Jesus Delivered to Pilate
Following the story of Peter’s denial, Mark turns...
Following the story of Peter’s denial, Mark turns back to Jesus and what happened at his trial. Pilate’s wavering under pressure fits what is known of him from other sources.
1Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin† devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.
2So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
Pilate sought a self-defense from Jesus concerning the...
Pilate sought a self-defense from Jesus concerning the charges.
3And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.
4Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!”
5But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply.
The Crowd Chooses Barabbas
(Matthew 27:15–23; Luke 23:13–25)
The custom described in 15:6–8 is not known...
- The custom described in 15:6–8 is not known outside of the Gospels, but all four Gospels refer to it (Matt 27:15–21; Luke 23:18–25; John 18:37–40); in many instances prisoners in the ancient world were released on special holidays.
- Barabbas: See also Matt 27:16–17; Luke 23:19.
- who had committed murder in an uprising: Pilate’s willingness to release Barabbas (Matt 15:15) probably indicates that he had not killed Roman citizens or soldiers.
6Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people† a prisoner of their choosing. 7And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom.
Pilate apparently hoped to release Jesus, but the...
Pilate apparently hoped to release Jesus, but the crowd was stirred up beyond discussion.
9“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. 10For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.
11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.
Pilate Delivers Up Jesus
12So Pilate asked them again, “What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?”
13And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!”
14“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
15And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
(Isaiah 50:4–11; Matthew 27:27–31; Luke 22:63–65; John 19:1–15)
The crucifixion account is one of the most...
The crucifixion account is one of the most historically certain accounts of ancient history. Why would the early church create a story in which the object of their faith was crucified? This story was and still is an offense to Jews and absurd nonsense to Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23).
16Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. 17They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. 18And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
19They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. 20After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.
The Crucifixion
(Psalms 22:1–31; Matthew 27:32–44; Luke 23:26–43; John 19:16–27)
After they left the walled city of Jerusalem,...
- After they left the walled city of Jerusalem, Jesus’ strength apparently failed. The Roman soldiers forced Simon . . . from Cyrene in northern Africa to carry Jesus’ cross (cp. Matt 5:41). Normally, a crucifixion victim was forced to carry the horizontal crossbeam (the patibulum) of his own cross to the place of execution. The vertical post (the staticulum) was sometimes left permanently in the ground as a warning and deterrent (like a hangman’s scaffold in a public square).
- Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus, who were probably known to Mark’s readers (cp. Rom 16:13).
- Golgotha is Aramaic, meaning Place of the Skull. In the Latin Vulgate, “skull” is calvariae (“Calvary”). In Jesus’ day, Golgotha lay outside the walled city of Jerusalem (John 19:20; see Matt 27:32; Heb 13:12). When Herod Antipas later enlarged the city with the so-called third wall, Golgotha was enclosed.
21Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
22They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull. 23There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.
24And they crucified Him. They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take.†
25It was the third hour† when they crucified Him. 26And the charge inscribed against Him read:
27Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers,† one on His right and one on His left.†
Jesus was being mocked and abused by the...
- Jesus was being mocked and abused by the people passing by, the religious leaders, and the revolutionaries.
- The people passing by shouted abuse (literally blasphemed), wagged their heads in contempt (see Lam 2:15), and ridiculed his claim that he would destroy the Temple (see Mark 14:58).
29And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save Yourself!”
31In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! 32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him.
The Death of Jesus
(Psalms 22:1–31; Matthew 27:45–56; Luke 23:44–49; John 19:28–30)
33From the sixth hour until the ninth hour† darkness came over all the land. 34At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”†
The Aramaic term Eloi and its Hebrew equivalent...
The Aramaic term Eloi and its Hebrew equivalent Eli (Matt 27:46) sound sufficiently close to “Elijah” that some bystanders thought that Jesus was calling out for the prophet Elijah to rescue him (see Mal 4:5).
35When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.”
36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine.† He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink,† saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”
37But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. 38And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
39When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last,† he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
These women had supplied some of Jesus’ economic...
- These women had supplied some of Jesus’ economic needs (see Luke 8:2–3). They were also present at the burial (Mark 15:47) and the empty tomb (16:1–8) and would be the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.
- Mary Magdalene, from the village of Magdala near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, was a key figure in the resurrection accounts (16:1, 9; Matt 28:1; Luke 24:10; John 20:1, 11–18).
- Mary (the mother of James the younger): This James might have been James the son of Alphaeus (Mark 3:18).
- Salome is mentioned only here and in Mark 16:1.
40And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses,† and Salome. 41These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.
The Burial of Jesus
(Isaiah 53:9–12; Matthew 27:57–61; Luke 23:50–56; John 19:38–42)
42Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath),
Joseph of Arimathea (possibly from the village of...
Joseph of Arimathea (possibly from the village of Ramathaim, twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem) was an honored member of the high council and a secret disciple of Jesus who was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come (see Matt 27:57; Luke 23:50–51; John 19:38). He courageously requested the body of Jesus from Pilate for burial. Since he was a member of the high council and was not known to be Jesus’ disciple, it served Rome’s purposes to grant his request: It would satisfy Jewish concerns about leaving the dead exposed after sunset (Deut 21:22–23), and Jesus’ disciples would not receive the body.
43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.
44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. 45When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
46So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph† saw where His body was placed.