Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led [Him] away, and delivered [Him] to Pilate. 2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “[It is as] you say.” 3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” 5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

– Mark 15:1-5 (NKJV)

I think we can see three things in this passage. On one level we want to note the innocence of Jesus and the measure of self-control he exhibits. When he is harassed and accused of “many things” he remains silent. But when Pilate asks him if he is the “king of the Jews,” Jesus replies simply but straightforwardly.

The world might condemn Christians for many things. They may not like or agree with our stances on certain issues. It would be easy to get sidetracked into a yelling match trying to defend ourselves on these things, but the most important thing is to testify to who Christ is.

That leads us to the second thing I think we are supposed to see in this passage, Jesus is bound, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say in a sense he was bound because sacrificial lambs were bound and we are meant to see Jesus as the sacrificial lamb. This was the Passover. Lambs were being slaughtered. It was necessary for priests to look over a lamb for blemishes and then offer the lamb for sacrifice. Much like this group was assembled to look Jesus over and then hand him over. These men are unwittingly going through aspects of the same ritual used to offer a lamb on that day (sunrise, inspection, binding, etc.).

Thirdly, I think we see the guilt of the men who offered up Jesus for crucifixion. They bring a verdict different than their sham trial. They bring a charge that Pilot has to hear. He can’t turn a blind eye toward someone claiming to be the rightful ruler of the Jews. Along the way they scream all sorts of other offenses at Jesus, but he doesn’t respond to defend himself. This only goes to highlight the anger and vitriol in their own hearts.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful that Jesus was presented at a spotless sacrifice. Help us to focus on the main events of this passage that we might see the witness of Jesus and how we are to be witnesses for him. Give us grace to hold to a consistent witness of you if we are ever under trial. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.