Pilate
said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”
Mark 15:14
Mark 15 [13.] They cried out again, “Crucify him!”
Mark 15 [14.] Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”
Mark 15 [15.] Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified. The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort. They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him. When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him. They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross. They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.” They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.
Meaning:
The crowd has shouted, “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13). Pilate answers with a question that exposes the injustice of the whole trial. No one could name a crime that Jesus had committed. The Roman judge himself bears witness to his innocence, even while he is about to hand him over to death.
- “Pilate said to them”
Pilate was the judge, yet he is now arguing with the crowd instead of ruling. Luke tells us he spoke “the third time” and said, “I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him” (Luke 23:22). In John’s Gospel he says again and again, “I find no basis for a charge against him” (John 18:38). His repeated protests show that he knew the truth, but he lacked the will to act on it.
- “Why, what evil has he done?”
It is the right question, and it has only one answer: none. Jesus had healed the sick, cast out demons, welcomed sinners, fed the hungry and taught the way of God. The council had not been able to find consistent witnesses against him (Mark 14:56). Even Pilate’s wife warned him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man” (Matthew 27:19).
Isaiah had foretold that the Servant would be put to death “although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:9). The New Testament repeats this testimony: Jesus “has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
- No answer but a louder cry
Pilate asked for a reason, but the crowd gave only noise. Matthew records that after Pilate’s question “they cried out exceedingly”, repeating the demand that he be crucified (Matthew 27:22-23). When hatred has made up its mind, it does not want evidence. The innocence of Jesus did not save him from the cross, because he had come to die for the guilty.
The Significance of Mark 15:14
- The sinless substitute
Jesus’ innocence is essential to the gospel. A guilty man could only die for his own sins. Because Jesus had done no evil, his death could be offered for others. Paul writes, “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
- Knowing the right and not doing it
Pilate saw the injustice clearly and even said so, yet he gave in. It is possible to recognize the truth, speak about it, and still fail to stand for it. Faith is shown not only in what we say but in what we do when standing for the truth is costly.
- Suffering unjustly
Believers may sometimes suffer even though they have done nothing wrong. In such moments they follow a Savior who was condemned though innocent, and who “committed himself to him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).
Cross-References:
Luke 23:22: "Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him." Luke’s parallel account.
Isaiah 53:9: "although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." The innocent Servant.
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf;" The sinless one bore our sin.
Conclusion: When the crowd demanded crucifixion, Pilate asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” No one could answer, because Jesus had done no evil. His innocence, confirmed even by the judge who condemned him, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy and made it possible for him to die as the sinless substitute for sinners. The verse calls us to recognize his innocence, to stand for what is right, and to trust him when we suffer unjustly.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible