Mark 15:21-47

There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) There they gave him some wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused to drink it. The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get what. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. There was a sign with the charge against him written on it. It said, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” They also nailed two criminals to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left. People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross!” The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! If he is really the Messiah, the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. When we see this, then we will believe in him.” The criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him. At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness continued until three o’clock. At three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?” Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.” Then Jesus cried out loudly and died. When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died. The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!” Some women were standing away from the cross, watching. Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joses. (James was her youngest son.) These were the women who had followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem were also there. This day was called Preparation day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph was an important member of the high council. He was one of the people who wanted God’s kingdom to come. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the army officer in charge and asked him if Jesus was already dead. When Pilate heard it from the officer, he told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took the body from the cross, wrapped it in the linen, and put the body in a tomb that was dug in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a large stone to cover the entrance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was put.