our lives. Courage in the Face of OppositionJesus' calm and resolute demeanor during His trial serves as an example for believers to stand firm in their faith amidst adversity. Bible Study Questions 1. How do the actions of the chief priests, elders, and scribes reflect their understanding of Jesus' identity and mission? 2. In what ways does the involvement of the Sanhedrin in Jesus' trial highlight the tension between religious and political power? 3. How can we apply the example of Jesus' response to injustice in our own lives when we face unfair treatment? 4. What does the collaboration between Jewish leaders and Pilate teach us about the complexities of human authority and God's sovereignty? 5. How can the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus' trial and crucifixion strengthen our faith in the reliability of Scripture? Connections to Other Scriptures Matthew 27:1-2This passage parallels Mark 15:1, describing the same event of Jesus being handed over to Pilate, emphasizing the collaboration of Jewish leaders. Luke 22:66-71Provides additional context to the trial before the Sanhedrin, highlighting the questioning of Jesus and His affirmation of His identity. John 18:28-32Offers insight into the political dynamics between the Jewish leaders and Pilate, illustrating the tension and manipulation involved in Jesus' trial. Acts 4:5-12Shows the continued opposition of the Sanhedrin to the early Christian movement, reflecting their earlier actions against Jesus. People Alexander, Barabbas, Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Mary, Pilate, Rufus, Salome, SimonPlaces Arimathea, Cyrene, Galilee, Golgotha, Jerusalem, Place of the SkullTopics Authority, Binding, Bound, Carried, Chief, Consultation, Cords, Council, Counsel, Dawn, Decision, Delivered, Earliest, Early, Elders, Entire, Forthwith, Handed, Held, Immediately, Law, Lead, Led, Meeting, Morning, Pilate, Priests, Reached, Round, Sanhedrim, Sanhedrin, Scribes, Straightway, TeachersDictionary of Bible Themes Mark 15:1 5507 rope and cord
7464 teachers of the law
7719 elders, as leaders
8410 decision-making, examples
8729 enemies, of Christ Mark 15:1-2 2585 Christ, trial Library Simon the Cyrenian
'And they compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His Cross.'--Mark xv. 21. How little these soldiers knew that they were making this man immortal! What a strange fate that is which has befallen chose persons in the Gospel narrative, who for an instant came into contact with Jesus Christ. Like ships passing athwart the white ghostlike splendour of moonlight on the sea, they gleam silvery pure for a moment as they cross its …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureChrist and Pilate: the True King and his Counterfeit
'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. 6. But Jesus yet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Death which Gives Life
'And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. 22. And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 23. And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. 24. And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26. And the superscription …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Dying Saviour Our Example.
(On Good Friday.) TEXT: MARK xv. 34-41. HEAVENLY Father! On all who are assembling to day to commemorate the death of the Holy One, in whom Thou wast well pleased, look graciously down! Let not one go away from the cross of Thy Well-beloved without exclaiming, with new, living faith, Truly this was the Son of God! Let not one wipe away his tears of emotion until the heartfelt desire has taken possession of him that his end may be like that of this righteous One! Let not the feeling of holy reverence …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher The Centurion at the Cross.
MATT. XXVII. 54. Comp. MARK XV. 39. "Now, when the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying: Truly this was the [a] Son of God." LUKE XXIII. 47. "Now, when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying: Certainly this was a righteous man." Note.--The centurion here spoken of is the one who, according to Roman custom, presided over the execution (hence called by Seneca centurio supplicio præpositus; …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ Joseph of Arimathea
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D.. LL.B. "Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God."--MARK xv. 43. The crucifixion of our Lord produced strange and startling effects in moral experience, as well as in the physical world. The veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom as if a hand from heaven had torn it, in order to teach men that the ancient ritual was done with. Darkness covered the earth, suggesting to thoughtful minds the guilt of the world and …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known "Himself He could not Save. " --Mark xv. 31
"Himself He could not save."--Mark xv. 31. "He saved others," scorners cried, Beholding Jesus crucified; "Is this the Son of God with power? Lo, in His own afflictive hour, Himself he cannot save." He was the Son of God with power, He "came unto that very hour;" I'll joy in His reproach and shame, "He savest others;" I'll exclaim, "Himself He could not save." His agony and bloody sweat, His cross and passion paid my debt; He saved others when he fell, Yet,--who the mystery can tell? Himself, He …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns Whether Christ was Buried in a Becoming Manner?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ was buried in an unbecoming manner. For His burial should be in keeping with His death. But Christ underwent a most shameful death, according to Wis. 2:20: "Let us condemn Him to a most shameful death." It seems therefore unbecoming for honorable burial to be accorded to Christ, inasmuch as He was buried by men of position---namely, by Joseph of Arimathea, who was "a noble counselor," to use Mark's expression (Mk. 15:43), and by Nicodemus, who was "a ruler of …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica H. The Crucifixion. Ch. 23:26-38
26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the …
Charles R. Erdman—The Gospel of Luke, An Exposition Pilate
"And straightway in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate." ". . . And they lead Him out to crucify Him." MARK 15:1-20 (R.V.) WITH morning came the formal assembly, which St. Mark dismisses in a single verse. It was indeed a disgraceful mockery. Before the trial began its members had prejudged the case, passed sentence by anticipation, and abandoned Jesus, as one …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark Christ Crucified
"And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear His cross. And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. And they crucify Him, and part His garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the superscription of …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark The Death of Jesus
"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elijah. And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take Him down. And Jesus …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark Part 1 Christ's Humiliation, Exaltation, and Triumph. Phil. 2:8,9; Mark 15:20,24,29; Col. 2:15
Christ's humiliation, exaltation, and triumph. Phil. 2:8,9; Mark 15:20,24,29; Col. 2:15. The mighty frame of glorious grace, That brightest monument of praise That e'er the God of love designed, Employs and fills my lab'ring mind. Begin, my soul, the heav'nly song, A burden for an angel's tongue: When Gabriel sounds these awful things, He tunes and summons all his stungs. Proclaim inimitable love: Jesus, the Lord of worlds above, Puts off the beams of bright array, And veils the God in mortal …
Isaac Watts—The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts The Fourth Word
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani."--ST. MATT. XXVII. 46; ST. MARK XV. 34. There are three peculiar and distinguishing features of this fourth word which our Saviour uttered from His Cross. 1. It is the only one of the Seven which finds a place in the earliest record of our Lord's life, contained in the matter common to St. Matthew and St. Mark. 2. It is the only one which has been preserved to us in the original Aramaic, in the very syllables which were formed by the lips of Christ. 3. It is the …
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis The Shortest of the Seven Cries
As these seven sayings were so faithfully recorded, we do not wonder that they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation. Fathers and confessors, preachers and divines have delighted to dwell upon every syllable of these matchless cries. These solemn sentences have shone like the seven golden candlesticks or the seven stars of the Apocalypse, and have lighted multitudes of men to him who spake them. Thoughtful men have drawn a wealth of meaning from them, and in so doing have arranged …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 24: 1878 Third Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Formally Condemned by the Sanhedrin and Led to Pilate.
(Jerusalem. Friday After Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 1, 2; ^B Mark XV. 1; ^C Luke XXII. 66-23:1; ^D John XVIII. 28. ^a 1 Now when morning was come, ^c 66 And as soon as it was day, ^b straightway ^c the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away into their council, ^a all the chief priests and { ^b with} the elders ^a of the people ^b and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and ^a took counsel against Jesus to put …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel First Stage of the Roman Trial. Jesus Before Pilate for the First Time.
(Jerusalem. Early Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 11-14; ^B Mark XV. 2-5; ^C Luke XXIII. 2-5; ^D John XVIII. 28-38. ^d and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. [See p. 641.] 29 Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee. [The Jewish rulers first attempt to induce …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Crucifixion.
Subdivision A. On the Way to the Cross. (Within and Without Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 31-34; ^B Mark XV. 20-23; ^C Luke XXIII. 26-33; ^D John XIX. 17. ^a 31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the ^b purple, ^a robe, and put on him his garments [This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we can not contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Crucified, Dead, and Buried. '
It matters little as regards their guilt, whether, pressing the language of St. John, [6034] we are to understand that Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, or, as we rather infer, to his own soldiers. This was the common practice, and it accords both with the Governor's former taunt to the Jews, [6035] and with the after-notice of the Synoptists. They, to whom He was delivered,' led Him away to be crucified:' and they who so led Him forth compelled' the Cyrenian Simon to bear the Cross. …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Death of Jesus.
Although the real motive for the death of Jesus was entirely religious, his enemies had succeeded, in the judgment-hall, in representing him as guilty of treason against the state; they could not have obtained from the sceptical Pilate a condemnation simply on the ground of heterodoxy. Consistently with this idea, the priests demanded, through the people, the crucifixion of Jesus. This punishment was not Jewish in its origin; if the condemnation of Jesus had been purely Mosaic, he would have been …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus Links Mark 15:1 NIVMark 15:1 NLTMark 15:1 ESVMark 15:1 NASBMark 15:1 KJV
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