Mark 15:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

NIV: And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

NASB: And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

CSB: After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him. They led him out to crucify him.

NLT: When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

KJV: And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

NKJV: And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Pilate had tried to free Jesus, or at least get out of killing Him (John 19:1–16). He presents Jesus to the roaring crowd, beaten, bloodied, brutally scourged, and wearing a crown of thorns and a mocking royal robe. The Jewish leaders won't budge from their plan to see Jesus crucified, which confuses Pilate. But what scares Pilate is their reasoning: "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God" (John 19:7). What the monotheistic Jews hear as blasphemy, the polytheistic Roman Pilate hears as a frightening possibility. What if this man is telling the truth?

So Pilate speaks to Jesus one more time, begging Him to defend Himself (John 19:8–11). Jesus asserts that neither the Jews nor Pilate are in control of the situation; God is. Jesus also slightly absolves Pilate of the crime, saying that God has placed him in this untenable position and the true criminals are the Sanhedrin members who charged Jesus in the first place.

Burdened with Jesus' refusal to defend Himself, Pilate appeals to the crowd a final time (John 19:12–15). The Jewish leadership pulls out their trump card, insisting that releasing Jesus would be a crime against Caesar. History suggests that Pilate's tenure as governor here was not well-liked by his Roman superiors. The only worse outcome than a Jewish rebellion against Caesar and Pilate would be a Jewish rebellion against Pilate in the name of Caesar. This threat hits Pilate where he is most vulnerable, so he lets Jesus be crucified.

Mark 15:16–20 is typical of biblical narratives, which often give a short synopsis and then flesh out the details. Mark 15:16–20 may describe the scourging Jesus receives in Mark 15:15, or it may be a second beating after the official death sentence is given. Although victims are traditionally scourged before a crucifixion, Pilate also hopes that torturing Jesus will appease the Sanhedrin (Luke 23:16, 22; John 19:1). But the Jewish leadership will settle for nothing less than Jesus crucified. Matthew 27:26–31 parallels Mark's account while John 19:1–16 gives more detail.

After sham trials, Jesus is taken to the local Roman governor, Pilate. This is the only person in Jerusalem with the legal authority to have Jesus executed. Pilate is not fooled, and he attempts to arrange for Jesus' release. But the ruler's ploys fail, in part because Jesus will not defend Himself, and partly because the mob is intent on His death. Pilate offers a prisoner exchange in Barabbas, and even has Jesus brutally beaten in order to pacify the crowd. Eventually, he caves in and Jesus is crucified. Thanks to His prior abuse, Jesus survives only a few hours on the cross before dying. Jesus is then buried in a tomb belonging to a secret follower among the Jerusalem council.

After being unfairly judged, Jesus will now be unfairly sentenced and cruelly murdered. It's reasonable to say this chapter provides context for everything else contained in the Bible. From Adam and Eve until the last baby born in the millennial kingdom, every person other than Christ is stained with sin. Conscience, law, Jesus' direct leadership, even the indwelling of the Holy Spirit cannot keep us from sinning. Sinless Jesus had to die on the cross, sacrificing Himself in our place, so our sins could be forgiven and we could be reconciled to God. Beneath the violence, darkness, dishonor, and death is the love of God for all mankind (John 3:16). Jesus' crucifixion is also found in Matthew 27, Luke 23, and John 19. The next chapter describes the miracle of His resurrection.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.