Chapter Fifteen

1–15. Christ on trial before Pilate. – 16–25. Mockery of Christ, leading Him to Golgotha, the crucifixion. – 26–41. At the Cross. Death of Christ. – 42–47. The burial of Christ.

Mark 15:1. Immediately in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin held a consultation and, binding Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. (See Matt 27:1-2). The evangelist Mark throughout this entire section (verses 1–15) speaks only about what is most important, leaving it to the readers themselves to fill in what is not stated. “Immediately.” The trial of Christ had to be concluded as quickly as possible, because by evening all the leaders, the chief priests and others, had to partake of the Passover and a complete rest from all work would begin.

Mark 15:2. Pilate questioned Him: Are you the King of the Jews? And He answered him: You say it. Mark 15:3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things. Mark 15:4. And Pilate again questioned Him: Do you answer nothing? See how many accusations they bring against you. Mark 15:5. But Jesus answered them nothing, so that Pilate marveled. Mark 15:6. At every festival he released for them one prisoner whom they requested. Mark 15:7. There was one named Barabbas, in custody with the rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. Mark 15:8. And the crowd began to cry out and asked Pilate to do for them what he always did. Mark 15:9. He answered them: Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? Mark 15:10. For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him out of envy. Mark 15:11. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask that he release Barabbas for them instead. Mark 15:12. Pilate, answering, said to them again: What then do you want me to do with the one you call the King of the Jews? Mark 15:13. They cried out again: Crucify him! Mark 15:14. Pilate said to them: What evil has He done? But they cried out even more insistently: Crucify him! Mark 15:15. Then Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. (See Matt 27:11-26). “Accused Him of many things” (verse 3). See what these accusations were in John 18:29 and following; Luke 23:2. “At every festival” (verse 6). The custom of releasing prisoners on the occasion of a festival apparently was not limited to the Passover alone (just as Matthew, John the evangelist mentions only the Passover but does not exclude the possibility of release at other festivals—John 18:39). “Barabbas, with the rebels...” (verse 7). The evangelist Mark makes a fairly detailed comment about Barabbas. He was some sort of conspirator who had formed a whole band of rebels and even during the uprising he had produced, committed murder. And according to the law of Moses, death was required for murder (Exod 21). “And asked Pilate about that” (verse 8), that is, that he do what he always did for them.

Matthew 27:17. “King of the Jews” (verse 9). So the evangelist Mark has Pilate call Christ (cf. Mt.27:17, where Pilate names Jesus “called Christ”), probably in order to show the people how unnatural it is for them to request the death of their own king, although, from Pilate’s perspective, he had no lawful basis for his claims. Perhaps Pilate used both expressions in his dispute with the people—both “Christ” and “King of the Jews”—which is why the evangelists differ here from one another. “Wishing to satisfy the crowd” (verse 15). This comment of the evangelist Mark gives a characterization of Pilate as a weak ruler who could not stand firm in his conviction but, out of a desire to please the mob, violated the demands of his inner conscience.

Mark 15:16. And the soldiers led Him away inside the courtyard, that is, into the praetorium, and called together the whole cohort; Mark 15:17. and they dressed Him in a purple cloak and, braiding a crown of thorns, put it on Him; Mark 15:18. and began to salute Him: Hail, King of the Jews! Mark 15:19. And they struck Him on the head with a reed, and spat on Him, and, kneeling down, bowed to Him. Mark 15:20. And when they had mocked Him, they removed the purple cloak from Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. Mark 15:21. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the field, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry His cross. Mark 15:22. And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which means: the place of a skull. Mark 15:23. And they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. Mark 15:24. And those who crucified Him divided His garments, casting lots for them to see what each should take. Mark 15:25. It was the third hour, and they crucified Him. (See Matt 27:27-34). “They led Him inside the courtyard, that is, into the praetorium” (verse 16). The evangelist Mark explains this expression, which would not be entirely clear to his readers, by means of the latter term. The praetorium, or residence of the procurator, was at that time probably located in the fortress of Antonia, near the temple area, to the northwest. “And they compelled a passerby...” (verse 21). The evangelist Mark adds to Matthew’s note (Matt 27:32) that Simon was coming from the field and was passing by the procession going to Golgotha. But the evangelist does not say what Simon was doing in the field. Perhaps he was not working, but merely inspecting it; or perhaps he was working. In the latter case, one would have to assume that the Passover rest had not yet begun. According to the common interpretation, Simon was returning precisely from work. Furthermore, the evangelist Mark mentions that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Clearly, these two individuals were well known to the readers of the Gospel, Roman Christians, and perhaps Rufus is the very same Rufus whom the apostle Paul mentions in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom 16:13). “Wine mixed with myrrh” (verse 23). This substance, when mixed into wine, imparted stupefying properties to it. The Lord did not accept such wine because He wished to die in a state of full consciousness. In the evangelist Matthew, the thought seems somewhat different: Christ did not wish to drink vinegar mixed with bitter gall (Matt 27:34), precisely because of the bad taste of the wine (cf. Ps 68:22). But both motives for Christ’s refusal of the offered wine could have coincided in this case. “It was the third hour” (verse 25). The evangelist Mark is not altogether precise in determining the hour of crucifixion here; in fact it was the sixth hour, as is evident from the Gospel of John, written after the Gospel of Mark, apparently for the purpose of supplementing and correcting certain chronological inaccuracies found in the Synoptics (John 19:14). Therefore, some ancient interpreters, for example, Jerome, said that in the Gospel of Mark there occurred an error: a copyist placed the letter γ – “three” – instead of the letter ς – “six”. Others added to the phrase “the third hour” the particle ὡς – “as it were”, “approximately”. But that Christ could not have been crucified at the third, that is, in our reckoning the ninth hour of the morning, this, it seems, requires no proof: so many events had taken place before this time from “morning”, when the high priests gathered a second time for consultation (verse 1).

Mark 15:26. And there was an inscription of His charge: King of the Jews. Mark 15:27. And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left. Mark 15:28. And the Scripture was fulfilled: “and he was reckoned among the transgressors”. Mark 15:29. Those passing by reviled Him, shaking their heads and saying: Ah! you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Mark 15:30. save yourself and come down from the cross. Mark 15:31. Likewise the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him to one another, saying: He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Mark 15:32. Let Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now so that we may see and believe. And those who were crucified with Him also reviled Him. Mark 15:33. And when the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. Mark 15:34. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? – which means: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Mark 15:35. Some of those standing nearby heard this and said: Look, He is calling for Elijah. Mark 15:36. And someone ran, filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink, saying: Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down. Mark 15:37. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, breathed His last. Mark 15:38. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Mark 15:39. When the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said: Truly this man was God’s Son. Mark 15:40. There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome, Mark 15:41. who, when He was in Galilee, followed Him and ministered to Him, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. (See Matt 27:35-56). “And they crucified Him” (verse 25). Instead of this expression, in some manuscripts there stands the expression: “and they guarded Him” (ἐφύλασσον αὐτόν). Since “crucifixion” of Christ is already mentioned in verses 23–24, it seems best to accept the latter reading. The soldiers were guarding Christ so that His friends would not steal Him from the cross. With this statement, the evangelist Mark begins his account of what took place while the Lord hung on the cross. “And the Scripture was fulfilled...” (verse 28). In many respected manuscripts this verse does not exist. Modern critics also consider it inconsistent with the character of the Gospel of Mark to cite fulfilled prophecies. But one may suppose that the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah, from which this prophecy is taken (Isa 53:12), was well known also to Christians from the Gentiles (cf. Acts 8:32). “Ah!” (verse 29; in Greek – οὐᾶ, in Latin – vah) is used only here. This is a mocking exclamation. “My God! My God!..” (verse 34). If in the evangelist Matthew Christ asks in the words of the psalm why God abandoned Him (ἵνα τι), then in Mark His words sound as an exclamation: “to what (εἰς τί) have You abandoned me!” This is an exclamation of anguish: “to what condition have You brought Me!” “One: gave it to Him to drink, saying...” (verse 36). According to the evangelist Mark, this soldier was repeating what the others said (Matt 27:49). Thus, by forcing Christ to drink the repugnant vinegar, he thereby intensified His suffering and at the same time indicated that no Elijah would now protect the crucified from the mockery of the soldiers nor save Him from death. “The centurion: seeing that He, having cried out...” (verse 39). The last word “cried out” is not found in very many respected manuscripts. It actually only obscures the meaning of the statement, since it gives reason to think that the centurion was moved to faith in Christ only by His loud cry (κράξας). But with the shorter reading the meaning of the verse is clear: the centurion was affected by the fact that Christ “breathed His last in such a way” (οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν), that is, amid such marvelous signs as, for example, darkness and an earthquake (Matt 27:45). “James the younger” (verse 40) – more correctly: “James the small” (in the Greek text μικροῦ is placed rather than νεωτέρου). “Salome”. The evangelist Mark by this name apparently refers to the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Matt 27:56), John and James (cf. Matt 20:20). If we take John 19:25 into account, we can conclude that Salome was the sister of the Mother of God.

Mark 15:42. And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Mark 15:43. Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Sanhedrin, who was also waiting for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Mark 15:44. Pilate wondered whether He was already dead, and calling to him the centurion, he asked him whether He had been dead for some time. Mark 15:45. And when he learned from the centurion that it was so, he granted the body to Joseph. Mark 15:46. He bought a linen shroud, and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the shroud, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mark 15:47. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where He was laid. (See Matt 27:57-61). “Because it was the day of Preparation” (verse 42). The evangelist Mark explains why Joseph is in haste to accomplish the burial of Christ. Evening was already approaching on Friday, there remained only two or three hours until the beginning of the Sabbath, when by the law no work could be done anymore, not even the taking down from the cross. Moreover, the beginning of the Sabbath was in this year the beginning of the Passover feast, and this made it all the more necessary to hurry to finish all work. “Respected” (verse 43) – more correctly: “a man of high standing and well-regarded” (εὐσχήμων). “Member of the Sanhedrin”. This expression is a distinct epithet. It means a member of the Sanhedrin. “Was waiting for the kingdom of God” – the kingdom of the Messiah, but, probably, as a glorious, external, political kingdom. The important thing, in any case, is that it was not only the lower classes of the people who sympathized with the new Teacher, but also prominent people. “Took courage”. The evangelist Mark alone notes this characteristic of Joseph’s character. What he feared was probably less Pilate than his own colleagues in the Sanhedrin, who certainly would not have forgiven him his intercession for Christ, even when this intercession concerned only the right of Christ to a proper burial. “Pilate wondered...” (verse 44). The crucified sometimes suffered on the cross for several days, and therefore Pilate’s wonder is natural. * * * G. A. Kholmovskii (“Christian Reading”, 1910, Jan., pp. 41–42) finds incorrect the translation of the centurion’s exclamation given in our Russian text. According to this translation the centurion confessed Christ as “the Son of God”, that is, the Only-Begotten, as shown by the fact that in our translation these two words are printed with capital letters. But it is hardly possible to suppose that a pagan centurion would suddenly rise to such an understanding of the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Mr. Kholmovskii translates this exclamation as: “In truth, this man was the son of some god!”