What does Mark 15:10 mean?
The Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin, is composed of several different groups. The chief priests are high-ranking priests with a great deal of influence. Elders are influential businessmen from Jerusalem. Scribes are lawyers: experts in the Mosaic law. A scribe can be from any Jewish religious sect, but most in the Sanhedrin are from the Sadducees who take a conservative view of the Mosaic law and welcome the peace and prosperity the Roman occupation brings. A minority of the scribes are Pharisees: those who rely more heavily on the extra-biblical oral law. The Pharisees have had run-ins with Jesus since the beginning of His ministry (Mark 2:6–7; 3:6).Jesus has come up against all these groups during His three-year ministry. In fact, He's clashed with them all in the last week (Mark 11:15—12:40). Shortly after He entered Jerusalem, Jesus tore down the tables of the money-changers and pigeon merchants clogging the courtyard where Gentiles were allowed to worship God. Some scholars think these markets were owned by the elders spoken of here. When the chief priests challenged Jesus' authority, He showed their hypocrisy by trying to get them to publicly declare if John the Baptist was a prophet or not. If they admitted he was, they would have to admit Jesus is the Messiah, but if they said he wasn't, they risked the crowd's wrath, so they declined to answer. When the Sadducees, who supposedly followed the Mosaic Law faithfully, asked Jesus to prove the resurrection, He did so by quoting God, Himself, Who is God of the living and not the dead.
Jesus saved His greatest condemnation for the Pharisees (Matthew 23:1–36). Throughout His ministry He has condemned their love of manmade traditions over the law of God, most notably in Mark 7:1–23. In the temple courtyard, He spoke against their legalism, their hypocrisy, and their misguided priorities. Their traditions and arrogance are not only of the same evil that killed God's prophets in the past, they lead their followers to hell.
All the members of the Sanhedrin have reason to envy Jesus. Especially aggravating is the number of Jews that consider Him a great teacher. The chief priests may have more reason than any others. Their ceremonies and positions are so polluted by politics, fear of losing power, and pride that few remember how to honestly worship and serve God. Jesus, an unemployed, homeless traveler not only has authority the priests could never attain, He has God's love and approval. Although the religious leaders have all the background information they need, they refuse to accept He is the Messiah.
