Mark 15:14
in Mark 15“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out exceedingly, Crucify him.
KJV
Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
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This verse in Mark 15
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHere are two goats; one is the scape goat, that is, one loosed and sent out into the wilderness of hell with the sin of the people; the other is slain, as a lamb, for the sins of those who are forgiven. The Lord's portion is always slain; the devil's part, (for he is the master of those men, which is the meaning of Barabbas,) when freed, is cast headlong into hell.
This site's exposition
What then do you want me to do
on Mark 15:12-14
Pilate asks, What evil has He done, and the crowd never answers it; they shouted all the louder. Their only reply is the demand for a Roman crucifixion.
This site's exposition
What evil has He done
Gill counts this as Pilate's third question about what evil Jesus had done, following Luke 23:22. The crowd never answers it, as Bede observes. Bede hears their shouting in Jeremiah 12:8, where the Lord's own heritage cries out against Him like a lion.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
(ubi sup.) But the Jews giving loose to their madness do not answer the question of the judge. Wherefore it goes on, And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him, that those words of the Prophet Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest, it crieth out against me. (Jer. 12:8) There follows, And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
Notice then the bloodthirstiness of the Jews and the moderation of Pilate (although he too is worthy of condemnation, because he did not firmly stand up for the righteous man). For they cried out, "Crucify Him," while he, though feebly, nevertheless attempted to free Jesus …
Now see the wickedness of the Jews, and the moderation of Pilate, though he too was worthy of condemnation for not resisting the people. For they cried out, Crucify; he faintly tries to save Jesus from their determined sentence, and again puts a question to them. Wherefore there follows, Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? For he wished in this way to find an opportunity for releasing Christ, who was innocent.
But they cried out more: Crucify him. That it might be fulfilled which was said in the twenty-first psalm: Many dogs surrounded me, the assembly of the wicked enclosed me (Psalm XXI); and that from Jeremiah: My heritage is become to me as a lion …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then Pilate said unto them,.... The third time, Luk 23:22; why, what evil hath he done? worthy of death. They had charged him with many things, but proved nothing against him. Pilate could find no fault in him, and judged him an innocent person, and therefore was loth to condemn him: and they cried out the more exceedingly; with louder voices, and greater vehemency, the more they found he was inclined to save him: crucify him; nothing short of death would satisfy them, and no other death but that of the cross; See Gill on Mat 27:22, Mat 27:23.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
These verses begin the chapter in which Mark describes the slaying of "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." It is a part of the Gospel history which should always be read with peculiar reverence. We should call to mind, that Christ was cut off, not for Himself, but for us. (Dan. 9:26.) We should remember that His death is the life of our souls, and that unless His blood had been shed, we must have perished miserably in our sins.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses begin the chapter in which Mark describes the slaying of "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." It is a part of the Gospel history which should always be read with peculiar reverence. We should call to mind, that Christ was cut off, not for Himself, but for us. (Dan. 9:26.) We should remember that His death is the life of our souls, and that unless His blood had been shed, we must have perished miserably in our sins. Let us mark in these verses, what a striking proof the Jewish rulers gave to their own nation that the times of Messiah had come . The chapter opens with the fact, that the chief priests bound Jesus and "delivered Him to Pilate," the Roman Governor. Why did they do so? Because they had no longer the power of putting any one to death, and were under the dominion of the Romans. By this one act and deed they declared that the prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled. "The scepter had departed from Judah, and the lawgiver from between his feet," and Shiloh the Messiah, whom God had promised to send, must have come. (Gen. 49:10.) Yet there is nothing whatever to show that they remembered this prophecy. Their eyes were blinded. They either could not, or would not, see what they were doing. Let us never forget that wicked men are often fulfilling God's predictions to their own ruin, and yet know it not. In the very height of their madness, folly, and unbelief, they are often unconsciously supplying fresh evidence that the Bible is true. The unhappy scoffers who make a jest of all serious religion, and can scarcely talk of Christianity without ridicule and scorn, would do well to remember that their conduct was long ago foreseen and foretold. "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." (2 Peter 3:3) Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, the meekness and lowliness of our Lord Jesus Christ .
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| Πιλᾶτος | pilatos | Pilate | G4091 → | 55 times |
| ἔλεγεν | elegen | was saying | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τί | ti | What | G5101 → | 563 times |
| γὰρ | gar | indeed | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἐποίησεν | epoiesen | did He commit | G4160 → | 569 times |
| κακόν; | kakon | evil | G2556 → | |
| οἱ | hoi | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | But | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| περισσῶς | perissos | excessively | G4057 → | 9 times |
| ἔκραξαν· | ekraxan | they shouted; | G2896 → | 55 times |
| σταύρωσον | stauroson | do crucify | G4717 → | 46 times |
| αὐτόν. | auton | Him! | G846 → | 5565 times |
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
ΠιλᾶτοςPilate
pilatosG4091 →55 times
ἔλεγενwas saying
elegenG3004 →1325 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
τίWhat
tiG5101 →563 times
γὰρindeed
garG1063 →1039 times
ἐποίησενdid He commit
epoiesenG4160 →569 times
κακόν;evil
kakonG2556 →
οἱ<the>
hoiG3588 →19766 times
δὲBut
deG1161 →2765 times
περισσῶςexcessively
perissosG4057 →9 times
ἔκραξαν·they shouted;
ekraxanG2896 →55 times
σταύρωσονdo crucify
staurosonG4717 →46 times
αὐτόν.Him!
autonG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 69:4Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me— my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:19
Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
- John 15:25
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
- Psalms 109:3–5
They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
- Psalms 35:11–12
Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
- Psalms 35:19
Through
Matthew 27:54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
it leads to
- Matthew 27:36
And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
- Mark 15:39
When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- Matthew 27:43
He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
- Matthew 27:36
Through
John 18:38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.
it leads to
- John 19:4
Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
- John 19:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Mark
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.