Mark 15:3

Mar_15:3

But He answered nothing.

The silence of our Lord

From our Lords sublime silence we may learn-

1. That the manifestation of anger and temper is inconsistent with a Christian spirit. Again, anger is said to rest in the bosom of fools, a mortifying fact, which should be a corrective to this tendency. Socrates, when kicked by a profligate person, said to those who would have him retaliate, Had an ass kicked me, would you have me kick back in return? It requires no intellect to be angry. It is rather a sign of mulishness. You give an advantage to your adversary. Men get the fruit of the cocoanut tree by exasperating the monkeys that live among the branches, so that the animals hurl down the fruit. The assailants keep up the altercation until their end is gained and their baskets are full. But to be patient is to be godlike. Here, then, are two mirrors. In which is your face reflected? Are you easily irritated, or are you able to patiently stand, like your Lord, answering not a word?

2. No one grace more glorifies God than the spirit shown in the silence of Christ. The following incident is related of that eminent minister, Dr. Hopkins: A brother-in-law who was a sceptic, said that his pious kinsman would bear exasperating circumstances no better than anyone else, and, to try him, stated to him some facts peculiarly aggravating. Dr. H. went away very angry, and the remark was made, I told you so. The night, however, was spent in prayer, and with the morning Dr. H. came and confessed his sin of unholy passion, whereupon his brother was deeply affected, and admitted that this was a spirit which he did not possess. The infidel was led to re-examine the grounds on which he stood. He became a humble follower of Christ and a minister of the gospel. But the objector says, I cannot control myself: what is the remedy? In general, we may answer, Watch and pray. God will do His part, we must do ours. More specifically: Keep yourself from temptations. Again, your physical condition is to be cared for. Late hours, bad ventilation, and improper diet affect the temper. If you eat mince pie, fruit cake, and lobster salad at night, you will have dyspepsia, If you have dyspepsia, you will be cross. Think, again, how belittling to you are these spurts of ill-temper, and let it shame you. Think, too, how trivial are these annoyances, and how transitory life is. Look at Christ, whose whole nature was sweet to the depths of His being, and so was not obliged continually to curb the risings of unholy emotion. Commit your cause unto Him who judgeth righteously, and answer not a word. (American Homiletic Review.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:3-5 Pilate sought a self-defense from Jesus concerning the charges.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 15:3 . πολλά : either an adverb = much, or the accusative after κατηγόρουν . As to the matter of these accusations vide on Mt. But to what end, when Jesus had confessed that He was King; giving Himself away, so to speak? The Sanhedrists must have seen from Pilate’s manner, a smile on his face perhaps, that he did not take the confession seriously. For the reason of this vide on Mt.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(3) But he answered nothing.—Many MSS. omit these words, but the fact is implied in Pilate’s question, and in “Jesus yet answered nothing,” in Mar_15:5.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. And the chief priests accused him] After the first examination Pilate came forth to the Jewish deputation, standing before the entrance of the palace, and declared his conviction of the innocence of the Accused (Joh_18:38; Luk_23:4). This was the signal for a furious clamour on the part of the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrim, and they accused our Lord of many things, of (1) “stirring up the people,” and (2) “teaching falsely throughout all Judæa, beginning from Galilee even to Jerusalem” (Luk_23:5).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the chief priests accused him of many things,.... As that he was a magician, and a blasphemer, and gave out that he was the Son of God; and that he made himself a king, and even forbad the people to give tribute to Caesar, and moved discord, sedition, and rebellion throughout the land;

but he answered nothing. This clause is wanting in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions; but is in the Greek text of the Complutensian edition, and in the Ethiopic version, and agrees with Mat 27:12; see Gill on Mat 27:12.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And the chief priests accused him of many things. The words in the Authorized Version, "but he answered nothing," are not to be found here in any of the best manuscripts or versions. But they are to be found in St. Matthew; (Mat_27:12) and Pilate"s question in the next verse confirms St. Matthew"s statement, and makes the sentence unnecessary here. Our Lord answered nothing, because all that they had to say against him was manifestly false or frivolous, and unworthy of any reply. St. Augustine says on this, "The Savior, who is the Wisdom of God, knew how to overcome by keeping silence."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. xxvii, 12.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

3. [3358][3359][3360][3361][3362][3363][3364][3365] omit αὐτὸς δὲ οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο.

[3358] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[3359] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[3360] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3361] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[3362] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[3363] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[3364] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[3365] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

3. κατηγόρουν … πολλά. “Accused Him of many things” (R.V.), in multis (Vulg.), or much, the usual meaning in Mk. See on Mar 1:45.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Καὶ κατηγόρουν αὐτοῦ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς πολλά—And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. This was evidently because Pilate was not convinced by their statement that he claimed to be a king. Under the Roman system, the governor of a province was supposed to keep the central government informed of whatever was going on in his jurisdiction, and this system was so perfected that there would be little chance for a work like that of Jesus to go on without the cognizance of the Roman deputies. Pilate’s whole attitude shows that he understood the case, so that he was not alarmed by a charge, which in any other circumstances he could not have treated so cavalierly. Lk. tells us something about these charges.1 Of course, the principal one was his claim to be a king, the Messianic King, which Jesus admits. To this they added that he stirs up the people, and forbids to pay tribute to Cæsar. This is what is needed to give a treasonable character to the main charge. If these acts could be proved, they would be overt acts of treason. And the fact that Pilate pays so little attention to them, and does not treat Jesus’ silence in face of them as an evidence of guilt, proves conclusively that he understood the facts.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.