Day 46 : Mark 15:1-15
Yes it is as you say
Jesus’s trial before the Chief Priests the night before had been irregular and unlawful as all Jewish trials had to be conducted during the hours of daylight.
Pilate was the prefect (governor) of Judea and would only come to Jerusalem when there was the possibility of unrest or rebellion such as at the time of the Passover when Jewish patriotic feelings would be heightened. Roman prefects had two main duties as far as the Roman Empire was concerned. The first was to maintain Roman rule and the second to ensure that the province’s contributions to the Empire continued to flow. In the case of Judea that meant money from taxes.
Pilate’s intelligence network would have kept him well informed of the events in Jerusalem and he would have known about Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and the reaction of the crowds. Pilate questions Jesus asking ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ (NRSVA) This is the Roman equivalent question that the High Priest asked Jesus in Chapter 14 and is a political rather than a criminal charge. The way he asked the question emphasises ‘you’ rather than ‘King.’ He is not astonished that there should be a King of the Jews for indeed Herod was the puppet King of the Jews kept in power by the Romans. He is astonished that Jesus could be seen as or linked with such a claim.
Jesus emphasises the ‘you’ in his reply. If Pilate says he is the King of the Jews then he is. If Pilate denies it then he is not. If Jesus were the King of the Jews that would not be a crime otherwise Herod would be guilty. If Jesus were not the King of the Jews that equally would not be a crime. Jesus has never claimed to be King of the Jews. Jesus by his reply does not give Pilate the easy way out.
Jesus’s silence speaks volumes.
