Mark 15
15
Pilate Puts Jesus on Trial
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests agreed on a verdict with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin. They tied Jesus up, took him away, and turned him over to Pilate.
2“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3The chief priests brought many charges against him. 4So Pilate questioned him again. “Aren’t you going to answer?” he asked. “Look at how many things they’re accusing you of!”
5But Jesus still didn’t reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6It was his usual practice to let one prisoner go free at the Passover Feast. The people could choose the one they wanted. 7A man named Barabbas was in prison with some others who had committed murder in a rebellion against Rome. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to release a prisoner for them as usual.
9“Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?” asked Pilate. 10He knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him for trial because they were jealous of him. 11But the chief priests riled up the crowd and got them to ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
12“Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13“Crucify him!” they shouted.
14“Why? What has he done wrong?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even more loudly, “Crucify him!”
15Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he let Barabbas go free. But he ordered Jesus to be whipped, and then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, which was called the Praetorium. There they called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on Jesus, twisted thorns together to make a crown, and forced it onto his head. 18They pretended to greet him the way they would Caesar: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19But then they repeatedly beat him on the head with a stick and spit on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honor him. 20After they had made fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to nail him to a cross.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
21A man from Cyrene named Simon (he’s the father of Alexander and Rufus) was coming in from the country. When he went past the soldiers who were leading Jesus away, they stopped him and forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. 23They offered him wine mixed with spices, but he wouldn’t drink it. 24Then they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes, casting lots to see what each of them would get.
25It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26They put up a written notice of the charge against him. It read,
the king of the jews.
27-28Two men who had rebelled against Rome were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 29Those who passed by shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “So, you’re going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? 30Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!” 31The chief priests and teachers of the law made fun of him in the same way. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross now! If we see that, then we’ll believe.” Those who were being crucified with Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
33At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted for three hours. 34At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (That means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”)
35Some of the people who were standing nearby heard Jesus cry out, and they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah.”
36Someone ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar. He lifted it up on a long stick and offered it to Jesus to drink. Then he said, “Now let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37With a loud cry, Jesus took his last breath.
38The curtain in front of the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn in half from top to bottom. 39When the Roman commander who was standing there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he exclaimed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joseph, and Salome. 41These women had traveled with Jesus in Galilee and taken care of his needs. Other women had also come up with him to Jerusalem, and many of them were there too.
Jesus Is Buried
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). As evening approached, 43a man named Joseph from the town of Arimathea, who was a leading member of the Jewish Council and who was looking forward to the kingdom of God, went bravely to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called for the Roman commander and asked if Jesus had already died. 45When the commander said that this was true, Pilate gave the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down, wrapped it in the cloth, and put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was placed.
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Mark 15
15
Standing Before Pilate
1At dawn’s first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate.
2-3Pilate asked him, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”
He answered, “If you say so.” The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations.
4-5Pilate asked again, “Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.” Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.
6-10It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for. There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome. As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner, Pilate anticipated them: “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him.
11-12But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas. Pilate came back, “So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?”
13They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”
14Pilate objected, “But for what crime?”
But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”
15Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.
16-20The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
The Crucifixion
21There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus’ cross.
22-24The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning “Skull Hill.” They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn’t take it. And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them.
25-30They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning. The charge against him—the king of the jews—was scrawled across a sign. Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
31-32The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—but he can’t save himself! Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then!” Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery.
33-34At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
35-36Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37-39But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
Taken to a Tomb
40-41There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42-45Late in the afternoon, since it was the Day of Preparation (that is, Sabbath eve), Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Jewish Council, came. He was one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the kingdom of God. Working up his courage, he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate questioned whether he could be dead that soon and called for the captain to verify that he was really dead. Assured by the captain, he gave Joseph the corpse.
46-47Having already purchased a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the shroud, placed him in a tomb that had been cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the opening. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, watched the burial.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.