Mark 15
15
Pilate Questions Jesus
(Matthew 27.1,2,11-14; Luke 23.1-5; John 18.28-38)
1Early the next morning the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met together with the whole Jewish council. They tied up Jesus and led him off to Pilate.
2He asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Those are your words,” Jesus answered.
3The chief priests brought many charges against Jesus. 4Then Pilate questioned him again, “Don't you have anything to say? Don't you hear what crimes they say you have done?” 5But Jesus did not answer, and Pilate was amazed.
The Death Sentence
(Matthew 27.15-26; Luke 23.13-25; John 18.39—19.16)
6During Passover, Pilate always freed one prisoner chosen by the people. 7And at that time there was a prisoner named Barabbas. He and some others had been arrested for murder during a riot. 8The crowd now came and asked Pilate to set a prisoner free, just as he usually did.
9Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” 10Pilate knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.
11But the chief priests told the crowd to ask Pilate to free Barabbas.
12Then Pilate asked the crowd, “What do you want me to do with this man you say is#15.12 this man you say is: These words are not in some manuscripts. the king of the Jews?”
13They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”
14Pilate asked, “But what crime has he done?”
“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.
15Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.
Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
(Matthew 27.27-30; John 19.2,3)
16The soldiers led Jesus inside the courtyard of the fortress#15.16 fortress: The place where the Roman governor stayed. It was probably at Herod's palace west of Jerusalem, though it may have been Fortress Antonia, north of the temple, where the Roman troops were stationed. and called together the rest of the troops. 17They put a purple robe#15.17 purple robe: This was probably a Roman soldier's robe. on him, and on his head they placed a crown they had made out of thorn branches. 18They made fun of Jesus and shouted, “Hey, you king of the Jews!” 19Then they beat him on the head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt down and pretended to worship him.
20When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross. 21#Ro 16.13. Simon from Cyrene happened to be coming in from a farm, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
(Matthew 27.31-44; Luke 23.27-43; John 19.17-27)
22The soldiers took Jesus to Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.”#15.22 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull. 23There they gave him some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain, but he refused to drink it.
24 #
Ps 22.18. They nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. 25It was about nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed him to the cross. 26On it was a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is the King of the Jews.” 27-28#Is 53.12. The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.#15.27-28 left: Some manuscripts add, “So the Scriptures came true which say, ‘He was accused of being a criminal.’ ”
29 #
Ps 22.7; 109.25;
Mk 14.58; Jn 2.19. People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, “Ha! So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days. 30Save yourself and come down from the cross!”
31The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can't save himself. 32If he is the Messiah, the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross! Then we will see and believe.” The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.
The Death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Luke 23.44-49; John 19.28-30)
33About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o'clock. 34#Ps 22.1. Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”#15.34 Eloi … sabachthani: These words are in Aramaic, a language spoken in Palestine during the time of Jesus. which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
35Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He is calling for Elijah.”#15.35 Elijah: The name “Elijah” sounds something like “Eloi,” which means “my God.” 36#Ps 69.21. One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. He said, “Let's wait and see if Elijah will come#15.36 see if Elijah will come: See the note at 6.15. and take him down!” 37Jesus shouted and then died.
38 #
Ex 26.31-33. At once the curtain in the temple#15.38 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one which is meant. tore in two from top to bottom.
39A Roman army officer was standing in front of Jesus. When the officer saw how Jesus died, he said, “This man really was the Son of God!”
40-41 #
Lk 8.2,3. Some women were looking on from a distance. They and many others had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. But even before this they had been his followers and had helped him while he was in Galilee. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph were two of these women. Salome was also one of them.
Jesus Is Buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Luke 23.50-56; John 19.38-42)
42It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day. 43A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God's kingdom to come.
44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he called in the army officer to find out if Jesus had been dead very long. 45After the officer told him, Pilate let Joseph have Jesus' body.
46Joseph bought a linen cloth and took the body down from the cross. He had it wrapped in the cloth, and he put it in a tomb that had been cut into solid rock. Then he rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb.
47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body was placed.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Mark 15
15
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
1Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council#15:1 Greek the Sanhedrin; also in 15:43.—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
2Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
3Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” 5But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.
6Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.
9“Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10(For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
15So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. 17They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. 18Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 19And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
21A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene,#15:21 Cyrene was a city in northern Africa. was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). 23They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.
24Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice#15:24 Greek cast lots. See Ps 22:18. to decide who would get each piece. 25It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 27Two revolutionaries#15:27a Or Two criminals. were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.#15:27b Some manuscripts add verse 28, And the Scripture was fulfilled that said, “He was counted among those who were rebels.” See Isa 53:12; also compare Luke 22:37.
29The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. 30Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
31The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.
The Death of Jesus
33At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”#15:34 Ps 22:1.
35Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 36One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”
37Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
39When the Roman officer#15:39a Greek the centurion; similarly in 15:44, 45. who stood facing him#15:39b Some manuscripts add heard his cry and. saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
40Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph#15:40 Greek Joses; also in 15:47. See Matt 27:56.), and Salome. 41They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus
42This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation,#15:42 Greek It was the day of preparation. the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) 44Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.
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