Mark 15:15-24

The Voice

Barabbas is an active and a militant Jewish leader. In one sense, the choice that the crowd is offered—to have either Jesus or Barabbas released—can be seen as a choice between two types of revolutions. Do they want a revolution of power, a revolution that is easily visible, a revolution that will conquer their enemies in a way they can understand? Or do they want a revolution of healing, a revolution of love, a revolution that will bring the kingdom of God to earth in a mystical, transcendental way? It’s no wonder they make the choice they do. Who wants a gentle revolution in a time of war?

¹⁵When Pilate saw that he could not persuade the crowd to change its mind, he released Barabbas to them and had Jesus publicly whipped, which was the normal prelude to crucifixion. Then he had Jesus led away to be crucified. ¹⁶The soldiers took Him into the headquarters of the governor; and the rest of the soldiers in the detachment gathered there, hundreds of them. ¹⁷They put a purple robe on Him and made a crown of thorns that they forced onto His head, ¹⁸and they began to cry out in mock salute.

Soldiers: Hail to the King of the Jews!

¹⁹For a long while they beat Him on the head with a reed, spat upon Him, and knelt down as if to honor Him. ²⁰When they had finished mocking Him, they stripped off His purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they took Him away to be executed.

²¹Along the way, they met a man from Cyrene, Simon (the father of Rufus and Alexander), who was coming in from the fields; and they ordered him to carry the heavy crossbar of the cross. ²²And so they came at last to the execution site, a hill called Golgotha, which means the “Place of a Skull.”

²³The soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh to dull His pain, but He refused it. ²⁴And so they crucified Him, divided up His clothes, and cast lots (an ancient equivalent of rolling dice) to see who would keep the clothes they had stripped from Him.

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