ROMAN JUSTICE (15:1-20). Mark's concern in this narrative is to bring out that there was not really any serious political charge against Jesus, and that that was recognised by the Roman governor, with the result that when he allowed Him to be crucified it was only at the behest of the Jewish leader... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council, held a consultation and bound Jesus and carried him away and delivered him up to Pilate.' This parallels Jesus original bringing before the High Priest in Mark 14:53. Once daybreak came the whole San... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answering says to him, “You say it.” ' They informed Pilate that Jesus was making Himself out to be the King of the Jews. This title was a loaded one and implied that He was therefore planning rebellion, for many insurrectionists had tak... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the chief priests accused him of many things.' The Chief Priests, after at first prevaricating, listed their charges. Luke 23:2 gives examples. ‘Perverting the nation', ‘forbidding the giving of tribute to Caesar', ‘calling Himself the Messiah, a king'. All this had nothing to do with the main... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate asked him saying, “Do you answer nothing? See how many things they accuse you of.” But Jesus no longer made any reply insomuch that Pilate marvelled.'' Jesus' silence did more to convince Pilate of His innocence than any protest. He was experienced enough to recognise the special pleadi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they asked of him. And there was one called Barabbas lying bound with those who had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had killed.' The custom of releasing an as yet unconvicted prisoner at the Passover seems to have been Pil... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the crowd went up and began to ask him to do as he was wont to do to them.' The crowd began to ask him to fulfil his custom and make the customary release. But from where did this crowd come? Not from among the pilgrims who had kept the Passover, and having eaten their meal would be resting and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate answered them saying, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” For he realised that the chief priests had delivered him up out of envy.' In his desire to release Jesus Whom he recognised as innocent, and possibly overhearing the name ‘Jesus' being mentioned by the crowds... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But the chief priests stirred up the crowd that he should rather release Barabbas to them.' The crowd that had arrived seeking the release of Barabbas now gained the support of the Chief Priests, who had now realised that Pilate was making a concession to their demands and that they were winning.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate again answered and said to them, “What then shall I do to him whom you call the king of the Jews?” ' Note the continual repetition of the title, ‘the king of the Jews' by Pilate. In his experience people who had borne that title had been popular with the people. So Pilate possibly hoped... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they again cried out, “Crucify him”. This cry could only first have arisen from the enemies of Jesus. To them it was the perfect solution. Pilate had played into their hands. And later they would be able to blame the patriotic crowd for what happened. By this they stained the Jews forever with... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” ' Pilate's reply suggests that he was taken by surprise. Knowing the Jews and their obstinacy and patriotic fervour he had expected a demand for a further release. He could not understand their vindictiveness against this man whom he clearly s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Pilate, wishing to make the crowd content, released to them Barabbas and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.' By now Pilate had given up on any idea of justice. His only desire was to pacify this crowd that had suddenly become so fired up, and if it meant the life of an... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the soldiers led him away within the court which is the Praetorium, and they call together the whole band, and they clothe him with purple, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him, and they began to salute him, “Hail, king of the Jews”. And they smote his head with a reed, and spat on... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the purple, and put on him his own clothes. And they lead him out to crucify him.' Such was the justice and the treatment He received on earth. As had been prophesied long before, ‘By oppression and judgment He was taken away' (Isaiah 53:8). They... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CRUCIFIXION (15:20-39). It must have come as a huge anti-climax to those who heard this story for the first time when they learned that this One Who had done such good and had taught so well should now be in a position of being led off to be crucified. We know the story so well that we take it... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them that he might bear his cross.' It was normal that the condemned man, in the middle of a square of four soldiers, should carry the crosspiece on which he was to be crucified... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted ‘the place of a skull'.' There is no mention in the Gospels of a hill, but the site would be outside the city walls (Hebrews 13:12) and on a road leading in so that passers by might see and take warning. There may have been a sku... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh and he did not receive it.' Theophrastus and Pliny both mention the custom of mixing wine with myrrh, but here the purpose was probably to dull the senses so that the extreme pain might be somewhat relieved. The Talmud later mentions this custom (based... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they crucify him and part his clothes among them, casting lots on them what each should take.' ‘They crucify Him.' When they had reached the site they took the crosspiece and nailed Jesus hands to it. The crosspiece was then attached to the upright post and the feet loosely bound, and sometime... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it was the third hour and they crucified him.' The third hour would be roughly nine o'clock in the morning, reckoning twelve hours in the day from dawn, but time was not accurately calculated and he probably meant ‘about three hours had passed since dawn and it was mid-morning'. More important... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.' This superscription, written in black letters on a board smeared with white gypsum, named the criminal and what he was accused of, and would have been carried in front of Him on the way to the cross, and in accordanc... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And with him they crucify two brigands, one on his right hand and one on his left.' All the Gospels, including John, stress that Jesus was in the middle between two brigands. It identified Him as one of them. Mark sees this as symbolic, probably having in mind ‘He was numbered with the transgresso... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And those who passed by railed on him, wagging their heads and saying, “Ha, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross.” ' The crosses would be in a public place by the roadside so that passers by would see them clearly and take warning. Deris... [ Continue Reading ]
‘In the same way also the chief priests, mocking him among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let the Messiah the king of Israel now come down from the cross that we may see and believe.” ' This was the second charge mentioned at His examination, that He wa... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And those who were crucified with him reproached him.' If they knew of Him, and they probably did, they possibly now felt bitter that He had chosen His own way and not theirs. If only He had added His popularity to theirs they might have made a better job of the insurrection. Their failure was thu... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when the sixth hour was come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.' Jesus had now suffered on the cross for three hours when a great darkness came over the land. This may have been caused by a black sirocco, a violent desert wind sweeping in the sands of the desert, blac... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The words, here almost certainly cited in Aramaic, were quoted from Psalms 22:1. But while that may be, something extra was required to draw t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “See, he calls Elijah.” ' We know that Elijah was later looked on as the one who could be called on in time of religious need. It would appear from this that the idea may already have been prevalent. Or perhaps they saw the cry as a call fo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And one ran, and filling a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed and gave him it to drink, saying, “Let be. Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down.” ' Previously the soldiers present had offered Him sour wine in mockery (Luke 23:36). This may thus be the continuation of the mockery.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus, having uttered a loud cry, breathed his last.' The loud cry was ‘it is finished', followed by the quieter, “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.” (John 19:30; Luke 23:46). The loud cry was remembered by all, contributing as it did to the eeriness of the occasion. It is possible... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.' Matthew links this event with an earthquake, ‘the earth quaked and the rocks were torn' (Matthew 27:51). There were two veils in the Temple. The one which covered the entry to the Holy Place and the other which separated the Ho... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when the centurion who stood opposite him saw that he so (cried out and) breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God”.' The awesome events on that day had produced their own effects in the centurion in charge of the guard. And when he saw the way that Jesus died he cried out... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome, who when he was in Galilee ministered to him, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.' The mention of the women is in preparatio... [ Continue Reading ]
LAYING JESUS TO REST (15:40-47). The women who had ministered to Jesus and His disciples were gathered at the cross. It is impossible to imagine the feelings in their hearts as they saw the figure of their beloved Master hanging on the cross. But they were determined to wait it out to the end, and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when evening was now come, because it was the preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath.' Note the use of ‘paraskeue' which can mean Friday specifically or the day of preparation before a special Sabbath. Here it means Friday the day before the normal Sabbath (compare John 19:14 where it... [ Continue Reading ]
‘There came Joseph of Arimathea, a councillor of honourable standing, who also himself was looking for the Kingly Rule of God, and he boldly went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate was amazed that he was already dead, and calling to him the centurion he asked him whether he had... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. And he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.' Joseph was aided in his efforts by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin who brought myrrh and aloes fo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.' The women had not ceased their vigil. When Jesus died they waited still by the cross, and when the two great men of the Sanhedrin arrived with their servants they must have watched, wondering what would now happen. They wou... [ Continue Reading ]