Mark 15:6

Mark 15:6 says, Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. Pilate released one prisoner at the Feast of the Passover every year, and perceiving that Jesus had really done nothing wrong, but was there because of the envy of the priests, he thought he saw a way around executing Jesus.  Verse seven adds, And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. Verse eight states, And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.  The people were demanding that he release one prisoner as he always had.  This was there chance to free Jesus no matter what the chief priests might want. We cannot allow religious leaders to influence us to reject Jesus, no matter what they might offer instead. Verse nine adds, But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?  Verse ten continues, For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. Pilate thought if he gave the people a choice between Barabbas, an insurrectionist and murderer, and Jesus, whom they had so recently been praising, that they would choose to let Jesus go free.  Jesus has still done nothing wrong, but people still choose the sin of this world, and those who commit them over Jesus.  If we choose to believe anyone or anything above believing Jesus, this is really what we are doing.  Verse eleven says, But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. The chief priests, the religious leaders, had convinced the people to ask for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus.  I pray that we as Christians never get that far away from God's will, and if we truly are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit after accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we never will. Verse twelve adds, And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?  Verse thirteen continues, And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then, Pilate asked the people, God's Chosen People, what to do with Jesus, and they said crucify Him.  We have to accept the fact that we are just as guilty as they were then.  We have all chosen something over Jesus, until we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, and this is only possible because He was crucified for our sins.   Pilate attempted to avoid making a decision about what to do with Jesus, but he couldn't, and neither can we today.  We only have two choices, and that is to accept everlasting life with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, or to spend our everlasting life separated from Him by rejecting Jesus Christ. Though the sacrifice is already made, it is no good to us unless we accept it. 

Mark 15:1

Mark 15:1 says, And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.  Since the chief priests had no authority to kill Jesus, the morning after His arrest they had a consultation with the elders, scribes, and the whole council.   These were all the religious leaders of the Jews, God’s chosen people.   It is bad enough that the people of the world want to discredit and destroy Jesus, but it is even worse if people who call themselves Christians, those who say they have put their faith in Him as their Savior and Lord, do so.  They bound Jesus, though He wasn't trying to escape, and brought Him to Pilate, who in the world's view did have the power to sentence Him to death.  Verse two adds, And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou sayest it. Pilate asked Jesus only if He was the King of the Jews.  This could have meant that Jesus was trying to usurp the power of Roman authority. Somewhere in life, we are going to have to ask our self Who Jesus Christ is.  Jesus simply replied, "Thou sayest it."  Jesus left it up to Pilate to decide what he believed about Jesus, and He still leaves it up to each individual today.  Jesus will never attempt to force us to believe in Him.  At that time, He could have shown Pilate without a doubt that He was Who people were saying He was, but that was not why He was there.  We cannot force Jesus to become what we want Him to be but can only accept Him for Who He is.  Pilate and all those who were accusing Jesus were looking at His kingdom in physical terms, not spiritual terms.  Verse three continues, And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. The chief priests accused Jesus of many things, but He didn't answer them.  People of the world today are still accusing Jesus of many things that He never did or even said in an effort to discredit Him.  Verse four states, And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.  Pilate asked Jesus if He had anything to say about these accusations, and Jesus again said nothing.  They could either accept Him for Who He was or reject Him, and so can we. Verse five adds, But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.  Then we are told that Pilate marveled at the silence of Jesus, but not that He believed Jesus.  Everyone had heard enough already to either accept or reject Jesus as the Messiah, and there was nothing more that He could say that would change their minds.  We today have all the knowledge about Who Jesus is necessary to decide for ourselves whether He really is the Son of God and the only Redeemer that there is.  The choice is always up to each individual.

Mark 14:66

Mark 14:66 says, And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:  Peter, who had bravely cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest was now beneath the palace, at the lower end of the hall, away from Jesus after He had been arrested.  As Peter was warming himself, a maid stated that he had been with Jesus.  We can make bold statements about what we would do if we were ever in danger because of our faith, but unless we put our life totally in God's hands, we like Peter might find ourselves warming by the fire, which would mean looking out for our own best interest, while denying even knowing Jesus.  We might say for us that it would be a wake-up call, but we too might find ourselves as Peter, moving further away from being associated with Jesus.  Verse sixty-seven adds, And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. Verse sixty-eight continues, But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.  Again, a maid said that Peter had been with Jesus, and again he denied it.  Peter then moved a little further away from Jesus, out to the porch, and the cock crowed for the first time. He had to hear the cock crow, so I have to wonder if he even thought about this. We may hear or see warning signs that we are denying Christ, but then it is up to us how we react. We all probably denied Jesus more than once before accepting Him as our Savior and Lord and may have denied the leadership of the Holy Spirit since.  Verse sixty-nine states, And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. A little later, another maid said to those around him that Peter was a Galilean, so surely he had been one of Jesus's disciples.  Just being associated with Christians today does not make us a Christian.  At this point, Peter still did not understand Who Jesus really was, nor what He had come to do.  Until we really understand Who Jesus is, and that He came to redeem mankind from their sins, we will never be a part of His kingdom. Verse seventy adds, And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.  Verse seventy-one continues, But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. This time not only did Peter deny knowing Jesus, but he began to swear, saying, "I know not this man of whom ye speak." Verse seventy-two concludes, And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.  As Peter moved further away physically, he also moved further away spiritually, and spiritually he really didn't know Jesus at this time, but when the cock crowed again, he remembered the words of Jesus.  As Jesus had said, Peter denied him three times before the cock crowed twice.  Then, he wept over what he had done.  The best intentions will never save us, but only by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord can we be saved no matter how far away from Him we may be. 

 

Mark 14:54

Mark 14:54 says, And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.  When Jesus was arrested, Peter got a long way off from Him, going to the palace of the high priest and sitting with the servants, warming himself by the fire.  When things get rough for us in life, we should never withdraw from the presence of Jesus in our life, and we really shouldn't just look for our own comfort as Peter did while sitting by the fire.  Of course, I have to wonder why the chief priest had a palace.  This was part of the reason he felt so threatened by Jesus. Jesus was upsetting their money flow.  No matter what it may cost us financially, we must always put God first in our life as Christians.  Verse fifty-five adds, And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.  Verse fifty-six continues, For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.   Many people were bearing false witness against Jesus, but they couldn't agree on what to accuse Him of.  Many people today make false claims about Who Jesus is, and they certainly don't all agree with each other.   Verse fifty-seven states, And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, Verse fifty-eight adds, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.  Verse fifty-nine continue, But neither so did their witness agree together. Finally, some said that they had heard Jesus say that He would destroy the temple made with hands and raise it up one not made with hands again in three days.  They totally misunderstood what He was saying. and misquoted Him as well. He did not say that He would destroy the temple, but that if they destroyed it, He would raise it up again in three days, referring to His death and resurrection the third day, and not to the destruction of the physical temple.  They couldn’t even agree on what they were saying. People are still making false statements about Jesus and often misquote the Bible to support their claims.  Verse sixty says, And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? Verse sixty-one adds, But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? Jesus did not respond to their claims, so the high priest asked Him instead if He were the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, or God.  Verse sixty-two continues, And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Jesus told the truth, that yes, He was.  This is the question we have to answer today if we are to be saved. We must know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised One Who alone can redeem us.  Verse sixty-three says, says, Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?  After the arrest of Jesus and His truthfully saying that He was the Son of Man, or the promised Messiah, the high priest tore his clothes and asked what more witnesses did they need to prove blasphemy charges against Jesus.  Since they were having a hard time finding someone who could effectively falsely accuse Jesus of any crime, the high priest decided to use the truth that Jesus was speaking as a reason to change Him with blasphemy.  Today, we seem to be getting closer to where Christians can be charged with a crime for speaking God's truth, and if that happens to us, will we be like Jesus continue to speak God's truth.  Verse sixty-four adds, Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. The high priest, the most important spiritual man in Israel, asked the people what they should do with Jesus, and they condemned Him, saying He should be put to death.  When we are confronted with the question of what we will do with Jesus, we can either reject Him or accept Him.  There is no in-between.  Verse sixty-five continues, And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. Then, the people began to spit on Jesus, to buffet Him, which means to strike Him repeatedly and violently, and to call on Him to prophesy.  We still hear people of the world mock Christians and Christ Himself when bad things start to happen to Christians, asking where is your God now.   Hopefully, even if we get to the point of being physically abused, we will remain faithful as Jesus did then.  Even the servants began to strike Jesus with the palms of their hands.  I believe they were caught up in the actions of the crowd and also felt a sense of power that they didn't often have.  Today, people who may not really have a strong opinion about Who Jesus really is may get caught up with the crowd in condemning Him.  The question as always is what are you going to do with Jesus.  If you have been caught up with the crowd, or even leading the crowd condemning Jesus, you need to know that He still loves you and died for your sins so that by putting your faith in Him, you can be forgiven of your sins and have everlasting life.