Wednesday, February 25, 2004
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 |
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The Passion according to Mark By JOHN HATCHER The passion of Christ as presented in the Gospel of Mark, by most scholarly accounts, the earliest of the four Gospel accounts: While Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas approached Jesus. A crowd of people with swords and clubs accompanied Judas. The Jewish chief priests, scribes and elders had sent the crowd. (Mark 14:15). After Judas had positively identified Jesus among those praying, the crowd took custody of Jesus (14:26). At this point, someone in the crowd drew his own sword and cut off the ear of the slave of the high priest. This point lends credence that the crowd that took custody of Jesus was made of underlings no one official (14:47). Jesus with words cuts into those who had come to take custody of him. He reminded them that they could have arrested him peacefully because everyday he had been in the temple teaching. He indicated he thought it highly unnecessary for them to come with swords and clubs (14:48). While Jesus’ supporters (apparently the disciples who had been waiting for him while he prayed) abandoned him, something very unusual happened: a young man, only wearing a sheet, was sticking close to Jesus. When the crowd tried to seize him, the sheet came off and he ran free but naked (14:52). This odd additional account to Mark’s Gospel, makes Mark’s account all the more believable. Why would he have invented such a story? (Could this have been the world’s first streaker?) The crowd took Jesus to the home of the Jewish high priest; all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes had gathered. This distinguished body represented the top leadership of the Jewish community in Jerusalem (14:53). They hastily conducted a fact-finding hearing, attempting to secure credible evidence against Jesus. However, the testimonies of the witnesses were inconsistent (14:59). Finally the high priest himself took up the questioning of Jesus regarding what was being said of the identity of Jesus. He asked Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one?” Jesus vocally answered in the affirmative, at which the chief priest went berserk and confirmed that Jesus, with his affirmative answer, had committed blasphemy. All the religious leaders agreed with the convicting analysis of the chief priest: “They all condemned him to be deserving of death” (14:64). Some of the religious leaders began spitting on Jesus and others began hitting him with their fists. They blindfolded him and sarcastically demanded that Jesus preach a little sermon. Apparently at this point temple police officers were given custody of Jesus. As they took custody they hit Jesus with some sort of rods (according to Mark there is a simultaneous sidebar story taking place involving Simon Peter, but this John is restricting himself to the passion of Christ). Perhaps while Jesus was in the custody of the temple police, everyone went home for a few winks, but early the next morning they all met again. This time, the arch-official group called the Sanhedrin also met with them; this group decided to bind Jesus (put him in cuffs and chains) and take him over to the chief Roman authority in Jerusalem, Pilate (15:1). The Jewish leaders apparently had laid out their case to Pilate, accusing Jesus of taking over the Jews by laying claim to be their king. Pilate conducted his own deposition. The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of many things, hoping that at least one or two indictments would stick in Pilate’s mind. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus only answered, “You say” (15:2). Jesus refused to answer any more of Pilate’s questions. This is where much of present day controversy arises. What happens next? Mark indicates that it was Rome’s custom to release a prisoner (usually a political prisoner) during the time of the Passover Feast. Pilate sees a wonderful political answer. He would release Jesus as that prisoner. Pilate in fact asks the assembled crowd if they want Jesus released. But the Jewish religious leaders moved out among the crowd and whipped up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas, another well-known political prisoner (15:11). The religious leaders did not want Jesus released because of their envy of him (15:10). Although Pilate could not fathom any evil that Jesus had done even as the crowd began to demand that Jesus be crucified (15:13,14). No doubt, Mark clearly indicates that the Jerusalem crowd — some of the same bunch that took Jesus in custody in the garden — was the group that first voiced the demand to crucify. However, Mark also clearly indicates that the official religious leaders were the ones in the crowd prompting the demand to crucify. So, to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas; also to please the crowd he ordered his soldiers to give Jesus a public scourging, after which he handed Jesus over to Roman soldiers to conduct an all too familiar crucifixion. Consequently, at the demand of the religious leaders, Pilate made the decision to crucify Jesus. More of the passion of Christ, according to Mark, next week. But, as you can see already, it’s a dangerous thing when organized religion and government get together to make political and religious decisions in order to please one another. John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303
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