Mark 15:12-14 Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

Who does Pilate answer again?

“But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead” (Mark 15:11).

What does Pilate say to them (Mark 15:12)?

“Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” (Mark 15:12).

•       τὸν βασιλἐα τῶν Ἰουδαίων (ton basilea tōn Ioudaiōn)

(“King of the Jews”)

o  “KING OF THE JEWS” “In the Matthean infancy narrative, MAGI come from the east seeking the child ‘who has been born king of the Jews’ (Matt 2:2). Herod, client king of Judea (who is not really a king, nor a Jew), seeks to kill this potential rival in an act of brutality that defines the sort of ‘king’ he is… By way of contrast, Matthew states that Jesus is the Messiah (Cristos Χριστός) and SON OF DAVID (Matt 1:1), whose throne is established forever (2 Sam 7:16), and in fulfillment of the prophecy (Mic 5:2) that from Bethlehem will come a ruler who is to shepherd Israel (Matt 2:6). For Matthew, Jesus is the true king who inaugurates the kingdom of heaven (4:17, 23) and fulfills the Jewish law and the prophets (5:17-20).

           All four Gospels record that Pontius Pilate asks Jesus if he is ‘king of the Jews’ (Matt 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:33). In the Synoptics, Jesus does not answer this charge, because his accusers do not understand who he is or what kind of kingdom he represents (in John 18:36-37 Jesus clarifies that his kingdom is ‘not from this world’). The mocking soldiers hail him as ‘king of the Jews’ (Matt 27:29; Mark 15:18; Luke 23:37; John 19:3) and give him a ‘crown’ made of thorns (Matt 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2). Jesus is crucified with the title ‘King of the Jews’ over his head (Matt 27:37; Mark 15:26; John 19:19, 21), an indication that his crime is insurrection against Rome. This act of brutality, like Herod’s earlier attempt to kill Jesus, defines the sort of kingdom Rome is, in contrast to the kingdom of heaven.”

Marianne Blickenstaff,  “King of the Jews,” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfield, vol. 3, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007),  504.

What do they shout back (Mark 15:13)?

“Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:13)

•       σταύρωσον αὐτόν (Staurōson auton) (“Crucify Him”)  2S Aorist Active Imperative of σταυρόω

o  CRUCIFIXION “Crucifixion was a form of execution practiced in late antiquity, whereby a person was tied or nailed to a pole or cross and left to hang.

Crucifixion was practiced in the eastern Mediterranean long before the Romans adopted the practice. It was practiced by Persians and other peoples, such as Assyrians, Scythians, and Thracians. Alexander the Great is said to have crucified thousands (compare Curtius Rufus, Hist. Alex. 4.4.17). His successors continued the practice. It is not surprising that in time the Romans adopted this form of execution. It was primarily reserved for murderous or rebellious slaves (and for this reason was known as ‘slaves’ punishment’)[…]

Jewish authorities before the Roman period also practiced crucifixion. Most notorious was Alexander Jannaeus (ruled 102-76 BCE), who, Josephus tells us, on one occasion crucified a large number of Pharisees who had opposed him and had allied themselves to a foreign enemy (J.W. 1.97-98; compare Ant. 13.380). Josephus’ testimony helps explain a reference in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where in one of the pesharim there is reference to the ‘Lion of Wrath’ (understood to be Alexander Jannaeus) who ‘used to hang men alive’ (4Q169 3-4 i, 7).

The Romans placed crosses along well-traveled highways, on tops of hills, and at city gates. The condemned man usually carried the cross-beam, or patibulum (Plutarch, Mor. 554A–B; Mark 15:21), sometimes with a titulus around his neck, declaring his name and punishment, later to be affixed to the upright cross. This cruel punishment later also befell Christians. Church historian and apologist Eusebius (4^th cent.) tells of Attalus the Christian, who ‘was led around the amphitheatre and a placard was carried before him on which was written in Latin, “This is Attalus, the Christian”’ (Hist. eccl. 5.1.44).

The Gospels say that a titulus was placed on the cross of Jesus (Matt 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38) and that it was written in more than one language, describing Jesus as ‘king of the Jews.” The epithet ‘king of the Jews’ is Roman and was originally applied to Herod the Great (compare Josephus, Ant. 15.409: ‘the king of the Jews, Herod’) […]”

Craig A. Evans, “Crucifixion,” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfield, vol. 1, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007), 806.

But what does Pilate say to them (Mark 15:14)?

“Why, what evil has He done?” (Mark 15:14)

•       τἰ γὰρ ἐποίησεν κακόν (ti gar epoiēsen kakon)

(“Why, what evil has He done”)

But what do they shout all the more (Mark 15:14)?

“Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:14).

Father,

The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is Your power. For You laid the magnitude of our sin on Your Son on the cross. And it was Your will to crush Him, unleashing Your just wrath against our sin on the only One Who could bear its weight and overcome its judgment. By His wounds we are healed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.