Mark's Passion 4

When you think about what a small amount of material there is covering the life of Jesus, it is interesting that so many verses have been taken up with Peter's denial (14:66-73). So often a brief summary ("Jesus taught the people" or "Jesus cured the sick who were there") stands in the place of what could be a short novella. One can assume the triple denial had great importance in the early church, probably because Peter had great importance in the early church. Also, the Gospel is making clear that the predictions which Jesus made are coming true. This is vital to remember, after all, because the biggest prediction He made, that He would rise, is tied to the other predictions.

We can wonder about Peter's psychological state. What was he thinking as he saw Jesus dragged off? What kind of fear drove him to deny not once, not twice but three times that he even knew Jesus? And what of Mark? Why has he so consistently shown the followers of Jesus to be so inept? There is an authenticity to the documents in their honesty.

Chapter 15 begin early in the morning (as will chapter 16 and the resurrection). A decision is made to bind Jesus and take him to Pilate. The willingness of the Jewish leaders to hand Jesus over to the Roman oppressors is shocking. He is one of their own, a member of the people of Israel, yet they willingly initiate contact with Pilate. Pilate asks the question, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus confirms that He is. A key insight I came to rather late in life is that the crucifixion of Jesus has a geopolitical component. As a child I was taught that Jesus died to save me from my sins and open the gates of heaven. It was quite clear to me. However, this approach is sometimes one dimensional. It ignores the tangible context of the Jesus story: Roman invaders, Israel/Judah's rich history as a nation, the political ramifications of the title king.

Much of God's battles are in our midst here and now. The war between His kingdom and the "prince of this world" is very much a concrete historical thing (with an eternal- spiritual dimension). The rulers of this earth which are in oposition to God (most recently Nazis, Communists; sadly our own nation seems to be moving in that direction) are "Rome" (or Babylon to use the more Biblical terminology). Jesus is always at odds with those who would rule in place of God (the sin of Adam/Eve). The world is always trying to crucify Jesus ever chance it gets.

Mark's story is clear. The people make the choice. In the Bible it is usually about the group. The crowd rejects Jesus and chooses Barabbas, whose name 'son of the father', is ironic. Jesus is the true Son of the Father. Mark has the crowd recommend crucifixion. Pilate is portrayed as a reluctant participant, asking what they want, asking what crime Jesus committed, doing the deed to please the crowd. Historians and theologians have long debated this. Some question if the Gospel writer is shaping the text to please Roman authorities. However, the crowd rules. In the days ahead this crowd will continue to call for blood, culminating in the rebellion which leads to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. Enough has been said about mobs that I have nothing to add, merely restating the obvious: when large groups of people get together the use of reason diminishes proportionately. (and note the term is the crowd, not the Jews)

The soldiers mock and abuse Jesus. The brutality, captured in the movie The Passion of the Christ, is easy to underestimate. Jesus is helpless, and it seems that can generate greater cruelty in the heart of the bully. The blows which battered him and the wounds inflicted by the scourge could be sufficient to kill by themselves. He was a bloodied mess and the physical toll weakened His body considerably. Coupled with the psycho-spiritual torment, we can understand why His crucifixion ended relatively quickly.

How did this suffering save us? As I shared in Bible study Wednesday, we live in a world where there are connections. Jesus, God become man, shares in the life of all humans. Our sins impact us all, individuals to groups. Our shared nature is a sort of field. We are all connected, literally and spiritually. The evil we do impacts each other in ways we can not understand. The pain we endure, mental, emotional and physical, is some how shared by all. It is this which Jesus redeems, by taking it on Himself. That is what Kings do for their kingdom. I do not understand it, but I believe this mystery. Tomorrow we will look more closely at this.