Mark 15:14 Commentary and Bible Study

Pilate tried again – Luke says this was his third attempt (Luke 23:22): ‘What evil hath he done?’ Again there was the offer that Jesus would be chastised in an effort to satisfy their blood lust. What intelligent answer did they give to that? All we read is ‘they cried out, the more exceedingly, Crucify him.’ They didn't want to reason; they didn't want to think. They just wanted Barabbas, and away with Christ. That is unbelief. Pilate in spite of his deep discomfort with that is happening and his certainty that Jesus is innocent, lacks the moral courage to stand up to the Jewish leaders and the crowds who have been manipulated by them. He makes one last attempt, but even the way he poses the question shows how weak he feels. It was the will of God that the crucifixion should go ahead, and the weakness of Pilate was one factor in that outcome. He knows that he has failed and has not prevailed (Matthew 27:24), but rather those shouting out from the crowd have prevailed (Luke 23:23). At this point Pilate gives up; he backs down in the face of a possible tumult (Matthew 27:24). That would have been a big problem for him, as news of it would have got back to Rome and put his office in danger. So Christ is to be scourged again before he is crucified.The Roman scourging was vicious indeed. It consisted of leather thongs on a stout wooden handle, and attached to the end of each thong was a sharp piece of metal. Two lictors flogged him, one on one side, one on the other, and Christ was bent forward over a stone. That’s how they did it. Stripped and lashed until the wounds gaped. The experts say that half to two thirds of people who were scourged, died as a result, and the sight was terrible. No wonder he needed Simon to bear the cross for him. He could scarcely walk after the scourging. We believe the vicarious sufferings began with the scourging. But the main suffering was yet to come on Calvary's cross.