Tag Archives: Passover

Gospel of Mark

Jesus before Pilate: Mark 15:1-5

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Jesus Before Pilate

15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Mark 15:1-5

Horsham: 12th December 2025

This is an episode in which Mark’s account is extraordinarily brief. To find the full story and understand the context, we need to look beyond Mark and draw on the accounts of the other gospel writers. When we do, the full story becomes clear.

The Jewish leaders take Jesus, bound, to the Praetorium, a short walk from the palace of Caiaphas. This is the headquarters of the Roman occupying forces. They stand outside with their prisoner, for to enter would render them ‘unclean’ for the Passover (John 18:28). The fact that Pilate comes to speak to them at the gate, speaks volumes about his relationship with the Jewish leaders. Pilate is a violent and ruthless governor who had abused the people of Judea,  yet at this point he was also afraid of and conciliatory towards them (see End Piece below).

The offences claimed by the Jews are now completely different from those with which they charged him before the Sanhedrin. Now he is accused of insurrection, trying to undermine the Roman rule. Pilate is not convinced and tells them to take Jesus away. ‘Deal with him under your own laws.’ When they refuse, Jesus is taken into the building (John 18:31) and interrogated by Pilate, who still finds no basis for a charge (Matt 27:24, Luke 23:4, Luke 23:14, John 18:38, John 19:4).

Luke tells us that Jesus is then taken before Herod (Luke 23:6-12), whose palace was close by in the Upper City, where he faced further abuse, before being returned to the custody of Pilate.

End Piece
The relationship between Pilate and the Jewish leaders is critical to the context here. Josephus tells us that on two previous occasions, the leaders had been so angry with the Roman governor that they had successfully appealed to Rome (Sproul, p.356). Twice, Pilate has been censured by Rome. He is now under orders to not offend the Jews, under pain of removal from his post. In fact, according to Eusebius, that did happen, leading to his recall to Rome a short time after the death of Jesus.

Jerusalem is bursting at the seams for Passover. Though Pilate wanted to release Jesus, fear of unrest kept him from acting. Not only was he prepared to step outside his garrison to speak to the Jews, but he was willing to entertain and listen to their furious demands for the execution of an innocent man.

9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. (Luke 23:9)

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Gospel of Mark

Preparations for the Passover: Mark 14:13-16

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Preparations for the Passover

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Mark 14:13-16

Horsham: 23rd October 2025

Sometimes, we make preparations in advance a celebration, especially when food is involved. As a family, we plan where to meet over the Christmas and New Year period far in advance. Moments of coming together to share a meal with those that we love are profoundly important. Such moments are about much more than the food.

At times like that, the first thing to get sorted is normally the location. With all the tension during the build up to Passover weekend, it’s not surprising that the disciples were asking Jesus where they would be meeting for the meal which is at the heart of the celebration. One might have assumed that one or more of the disciples would do the leg work to find a room big enough for Jesus, the twelve, and those who were with them. Yet it turns out that Jesus has already got it all in hand. The level of planning is extraordinary. Two unnamed followers of Christ are dispatched into the city to look for an unnamed man carrying a water jar. In a city, swollen with visitors, that sounds like looking for a needle in a haystack, until we recognise that culturally, carrying the water jar was invariably a job for a woman. A man carrying water would be unusual. He would stand out. 

This reads like a sub plot in a spy novel. There is an air of intrigue and secrecy, perhaps because Jesus does not wish to give Judas advance notice of the venue (Pawson,  p277). The alley ways of Jerusalem are crowded and noisy. Somehow, the man with a water jar is in exactly the right place at the right time to meet the disciples. Without a word he leads them to a house, where someone is clearly expecting them. The right passwords having been given, they are shown to an upstairs room (which may or may not have been in the same house). The disciples arrive at what is about to become the most famous room in history. The room is clean and ready for them. 

There is much preparation to be done. The lamb itself has already been found, procured and then killed as a sacrifice at the heart of the meal (v12). After the animal had been cleaned, it would have been roasted on a spit over an open fire. The table had to be arranged appropriately for the right number of people. Unleavened bread (without even a trace of yeast), salt water, bitter herbs, spices and cups of wine. 

Everything has to be right. For Christ and his disciples, this is the Passover feast. The disciples can still not have grasped the special, world changing importance of this particular Passover. This was to be what Tom Wright calls the ‘’Passover with a difference’. (Wright, p192). The end is near. This is the last supper.

End Piece
‘As we read the narrative of the last week of his life, we cannot help being struck with the efficiency of his arrangement.’ (Barclay Loc 6648)

If we pause and reflect, we cannot help but notice that Jesus had a plan. The plan was in place long before the disciples knew about it. Jesus is in absolute control of events. Two of his followers are dispatched to do his bidding. He didn’t give them every detail, but he told them everything they needed to know. Whilst they didn’t fully grasp the enormity of the risk, they know that Jesus is a target for the authorities. They know that this places them in a risky place. They had to use their common sense, initiative and confidence to complete the task. It is their obedience, and their readiness to servve faithfully, to see the job through to completion, that brought about the most celebrated meal of all time.

I need to learn from this. Jesus has the plan. His followers didn’t have sight of the whole plan. They needed only to trust and obey. They need only use their God given common sense and initiative to get the job done. Thus, every moment of Church history is made.    

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK