Mark 15
15
Jesus is Brought before Pilate
(Mt 27.1–2, 11–14; Lk 23.1–5; Jn 18.28–38)
1Early in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “So you say.”
3The chief priests were accusing Jesus of many things, 4so Pilate questioned him again, “Aren't you going to answer? Listen to all their accusations!”
5Again Jesus refused to say a word, and Pilate was amazed.
Jesus is Sentenced to Death
(Mt 27.15–26; Lk 23.13–25; Jn 18.39—19.16)
6At every Passover Festival Pilate was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the people asked for. 7At that time a man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder in the riot. 8When the crowd gathered and began to ask Pilate for the usual favour, 9he asked them, “Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?” 10He knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.
11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, for Pilate to set Barabbas free for them. 12Pilate spoke again to the crowd, “What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”
13They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14“But what crime has he committed?” Pilate asked.
They shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
(Mt 27.27–31; Jn 19.2–3)
16The soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company. 17They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown out of thorny branches, and put it on his head. 18Then they began to salute him: “Long live the King of the Jews!” 19They beat him over the head with a stick, spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed down to him. 20When they had finished mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Jesus is Crucified
(Mt 27.32–44; Lk 23.26–43; Jn 19.17–27)
21 #
Rom 16.13
On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull”. 23There they tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not drink it. 24#Ps 22.18Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing. 25It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The notice of the accusation against him said: “The King of the Jews”. 27#Is 53.12They also crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.#15.27 Some manuscripts add verse 28: In this way the scripture came true which says, “He shared the fate of criminals” (see Lk 22.37).
29 #
Ps 22.7; 109.25; Mk 14.58; Jn 2.19 People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: “Aha! You were going to tear down the Temple and build it up again in three days! 30Now come down from the cross and save yourself!”
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law jeered at Jesus, saying to each other, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him!”
And the two who were crucified with Jesus insulted him also.
The Death of Jesus
(Mt 27.45–56; Lk 23.44–49; Jn 19.28–30)
33At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. 34#Ps 22.1At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
35Some of the people there heard him and said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” 36#Ps 69.21One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, “Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!”
37With a loud cry Jesus died.
38 #
Ex 26.31–33
The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died.#15.39 had died; some manuscripts have had cried out and died. “This man was really the Son of God!” he said.
40 #
Lk 8.2–3
Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome. 41They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and had helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.
The Burial of Jesus
(Mt 27.57–61; Lk 23.50–56; Jn 19.38–42)
42-43It was towards evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called the army officer and asked him if Jesus had been dead a long time. 45After hearing the officer's report, Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46Joseph bought a linen sheet, took the body down, wrapped it in the sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body of Jesus was placed.
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Mark 15: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Mark 15
15
Jesus Before Pilate. 1#Mt 27:1–2, 11–14; Lk 23:1–3. As soon as morning came,#Jn 18:28. the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council.#Held a council: the verb here, poieō, can mean either “convene a council” or “take counsel.” This reading is preferred to a variant “reached a decision” (cf. Mk 3:6), which Mk 14:64 describes as having happened at the night trial; see note on Mt 27:1–2. Handed him over to Pilate: lacking authority to execute their sentence of condemnation (Mk 14:64), the Sanhedrin had recourse to Pilate to have Jesus tried and put to death (Mk 15:15); cf. Jn 18:31. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”#The king of the Jews: in the accounts of the evangelists a certain irony surrounds the use of this title as an accusation against Jesus (see note on Mk 15:26). While Pilate uses this term (Mk 15:2, 9, 12), he is aware of the evil motivation of the chief priests who handed Jesus over for trial and condemnation (Mk 15:10; Lk 23:14–16, 20; Mt 27:18, 24; Jn 18:38; 19:4, 6, 12). He said to him in reply, “You say so.” 3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” 5Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
The Sentence of Death.#See note on Mt 27:15–26. 6Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested.#Mt 27:15–26; Lk 23:17–25; Jn 18:39–40. 7A man called Barabbas#Barabbas: see note on Mt 27:16–17. was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. 8The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed. 9Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 10For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12Pilate again said to them in reply, “Then what [do you want] me to do with [the man you call] the king of the Jews?” 13#Crucify him: see note on Mt 27:22. They shouted again, “Crucify him.” 14Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” 15#See note on Mt 27:26. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
Mockery by the Soldiers. 16#Praetorium: see note on Mt 27:27. #Mt 27:27–31; Jn 19:2–3. The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. 17They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. 18They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. 20And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.
The Way of the Cross. 21They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian,#They pressed into service…Simon, a Cyrenian: a condemned person was constrained to bear his own instrument of torture, at least the crossbeam. The precise naming of Simon and his sons is probably due to their being known among early Christian believers to whom Mark addressed his gospel. See also notes on Mt 27:32; Lk 23:26–32. who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.#Mt 27:32; Lk 23:26.
The Crucifixion. 22#Mt 27:33–51; Lk 23:32–46; Jn 19:17–30. They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull). 23They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24#See notes on Mt 27:35 and Jn 19:23–25a. #Ps 22:18. Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. 25It was nine o’clock in the morning#It was nine o’clock in the morning: literally, “the third hour,” thus between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. Cf. Mk 15:33, 34, 42 for Mark’s chronological sequence, which may reflect liturgical or catechetical considerations rather than the precise historical sequence of events; contrast the different chronologies in the other gospels, especially Jn 19:14. when they crucified him. 26#The inscription…the King of the Jews: the political reason for the death penalty falsely charged by the enemies of Jesus. See further the notes on Mt 27:37 and Jn 19:19. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.#Lk 23:33. [28]#This verse, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘And he was counted among the wicked,’” is omitted in the earliest and best manuscripts. It contains a citation from Is 53:12 and was probably introduced from Lk 22:37. 29#See note on Mt 27:39–40. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,#Jn 2:19. “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30save yourself by coming down from the cross.” 31Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.#Lk 23:39.
The Death of Jesus. 33At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”#An Aramaic rendering of Ps 22:2. See also note on Mt 27:46. which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”#Ps 22:2. 35#Elijah: a verbal link with Eloi (Mk 15:34). See note on Mk 9:9–13; cf. Mal 3:23–24. See also note on Mt 27:47. Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” 36One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” 37Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38#See note on Mt 27:51–53. The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39#The closing portion of Mark’s gospel returns to the theme of its beginning in the Gentile centurion’s climactic declaration of belief that Jesus was the Son of God. It indicates the fulfillment of the good news announced in the prologue (Mk 1:1) and may be regarded as the firstfruit of the passion and death of Jesus. #Mt 27:54–56; Lk 23:47–49. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 40#See note on Mt 27:55–56. There were also women looking on from a distance.#6:3; Lk 8:2–3. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. 41These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
The Burial of Jesus. 42#Mt 27:57–61; Lk 23:50–56; Jn 19:38–42. When it was already evening, since it was the day of preparation, the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea,#Joseph of Arimathea: see note on Mt 27:57–61. a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died. 45And when he learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.
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