GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
MARK 15:2
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2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea from 26-36 AD, knew something that readers often forget at this point. The kings of Israel were not Jews. At this moment, Israel was divided under four semi-kings, or tetrarchs (Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:19). The word tetrarch sort of means “quarter-king,” and someone acquainted with western history might prefer the word Duke instead of Tetrarch. But none of them were Jews. Herod the Great, the late father of the four quarter-kinds who were in power now, had been an Idumean, which was the new politically-correct word for Edomite. That meant that they were descended from Esau and not from his brother Jacob. Remember that Esau’s other name was Edom (Genesis 25:30), and Jacob’s other name was Israel (Genesis 32:28).
How did this happen? Let’s look at Israel’s history and the surrounding nations from the time of Malachi, the last prophet, onward.
400 BC – Time of Ezra, Esther, and Malachi. Persia is the world power.
333 BC – The Greek king, Alexander the Great, defeats Darius III of Persia.
323 BC – Alexander has conquered Egypt, Syria and even India, but he dies in Babylon after a short illness. His generals take over Syria and Egypt.
230 BC – Rome begins to extend its power into Syria and Israel.
142 BC – The Jews led by the Maccabees revolt against Greek and Roman rule.
63 BC – Rome takes over Israel; the Greek (Seleucid) dynasty ends.
37 BC – Herod the Great, an Idumean (Edomite) is given the rule of “Palestine” (the Latin word for Philistia) by the Romans as their puppet. He captures Jerusalem, marries the Hasmonean (Maccabean) princess Mariamne, and begins to remodel the Temple.
The name change to “Palestine” and the presence of a non-Jew on the throne as king were both a slap in the face to the Jews, and some of the governors before Pilate had a difficult time in Israel. Pilate tried to be a little more lenient, but there were times when he used a heavier hand in his rule (Luke 13:1).
But now Pilate had a Jew brought before him with charges against him, one of which was that he claimed the throne of Israel. That was something that he was specifically charged by Caesar to watch out for; to put down any rebellion against Roman authority. The other charges against Jesus were of no interest to Pilate. They were matters of the Jews’ religion, and the priests were the teachers of the Jews’ religion (Malachi 2:7). But was this man claiming to be a king?
“Are you the King of Jews?” he asked. The Jews were meticulous about keeping track of their genealogies. Was this Jesus claiming to be the heir of David, or of one of the other kings? As far as Pilate could tell, all of the kings of Judea, from Solomon down to the last kings who were exiled, were all from the same family line.
But Jesus did not pull out any list of names. He does not make any claims about himself at all. Pilate didn’t know it, but Jesus didn’t come here to defend himself, but to be condemned. Yet the Son of God is at the same time the source of all Law and of all Gospel. He himself is the Word of God, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). So he offers Pilate the opportunity to ask this question either as a Jew or as a Gentile. This is recorded in John’s Gospel, where the Lord says: “Is that your own idea (that I am King) or did another talk to you about me?” (John 18:34). By this, Jesus opened up several paths for Pilate to take:
First: Am I a king that Caesar would care about as a rival? Look at the bruises and the bloody nose that I have, Pilate, and the complete lack of any army standing at the gates. What threat do I make? Do see an iron scepter in my hand (Psalm 2:9)?
Second: Are the Jews of Jerusalem calling for you to march away and leave me here? Are they burning an effigy of Herod outside the city and putting a scepter into my hand, a scepter that shall never depart from Judah (Genesis 49:10)?
Third: Do I seem to be the kind of king you Romans should fear? Or even a little petty puppet who would at least pay tribute to Rome (2 Maccabees 8:10)?
Fourth: Or am I the sort of heavenly, spiritual King that the pious Jews are talking about, mostly in whispers these days for fear of the Scribes and Pharisees and that murderer, Caiaphas. Am I the one, Pilate, that Isaiah spoke of? Is that what you mean? “The LORD, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King”? (Isaiah 43:15). So, Pilate, which is it? What are you afraid of?
And there in the simple answer that Mark records is even the path of faith, offered even to Pilate the heathen governor: “You have said so.” Listen to your own words, Pilate. You know about the religion of the Jews. You say that you don’t want to interfere, but you know enough about Moses and the Prophets to be able to see where the lines are drawn between you Romans and the Israel of God. So, Pilate, what about your own eternal soul? Do you hear your words? Let those words, truly spoken, sink in a little.
Here we see how true and profound are the words of David: “The love of the God of heaven endures forever” (Psalm 136:26). And as Clement, the ancient Father of the Church, said: “What a great and wonderful thing God’s love is. Its perfection is beyond interpretation, explanation, or undertanding” (1 Clement 50:1). Therefore, for a moment, the Son of God ceases to be a prisoner at all and offers everlasting life to this restless soul, the heathen governor, with just a single question:
Pilate, will you, too, put your faith in me?
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Mark 15:2 King of the Jews