Mark 15
BSASBJesus is handed over to Pilate, condemned though innocent, mocked, and crucified between two robbers. He dies with a loud cry, the temple veil is torn, and a Roman officer confesses Him as the Son of God. A respected man, Joseph of Arimathea, then buries Him while the women watch.
Mark 15:1
After a night of hearings, the whole Jewish council agrees on its course and hands Jesus to the Roman governor. Only Rome could carry out an execution, so they bring a religious charge in political form. Jesus is bound and passed from one authority to another.
BSA: handed (“delivered, surrendered”): Jesus is not merely transferred; He is surrendered into the power of others.
Greek: παρέδωκαν (paredōkan, G3860) — “they handed over, delivered up.” This word keeps returning for Jesus: He is handed over by Judas, by the leaders, and by Pilate. Elsewhere the New Testament uses it of the Father giving up His Son for us.
See also: Romans 8:32.
Mark 15:2
Pilate cares only about one question: is Jesus a rival king to Caesar? Jesus does not deny it, but His answer is guarded. He is King, though not in the sense Pilate fears.
BSA: You have said so (“it is as you say”): Jesus accepts the title as true, while leaving Pilate to understand it in his own way.
Mark 15:3-5
The chief priests pile up accusations, and Jesus will not defend Himself. His silence astonishes the governor, who must have seen many prisoners plead for their lives. Jesus is not helpless; He is choosing the road He came to walk.
See also: Isaiah 53:7.
Mark 15:6-7
Pilate had a custom of freeing one prisoner at the feast, Passover. Barabbas was in prison as a rebel and murderer. His name means “son of the father,” which is striking, since the true Son of the Father now stands beside him.
BSA: Barabbas (“a son of the father, a Jewish insurrectionist”): His name sounds like a title, setting him as a false deliverer beside the true Son of the Father.
Mark 15:8-10
The crowd asks for the usual release, and Pilate offers Jesus, hoping to avoid condemning Him. He can see through the leaders’ motive. They are not guarding the law; they are jealous of a man the people follow.
BSA: envy (“jealousy, spite”): The root of the hatred was wounded pride, not zeal for God.
Mark 15:11
The chief priests work the crowd, urging them to ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus. The crowd that welcomed Jesus days before is now being swayed by its leaders. Here is the first picture of exchange: the guilty goes free, the innocent is taken.
BSA: instead (“rather, as a substitute”): Barabbas goes free in Jesus’ place, a living picture of what the cross does for sinners.
See also: 1 Peter 3:18.
Mark 15:12-14
Pilate asks twice what to do with Jesus and then asks what crime He has committed. No answer comes, only louder shouting. The cry for crucifixion has nothing to do with evidence. Pilate himself keeps declaring, by his questions, that Jesus is innocent.
BSA: Crucify (“to impale on a cross, to execute”): They ask for the cruelest Roman penalty, reserved for slaves and rebels.
Mark 15:15
Pilate chooses popularity over justice. He frees Barabbas, has Jesus flogged, and sends Him to be crucified. Roman flogging was savage, using a whip with bone and metal, and often left men near death before they were nailed up.
BSA: flogged (“whipped, scourged”): This was a brutal beating that tore the back open, not a light punishment.
Greek: φραγελλώσας (phragellōsas, G5417) — “having scourged.” Mark takes this word from the Latin language of the soldiers. It names the Roman whip itself, a reminder that this suffering was inflicted by a worldwide empire, not just a local dispute.
Mark 15:16-17
The whole cohort gathers in the governor’s headquarters to play a cruel game. They dress Jesus as a king: a purple robe, a crown made of thorns. They are mocking Him, yet they are dressing the true King without knowing it.
BSA: purple (“royal, valuable”): Purple was the colour of rulers, so the robe makes the joke obvious.
Greek: στέφανον (stephanon, G4735) — “wreath, crown.” This is the wreath of a victor or emperor, not a jeweled royal diadem. The soldiers parody the laurel crown given to Caesar, and the thorns recall the curse of the fallen ground.
See also: Genesis 3:18.
Mark 15:18-19
The soldiers copy the salute given to Caesar, “Hail!”, then strike and spit on the one they honour in jest. They even kneel. Without knowing it they act out a truth: every knee will one day bow to Him in earnest.
See also: Philippians 2:10-11.
Mark 15:20
When the sport is over, they take off the purple and put His own clothes on Him before leading Him to execution. Having endured the mockery, Jesus goes on to the cross with open eyes, as the One who came to give His life.
See also: Mark 10:45.
Mark 15:21
Weakened by the beating, Jesus cannot carry the crossbeam. The soldiers seize a passing man from Cyrene, in North Africa, and make him carry it. Mark names his sons, probably because his readers knew them. Simon unwillingly carried a cross that others would later take up willingly.
BSA: forced (“compelled, impressed”): Simon was pressed into service; he did not choose this.
Greek: ἀγγαρεύουσιν (angareuousin, G29) — “they press into service.” This word comes from the system by which an official could compel any bystander to do a task. Simon, a stranger, is drafted without warning.
See also: Mark 8:34.
Mark 15:22
They bring Jesus to Golgotha, “the Place of the Skull,” probably named for its shape or for its use as a place of execution. It lay outside the city walls. Here the Son of God comes to the lowest, most shameful ground.
See also: Hebrews 13:12.
Mark 15:23
Wine mixed with myrrh was offered to dull pain, a mercy sometimes given to the condemned. Jesus refuses it. He chooses to face the cup of suffering with a clear mind, and to bear all of it for us.
BSA: myrrh (“a fragrant resin, used for pain relief”): This drink would have eased the agony, which makes His refusal deliberate.
Mark 15:24
Mark states the crucifixion in just a few words, with no description of the pain. The soldiers then gamble for Jesus’ clothing, which was their usual share. They treat the dying King as a source of spoils, and so fulfil an old psalm without knowing it.
See also: Psalm 22:18.
Mark 15:25
Mark notes the hour: the third hour, about nine in the morning. He marks time through these hours carefully, as if to say that every part of this day was seen and ordered, and that these events truly happened.
BSA: third (“nine in the morning”): Jewish reckoning counted from sunrise, so the third hour is mid-morning.
Mark 15:26
A crucified man usually carried a board stating his crime. For Jesus it read, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Meant as an insult to the Jews and a warning to rebels, it becomes the truest statement of the day.
Greek: ἐπιγραφή (epigraphē, G1923) — “inscription, written notice.” Mark uses the word for the written statement of a charge. The only charge on Jesus’ cross is His kingship.
Mark 15:27
Two robbers are crucified with Jesus, one on each side. The King is placed in the criminal’s company, a place Scripture long before said the Servant would take. Some Bibles add a verse 28 here, but the oldest manuscripts do not include it.
See also: Isaiah 53:12.
Mark 15:29-30
Passers-by shake their heads and mock, using His reported words about the temple. They think He is helpless. Their challenge to come down is meant as a taunt, but Jesus stays because He is saving others and not Himself.
BSA: save (“rescue, deliver from harm”): They ask Him to rescue His own body, missing that His staying is the rescue of many.
See also: Psalm 22:7.
Mark 15:31-32
The religious leaders mock Him too, and without realizing it they speak a deep truth: He saved others, and He cannot save Himself and still save others. They demand a sign before believing, yet the greatest sign is about to come in the tomb.
BSA: Christ (“the Anointed One, Messiah”): They use the very title that marks Him as God’s chosen King, in scorn.
Mark 15:33
From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness covers the land. Light fails in the middle of the day as God’s Son suffers. Scripture often uses such darkness as a sign of judgment and of the world’s grief at its sin.
BSA: darkness (“absence of light, spiritual gloom”): The darkness is more than weather; it expresses the weight of what is happening.
See also: Amos 8:9.
Mark 15:34
Jesus cries out in Aramaic, using the opening words of Psalm 22. He feels the full weight of bearing sin. How to describe what happened between the Father and the Son is deep, but the cry is real, and it is the cry of the One who takes our place.
BSA: forsaken (“abandoned, left behind”): Jesus tastes real abandonment, the separation that sin brings.
Greek: ἐγκατέλιπές (enkatelipes, G1459) — “you have left behind, abandoned.” The word means to leave someone in a hard place, in the hands of the enemy. It is a strong, painful word for being left.
See also: Psalm 22:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Mark 15:35-36
Some bystanders think He is calling Elijah, who was expected to come before the Lord’s day. Someone offers sour wine on a reed, partly in mercy and partly in mockery. They wait for a rescue that they think will not come.
BSA: sour wine (“vinegar, a type of sour wine”): This was the cheap, sharp drink of common soldiers and workers.
See also: Psalm 69:21.
Mark 15:37
Jesus cries out loudly and dies. A dying man by crucifixion usually faded out through exhaustion, but Jesus gives up His life with a strong voice. His death is an act, not simply something done to Him.
BSA: breathed (“yielded, gave up”): He yields up His life willingly; it is not wrested from Him.
Greek: ἐξέπνευσεν (exepneusen, G1606) — “breathed out, expired.” The word is quite literally “out-breathed.” Mark uses a plain, physical word to insist that Jesus truly died.
See also: John 10:18.
Mark 15:38
At the moment of His death, the curtain in the temple tears from top to bottom. This is the veil that screened the Most Holy Place. Being torn from the top shows that God Himself opened the way. Access to God is no longer closed.
BSA: veil (“curtain, partition”): It was the barrier between sinful people and God’s holy presence.
Greek: ἐσχίσθη (eschisthē, G4977) — “was split, torn apart.” Mark used the same verb for the heavens being torn open at Jesus’ baptism. At each end of His ministry, heaven breaks open toward us.
See also: Hebrews 10:19-20; Mark 1:10.
Mark 15:39
A Roman centurion, who has overseen many executions, watches how Jesus dies and confesses that He is the Son of God. The first human confession after the cross comes from a Gentile soldier. Mark’s whole book has been leading to these words.
BSA: centurion (“a Roman military officer”): This was a hardened professional, an unlikely witness, and so his words carry weight.
Greek: κεντυρίων (kenturiōn, G2760) — “centurion, commander of about a hundred soldiers.” Mark uses a Latin word here, written in Greek letters. It fits a book written with Roman readers in mind.
See also: Mark 1:1.
Mark 15:40-41
Women who had followed and served Jesus in Galilee watch from a distance. They stay when many of the men have fled. Their loyal care is quietly noted, and it prepares them to be the first witnesses of what comes next.
BSA: ministered (“served, attended to His needs”): They had supported Him in practical ways through the whole journey.
See also: Luke 8:2-3.
Mark 15:42-43
It is Friday evening, and the Sabbath is near, so burial must happen quickly. Joseph of Arimathea, a respected council member who longed for God’s kingdom, steps forward. He risks his name and standing to ask Pilate for the body.
BSA: waiting (“expecting and looking forward to”): Joseph was a man of hope, who believed God’s rule would truly come.
Greek: τολμήσας (tolmēsas, G5111) — “having dared.” The word means he summoned the courage to act at real risk. A man who had stayed quiet now steps out openly.
See also: Luke 23:50-51.
Mark 15:44-45
Pilate is surprised that Jesus died so soon, since crucifixion normally took longer. He asks the centurion to confirm it before releasing the body. This careful check shows that Jesus’ death was real and certain.
BSA: dead (“had died, passed away”): Death is confirmed by an official witness, leaving no doubt.
Mark 15:46
Joseph takes the body down, wraps it in fine linen, and lays it in a new rock-cut tomb, closing it with a stone. Jesus is buried with honour, in a rich man’s tomb, as the prophet foretold. The burial shows that He died and was truly laid in the grave.
BSA: tomb (“sepulcher, grave”): It was a real burial place, which makes the resurrection that follows a real emptying of it.
See also: Isaiah 53:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
Mark 15:47
Two of the women see where Jesus was laid. They are watching, so that they will know the place on the third day. Their quiet faithfulness makes them reliable witnesses that the tomb they later find empty is the same tomb.
BSA: saw (“to see, to discern, to behold”): They looked carefully, taking note of the exact place.