Mark 15:1-21
Dear RTB’ers,
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. (v. 1) We read yesterday that the Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with blasphemy and agreed that He deserved to die. However, only the Romans could order a prisoner’s death. Unfortunately for the Jewish leaders, a charge of blasphemy was not a reasonable charge to bring to the Roman authorities, so they had to come up with something else. Presumably this meeting of the council resulted in a charge of treason against the Roman authorities.
The scourging, the crown of thorns, the soldiers mocking Jesus… All these trouble me. Yes, theologically, Jesus had to die on our behalf. But did He have to suffer such a horrible death? Did He have to undergo all this punishment prior to His crucifixion? Wouldn’t His death on the cross have sufficed? He could have died at the scourging. He could have collapsed under the weight of the cross. Why this horrible ordeal? Why? Why did His Father let it all happen? Why?
Again, as always, God is God, I am not. It’s my only response.
Blessings!
See also: June 15 (2021) / Mark 15:1-20