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

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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