Mark 15:6-15 Crucify Him!
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: April 25, 2018, Mark 15:6-15
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
At every festival Pilate would release any one prisoner whom the people requested. Now there was a man in prison named Barabbas. He had been with the insurgents who had committed murder during the rebellion. So the crowd came and began to request that Pilate do for them what he always did. Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” because he knew that the high priests had handed him over due to jealousy. But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead. So Pilate asked them again, “Then what should I do with the man you call ‘the King of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.
(Understanding the Text) Pilate tried to silence the conviction in his mind by passing the buck. Instead of taking the responsibility to simply pronounce Jesus innocent and free Him, Pilate tried to get the crowd of Jews to make the decision for him. This reminds me of when Herod arrested John the Baptist to please his wife but then stopped at that being convicted in his heart that he (Herod) was wrong. He should have followed his conviction and freed John the Baptist at that time, but because he tried to take a half-way position, he ended up killing John the Baptist because Herod would not stand up against his wife and friends. Pilate, too, forces himself into a corner each time he tries to avoid making the right choice. Mark’s gospel leaves out a lot of details like the trial before Herod and the private interview with Pilate. This could be that Mark did not have access to those details when he wrote the book, or it could be that he simply did not prioritize those extra bits of information. He may have simply wanted to set up the basics of how Jesus was sent to the cross without focusing too much on Jesus’ enemies.
I never noticed before that Pilate released a prisoner at every festival. I always assumed that it was specifically for the big one-Passover. Barabbas was guilty. He had rebelled against Rome and in the process murdered people. He truly was guilty of the crime that Jesus was being accused of. The people chose the guilty man over the innocent Savior. This shows the depravity of mankind. Our natural state is to do wrong. On the other hand, this process gave us a powerful symbol of the salvation process. We are Barabbas. We are rebels. We are murderers filled with anger and hate. We are guilty of crimes that deserve death, but God chose to take our punishment and set us free. God was innocent, but on the cross took our place so that we might live freely. He did this for everyone. Did Barabbas use his freedom to choose right or did he continue on with his rebellion? We are not told. The same question could be asked of every human being. God set us free. Do we choose to go back into slavery to Satan or do we choose to live as free men and women?
Pilate did not call the crowd together. They knew that this was the day and time of the tradition of setting a criminal free. There may have been relatives of criminals there who hoped for the freedom of their loved one. There may have been revolutionaries in the crowd. Barabbas’ followers, family, and friends were probably in the crowd. Jesus’ followers would have been in that crowd also. We tend to blame the crowd for asking for the release of Barabbas, but many of them may have come to the square for that very purpose. However, They are guilty for yelling “Crucify Him” when Pilate asked what he should do with Jesus. On the other hand, some of the crowd may have been simply fearful that if they did not pronounce death on Jesus that their own candidate would receive death. This may be the reason why Peter gave them a chance at repentance at Pentecost. He knew that their hearts were not totally hardened and had not realized that the choice they were making that day was wrong. After all, the religious leaders that they trusted were telling them that Jesus deserved death.
Pilate made a serious blunder if he thought that he could go against the Jewish leaders by appealing to the Jewish people. The Jewish people were trained to follow their leaders like sheep and to hate the Romans. Thus, the leaders could simply spread throughout the crowd as they gathered and tell the people what they should say. For the most part, the people would follow through. Once enough in the crowd were of one mind, a synergistic group attitude would form that would demand its way. The people who originally came to the square had no intention of calling for Jesus’ death, but by the end of their time there, they were passionately screaming for Jesus to be crucified.
Why did Pilate refer to Jesus as the King of the Jews? Partly, he was getting in a dig at the Jewish leaders for forcing his hand, but he may also have been clumsily trying to influence the crowd by saying that as patriots they should appreciate Jesus as much as Barabbas. Here again, Pilate showed his lack of understanding of the nature of the people he was governing. The people in the square did not see Jesus as their king, but they saw Barabbas as their symbol of rebellion.
(Revelation of God) Jesus was whipped before being sent to be crucified. This was the beginning of the last phase of the sacrifice. At this point, Jesus was bleeding profusely and not healing. He held His divine power in check and the Holy Spirit was no longer connecting Him to the Father. He was suffering from that withdrawal becoming weaker and weaker. Maybe, another reason that Jesus said so little during His trials was because He was dealing with a deeper more overwhelming pain that was difficult to work around to communicate. I’m not sure.
(Application) My application for myself is to be careful of going against God’s will by focusing on the world. The people who came to the square that morning never anticipated crying out for the crucifixion of the Savior of the world. They simply thought that they were going to celebrate the release of one of their own from a death sentence. They never thought that they themselves would end up guilty of murder. Instead, they thought that they would be working towards a good cause. With my sinful nature, it is too easy to react in a way that hurts others. I must be aware that I need to daily connect with God and focus on Jesus. Loving Jesus is the only treatment that will restrain my sinful ways. Only by loving Jesus can I stop from being hateful and hate-filled.
(Prayer) I want to always do Your will, but too often I also want to be hateful and ignore others’ needs. Give me a love so deep that it counteracts my selfish tendencies. You are my King, and I thank You for coming to rescue me. This world is cruel and uncaring. Wrap me in Your love so that the hurts that others inflict are healed.