Day Four Mark 15:1-15
15 Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.
6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.
9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. – Mark 15:1-15 (NLT)
Discover
1. Why does Jesus not defend Himself to Pilate?
2. Do you think Pilate thinks Jesus is guilty and deserves punishment? Why?
3. What crime has Barabbas committed? Who does he represent?
Respond
Even the enemy, Pilate, knows that Jesus is innocent. He gives Jesus the opportunity to defend Himself several times. He even asks the crowd what he should do with Him, thinking and hoping they may ask for a lesser punishment. Instead, Barabbas, a terrorist and a murderer, walks free. Jesus, who is innocent, dies for Barabbas who is guilty. Jesus, who is innocent, dies for us who are guilty. Take time now to worship and thank Jesus for dying in your place.
For Further Learning: Jesus Is Loving Barabbas
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