Markus 14:53--15:15
Konteks14:53 Then 1 they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law 2 came together. 14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He 3 was sitting with the guards 4 and warming himself by the fire. 14:55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything. 14:56 Many gave false testimony against him, but their testimony did not agree. 14:57 Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 5 14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days build another not made with hands.’” 14:59 Yet even on this point their testimony did not agree. 14:60 Then 6 the high priest stood up before them 7 and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 14:61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, 8 “Are you the Christ, 9 the Son of the Blessed One?” 14:62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand 10 of the Power 11 and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 12 14:63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 14:64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?” 13 They all condemned him as deserving death. 14:65 Then 14 some began to spit on him, and to blindfold him, and to strike him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat 15 him.
14:66 Now 16 while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls 17 came by. 14:67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked directly at him and said, “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus.” 14:68 But he denied it: 18 “I don’t even understand what you’re talking about!” 19 Then 20 he went out to the gateway, and a rooster crowed. 21 14:69 When the slave girl saw him, she began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 14:70 But he denied it again. A short time later the bystanders again said to Peter, “You must be 22 one of them, because you are also a Galilean.” 14:71 Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 14:72 Immediately a rooster 23 crowed a second time. Then 24 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. 25
15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law 26 and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 27 15:2 So 28 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king 29 of the Jews?” He replied, 30 “You say so.” 31 15:3 Then 32 the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. 15:4 So Pilate asked him again, 33 “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” 15:5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
15:6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, 34 whomever they requested. 15:7 A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. 15:8 Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. 35 15:9 So Pilate asked them, 36 “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 15:10 (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) 37 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release 38 Barabbas instead. 15:12 So Pilate spoke to them again, 39 “Then what do you want me to do 40 with the one you call king of the Jews?” 15:13 They shouted back, “Crucify 41 him!” 15:14 Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15:15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, 42 after he had Jesus flogged, 43 he handed him over 44 to be crucified.
[14:53] 1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[14:53] 2 tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[14:54] 3 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[14:54] 4 sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.
[14:57] 5 tn Grk “Some standing up gave false testimony against him, saying.”
[14:60] 6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[14:60] 7 tn Grk “in the middle.”
[14:61] 8 tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”
[14:61] 9 tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[14:61] sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.
[14:62] 10 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.
[14:62] 11 sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
[14:62] 12 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.
[14:64] 13 tn Grk “What do you think?”
[14:65] 14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[14:65] 15 tn For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.
[14:66] 16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[14:66] 17 tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.
[14:68] 18 tn Grk “he denied it, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
[14:68] 19 tn Grk “I do not know or understand what you are saying.” In the translation this is taken as a hendiadys (a figure of speech where two terms express a single meaning, usually for emphatic reasons).
[14:68] 20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[14:68] 21 tc Several important witnesses (א B L W Ψ* 579 892 2427 pc) lack the words “and a rooster crowed.” The fact that such good and early Alexandrian witnesses lack these words makes this textual problem difficult to decide, especially because the words receive support from other witnesses, some of which are fairly decent (A C D Θ Ψc 067 Ë1,13 33 [1424] Ï lat). The omission could have been intentional on the part of some Alexandrian scribes who wished to bring this text in line with the other Gospel accounts that only mention a rooster crowing once (Matt 26:74; Luke 22:60; John 18:27). The insertion could be an attempt to make the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in 14:30 more explicit. Internally, the words “and a rooster crowed” fit Mark’s Gospel here, not only in view of 14:30, “before a rooster crows twice,” but also in view of the mention of “a second time” in 14:71 (a reading which is much more textually secure). Nevertheless, a decision is difficult.
[14:68] tn A real rooster crowing is probably in view here (rather than the Roman trumpet call known as gallicinium), in part due to the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice. See the discussion at Matt 26:74.
[14:70] 22 tn Grk “Truly you are.”
[14:72] 23 tn This occurrence of the word ἀλέκτωρ (alektwr, “rooster”) is anarthrous and consequently may not point back explicitly to the rooster which had crowed previously in v. 68. The reason for the anarthrous construction is most likely to indicate generically that some rooster crowed. Further, the translation of ἀλέκτωρ as an indefinite noun retains the subtlety of the Greek in only hinting at the Lord’s prediction v. 30. See also NAB, TEV, NASB.
[14:72] 24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[14:72] 25 tn Grk “he wept deeply.”
[15:1] 26 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[15:1] 27 sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.
[15:2] 28 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.
[15:2] 29 sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.
[15:2] 30 tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.
[15:2] 31 sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).
[15:3] 32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[15:4] 33 tn Grk “Pilate asked him again, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
[15:6] 34 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:6] sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner to them is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39); see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:773-74.
[15:8] 35 tn Grk “Coming up the crowd began to ask [him to do] as he was doing for them.”
[15:9] 36 tn Grk “Pilate answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
[15:10] 37 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[15:11] 38 tn Grk “to have him release for them.”
[15:12] 39 tn Grk “answering, Pilate spoke to them again.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
[15:12] 40 tc Instead of “what do you want me to do” several witnesses, including the most important ones (א B C W Δ Ψ Ë1,13 33 892 2427 pc), lack θέλετε (qelete, “you want”), turning the question into the more abrupt “what should I do?” Although the witnesses for the longer reading are not as significant (A D Θ 0250 Ï latt sy), the reading without θέλετε conforms to Matt 27:22 and thus is suspected of being a scribal emendation. The known scribal tendency to assimilate one synoptic passage to another parallel, coupled with the lack of such assimilation in
[15:13] 41 sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.
[15:15] 42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[15:15] 43 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
[15:15] sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 4:515-19.
