Barabbas Crowned King, Jesus Condemned Innocent

Introduction

Jesus's trial before Pilate has been depicted in hundreds of paintings, sculptures, and films. We think we know the story. But Jason Procopio reminds us that it's very easy to see what happens in Mark 15:1-20 without truly seeing what's happening there. What Mark describes here is not first a tragedy or a catastrophic betrayal. It is a coronation. It is the way Jesus Christ, the king of the universe, comes to his throne, with a crown of thorns and a cross for a throne.

Sermon Outline

1. The King Before Pilate (v. 1-5)

The religious leaders could not put Jesus to death themselves under Roman occupation, so they had to present the case to the governor Pilate.
Their reaction is not so surprising: Jesus threatened their power, the temple, the law, their national identity, and they fight to preserve all of that, even if it means crushing the truth.
Pilate doesn't care about blasphemy. What interests him is someone who claims to be king and who could threaten Roman order.
Jesus remains silent. He does not try to defend himself. This silence fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7 about the mute lamb before those who shear it. This is not weakness: his silence is sovereignty in action.

2. The King Exchanged for Barabbas (v. 6-15)

Pilate has a custom of releasing one prisoner at every Passover. He offers the crowd the choice between Jesus, whom he knows to be unjustly accused out of envy, and Barabbas.
Barabbas is a murderer, guilty of insurrection and robbery. No one thought he was innocent, his guilt was beyond doubt.
The crowd, stirred up by the religious leaders, demands the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. It's not because they lack evidence that they refuse to believe, it's because they don't want to believe.
Here is the center of Mark's literary sandwich, the Gospel in miniature: the guilty man is released because the innocent man dies in his place.

3. The King Receives His Crown (v. 16-20)

The already-brutal soldiers put a purple robe (the royal color), on flesh torn open by the whip.
They weave a crown of thorns: a cruel and painful mockery of the glory of a true crown of gold.
They bow, cry "Hail, king of the Jews," strike him with a reed, spit on him. They mock him, but in their mockery, they unwittingly identify him correctly. He is the king.
Sin always mocks God's sovereignty before it must bow to it. Every humiliation Jesus endures is part of his coronation.

4. We Are in Each of These Characters

In the soldiers: Christ sometimes seems laughable to us, we want to hide behind silence when people dismantle our faith with arguments that seem brilliant.
In the crowd and the religious leaders: their rebellion is ours. We all want to be king and master of our own life. Whoever threatens that independence becomes an enemy.
In Pilate: left to ourselves, we prefer to do what is easy rather than what is right, to maintain order rather than to tell the truth.
In Barabbas: we are all guilty before God and set free because the innocent king took our place. But being set free requires admitting that we are guilty, and many never get that far.

5. What Kind of King Is This Jesus?

His kingship is like no other. He wins victory not by killing but by being killed.
His crown is a crown of thorns. His throne is a cross. His victory is not over enemy nations but over sin and death.
He shows us what true kingship is: a self-giving love, a justice obtained through sacrifice, a redemption that passes through shame.
There is no good reason to refuse to follow a king like him, a king who gave himself for us first, though he already deserved all our worship.

Key Takeaways

Mark does not first want to draw our attention to the physical suffering of Jesus, many have suffered as much physically. He wants to show us that this moment is the coronation of the true king.
Jesus's silence before Pilate is not weakness but the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7 and an expression of his sovereignty.
Guilty Barabbas released, innocent Jesus condemned: this is the very essence of the Gospel in a single scene.
We don't refuse Jesus for lack of evidence, we refuse him because we don't want to let go of control of our own life.
Faced with a king who takes his throne by suffering for us, we have no good reason to choose anything other than to follow him.

Personal Application

As you read this text, which character do you recognize yourself in most today: the mocking soldiers, the fickle crowd, Pilate who yields to pressure, or the freed Barabbas?
What is the "way of life" or area of control that you may be defending, like the religious leaders, against Christ's authority in your life?
Where are you like Pilate right now, knowing what is right but doing what is easy to avoid trouble?
Have you ever truly taken Barabbas's posture before God: falling to your knees and saying "Have mercy on me, for I have sinned against you"?
Consider your king again this week: his thorns, his condemnation that should have been yours. What good reason would you have not to submit to a king like him?

Scripture References

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't Mark detail Jesus's physical suffering the way a film like The Passion of the Christ does?

Two main reasons, explains Jason Procopio. First, Mark didn't need to: he wrote his Gospel 20 to 30 years after the events, to readers who were still living under Roman occupation and who knew perfectly well what corporal punishment and crucifixion meant. Second, and most importantly, physical suffering is not what Mark (or any of the evangelists), wants us to contemplate first. Many men have physically suffered as much or even worse than Jesus, and many Christians have suffered just as much for their faith. The center of the text is the coronation of the true king.

Why did the crowd turn against Jesus so quickly after acclaiming him at his entry into Jerusalem?

This is a common misconception, Jason Procopio points out. Nothing in the Bible suggests these were the same people. The scene before Pilate takes place in the inner courtyard of the royal palace, which was not huge, a few hundred people at most. This crowd therefore did not contain the whole population of Jerusalem. It was only a small group that the religious leaders had managed to stir up against Jesus.

Why does Jesus remain silent before Pilate's accusations?

Jesus's silence is neither weakness nor a lack of arguments: it is a choice. This silence fulfills the prophecy of the Messiah announced in Isaiah 53:7, where the suffering servant is compared to a mute lamb before those who shear it. As Jason Procopio sums it up, this silence is sovereignty in action: the king humbly accepts the insults and accusations because he came for this very purpose.

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