Sunday October 2, 2016 “Pilate the People Pleaser” Mark 15: 1-15

OUTLINE of “A’s” of Jesus’ final week

1. is Applauded at the Triumphal Entry by the Galileans whom John 12:12-19 tells us is the crowd that honored Jesus because they had seen him raise Lazarus from the dead and call him out of the tomb. These Galileans had continued to bear witness of that amazing event!  The PARC stirs up their Jerusalem crowd that was led by their paid agents, informants, and flunkies.
2. Is Anoited at Bethany
3. Antagonized the religious establishment’s profiteers by cleansing the temple
4. Announced His Betrayal at the “Last Supper” at the home of Mary, John-Mark’s mom
5. is in Agony              in the Garden
6. is Arrested       at Gethsemane
7. is Accused         falsely by the religious establishment
8. Amazes            Pilate by His silence –  as a lamb before its shearers Is. 53: 7
9. is Acquitted       by Pilate, confirming Christ is a sinless man, Lk 23: 4, Jn 18: 38 &
10. 19:34 To fulfill prophecy, Christ is condemned to die. (Psalm 22)
11. is Assassinated   on The Cross
12. Arose              from the tomb 3 days later.
13. Ascends to sit at the right hand of God in Heaven (Mk 16:19, Col 3; 1, 1 Pet 3:22, Rev 5:1-14)

Outline of “P’_s” of Jesus’ final week

1. The PARC Plots to kill Christ. – Christ cleanses the temple and the PARC decides it’s time to kill him, but not during the Passover, which is exactly when Jesus wants it to happen.
2. Mary Pours The Burial Anointing on Christ in Bethany
3. Jesus Prepares The Passover Last Supper with his Disciples
4. Judas Plots The Betrayal.
5. Jesus Prays in The Garden of Gethsemane
6. Jesus is Placed under arrest.
7. Peter Protests & Pretends he does not know Christ.
8. Jesus is Put on trial. a) 3 PARC hearings (Annas, Ciaphas, Sanhedrin) b) 3 Roman (Pilate, Herod, Pilate)
9. Jesus is Punched around by the guards
10. Jesus is Pounded onto The Cross.
11. Christ, Our Passover, is sacrificed for us & Pays and Propitiates (appeases God’s wrath) for our sins.
12. Jesus Propels from the grave!

OUTLINE: “Pilate The People Pleaser”

Pilate’s Profession – Jesus is King

Mark 15: 2 2And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3And the chief priests accused him of many things.

Pilate’s Perception that the Politically Appointed Religious Crowd/Establishment (PARC / PARE) is Envious

Mark 15:10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.

Pilate’s Pronouncement That Christ Has Done No Evil

•   Mark 15:14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?”  This statement proves that Pilate was willing to murder an innocent man for political expediency.
•  Mark 15: 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”.

Pilate The People Pleaser Who Is Amazed by Jesus but Passive Towards Righteousness

•  Mark 15: 4And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
•  5But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed/ marveled (KJV)
• Pontius Pilate was Roman governor of Judea from 26-37 A.D.

Pilate’s reign coincided with Christ’s earthly ministry. Pilate …

• Was assigned to collect taxes, oversee building projects, and keep law and order, which he maintained through brute force and subtle negotiation.
• His predecessor, Valerius Gratus, went through three High Priests before he found one who knew how to cooperate with the Roman overseers. When Pilate took control, he retained Caiaphas.
• Was merciless and cruel and noted for habitual brutality.
• Common for Roman rulers, was entertained by the spectacle of the gruesome torture and death of others.
• Luke 13:1 records he mingled the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices.
• His official residence was at Caesarea, and he came to Jerusalem during the Feasts to ensure the peaceful order of things was maintained.
• As the province’s supreme judge he alone had authority to execute criminals.

Pilate’s Profile cont… – Halley’s Bible Handbook pg 450 Pilate …

• found no fault with Jesus and symbolically washes his hands of the matter.
• His people pleasing character flaw entrapped him between the unforgiving Roman Empire and the religious scheming of the PARE (politically appointed religious establishment) – The Sanhedrin.
• ordered Roman troops to carry out Christ’s crucifixion.

Bible References:  Matthew 27: 2, 11, 13, 17, 19, 22-24, 58, 62, 25; Mark 15:1-15, 43-44; Luke 13:1, 22:66, 23:1-24, 52; John 18:28-38, 19:1-22, 31, 38; Acts 3:13, 4:27; 13:28; 1 Timothy 6:13.

Pilate’s Profession “Jesus Is king” Mark 15:2

Mk 15: 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”

King in the sense that Pilate & Jesus use the term means:

• the ruler by inherited right of birth of the independent state of Israel, which at that time was a nation within the nation of Rome

Does Jesus being King of The Jews mean…

1. Jesus is the head of the Theocracy that God established for Israel
2. Jesus is the head (author, culmination & fulfillment) of the Jewish religion and its offspring Christianity!
3. Jesus is the door to God In Jn 10:7 – door to Godly sheep) & Jn 10:9 (door to Godly pasture)

• Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6)

4. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)
5. Is the Lion of Judah from whom the scepter shall never depart. (Gen 49:10 & Rev 5:5)

• Gen 49:10, A scepter will never depart from Judah nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet …The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet …
• Rev 5:5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6. Jesus is Heaven’s perpetual light (Rev 21:23 – And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.

Because Pilate referred to Jesus as “King” with a capital “K” the PARE took great offense And the chief priests accused Christ of many things”. 

In Luke 23:2 we see they accuse Christ of three things:

• perverting the nation (advocating politically incorrect policies)
• forbidding people to obey the government that had insinuated itself into the religion. (Insinuated means it had “subtly negotiated in an indirect and unpleasant way something that was bad and reprehensible)
• saying blasphemous and traitorous things

The PARE accused Christ of forbidding to give tribute (pay taxes) to Caesar (Mark 12:7 Jesus wanted the PARE to stop rendering to Caesar that which belonged to God, as they had set up profiteering in God’s house of prayer, and were using “religion” to siphon taxes off for Rome.

•   When Christ cleansed the Temple He demonstrated a fierce love for us by insinuating Himself between the people whom He loves and would die for, and the PARE who perverted the way to God, making it much harder for people true seekers to worship God as God wants to be worshipped.
•  Christ also fiercely insinuated Himself between Rome and us, as He cut Rome’s tax income for at least 2 days when he stayed in the Temple and then came back the next day.
•  Because Rome had infiltrated the religion by “subtly negotiating back door deals with its politically appointed high priests to make Christ’s house of prayer a commercial place of profit, which was reprehensible and completely unacceptable to God,
• The challenge for we the people called by God’s name, who want to claim the rights and privileges under 2 Chron 7:14 is the IRS is threatening to tax us if we discuss what it calls politics, but which the Bible calls sinful and manipulative behaviors of rulers. If we are going to be people of God’s book, then we have to call sin, what God calls sin, which basically are violations of His 10 Commandments – regardless of who is committing the crime. Even if that crime is committed by both house of congress passing laws and the Supreme Court upholding it.  Sin is sin, and God is going to judge sin on His terms – not our politically correct definitions that try to blur the lines, so people can’t tell what God calls sin!
• The text on the pages of the Bible do not change depending on who is holding public office and wielding political power.

We have to obey God and not man (Acts 5: 29).  The PARE accused Christ of perverting

The PARE accused Christ of perverting the nation (“diastrepho” sounds like “disaster”). 

• They’re saying Christ is a disaster for the Israeli nation. The word means to “distort and twist” for the purpose of turning others aside from the [politically correct] way they should go.”
• The PARE had perverted God’s intentions and law. They made thousands of unBiblical rules for people to follow in their version of Judaism. (Reminds me of what is going on in a local organization I belong to.)
• Ever notice how evil people and misguided people judge us by their values or value system? If they are liars and cheaters, they suspect and treat everyone else as if they are liars and cheaters.
• In the 3-D Leader we point out that people only can do what they know. If I am misguided, I inflict what I know on the organization. If I am a lawyer, I come up with legal reasons why we had better not do something.  If I am an account or finance person, I hassle the organization over finances.
• I-D & II-D leaders always are focused on why things can’t or shouldn’t be done. They are too focused on the organization’s mission, and creatively fulfilling it.  They say “We can’t because…”  III-D’s say “We can do this it this way, by negotiating this particular context or set of circumstances.”

The PARE accused Christ of saying that He is “King” as in The Messiah

• Christ was saying completely politically incorrect things, like He is the way the truth and life, John 14:6
• The PARE held that Christ was a usurper of Roman authority and their ecclesiastical authority, and Christ had crossed the line when He cleansed the temple. It is interesting to note that the PARE (the politically appointed religious establishment does not bring up Christ cleansing the Temple, because perhaps the selling in the Temple was their idea, sold to the Roman governors on the quid pro quo that “We can provide you with tax receipts if you allow us to set up businesses within the Temple.”
• The PARE’s logic is that if Christ won’t submit to the politically correct and sanctioned religion, then He is not submitting to the politically correct political agreement that the PARE has with Pilate and Herod and Rome, which keeps the people in line, cooperating with the evil political system that has perverted their religion which is their relationship with God.
• So to the PARE blasphemy is that which challenges and interrupts their political agreement to do religion the government’s way, which is the source of their positions and power.
• And thus failing to comply with the corrupt government is traitorous speech and behavior, and they are demanding that Pilate do something about it, before someone let’s Caesar know this is happening, and Caesar will come for Pilate’s head.

Pilate’s Perception was that the PARC was envious & Christ had done No evil

Mark 15:10 For he perceived that it was out of envy (jealousy of Christ’s authority and His popularity, and that His works refuted their practices) that the chief priests had delivered him up.

• “phthonos” or envy is the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage, blessing or prosperity of others. Something good happens – like a healing and other miracles that bequeath positive outcomes for people, and you get angry about it, and feel you must downplay the outcome or belittle the person performing and/or receiving the good work.

Mark 15:14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil (or destructive thing) has he done?”  This statement proves Pilate was willing to murder a man for political expediency, he believed to be innocent.

We must obey god & not politically please man

Political correctness is pleasing people AT THE EXPENSES OF ignoring and/or rejecting God, as it

• seeks to silence alternative Godly voices.
• seeks the path of least
• calls evil good
• calls good evil
• makes believers lukewarm (Rev 3:16) “So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
• is the strategy and operation of wolves. Matt 10: 16 ”I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
• requires us to shrewdly discern its wiles (its devious and cunning stratagems employed to manipulate and persuade us) and that we stand and speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15 Instead, [of succumbing to political correctness, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Jesus is the King – of Truth John 18: 37

John 18:37 NAS – Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

The PARE responds to Christ the King by yelling “Crucify him!”… “We have no king but Caesar,”  We are committed to following the government and not God – at all costs, even at the expense of the life of the best man who ever lived.  (In actuality political correctness blinds us to seeing truth, and all circumstances and situations as God sees and explains them in His Word.

Yet Jesus says, “If we love truth we will recognize Christ is The King and personification of Truth that defies political correctness!

That is Christ’s testimony and reason He came into the world, and it’s the reason He calls us into discipleship.

May God clear our thinking so we can recognize Him as Truth.  May God strengthen and encourage our hearts so in all situations we can stand firm and testify to that Truth.

To view the recorded sermon on YouTube, go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-TRA-if1X0