15:1 And {1} 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 {a} {a} delivered [him] to Pilate.
(1) Christ being bound before the judgment seat of an earthly Judge, is condemned before the open assembly as guilty unto the death of the cross, not for his own sins (as is shown by the judge's own words) but for all of ours, that we who are indeed guilty creatures, in being delivered from the guiltiness of our sins, might be acquitted before the judgment seat of God, even in the open assembly of the angels.
(a) It was not lawful for them to put any man to death, for all authority to punish by death was taken away from them, first by Herod the great, and afterward by the Romans, about forty years before the destruction of the temple, and therefore they deliver Jesus to Pilate.
15:1-20 The Crucifixion
SUMMARY OF MARK 15:
Jesus Sent by Pilate to the Sanhedrin. The Multitude, Moved by the Priests, Clamor for His Death. They Reject Jesus and Demand Barabbas. Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified. Crowned with Thorns, Spit Upon, and Mocked. Crucified at Golgotha Between Thieves. Mocked by the Priests. Jesus Dies. The Veil of the Temple Rent. The Centurion's Confession. Buried in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
The chief priests... bound Jesus... and delivered [him] to Pilate. See notes on Mt 27:1-2,11-31.. Mark's account differs a little from that of Matthew. Compare Lu 23:1-35 Joh 18:28-40 19:1-16.
15:1 Mt 27:1,2; Lu 22:66; Lu 23:1; John 18:28.
15:1-14 They bound Christ. It is good for us often to remember the bonds of the Lord Jesus, as bound with him who was bound for us. By delivering up the King, they, in effect, delivered up the kingdom of God, which was, therefore, as by their own consent, taken from them, and given to another nation. Christ gave Pilate a direct answer, but would not answer the witnesses, because the things they alleged were known to be false, even Pilate himself was convinced they were so. Pilate thought that he might appeal from the priests to the people, and that they would deliver Jesus out of the priests' hands. But they were more and more urged by the priests, and cried, Crucify him! Crucify him! Let us judge of persons and things by their merits, and the standard of God's word, and not by common report. The thought that no one ever was so shamefully treated, as the only perfectly wise, holy, and excellent Person that ever appeared on earth, leads the serious mind to strong views of man's wickedness and enmity to God. Let us more and more abhor the evil dispositions which marked the conduct of these persecutors.
