Mark
Copyright © 2008 Darroll Evans
CHAPTER 15
Mark 15:1-20
1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the
elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him
away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said
unto him, Thou sayest it.
3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many
things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they
desired.
7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection
with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done
unto them.
9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of
the Jews?
10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release
Barabbas unto them.
12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall
do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13 And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out
the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them,
and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they
call together the whole band.
17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it
about his head,
18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and
bowing their knees worshipped him.
20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his
own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
Chapter 14 (the arrest and
trial by the Sanhedrin) took place at night.
But at dawn, the chief priests consulted with the elders, scribes, and
indeed the entire counsel (Gr. Sunedrion-Sunedrion). Considering what happened and the hour of the
meeting, this may have been the small “Lesser Sanhedrin.” It had only 12 members and could have been
more easily assembled.
There were two Sanhedrins in
Sanhedrin guard bound Jesus,
and took Him to Pilate.
When Jesus arrived, Pilate
asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
To that Jesus responded, “You
have said that!”
The chief priests accused Him
of many things, but He did not answer them.
And so, Pilate asked him,
“Why don’t You answer them? You
obviously see that the witnesses accuse You of many things.”
But, Jesus refused to act in
response to them. The Greek text tells us, “Pilate admired Him.”
Now, at Passover, it was
traditional for Pilate to release on Jewish prisoner. Pilate himself decided which prisoner to
release.
Among those who could be
released was a man named Barabbas. He
was a murdering thief who committed insurrection.
Oddly enough Barabbas means
“son of a father.”
That “son of a father” would
be set free in exchange for the life of the “Son of The Father.”
At the public trial, the
They knew that they were
calling for the death of Christ Jesus, and yet they shouted out with
enthusiasm, “Let His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matt 27:25).
That was a low point in
Jewish history, but a necessary point!
The Jews had to reject their Messiah in order for Gentiles to be a focus
of the Pauline Doctrine and salvation. Please keep in mind that those things,
no matter how loathsome to us, had to happen.
Pilate asked the assembled
mob, “Whom should I release? Should I
release the King of the Jews?”
Pilate put it that way,
because he knew about the Priests’ envy of Christ. The mob did as Pilate knew they would. The
Priests admonished the people to cry out for Barabbas.
So, Pilate asked, “What would
you have me to do with the one ye, ‘you all,’ call the King of the Jews?”
Their response was
predictable, “Crucify Him!”
They had no pity on the One
who would later have pity on them.
When Pilate asked, “Why, what
has He done?”
They shouted louder, “Crucify
him!”
Spiritual depravity knows no
bounds!
We may hold ourselves in high
esteem, but before coming to the knowledge of Christ’s salvation, our depravity
also knew no bounds.
At that, Pilate willing
released Barabbas to the mob, and delivered Jesus to be beaten in a perversity
known as scourging him. After that came the crucifixion.
The soldiers led Christ away
to Praetorium Hall where the entire Roman Praetorium waited to beat Him.
Christ’s scourging was not
the clinical sanitary mild beating many assume it to be. It was brutal beyond anything we have seen,
or imagined.
The soldiers of the
Praetorium first attempted to insult all Jews by dressing Christ in a purple
cloak. Then, they further insulted
Judaism by placing a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head.
Lastly, they mocked Him and all
Jews by shouting, “Hail, King of the Jews!:
They hit Him on the head with
a reed (Gr. kalamoo-kalamw), or measuring rod. Remember, His head had a crown of
thorns. They spit on him, and pretended to worship Him by bowing to Him. Today
many with churches just pretend to worship Christ. They are no better that the Roman soldiers
who crucified Him.
Mark 7:6 He
answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as
it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far
from me.
Isa 29:13
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their
mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from
me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
When they finished their
mockery, they removed his purple robe and replaced it with His own clothes.
Then, they led him out to be crucified.
Mark 15:21-39
21 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the
country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
22 And they bring him unto the place
23 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon
them, what every man should take.
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE
JEWS.
27 And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the
other on his left.
28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the
transgressors.
29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah,
thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the
scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let Christ the King of
33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land
until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?
35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth
Elias.
36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and
gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to
take him down.
37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried
out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Along the route to the place
of crucifixion, they forced a man, Simon of Cyrene, whom many today assume to
be a sub-Saharan African to carry the cross.
When the entourage arrived at
“
As the soldiers crucified
Christ, they took His clothes and cast lots to see who would win them.
About the third hour they
crucified him, or nailed Jesus to the cross. Above the crucified Christ they
placed a sign: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
The Romans crucified two thieves
alongside Christ. One was placed on his right hand and the other on his left.
That was done so the
scripture was fulfilled, which said, “And, He was numbered with the
transgressors.”
Those present at the
crucifixion taunted Christ Jesus. As they passed by they shouted insults at
him, and wagged their heads. They challenged the King of glory saying, “You
claimed that if the
Even those great men of
Jewish virtue, the chief priests, mocked Jesus along with their scribes,
saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ the King
of Israel come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.”
They looked on, but did not
see. They listened to Him but did not hear what He said. Instead, they
crucified and loathed Him.
At the sixth hour, there was
darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (from noon until 3PM).
At about 3 PM, Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” Meaning, “My God, my
God, why have You forsaken me?”
Many have falsely used Hab
1:13 to explain God’s “forsaking” Christ Jesus as He hung on the cross.
Hab 1:13
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:
wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy
tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
“Forsaken” (Gr. egkatelipes-egkatelipeV) means to
abandon. However, Hab. 1:13 uses a Hebrew
colloquialism/idiom and refers to God condoning sin. It has nothing to do with
Him “looking at” sinful acts.
If God cannot “look at”
sinful acts, he cannot “look at” the earth. But He will not condone sin! However, Christ Jesus was not left without
faith in the promise the Father gave Him.
John 10:18
No man taketh it {His life} from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father.
As Christ hung there on the
cross, some who heard what He said thought that He cried out to Elijah.
A soldier one ran and filled
a sponge with vinegar (Gr. oxous-oxouV), a mixture of sour wine and vinegar. He put it on a rod, and gave to Jesus saying,
“Let alone.” Literally the soldier said,
“Give up and die.” He also told Christ,
“So we may see if Elijah will come to take You down!”
The last thing spoken to Him
was a vulgar challenge from a Gentile heathen!
Jesus cried with a loud
voice, and died!
In that, Christ set in motion
the last steps offering salvation to all who would believe!
At that moment, the veil of
the temple covering the opening into the Holy of Holies was ripped from the top
to the bottom.
And, when the centurion, who
guarded Christ Jesus saw that He cried out, and died, he said, “Truly this man
was the Son of God.”
Finally, a truthful statement
came from His killers.
Mark 15:40-47
40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;)
and many other women which came up with him unto
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the
day before the sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the
kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of
Jesus.
44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the
centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen,
and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone
unto the door of the sepulchre.
47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Some of the women who
followed Christ came to the crucifixion.
They stood, looking on from a distance, but they were close enough for
Jesus to see and speak to them. Among
them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the lesser, and Joses.
Another woman Salome was there as were many other women who came with Him into
John was the only Apostle in
attendance.
John 19:25-27
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he
loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that
disciple took her unto his own home.
Plans for the burial had to
be made hastily. The day of the
crucifixion was the day prior to the Passover.
It was the day that the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the
Passover had multiple
Sabbaths. It consisted of a preparation day, Passover, the feast of unleavened
bread, and the feast of firstfruits.
That was followed by the first of the traditional Sabbaths leading to
Pentecost.
Joseph of Arimathaea, a
member of the Sanhedrin boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of
Jesus. Pilate was astounded by the sudden death. So, he called the chief
Centurion to ask if it Jesus had, in truth, died after just a few hours.
The centurion confirmed
Jesus’ death and gave Jesus’ body to Joseph of Arimathaea.
Joseph of Arimathaea bought
fine linen, and took Jesus down from the cross, and wrapped him in the linen. They
laid him in a tomb which was hewn out of a rock with a stone rolled a over the
door of the tomb.
Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of Joses saw where Jesus’ body was placed.