Pastor Scott Andrews | March 29, 2026
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Mark 15:1-15
About ten months ago, the Roman Catholic Church elected a new pope – a new head of the Catholic Church. You see, Pope Francis, who ruled from 2013 to 2025, had died. So, the Catholic Church began the process of replacing the Pope through what is called the Papal Conclave. The College of Cardinals, all the Cardinals in the church under the age of 80, meet by themselves – in fact, they’re sealed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to vote. To be elected, almost always from among the cardinals, the new pope must receive two-thirds of the vote. It starts with a blank ballot – everyone writes down their choice. Ballots are read aloud and counted. Usually, since it’s a blank ballot, the first election doesn’t produce a pope. They then burn those ballots with certain chemicals to produce black smoke coming from the chimney, signaling a decision has not yet been reached. But two votes each morning, two each afternoon eventually produces a new pope.
When a candidate receives two-thirds of the votes, the ballots are again burned, with different chemicals, producing white smoke. The bells are rung – a new pope has been elected. Now, as you may know, the pope is considered the successor to Peter, the vicar of Christ, and is the highest-ranking person in the 1.3-billion-member Catholic church.
So, on May 8, 2025, which by the way is Pastor Dom’s birthday, white smoke appeared on the second day of deliberations, and a new pontiff was elected. (Pic) No, I said it was his birthday, not that he was elected Pope. Actually, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was selected. He was a dark horse, not expected to be elected since he was from a so-called superpower. This was hugely significant – the first Augustinian to hold the office, and the first chosen from the United States. He was born in Chicago, raised in nearby Dolton, and is in fact, a Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears fan, which proves that even Popes can err. He took the papal name Leo XIV after Leo XIII, who developed the modern Catholic social teaching amid the challenges of the Second Industrial Revolution. Don’t miss it, that’s important because Prevost chose the name Leo XIV—to echo his predecessor’s concerns for workers and fairness. As such, he was hailed a great choice – a choice for the people – the common laborer.
Now, to be clear, we are not Catholic and, as biblical Protestants, we hold some serious objections to Catholic teachings. But, I share that because I want you to understand, this man is without doubt is among of the most powerful religious men in the world – probably the most powerful. Again, he is considered head of the Catholic Church and the sovereign of Vatican City. Elected by his peers, he has been well received by the masses of the Roman Church.
In fact… I would suggest if he had been running against Jesus Himself, he still would have won. What? I say that because Jesus couldn’t even win an election against a murderous insurrectionist 2000 years ago – when religious leaders then and His own people were casting the votes. The Sadducees – the priestly caste, including the High Priest, head of the Jewish religion at that time, and the people – rejected Him, and chose another. You see, Jesus came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Today is Palm Sunday – the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, per Zechariah 9. It’s been suggested the disciples spread their coats on the colt to raise it higher so Jesus’ feet wouldn’t drag the ground. You see, the truth is, Jesus didn’t look much like a religious leader. We’re the ones who’ve added all the ostentatious display. We probably need to lose the mental image of a white flowing robe with blue sash. That’s more Papal than actual.
He just didn’t look like a church leader. And He certainly didn’t look like a king. He looked more like a peasant – talk about the people’s choice. For a while, the common people did accept Him while the religious rejected. His college of cardinals was a rag-tag group of several former Galilean fishermen, a tax collector, a political zealot, and a traitor. We don’t even know what the rest did. And in losing that vote against a murderer, Jesus’ fate was sealed – and so was ours. This story is one of deep irony. As we go into Passion Week – the last week of Jesus’ life leading to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday – I want us to spend some time today looking at the vote He lost – because I think it’s a great picture of what Jesus came to do. In the vote – not only did Jesus lose and the murderer win – but you won, too.
So again, I am suggesting if Jesus threw His hat in the ring for head of the church last year, not many would have voted for Him. One writer of Scripture said He had no appearance that we would be attracted to Him. One song writer said He possessed no scenes of stately majesty – what you would expect of a world ruler. So, when it came time for the crowd to cast their vote – they cast their vote against this Man. We read about it in our text today – Mark 15:1-15.
My question for you today is the same question Pilate asked those gathered that day, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” What will you do with Jesus? How will you cast your vote? Because you do, every day, by the way you live our life. As you may know, this story begins with Jesus enduring two trials from Thursday night into Friday morning before the vote – one Jewish, one Roman. Each consisted of three parts – the Jewish trial before Annas, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin; the Roman trial before Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Pilate again.
None of the gospels carry a full description of the events, but we’re able to piece them together to come up with a reliable account. In Mark 15, we’re past the Jewish trial. In that trial, they found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, claiming to be the Son of God. The problem was, while this was worthy of the death penalty with the Jews, it was not with the Romans. They had to invent another charge. So, they took Jesus to Pilate, where we see the Roman trial. We’re simply going to make our way through the story, and finish by seeing the ironies of this vote.
The Sanhedrin concluded their business early Friday morning and led Jesus bound to Pilate, the Roman governor. Again, the Sanhedrin had limited authority. They could try people according to Jewish law, but only Romans could give the death penalty, and they wanted Jesus dead.
Let me tell you about Pontius Pilate, because there are some things about him that help us understand what happened. He was the fifth governor of Judea from 26 to 37 AD, making him the longest running governor in the Roman province. Actually, governor is a general term – more precisely, he was a prefect appointed by the Emperor, Tiberius Caesar. A prefect was generally a military man, as was Pilate, and usually governed small, troubled areas. While their areas were small, prefects exercised almost unlimited power. Their primary job was to keep the peace – failure to do so would result in replacement and perhaps banishment.
Extra-biblical sources portray Pilate as a cruel ruler who hated his Jewish subjects and made little effort to understand them, which caused trouble. For example, when Pilate was first named governor of Judea, a political hotspot, he wanted to display strength – that he was not a man not to be trifled with. So, the first thing he did was to have his soldiers march into Jerusalem carrying their standards, complete with an image of their divine emperor engraved on top. None of the previous governors had done so. They were smart enough to know the Jews would riot.
Not Pilate. It was tradition, I’ll show them who’s boss. He had the soldiers march into Jerusalem at night, so the next morning, the people woke up to what they considered idolatrous, graven images. They went crazy. A large horde of protestors traveled 70 miles to Caesarea Maritima, where Pilate lived, to personally protest. Pilate ignored them, refusing to see them for five days. But, they wouldn’t leave. Finally, he sent word for them to gather in an amphitheater where he promised to meet them. When he showed up, he came with soldiers who surrounded the protestors. Pilate threatened them – go home or be executed. It’s said several protestors bared their necks and laid down at the soldiers’ feet – they said, we will not leave until you promise to remove the images – kill us if you have to. The whole thing blew up in Pilate’s face.
He gave in – the last thing he needed was a massacre. But it infuriated him. From then on, he did things to intentionally provoke the Jews. For example, once he used money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct to Jerusalem. Again, they went nuts. This time, he sent soldiers dressed as civilians, armed with swords and clubs, into the crowd. At a prearranged signal, the soldiers pulled their weapons and began killing people. On another occasion, Luke refers to an unknown event [Luke 13:1], “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”
Another time when Pilate got in trouble – not just with the Jews, but with Caesar himself. Remember, Pilate was supposed to maintain the peace – but every time he turned around, the Jews were threatening to riot. This time, Pilate decided to have some shields made and dedicated to Tiberius. They were hung for all to see in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Guess what the inscription on the shields read? They included titles of Tiberius, one of which declared him divine. The people went crazy, only this time, Tiberius found out. He wrote a letter threatening Pilate, telling him in no uncertain terms, take the shields down.
All those events precede this text. The point is, Pilate was already in a very tenuous position. The Jews didn’t like him; his superiors were breathing down his neck. He felt tremendous pressure to keep the peace at all costs. But he also hated the Jews – so he didn’t want to give in to them. This is what’s going on with Jesus. Frankly, Pilate didn’t care about a Galilean peasant – but he did enjoy opposing Jewish leadership. But, he also knew, if the people rioted and Tiberius heard about it, it would likely end his career. It did, a few years later.
It was Passover – hundreds of thousands of Jews were gathered in Jerusalem. That’s why Pilate was there from the Roman capital of Judea in Caesarea by the Sea – to make sure a riot didn’t break out. And the Jewish leaders show up at the Praetorium –his quarters in Jerusalem at the Antonia Fortress – with this man named Jesus. No doubt, Pilate had heard of Jesus – everyone had. But, one look told Pilate Jesus didn’t pose any kind of political or military threat. The fact is, He didn’t look like a king. John tells us what happened first. Pilate asked, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” Remember – by this time, Jesus had been kept up all night; He’d already been beaten by the Sanhedrin. He was bloodied and bruised. Pilate takes one disdainful look at this Galilean peasant and says, what are the charges? (John 18)
30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” [Do you that? They didn’t answer. Pilate, if He wasn’t an evil guy, we wouldn’t have brought Him to you, would we? Pilate knew right away something was up.]
31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” [It was obvious their problem with Jesus had to do with religious laws, so he didn’t want anything to do with it. So, at this point,] the Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”
32 [notice]to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.
Jesus had said He would be crucified – a Roman form of execution. Pilate had to judge Jesus, and Pilate had to hand Him over to crucifixion – Jesus said so. That brings us to Luke 23 where we finally see the charges, “And they began to accuse Him saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.’” Notice the charges they leveled. They had nothing to do with blasphemy – Pilate wouldn’t care about that. So, they invented some things – things they thought would get Jesus the death penalty.
First, they said, He’s misleading our nation. How was Jesus doing that? Healing people, driving out demons, feeding people, raising people from the dead, teaching people? It was that last one that irritated the Jewish leadership, because it exposed them for their hypocrisy. They also said, He is forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar – not true. In fact, a few days before when asked about paying taxes, Jesus actually said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Pay your taxes. But it was the third accusation that caught Pilate’s attention. They said, this man also claims to be Christ, a King. In fact, all four gospels pick up this point of the dialogue, including our own Mark 15, when Pilate asks, “Are You the king of the Jews?” You don’t look much like a king.
To which Jesus responded the same way He did to Caiaphas when Caiaphas asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?” Jesus said, “It is as you say.” Now, perhaps Jesus is being somewhat ambiguous here. He is saying, yes, I am a king, but, no, not like a king you think. We need to switch gospels again and pick up the rest of the dialogue back in John 18:
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”
Yeah, Pilate, I’m a king, but you don’t have to worry about some simple insurrection. If I were a king of this realm, then my servants (12 legions of angels) would be waging war. But they aren’t, because my kingdom transcends this world – my kingdom is a universal kingdom. So, it’s obvious to Pilate that Jesus posed no threat. He had no position, no wealth, no soldiers. He was a Galilean peasant – what kind of religious leader, what kind of insurrectionist, what kind of king is that?
After affirming He was indeed a king, all four gospels record Jesus remained completely silent. The Jewish leadership continued their assault, He remained silent, which floored Pilate. He had tried hundreds of prisoners by now – and no doubt, without exception, they had pled their case, pleading for mercy or proclaiming their innocence or counter-charging their accusers. But Jesus said nothing.
Why? It was His time; it was why He had come. The accusations were false – everyone knew it – the Jewish leaders knew it, Pilate knew it – Mark says Pilate knew they handed Jesus over for envy. Even Pilate’s wife knew it – she’s sent word to Pilate to have nothing to do with this “innocent man.” Everyone knew Jesus was innocent – everyone knew this was a sham. So why answer? Besides, Isaiah 53, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.” His time to drink the cup had come.
So, Pilate went out to the Jews and said the first of three times, “I find no guilt in Him.” He’s innocent. It was probably about now we get to the second phase of the trial – the one before Herod. Luke is the only one to tell us about it. After Pilate said the first time, this guy’s innocent, the Jewish leadership kept persisting, making further accusations. Finally, they said, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting in Galilee….”
That got Pilate’s attention. He asked, this man’s a Galilean? Great, that means He’s out of my jurisdiction – He falls under Herod’s authority, who just happens to be in Jerusalem for the Passover – take Him to Herod – pass the buck. Again, it’s not that he cared about Jesus – he just didn’t want to give in to the Sanhedrin. So, Luke 23 tells us Jesus was taken to Herod:
8 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.
9 And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.
10 And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.
11 And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
This Herod had arrested, imprisoned, and beheaded John the Baptist. Throughout His ministry, Jesus seems to have steered clear of Herod, but Herod had always wanted to meet Him. Why? Because he was concerned about truth? No – because he wanted to see Jesus do a trick. He questioned Jesus for a long time, Jesus answered him nothing, the religious leaders vehemently leveled charges against Him. Finally, Herod and His soldiers began mocking – mocking His kingship. He didn’t look much like a king. So, they helped Him – they dressed him in a purple robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Which brings us back to Mark.
At this point, Pilate was still trying to release Jesus. Luke even says, since both Herod and Pilate had found Him innocent, Pilate offered to scourge Jesus and let Him go. Three times Pilate declared Jesus innocent. In Roman law, the accused is brought, the charges made, the evidence presented, the defendant is given a chance to defend himself, and the verdict issued. All of that had been done. There was no evidence, the verdict was read – innocent. But that was not good enough for the Jewish leadership who wanted Jesus dead.
Pilate found himself in a predicament, and he was looking for a way out. An idea came to him, and for a moment, he thought he’d found it. All four gospels record this vote. You see, there was apparently a Jewish custom which said the Roman governor released to them a prisoner of their choosing during Passover. It was now later in the morning, and the crowds had gathered. Pilate no doubt had heard about the Sunday before when those same crowds had been delirious when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. They had spread out palm branches and coats before Him. They had cried out, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus was obviously wildly popular. I know, Pilate thought, I’ll ask them if they want me to release the prisoner Jesus to them. In fact, Pilate says, I’ll put it to a vote: who do you want me to release, King Jesus or Murderer Barabbas?
Now, who was Barabbas? His name literally means, son of the father. Some suggest he was likely a son of some famous rabbi. Now, I think most of us have an inaccurate picture of him. Matthew calls him a notorious prisoner – a better translation would be a noteworthy prisoner. Mark calls him an insurrectionist who had committed murder during the insurrection. But know this – insurrectionists were folk heroes among the Jews. They hated the Romans – anyone who tried to revolt against Rome, the Jews loved. So, look at Mark 15:7-8 again:
7 The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 The crowd went up and began asking him [Pilate] to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
Don’t miss it – the crowd gathered to ask Pilate to release Barabbas. Add to that, their own leaders were the ones who had delivered Jesus over to the Romans. Not only that – Barabbas was more like the deliverer king the Jews were looking for than Jesus – one who would throw off Rome. Jesus? He actually talked about loving your enemies. Barabbas looked more like a king who would lead them in revolt Jesus. Pilate made a tactical blunder. He assumed Jesus would be more popular than Barabbas – and that may have been true in Galilee – but they weren’t in Galilee. Prompted by the chief priests and the elders, the crowd cast their vote: give us Barabbas. Pilate was stunned.
So, he asked the question that every person on the planet must eventually answer, “Then what shall I do with Him who you call the King of the Jews?” What will you do with Jesus? How will you cast your vote? And they replied, “Crucify Him!” Pilate was shocked, “Why – what evil has He done?” But they simply shouted louder – Crucify Him!
Notice verse 15, “Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” Pilate was in a shaky political position. He was supposed to keep the peace. One more failure and he was a goner. So, Pilate made a pragmatic decision. It wasn’t a decision based on truth or right. He simply gave in to the demands of the Jews. He sacrificed an innocent man to keep his job.
Matthew, and only Matthew, records what Pilate did next. In a gesture to proclaim his own innocence, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. This was not a Roman custom – it was Jewish. He was doing something he knew they’d understand. I’m innocent of this man’s blood. Of course, he wasn’t.
But then, the people cried out, unknowingly, in Matthew, “His blood shall be on us and on our children.” They had no idea what they said. For their guilt of putting the Messiah to death, His blood did fall on them – in judgment in 70 AD when Jerusalem was overrun by the Romans during yet another revolt, and hundreds of thousands were killed. Not one stone was left standing on another. But listen, ultimately, for those later to receive Jesus as their Christ, His blood would fall on them.
John says after the scourging, Pilate brought Jesus out to them and said, “Behold, the Man!” I’m not going to describe the scourging this morning – it flayed His flesh. What kind of king is that? This is what Passion Week is all about – it all leads to this. So, as we close this morning, I want you to consider the ironies involved in this story – specifically, this vote.
First, Jesus was clearly innocent, and Barabbas was clearly guilty. Jesus, the innocent, was chosen for crucifixion while Barabbas, the guilty, was released. In fact, some suggest the ones crucified with Jesus were part of the insurrection. It’s likely the middle cross was for Barabbas. Innocent Jesus took guilty Barabbas’ place. On a cross that Barabbas deserved. That’s an awful lot like us. We are the guilty ones, as bad as a murderous insurrectionist. In my place condemned He stood. We, as a race of people, have rebelled against our Sovereign King. Didn’t look much a king, but He was. Jesus took our sins in His body on the cross, so we could go free.
Finally, consider also the name Barabbas means, son of Abba, son of the father. Interesting. In fact, there are some manuscripts which suggest his name was Jesus Barabbas. Likely inserted, but if true, the crowd voted for the wrong Jesus. They voted for the wrong son of the father. Or did they? You see, if Barabbas the guilty had been crucified, you would still be guilty, too. So, in this vote, Barabbas was chosen over Jesus, all according to the predetermined plan of God. He died in our place, so that we the guilty could go free. I want you to live in that truth this week – all the way through Good Friday, and silent Saturday.