Mark 15:1-15
1–15. THE TRIAL BEFORE THE PROCURATOR Matthew 27:1-26; Luke 23:1-3; Luke 23:18-25 John 18:28-40; John 19:4-16... [ Continue Reading ]
1–15. THE TRIAL BEFORE THE PROCURATOR Matthew 27:1-26; Luke 23:1-3; Luke 23:18-25 John 18:28-40; John 19:4-16... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΙΉΣΑΝΤΕΣ ([3347][3348][3349][3350][3351][3352][3353][3354]) rather than ἑτοιμάσαντες ([3355][3356][3357]) [3347] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. T... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣῪ ΕἾ Ὁ ΒΑΣΙΛΕῪΣ ΤΩ͂Ν ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ; The question is identical in all four. The Jews themselves say “King of Israel” (Mark 15:32), but to Pilate they would say “King of the Jews.” The σύ is emphatic and expressive of surprise; He certainly did not look like one who would claim kingly power. For ἀποκριθεὶ... [ Continue Reading ]
3. [3358][3359][3360][3361][3362][3363][3364][3365] omit αὐτὸς δὲ οὐδὲν�. [3358] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911. [3359] Codex Al... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΓΗΓΟΡΟΥ͂ΣΙΝ ([3366][3367][3368][3369][3370]) rather than καταμαρτυροῦσιν ([3371][3372][3373][3374][3375][3376]). [3366] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photo... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ΚΈΤΙ ΟΥ̓ΔΈΝ. Again a double negative; Lk. omits οὐκέτι. The accusations were false, like those before the Sanhedrin, and Christ did not reply to them in either case. The proceedings are more intelligible when we learn from Jn that in private Christ explained to Pilate that His Kingdom was not of... [ Continue Reading ]
ὋΝ ΠΑΡΗΙΤΟΥ͂ΝΤΟ ([3377][3378][3379][3380][3381][3382]) rather than ὅνπερ ᾐτοῦντο ([3383]c[3384]3[3385][3386][3387][3388][3389]). Ὅσπερ occurs nowhere in N.T. [3377] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. T... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΤΑΣΙΑΣΤΩ͂Ν ([3390][3391][3392][3393][3394][3395][3396]) rather than συνστασιαστῶν ([3397][3398]). [3390] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimil... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΑΒΆΣ ([3399][3400][3401] rather than ἀναβοήσας ([3402][3403][3404][3405][3406]). [3407][3408][3409] omit ἀεί. [3399] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photogra... [ Continue Reading ]
ΘΈΛΕΤΕ�. We have the same constr. Mark 10:36; Mark 10:51; Mark 14:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΊΝΩΣΚΕΝ. _He was becoming aware_. Pilate was shrewd enough to see that there was violent _animus_ against Jesus and that the charges against Him were untrue. Jewish leaders were not likely to resent a Rabbi’s being hostile to Rome: they were quite capable of resenting the success of a rival Teache... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΔῈ�. It was the hierarchy, and neither Pilate nor the people, who first suggested Barabbas. We are not told what means they used to change the attitude of the people towards Jesus. But the citizens far outnumbered the Galilean pilgrims, and with the city mob Barabbas may have been a sort of hero,... [ Continue Reading ]
12. [3410][3411][3412][3413][3414] omit θέλετε. [3410] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911. [3411] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but pe... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΔῈ ΠΆΛΙΝ ἜΚΡΑΞΑΝ. This does not mean that they had previously asked him to crucify Jesus. They had previously asked him to free Barabbas (Mark 15:11), and now they make _another_ request. Or πάλιν may merely mean in _reply_ to Pilate, in which case πάλιν = “thereupon.” Their reply was made with t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΕΡΙΣΣΩ͂Σ ([3415][3416][3417][3418][3419] rather than περισσοτέρως ([3420][3421]), which occurs nowhere in the Gospels. [3415] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ἹΚΑΝῸΝ ΠΟΙΗ͂ΣΑΙ. _Satisfacere_, a Latinism found in Polybius and other late writers, but nowhere else in N.T., and perhaps nowhere in LXX. Pilate is cowed and becomes the henchman of the hierarchy. ἈΠΈΛΥΣΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΙ͂Σ Τ. ΒΑΡΑΒΒΑ͂Ν, ΚΑῚ ΠΑΡΈΔΩΚΕΝ Τ. ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Ν. This contrast is in all three Synoptists... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΔῈ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩ͂ΤΑΙ. Some of the troops under the command of the Procurator, brought to Jerusalem to maintain order during the Feast. Again we have δέ to mark a change of subject; see on Mark 7:24; Mark 10:32; Mark 14:1; Mark 15:16. ἜΣΩ ΤΗ͂Σ ΑΥ̓ΛΗ͂Σ. This implies that the scourging had been inflicted... [ Continue Reading ]
16–20 A. THE MOCKERY BY PILATE’S SOLDIERS Matthew 27:27-31; John 19:2-3... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝΔΙΔΎΣΚΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ΠΟΡΦΎΡΑΝ. Double acc. both here and Mark 15:19. Cf. Luke 16:19 of Dives. Mt. for πορφύραν has χλαμύδα κοκκίνην, Jn has ἱμάτιον πορφυροῦν. All three mean some bright coloured garment to represent a royal robe; See on John 19:2-3 and cf. the Gospel of Peter iii. 7. There are paral... [ Continue Reading ]
ΧΑΙ͂ΡΕ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥ͂ ΤΩ͂Ν ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ. The soldiers are playing at _Ave Caesar_ and mingling brutal outrage with it. In the Gospel of Peter the formula is “Judge righteously, O king of _Israel_,” and the title on the cross is “This is the king of Israel”; see on Mark 15:32. Lk., having given the mockery by... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΘΈΝΤΕΣ ΤᾺ ΓΌΝΑΤΑ. Possibly a Latinism; _ponentes genua_. Cf. Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60. Note the imperfects.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤᾺ ἹΜΆΤΙΑ ΑΥ̓ΓΟΥ͂ ([3422][3423][3424][3425]) rather than τ. ἱμ. τὰ ἴδια ([3426][3427][3428][3429][3430]). [3422] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel,... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΓΓΑΡΕΎΟΥΣΙΝ. Originally a Persian expression of impressing people into serving the couriers of the Great King (Hdt. viii. 98), similar to the _cursus publicus_ in the Roman Empire. Cf. _operae publicae_ and the French _corvée_. But papyri and other evidence show that as early as B.C. 250 the word w... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΈΡΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ. This may mean that He was so exhausted that the soldiers had to carry Him for the remainder of the way (Mark 1:32; Mark 2:3); but it probably means “bring, conduct” (Mark 7:32; Mark 8:22; Mark 9:17; Mark 9:19; Mark 11:2; Mark 11:7). Latin versions have _perducunt, adducunt, duxerunt... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΔΊΔΟΥΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι. _They offered Him_ (R.V.). “They tried to give Him”; the conative imperf. Cf. ἐκωλύομεν αὐτόν (Mark 9:38). Mt., as often, has the aor. where Mk has the imperf., and in this case is less accurate. ἘΣΜΥΡΝΙΣΜΈΝΟΝ ΟἾΝΟΝ. Wine medicated with myrrh and perhaps other drugs, to act as an an... [ Continue Reading ]
23–32. THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE FIRST THREE HOURS Matthew 27:34-44; Luke 23:33; John 19:18-26... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΤΑΥΡΟΥ͂ΣΙΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ. All the Evangelists pass over the horrors of the process of crucifixion in reverent silence. There is no attempt to excite emotion by detailing them. We have no means of determining whether our Lord’s feet were nailed or tied, for Luke 24:39 is not decisive. In the Gospel of Pete... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΝ ΔῈ ὭΡΑ ΤΡΊΤΗ. Mk alone gives this note of the hour, which creates a difficulty with John 19:14, where the _Ecce Homo_ is placed at the sixth hour. Suggestions of a false reading in either place may be rejected, and forced interpretations of plain language are unsatisfactory. The least unsatisfact... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἦ Ἡ ἘΠΙΓΡΑΦῊ ΤΗ͂Σ ΑἸΤΊΑΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ ἘΠΙΓΕΓΡΑΜΜΈΝΗ. A _titulus_, stating the crime for which he was to suffer, was commonly fastened to the criminal’s neck before he was taken to execution, but we lack evidence as to its being fastened to the cross. The space above the head would be likely to be used in... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΎΟ ΛΗΙΣΤΆΣ. _Two robbers_ (R.V.); see on Mark 11:17; Mark 14:48. They may have taken part in the insurrection in which Barabbas had shed blood; but no hint is given of any such connexion. More probably they were bandits, and may have been some of those who caused the road from Jerusalem to Jericho... [ Continue Reading ]
28. [3442][3443][3444][3445][3446]3[3447][3448][3449] omit the verse, also k Syr-Sin. The. [3442] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΠΑΡΑΠΟΡΕΥΌΜΕΝΟΙ. Syr-Sin. omits. Cicero (_In Verr._ v. 66) says that public places along the highways were chosen for crucifixions; that the sufferers might serve as scares to criminals and warnings to passers by. The executed were treated as vermin, nailed to a tree or door. To this public place... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΩ͂ΣΟΝ ΣΕΑΥΤΌΝ. These words are in all three. Lk. attributes them to the soldiers, who may have caught them from the passers by. They are the gibe of men who discredited Christ’s wonderful works. If it was really true that He could raise the dead, of course He could come down from the cross.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ� … ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΩ͂Ν ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΈΩΝ. On such a day, the eve of the Passover and of the Sabbath, these priests and scribes must have come on purpose to mock. Judges capable of striking and spitting at their Prisoner (Mark 14:65) would be equally capable of making derisive remarks in His hearing. They talk _at... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ. Alluding to His declaration before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:62). Ὁ ΒΑΣΙΛΕῪΣ ἸΣΡΑΉΛ. Alluding to the title on the cross. It is probably from this expression (Mk, Mt.) that the Gospel of Peter gets the idea that the wording of the title was “This is the King of _Israel_.” Jews would say “of... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΓΕΝΟΜΈΝΗΣ ([3450][3451][3452][3453][3454][3455]) rather than γεν. δέ ([3456][3457][3458][3459][3460]) See on Mark 1:14. [3450] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16... [ Continue Reading ]
33–41. THE LAST THREE HOURS AND THE DEATH Matthew 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:29-30... [ Continue Reading ]
34. For ἐγκατέλιπες, [3461] has the surprising reading ὠνίδισας: d, however, has _dereliquisti_. But c has _exprobrasti_, i has _in opprobrium dedisti_, k[3462] _maledixisti_. See Burkitt in _J.T.S._ I. p. 278; Nestle, p. 266. [3461] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side w... [ Continue Reading ]
ἨΛΕΊΑΝ ΦΩΝΕΙ͂. This is ironical and means “The helpless Messiah wants the Messianic Forerunner to come and help Him,” or, more simply, “wants Elijah to succour Him.” It is said that Elijah was regarded as the helper of the helpless.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΕΜΊΣΑΣ ΣΠΌΓΓΟΝ ὌΞΟΥΣ. Lk. omits this, having mentioned at an earlier stage that the soldiers mocked Him by offering Him ὄξος, _i.e._ the _posca_ or sour wine provided for them, and possibly for the sufferers. The sponge and the stalk may have been ready for the latter purpose, or the sponge may hav... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΦΕῚΣ ΦΩΝῊΝ ΜΕΓΆΛΗΝ. The recurrence of the verb is purely accidental. The great cry is in all three Synoptists, and it shows that Christ did not die merely of exhaustion. ἘΞΈΠΝΕΥΣΕΝ. The change from imperfects to aorists is accurate. No Evangelist says that Christ “died”; He gave up His life by an a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ΚΑΤΑΠΈΤΑΣΜΑ Κ.Τ.Λ. All three mention the portent of the rending of the Temple-veil, about which we have no further information. Possibly the Evangelist regards it as the Temple rending its clothes in grief for the death of the Messiah, a death which sealed its own doom, _lamentans excidium loco i... [ Continue Reading ]
39. [3463][3464][3465][3466] omit κράξας after οὕτως. [3463] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911. [3464] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent.,... [ Continue Reading ]
40. [3467][3468][3469] omit ἦν after ἐν αἷς. [3467] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911. [3468] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perha... [ Continue Reading ]
41. [3470][3471][3472] omit καί after αἵ, while [3473][3474][3475][3476] retain καί and omit αἵ. [3470] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile,... [ Continue Reading ]
ὈΨΊΑΣ. A vague word, here used of the time between 3.0 p.m. and sunset. ἘΠΕῚ ἮΝ ΠΑΡΑΣΚΕΥΉ. This is pointed out by Lk. also. The Sabbath began at sunset, and there must be no delay. If Joseph had not been prompt, Christ’s enemies would have had His Body put, with those of the two robbers, into the gr... [ Continue Reading ]
42–47. THE BURIAL Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ�. The site of Arimathaea is unknown. It has been identified by some with Ramah, the birthplace and burial-place of Samuel. Its full name was Ramathaim-zophim, “Double Height of the Watchers” (Stanley, _Sin. and Pal._ p. 224). The ἀπό suggests that Joseph had ceased to reside at Arimathaea, and his... [ Continue Reading ]
ἬΔΗ� ([3477][3478] rather than πάλαι�. ([3479][3480][3481][3482] etc.). Change to avoid repetition. [3477] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, endin... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΤΩ͂ΜΑ ([3483][3484][3485][3486] rather than σῶμα ([3487][3488][3489][3490][3491][3492][3493]). [3483] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile,... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΘΗΚΕΝ ([3494][3495][3496]2[3497][3498] rather than κατέθηκεν ([3499][3500][3501][3502][3503][3504][3505]), the more usual verb. [3494] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΈΘΕΙΤΑΙ ([3506]c[3507][3508][3509][3510][3511][3512][3513] 33) rather than τίθεται ([3514][3515]). [3506] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimi... [ Continue Reading ]