And Pilate saith to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more: Crucify him.
ο δε πιλατος ελεγεν αυτοις τι γαρ κακον εποιησεν οι δε περισσοτερως εκραξαν σταυρωσον αυτον
7 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Mark, known for his conciseness, aimed to highlight Pilate's efforts and desire to preserve the life of the Lord. When he records, "They cried again, Crucify Him," he indicates that this outcry was repeated. In their request for Barabbas to be freed, Mark notes Pilate's protestation: "What evil has He done?" This encapsulates a prolonged event (cf. Matt. 27:22-23; Luke 23:21-22).
‘What wrong has He committed?’ The cry was echoed, ‘To the cross, to the cross!’ No further arguments followed. ‘No,’ Pilate retorted, irritated by their obstinacy and unused to such disrespect, ‘I will proceed as I stated earlier: I will chastise Him and then release Him.’ With that, he promptly ordered the release of Barabbas and the scourging of Jesus Christ. This punishment, we will observe, was intended by the Ægemon to pacify the anger of His adversaries. Scourging, which Pilate believed would serve as a substitute for execution, was a brutal and excruciating form of punishment typically reserved for slaves and those lacking Roman citizenship who committed serious offenses.
In Jewish synagogues, lashes were administered, but only a limited number, and the offender retained their status as a citizen. In stark contrast, the Romans employed scourging for grave offenses, often preceding execution. The specifics regarding the extent of lashes were not set by law and were left to the discretion of the soldiers carrying out the punishment, who often displayed extreme cruelty. The whips consisted of cords or leather straps, interwoven with sharp bone or metal fragments. Many of the condemned succumbed to this brutal punishment. Pilate intended to show clemency to His critics through this method. The soldiers under Pilate's command took Jesus from the lithostroton and led Him into the Praetorium, the place where such punishments were administered. They then gathered a large portion of the military cohort, numbering between 600 to 1000 men, for such scourging was regarded as entertainment for these rough soldiers. While the Gospel writers do not specify that the Lord’s unblemished body was bound to a pillar during the scourging, it is a common belief that it was. What was already a vicious act became even more savage, as each soldier sought to demonstrate their might against the one they perceived as a rival to Caesar, the god of the Praetorian guard.
He questioned them, ‘What wrongdoing have you committed? I have discovered no basis for a death sentence against Him. After chastising Him, I will release Him’ (Luke 23:22). Pilate communicates to the crowd that Jesus Christ is blameless; he also asserts that the authority to judge rests with him, the governor, rather than with the people. However, neither his assertion nor the timing of his actions were appropriate. Moreover, the governor yields to the outcry of an unjust judge who was never called upon, seeking to penalize the innocent for the sins of others. The clamoring of the crowd escalates, yet mercy is to be shown. This was exactly what Pilate anticipated! He found that the Sanhedrin members, in his view, had no shame in aligning their cries with the outbursts of the mob, inciting further chaos among the people (Luke 23:23).
Pilate thereafter presents Jesus to the crowd in this battered condition to evoke their sympathy. He declares, "Behold the man." Is it conceivable that He would feign kingship? Yet the crowd is swiftly escalating their cries: "This is insufficient—crucify Him, crucify Him."
Instead of recovering from his initial embarrassment and asserting the strong Roman rule he held over the Jewish populace, Pilate found himself utterly perplexed. The crowd had become the arbitrators, and he relegated himself to the position of a hesitant defender. "What wrongdoing has He committed that you call for His disgraceful execution?" Pilate inquired. However, rather than offering a clear reply, the crowd shouted even louder, "Let Him be crucified!" How peculiar it was for Pilate to seek an explanation from an agitated and resentful mob regarding their demand for Jesus' death! Once more, he addressed them, asking, "What evil has He done? I have found no basis for a death sentence against Him, so I cannot agree to His execution. If it pleases you, I can have Him punished, but I will not subject Him to death."
“What wrong has He committed?” the thoroughly puzzled governor queries once more. “I have found nothing deserving of death in Him; you presented this man to me as a disruptor of the populace; I examined the matter in your presence and determined that He is guilty of none of the charges brought against Him. Herod Antipas also reviewed the situation and found nothing in Him that warrants death. Thus, the most I can do is to administer a severe punishment and then release Him” (Luke 23:14-22). However, such reasoning failed to sway the crowd, which had clearly approached that dreadful psychological state where rational understanding dissolves into a frantic outcry of familiar chants.
Additionally, this discourse highlighted Pilate's vacillation and signaled to the Jews that the advantage lay with the throng. Consequently, they repeatedly shouted with fierce and vile outbursts, “Put Him to death! Crucify Him, and release Barabbas!”
Pilate, witnessing this frenzy fueled by the forces of darkness, was again reminded of a scene years prior outside his palace in Caesarea, when the same Jewish mob, incited by their leaders, howled and yelled for six days without fearing the Roman soldiers, continuing their siege until the proud procurator capitulated to their relentless clamoring, granting victory to this contemptible crowd. Back then, it was a matter of preserving the honor of the Roman standards, yet Pilate acquiesced; now, however, it was solely a concern for defending an innocent man against the blinded hatred of His own people—a Jew among the Jews—should we emphasize this? Yet, as he exhaustedly fought against the tide, his gaze fell upon the Prisoner. The Roman sense of justice, which in its finest expressions upholds righteousness above all, was reignited within him. Before him stood the very essence of innocence. Amidst the turmoil of shouting, stomping, and violently gesturing by the crowd, surrounded by malevolent, distorted faces with bloodthirsty eyes, stood resolutely the tall, white-coated figure of the Divine. The Prisoner, seemingly lost in His sacred thoughts, appeared untouched by the chaos surrounding Him, as though it did not pertain to Him at all, and the fury and shrieks were directed at someone else. This extraordinary serenity in the face of the dreadful destiny awaiting Him stirred profound sympathy in the Roman's heart. He was astonished to realize that even among the Jews there existed figures of honor like Coriolanus, Regulus, and Mucius Scaevola. Yet, such noble bravery is a rare exception in a people generally marked by contemptibility, insolence, and cowardice; thus, it was imperative to rescue this Galilean. He then made another attempt to safeguard the Prisoner.
Simultaneously, the urgent shouts of "crucify Him, crucify Him" (Luke 23:20) conveyed the unwavering resolve of the crowd gathered below. The duration of Pilate's indecision remains uncertain, yet in the end, the frantic calls of the oblivious multitude not only overpowered the pleas from his wife but also drowned out his own moral compass. The evangelist notes, "And the cry of them and of the chief priests prevailed," leading Pilate to ultimately comply with their demands.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 15 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS