Mark 15

Mark 15:1-20

**5. JESUS BEFORE PILATE 15:1-20

TEXT 15:1-20**

And straightway 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. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering saith unto him, Thou sayest. And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate asked him, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they accuse thee of. But Jesus no more answered anything; insomuch that Pilate marvelled. Now at the feast he used to release unto them one prisoner, whom they asked of him. And there was one called Barabbas, lying bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. And the multitude went up and began to ask him to do as he was wont to do unto them. And Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate again answered and said unto them, What then shall I do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. And Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out exceedingly, Crucify him. And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called 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 did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him, And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the purple, and put on him his garments. And they led him out to crucify him.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 15:1-20

Why were the Jews so anxious to bring Jesus before Pilate?

If they had already condemned Jesus why hold another consultation?

Are we to understand from the little expression the whole council in Mark 15:1 that the whole council was not present at the first meeting?

Why ask about the Lordship of Jesus?

What did the answer of Jesus mean to Pilate?

Of what did the chief-priests accuse Jesus? (Please remember Jesus is before Pilate not Caiaphas)

Why didn-’t Jesus give answer to the accusations of the chief priests?

The marvelling of Pilatewas it an ordinary thing for this governor of Judea? Why did he marvel?

What feast was about to be held? Cf. Mark 15:6.

What purpose was served in releasing a prisoner during the feast?

Please mark how completely Barabbas was guilty of everything of which Jesus was accused.

What interest did the multitude have in the release of a prisoner?

Did Pilate believe Jesus was the actual King of the Jews?

Pilate knew the real motive for the arrest of Jesuswhat is meant by the expression for envy the chief priests had delivered Him up?

What do you imagine the chief-priests would say to the multitude to stir them up?

Cf. Matthew 27:1-2; Matthew 27:11-26. Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-40; John 19:1 to get a complete record of all the events. Pilate put forth a real effort to save Jesusindicate three attempts.

What was the great sin of Pilate?

Why scourge Jesus? What was involved?

Where was the trial before Pilate held?

Why call together the band or cohort?

Was it customary to mock prisoners? Who did the mocking?

Discuss the details of His sufferingshow how appropriate the method of mockery was as related to His suffering for us as the King of glory.

*COMMENT

Time.*Friday morning, April 7, A.D. 30, between five and nine o-‘clock.

*Place.*The last and formal condemnation of the Sanhedrim, described in Luke 22:66-71, was probably in their usual council chamber, called Gazith, at the southeast corner of one of the courts of the temple; or else in a hall near the gate Shusan, close by the temple. The trial before Pilate was either in the tower of Antonia, near the temple, or at Herod’s palace, on the northern brow of Mount Zion.

Parallel Accounts.Matthew 27:1-2; Matthew 27:11-26; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-40; John 19:1.

ORDER OF EVENTS AT CHRIST’S TRIAL BEFORE PILATE:

Second session of the Sanhedrim (Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1).

First application to Pilate (John 18:28-32).

Formal accusation before Pilate (Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:1-2).

First colloquy between Christ and Pilate (John 18:33-38; Mark 15:2.)

Acquittal; further charges; Christ’s silence (Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 15:3-5; Luke 23:4-5).

Case sent to Herod (Luke 23:6-12).

Before Pilate again. Formal acquittal (Luke 23:13-16).

Jesus or Barabbas (Matthew 27:15-18; Mark 15:6-10).

Message of warning from Pilate’s wife (while people are deciding) (Matthew 27:19).

Barabbas chosen. Cries to Crucify him! (Matthew 27:20-22; Mark 15:11-13).

Efforts of Pilate to save Jesus (Matthew 27:23; Mark 15:12-14).

Pilate washes his hands (Matthew 27:24-25).

Sentence of crucifixion (Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24-25).

Scourging and mockery (Matthew 27:26-30; Mark 15:16-19; John 19:1-3).

Further efforts to save Jesus (John 19:4-16).

Led away to be crucified (Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20).

*Outline.*1. The Lord Sent to Pilate. 2. Barabbas or Christ. 3. The Lord Delivered to be Crucified.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE LORD SENT TO PILATE, Mark 15:1-5.

The Sanhedrim Delivers Jesus. Mark 15:1; Matthew 27:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28.

The King of the Jews. Mark 15:2; Matthew 27:11.

As a Lamb before his Shearers. Mark 15:3-5; Matthew 27:11; John 19:9; Isaiah 53:7.

II.

BARABBAS OR CHRIST, Mark 15:6-11.

The Custom of the Feast. Mark 15:6; Matthew 27:15; Luke 23:17; John 18:39.

Barabbas the Murderer. Mark 15:7.

Pilate’s Offer to Release Christ. Mark 15:9; Matthew 27:15; Luke 23:17; John 18:39.

Barabbas Chosen, Mark 15:11; Matthew 27:20; Acts 3:14.

III.

THE LORD DELIVERED TO BE CRUCIFIED, Mark 15:12-20.

Pilate Importuned to Crucify Christ, Mark 15:12-24.

Jesus Scourged. Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:26; John 19:1.

Jesus Mocked. Mark 15:16-20; Matthew 27:27-32; Luke 23:26.

INTRODUCTION

Though the Sanhedrim had condemned Jesus to death on the charge of blasphemy, they had no power to carry out the sentence and were compelled to carry their prisoner to Pilate, the Roman governor, to secure his sanction. There they charge him with being a malefactor, and Pilate directs them to take him and judge him themselves. As they cannot inflict a capital punishment they bring the charge of sedition; and Pilate, re-entering the judgment hall, and calling Jesus, examines him as to his Messianic claims. Satisfied that he is innocent, Pilate goes out and affirms that he finds no fault in him. The Jews renewing their accusations, to which Jesus makes no reply, and mentioning Galilee, Pilate sends him to Herod, who was then at Jerusalem; but Jesus refuses to answer his questions, and is sent back to Pilate. The latter now resorts to another expedient. He seats himself upon the judgment-seat, and calling the chief priests and elders, declares to them that neither himself nor Herod had found any fault in him. According to custom, he would release him. But the multitude, beginning to cry that he should release Barabbas, not Jesus, he leaves it to their choice. During the interval, while the people were making their choice, his wife sends a message to him of warning. The people, persuaded by the priests and elders, reject Jesus and choose Barabbas, and Pilate makes several efforts to change their decision. At last he gives orders that Jesus be scourged previous to crucifixion. This was done by the soldiers with mockery and abuse, and Pilate, going forth, again takes Jesus and presents him to the people. The Jews continue to demand his death, but upon the ground that he made himself the Son of God. Terrified at this new charge, Pilate again takes Jesus into the hall to ask him, but receives no answer. Pilate strives earnestly to save him, but is met by the cry that he is Caesar’s enemy, Yielding to fear, he ascends the tribunal, and, calling for water, washes his hands in token of his innocence, and then gives directions that he be taken away and crucified.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

THE LORD SENT TO PILATE.

Mark 15:1. In the morning the chief priests held a consultation. This was the meeting of the Sanhedrim described by Luke as held at the dawn, to ratify formally what had been done before with haste and informality. The circumstances under which its members had been convened at the palace of Caiaphas sufficiently show that the legal forms, which they were so scrupulous in observing, had not been complied with. The law forbidding capital trials in the night had been broken; the place of session was unusual, if not illegal; perhaps the attendance, so early after midnight, had not been full. On these accounts it was expedient that a more regular and legal sitting should be held as early in the morning as was possible. For a full account of this meeting see Luke 22:65-71. Carried him away. While the Sanhedrim had power to try those charged with capital offenses, it had no power to execute the sentence of death. It is generally agreed that from the time Judea became a Roman province the authority to punish capitally had been taken away from the Jewish tribunals. Shortly after the death of Herod the Great, Judea was annexed to the great Roman province of Syria, and governed by deputies called Procurators, the fourth of whom was Valerius Gratus, and the fifth Pontius Pilate, appointed in the thirteenth year of Tiberius. Like his predecessors and successors in that office, he resided commonly at Caesarea, but attended at Jerusalem during the great festivals, in order to preserve the peace.

Mark 15:2. Pilate asked him. The Jews, carefully suppressing the religious grounds on which they had condemned our Lord, had advanced against him a triple accusation of, (1) seditious agitation; (2) prohibition of the payment of the tribute money; and (3) the assumption of the suspicious title of King of the Jews (Luke 23:2). This last accusation amounted to a charge of treasonthe greatest crime known to Roman law. Of the three points of accusation, (2) was utterly false; (1) and (3), though in a sense true, were not true in the sense intended. Art thou the King of the Jews? The question is asked because the Jews charged that he made such claims. Pilate may well have been perplexed. Christ had claimed to be King; promulgated laws; organized in the heart of Caesar’s province the germ of an imperishable kingdom; entered Jerusalem in triumph, hailed by the throng as King of the Jews; and his arrest had been forcibly resisted by one of his followers. These facts a wily priesthood could easily pervert and exaggerate so as to give color to their accusation. Thou sayest. This is not to be taken as a doubtful answer, but as a strong affirmation, The answer of defense of Jesus (John 18:34-38) is that he is King, but that his kingdom is not of this world, therefore (it is inferred) the perversion of the people was not a rebellion that threatened the Roman government. The defense was complete, as Pilate admits; I find no fault in him (Luke 23:4). This is Pilate’s first emphatic and unhesitating acquittal (John 18:38).

Mark 15:3. Chief priests accused him. Pilate’s public decided acquittal only kindled the fury of his enemies into yet fiercer flame. After all that they had hazarded, was their purpose to be foiled by the intervention of the very Gentiles on whom they had relied for its bitter consummation?Farrar. Of many things. Some are given in Luke 23:2-5 (see under Mark 15:2). Answered nothing. He had already explained to Pilate the nature of his kingdom, and satisfied him that he is innocent of sedition; after that he keeps silence. He will answer honest perplexity, but not willful slander.

Mark 15:5. Pilate marveled. Convinced as Pilate was of the innocence of Christ, he was all the more at a loss to understand the forbearance with which he maintained such sublime silence,Meyer.

II. BARABBAS OR CHRIST.

Mark 15:6. At that feast he released unto them one prisoner. It was a Greek and Roman custom to release prisoners on birthdays of rulers and festive occasions, a custom still followed by rulers. On the jubilee of her coronation, Queen Victoria ordered the prisons of India to be opened. This custom had been introduced into the subject provinces of the Roman Empire and at the passover a prisoner was released in Jerusalem.

Mark 15:7. There was one named Barabbas. Matthew says he was a notable prisoner. Barabbas was plainly a ringleader in one of those fierce and fanatic outbreaks against the Roman domination, which fast succeeded one another in the latter days of the Jewish commonwealth. Committed murder. In this particular insurrection blood had been shed, and apparently some Roman soldiers had been killed. Note particularly the Revised Version here. It is remarkable that this man Barabbas was confessedly guilty of the very crime with which the priests and rulers had falsely charged Jesusthat of sedition; and no plainer proof of their hypocrisy could be given to the watchful Pilate than their efforts to release the former and condemn the latter.

Mark 15:8. The multitude. began to desire him. Note the wording in the New Version. The mob of the city, pouring from street and alley in the excited Oriental fashion, came streaming up the avenue to the front of the palace, shouting for this annual gift. The cry was for once welcome to Pilate, for he saw in it a loophole of escape from his disagreeable position.Stalker.

Mark 15:9. Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? The events may be thus arranged: Pilate presents to the people the twoJesus and Barabbasbetween whom they were to choose. A little interval followed, during which he received his wife’s message. He now formally asks the people whom they wished to have released (Matthew 27:21; Mark 15:9; Luke 23:16-18). They answer, Barabbas, Pilate, hoping that by changing the form of the question he could obtain an answer more in accordance with his wishes, says What shall I do, then, with Jesus, which is called Christ? (Matthew 27:22; Mark 15:12). To this they reply, Let him be crucified. His use of the term, the King of the Jews, was probably an attempt to enlist the patriotic feeling of the multitude on the side of the prisoner.

Mark 15:11. Chief priests moved the people. They dared not openly apprehend him, for fear of the people; but, taking him secretly and surrendering him with all the appendages of a culprit guilty of something, the people are induced to consider him as a deceiver and blasphemer and traitor. Doubtless the friends of Jesus were mostly absent, frightened away by this fearful revolution, or ignorant of what was in progress, since not more than six hours had passed since Jesus was seized, and those hours of darkness.

III. THE LORD DELIVERED TO BE CRUCIFIED.

Mark 15:12. What .. . then that I shall do unto him. That he did not permanently protect him, rose partly from his character, and partly from his past history as procurator. Morally enervated and lawless, the petty tyrant was incapable of a strong impression of righteous firmness, and besides, he dreaded complaints at Rome from the Jewish authorities, and insurrections of the masses in his local government.Geikie. Do unto him. This is remarkable; since it shows that Pilate made, so to speak, a second offer. He was called upon by the people to release one prisoner only at the festival; but his question implies, that, even after their declared preference of Barabbas, he was willing to leave the fate of the man to their decisionCook.

Mark 15:13. Cried out again. There had been various outcries of the people; and with this fresh outburst of fury there was the demand for death.

Mark 15:14. Then Pilate said unto them, Why what evil hath he done? The question attested the judge’s conviction of the innocence of the accused, but it attested also the cowardice of the judge. We find from Luke 23:22, that he had recourse to the desperate expedient of suggesting a milder punishment, chastising, i.e., scourging; but the suggestion itself showed his weakness. Pilate sought to satisfy all; the people, by releasing him; the priests and elders, by chastising him; and himself, by delivering him from death. But he satisfied none.

Mark 15:15. Willing to content the people. Observe the pitiful vacillation of a man, devoid of all principle or conscience of duty. Pilate is willing to release Jesus (Luke 23:20), and Pilate is also willing to content the people. Heaven and hell strive in his bosom for the mastery and the latter gains the victory.

Mark 15:16. Led him into the hall called Praetorium. The Praetorium, translated hall of judgment, was the headquarters of the Roman military governor, wherever he happened to be. The whole band. The whole band, or cohort, which was gathered to join in the mockery, was the tenth part of a legion, embracing from there three to six hundred men.

Mark 15:17. Clothed him in Purple. A kind of round cloak, which was confined on the right shoulder by a clasp, so as to cover the left side of the body, worn by military officers, and called paludamentum. Those of the emperors were purple. This cloak or robe, called by Matthew scarlet, is by Mark called purple. The two colors blend into each other, and the words are interchangeable. Platted a crown of thorns. Made of a plant similar to the cactus. What crown could have been imagined for our King Jesus which should have so exactly suited him as this crown of thorns? He who came to obtain for us the blessing bears what the curse-laden earth brings forth, being made a curse for us.

Mark 15:18. Hail, king of the Jews. The king of the Jews, the title which he had assumed, and which these soldiers, like their commander, thought supremely ridiculous, as borne by such a person. It has been well observed that, as the Jews especially derided his prophetic claims, so the Romans mocked at his regal pretensions.

Mark 15:19. Smote him on the head. The blow of the reed would have been too light to inflict much pain upon any other part than the head, and there it would aggravate the pain of the thorns. Spit upon him. As their excitement increased, they spat upon him, following the example of the chief priests (Mark 14:65). It is remarkable that during the whole of this treatment Christ offered no resistance, and uttered no wordhe who with a glance of his eye could have scathed them into ashes.

Mark 15:20. Put his own clothes on him. He was thus mocked, not in his own clothes, but in another’S, to signify that he suffered not for his own sin. Led him out. That is, from the city; the place of execution was without the city walls (Hebrews 13:12). Quesnel says: He suffered without the gate, in order to show us that we are not to expect sanctification by the sacrifices offered within that city; and that he died, not for the Jews only, but for all mankind. Hebrews 13:11-14. After the mocking, and before the royal robes were taken off, we have to insert the account which John gives (John 19:4-5) of Pilate’s last attempt to rescue the just Man whom he had unjustly condemned. He showed the silent Sufferer in the mock insignia of royalty, as if asking them, Is not this enough? The cries of Crucify him! were but redoubled; and once again the cowardly judge took his place in the official chair, and passed the final sentence.

FACT QUESTIONS 15:1-20

Please read again the order of events at Christ’s trial before Pilate.

What was Pilat’s first reaction to the charge of the Jews that Jesus was a malefactor?

Why send Jesus to Herod?

When did Pilate’s wife send him a message? What did it say?

What was terrifying in the charge that Jesus made Himself the Son of God?

What was the cry that caused Pilate to deliver Jesus to be crucified?

What laws (name two) were broken in the first meeting of the council?

When did Pilate begin his rule?

What was the triple accusation against our Lord? Show how they were false.

How had the wily priesthood perverted the facts so as to perplex Pilate?

What was the defense of Jesus that satisfied Pilate that he was innocent? Cf. John 18:34-38.

Pilate’s public decided acquittal only kindled the fury of his enemieswhy?

Some things Jesus would answersome things he would notwhat were they?

Where had the custom of releasing prisoners originated?

Give three facts about Barabbas.

What cry of the multitude was far more welcome to Pilate? Why?

Why ask the second questionwhat shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?

Where were the friends of Jesus? Why were they absent?

Why didn-’t Pilate permanently protect Jesus if He was innocent?

What statement of Pilate shows his cowardice?

Read Luke 23:22 and tell what desperate expedient Pilate attempted to use.

Show how heaven and hell strove in the bosom of Pilatewhich won? Why?

What is the meaning of Praetoriumwhere was it?how many men joined in the mockery of Jesus?

What is meant by clothed Him in Purple?was the robe purple or scarlet?

Show how very appropriate it was for Jesus to wear the crown of thorns.

What was the estimation of Pilate and the soldiers of the title King of the Jews? Why?

Why didn-’t Jesus offer resistance to the ridicule?

Is there some significance in that Jesus suffered in someone else’s clothes?

What was the final attempt of Pilate to release Him? Describe it in your own words.

**SUMMARY

14:5315:15**

If Jesus had been arrested on some charge of criminal conduct, and if his trial and sentence had been marked by the due forms of justice, these facts would have detracted somewhat from the force of the evidence of his innocence. But the proceedings connected with his arrest and condemnation by the Sanhedrim, and those by which the sentence of death was procured from Pilate, furnish evidence in favor of his claims. It is only when justice is to be perverted, and the innocent condemned, that men resort to practices so corrupt. Though false witnesses were purposely employed in his trial before the Sanhedrim, and though their testimony when presented was contradictory, still the high priest pretended that it contained evidence of guilt (Mark 14:57-60). Not willing, however, to rest the case on this testimony, Jesus was then called on to testify in his own case, and though his answer was merely a repetition of what he had claimed for himself from the beginning, on this he was pronounced worthy of death (Mark 14:61-64). After thus condemning him on a false charge of blasphemy, they went before Pilate with an entirely different charge, that of disloyalty to Caesar, a charge of which they had special reasons to know that he was not guilty (Mark 15:1-2; comp. Mark 12:13-17). Pilate was now subjected to the alternative of either vindicating the cause of justice, or giving success to the iniquitous prosecution of Jesus. He knew that the chief priests had accused him through envy (Mark 15:10), and he openly proclaimed that he could find no evil in his conduct (Mark 15:14); yet, to content the people, he released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus to be crucified (Mark 15:15). Thus the condemnation and the sentence of Jesus, viewed merely in the light of Mark’s account, contain unmistakable proofs that they were brought about by the employment of such measures, and such only, as are employed in the condemnation and death of innocent persons. (J. W. McGarvey)

Mark 15:16-47

SUMMARY 15:1616:20

This closing section of Mark, like the corresponding section in Matthew, contains two proofs of the divinity of Jesus. The first is found in the darkness that covered the earth during three hours of his suffering. It is common, when we would make a comparison to indicate the impossibility of an undertaking, to say that you may as well attempt to blot the sun from the heavens. But this, God did, in effect, when the noonday sun was shining on the dying agonies of Jesus. It was accomplished by no natural eclipse, for the moon was on the opposite side of the globe (the moon was always full at the Passover); but it was done by the simple fiat of Jehovah. No stroke of His almighty hand since the sun was created has been more wonderful. It finds its only conceivable explanation in the fact that Jesus was dying. Was Jesus, then, an imposter? Or was he, what he claimed to be, the Son of God? Let a man stand, by imagination, for three hours amid that awful gloom, as did the Roman centurion, and then answer the question. But the crowning proof in the grand series which Mark has presented, is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. No power but God’s could have raised him from the dead, and this power could not have been exerted in behalf of a pretender. That he was raised from the dead, then, is proof demonstrative that he was all that he claimed to bethe Christ, the Son of the living God.

It has sometimes been admitted, that to prove so extraordinary an event as the resurrection of one from the dead, would require most extraordinary evidence; and certainly it would in the case of any ordinary person; but in the case of Jesus, who had wrought so many miracles in proof of his divinity, who had repeatedly declared that he would arise from the dead, and who had died amid the most astounding manifestations of the divine displeasure toward his murderers, his resurrection was an event most reasonably to be expected, and it ought to be believed on the most ordinary testimony. Indeed, after having lived as he did, and having died as he did, his failure to arise from the dead would have been the most astonishing circumstances in his wonderful career. Such a life ending in the unbroken slumber of the grave, would have been an everlasting puzzle to the world. But such a life, followed by a glorious resurrection from the dead, attains a fitting consummation, and rounds out to completeness the most extraordinary personal history known in the annals of earth or heaven. The proofs of this event, furnished by Mark, are briefly thesethat an angel appeared to a company of women in the empty sepulcher, and told them that Jesus had arisen; that he himself appeared alive that morning to Mary Magdalene; that he appeared the same day to two male disciples as they walked into the country; that he appeared afterward to the eleven as they sat at meat; and that, having given them a commission to preach salvation through him to every creature, he ascended up to heaven, and subsequently worked with the disciples by signs following, as they went everywhere preaching the Gospel. Closing his testimony in the midst of a world which at the time of his writing was being filled with these last-mentioned signs, and which was still able to disprove by living witnesses all that he had written, if it were not true, he laid his pen aside, and sent forth his graphic narrative to challenge contradiction, and to do its part in the regeneration of mankind. We thank God that it has lived and come down to us; and as we pass it on to generations which shall come after us, we smile to think of the blessings it will bear to millions yet unborn, and of the undimmed radiance with which every sentence in it will shine when the sun shall have been blotted out forever, and the harvest of God shall all be gathered in. (J. W. McGarvey)

Mark 15:21-39

**6. JESUS CRUCIFIED 15:21-39

TEXT 5:21-39**

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. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two robbers: one on his right hand, and one on his left. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reproached him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah. And one ran, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down. And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 15:21-39

Who compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross?

Cf. Luke 23:26some feel Simon carried the cross with Jesuswhat do you think?

Are we to conclude Simon was a negro?

Why mention that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus?

Why was Simon of Cyrene coming to Jerusalem?

How far was the cross carried?a mile? less than a mile? More than a mile?

Why call the place of crucifixionGolgotha?

What was the purpose of offering the wine and myrrh? Who offered it to Him? (Please read the parallel accounts.) Matthew 27:34.

Why didn-’t Jesus drink the potion offered?

Are we to understand that since four garments and the robe were taken from our Lord that He was crucified without any covering? Cf. Matthew 27:35; John 19:23; Luke 23:34.

Did they cast lots for all the garments?

Please read the four versions of the superscription (l) Matthew 27:35 (2) Mark 15:26 (3) Luke 23:38 (4) John 19:16how shall we account for this difference? (please remember in how many languages it was written).

The two robbers could have been partners in crime with whom?

Who were the persons who railed on Him? What incited such persons to do this?

Why mention especially the destruction of the temple?

Why couldn-’t Jesus answer their taunts and save Himself?

Note Mark 15:31it contains the greatest truth in the universeand yet a terrible lie. Designate each.

If Jesus had delivered Himself from the cross what would have been the reaction of those who mocked Him?the immediate reaction and the lasting reaction.

Did both thieves deride Jesus?Discuss.

What particular type of darkness was present?i.e. an eclipsea storm? or What? Name the hours (our time).

How extensive was the darkness?how intense?

What happened during the three hours from 12 to 3?

Was Jesus quoting scripture intentionally or was this a spontaneous expression of His own deep need? Did God forsake Him? Discuss.

Why did some think He called for Elijah?

What was the purpose of offering wine at this time? What is the difference between a reed and hyssop? Cf. John 19:29.

When Jesus cried with a loud voice what did He Say? Cf. John 19:30 and Luke 23:46.

Is there some significance in the fact that He cried with a loud voice? i.e. as the manner of His death.

What meaning is there in the fact that the temple veil was torn?

The centurion at the cross seems to admit two things in his statementwhat were they?

*COMMENT

TIME*.Friday, April 7, A.D. 30, between the hours of 9 A.M. and 3 P.M.

*Place.*The Lord was taken by the soldiers without the city to a place called Calvary (the place of a skull), or Golgotha, to be crucified. The site is uncertain, and travelers have differed much concerning its location. Dr. Barclay thinks it was on the east side of the city, just south of St. Stephen’s gate, on the Goath of Jer 31:39, a tongue or spur of land projecting southeasterly into the Kedron valley toward Gethsemane. Others place it on the northwest of the city. It was, (1) apparently a well-known spot; (2) outside the gate (compare Hebrews 13:12); but (3) near the city (John 19:20); (4) on a thoroughfare leading into the country (Luke 23:26); and (5) contained a garden or orchard (John 19:41). Tradition has for sixteen centuries pointed out the site of the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the actual spot; but it is highly probable that this spot was inside the city wall at that time. The question is of little practical importance; for the apostles and evangelists barely allude to the place of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. They fixed their eyes on the great facts themselves, and worshipped the exalted Savior in heaven where he forever lives.

Parallel Accounts.Matthew 27:27-37; Luke 23:26-38; John 19:1-24.

*Outline.*1. The Lord Nailed to the Cross. 2. The Lord Numbered with Transgressors. 3. The Earth Draped in Mourning.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE LORD NAILED TO THE CROSS, Mark 15:21-26.

The Lord Led to Golgotha. Mark 15:22; Matthew 27:33; Luke 23:33; John 19:17.

The Stupefying Cup Refused. Mark 15:23; Matthew 27:34.

His Garments Parted by Lot. Mark 15:24; Matthew 27:35; John 19:23; Luke 23:34.

The Superscription on the Cross. Mark 15:26; Matthew 27:37; John 19:19.

II.

THE LORD NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS, Mark 15:27-32.

The Lord Between Thieves. Mark 15:27; Matthew 27:38; Luke 23:32; Isaiah 53:12.

The Railing of the Multitude. Mark 15:29; Matthew 27:40; Luke 23:35.

The Rulers Mock Him. Mark 15:31; Matthew 27:41; Luke 23:35.

III.

THE EARTH DRAPED IN MOURNING, Mark 15:33-39.

The Land Darkened. Mark 15:33; Matthew 27:45; Luke 23:45.

The Cry Upon the Cross. Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46.

It is Finished Mark 15:37; Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46; John 19:30.

The Veil of the Temple was Rent. Mark 15:38; Matthew 27:51.

The Centurion’s Confession. Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47.

*INTRODUCTION

Crucifixion.*Nothing demonstrates more forcibly the malignity of the Jews than their persistent and boisterous demand that Jesus should be crucified, Other forms of execution were common; stoning, as in the case of Stephen; killing with the sword, as in the case of James; beheading, as in the case of John the Baptist, and, among the Romans, strangling, Crucifixion had never been adopted by the Jews. Even to hang a corpse upon a tree was accounted among them a great indignity (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). It was inflicted on Jewish malefactors by the Romans because it was regarded with such horror. Cicero called it a punishment most inhuman and shocking, and wrote of it that it should be removed from the eyes and ears and every thought of man. The Romans reserved it for slaves and foreigners whom they despised. Yet it was this most shameful and terrible of all deaths which the Jews call on Pilate to inflict upon a prisoner whom he had pronounced innocent. The terrible details of such a death should be noted in order to comprehend what our Savior suffered for us, and I have condensed from Farrar and Geikie the following description of a death on the cross: He was stripped naked of all his clothes. He was laid down upon the implement of torture, His arms were stretched along the cross-beams, and at the center of the open palms the point of a huge iron nail was placed, which, by the blow of a mallet, was driven home into the wood. Then through either foot separately, or possibly through both together, as they were placed one over the other, another huge nail tore its way through the quivering flesh. To prevent the hands and feet being torn away by the weight of the body, which could not rest upon nothing but four great wounds, there was, about the center of the cross, a wooden projection strong enough to support, at least in part, a human body, which soon became a weight of agony. And then the accursed tree, with its living human burden hanging upon it in helpless agony, and suffering fresh tortures as every movement irritated the fresh rents in hands and feet, was slowly heaved up by strong arms and the end of it fixed firmly in a hole dug deep in the ground for that purpose. The body was terribly wrenched when the cross was raised and dropped into its place; the concussion often dislocated the limbs. Inflammation of the wounds in both hands and feet speedily set in, and ere long rose also in other places where the circulation was checked by the tension of the parts; intolerable thirst and ever-increasing pain resulted; the blood, which could no longer reach the extremities, rose to the head, swelling the veins and arteries in it unnaturally, and causing the most agonizing tortures in the brain; besides, it could no longer move freely from the lungs; the heart grew more and more oppressed, and all the veins were distended. Had the wounds bled freely it would have been a great relief, but there was very little lost. The weight of the body itself, resting on the wooden pin of the upright beam, the burning heat of the sun, scorching the veins, and the hot winds which dried up the moisture of the body, made each moment more terrible than that before. The numbness and stiffness of the more distant muscles brought on painful convulsions; and this numbness, slowly extending, sometimes through two or three days, at last reached the vital parts, and released the sufferer by death.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE LORD NAILED TO THE CROSS.

Mark 15:21. They compel one Simon a Cyrenian. The Roman officer had official authority to press into the military service, for a special purpose, either horses or men. See Matthew 5:41. A Cyrenian. There were many Simons, or Simeons, among the early Christians; but this one was distinguished from all the rest as Simon of Cyrene, a great and flourishing city of North Africa. It lay between Alexandria on the east and Carthage on the west. This ancient city is now a heap of ruins. Coming out of the country. Going up to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the passover. Alexander and Rufus. It is taken for granted that they were well known at the time when the gospel was written, and hence, doubtless, they were Christians of some note in the church. Bear his cross. Jesus at first bore his own cross (John 19:17), as was customary. Tradition says that our Lord sunk to the ground beneath the load; but the more exact expression of Luk 23:26 shows that the after-part of the cross alone, which usually dragged upon the ground, was put upon Simon.Schaff. Here, as always, the Savior bears the heaviest part of the burden.

Mark 15:22. Golgotha. A Hebrew word, meaning a skull. From its Latin equivalent, calvaria, comes our English word Calvary, which occurs in the English New Testament only in Luke 23:33, where it should be translated a skull. The significance of the name is uncertain. Some suppose it was the common place of execution, and that the skulls of those who were executed lay about; others that it was a bare rounded knoll, in form like a skull. For further remarks on the locality see Place.

Mark 15:23. They gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh. This was a stupefying drink to deaden the pain. It was composed of vinegar or sour wine, in which were mingled certain bitter drugs. It was customary for compassionate people to give a stupefying drink to criminals on their way to execution. It is stated in the Talmud that there was an association of women in Jerusalem who sought to alleviate the sufferings of the crucified in this way. Luke 23:27 may refer to the women who provided the drink. The effect of the draught was to dull the nerves, to cloud the intellect, to provide an anesthetic against some part, at least, of the lingering agonies of that dreadful death. He received it not. The tasting (Matthew 27:34) implied a recognition of the kindly purpose of the act, but a recognition only. In the refusal to do more than this we see the resolute purpose to drink the cup which his Father had given him to the last drop, and not to dull, either the sense of suffering or the clearness of his communion with his Father with the slumbrous potion.

Mark 15:24. When they had crucified him. Nailed him to the cross, For details see Crucifixion in the Introduction. There were three forms of crosses; the first in the shape of the letter X, called the crux decussato, or, later, St. Andrews-’ cross; one in the form of the letter T, called the crux commissa, or, later, St. Anthony’s cross; and third, the Latin cross, or crux immissa, like the preceding one, except that the upright beam projects above the horizontal one. That the Latin cross was the one on which Jesus was crucified, is indicated by uniform tradition. They parted his garments, casting lots. The garments were perquisites of the executioners. As there were four soldiers there would be four shares. The inner robe, however, like the robes of the priests, was of one piece, woven from the top, without any seam or stitching and would be destroyed by rending. The dice were ready in their pocket, and one of their brazen helmets would serve to throw them; it would be better to cast lots for this, and let him who won the highest number keep it for himself; and so it was done. No wonder that both Matthew and John, looking back on the scene, were struck by the fact that it had been written, ages before, in the twenty-second Psalm, which the Jews of that day, as well as Christians, rightly believed to refer to the Messiah, They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.Geikie.

Mark 15:25. The third hour, according to the Jewish reckoning, that is, from sunrise, about nine o-‘clock of our time. But, according to John (John 19:14), it was already the sixth hour when Pilate made his last attempt to rescue him. A solution is, that John, writing primarily for the churches of Asia Minor, uses the Roman mode of reckoning, that is, from midnight.

Mark 15:26. The superscription of his accusation. It was the Roman custom to place on the cross over the criminal’s head, a titulus, or placard, stating the crime for which he suffered. Luke (Luke 23:38) says that the title was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, the chief languages then spoken, and all spectators would be able to read it. The superscription is given differently by each evangelist: This is Jesus the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37). The King of the Jews (Mark 15:26). This is the King of the Jews (Luke 23:38). Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews (John 19:16). Although no serious and sensible writer would dream of talking about a discrepancy here, it is very probable that the differences arise from the different forms assumed by the title in the three languages. King of the Jews. The inscription stated the offense of which Jesus had been found guilty. Pilate intended that the inscription should have a sting in it for the chief priests and elders and scribes.

II.

THE LORD NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS.

Mark 15:27. With him they crucify two thieves. Rather, robbers; in all probability partners in the crime of Barabbas. The mountain robbers, or banditti, were always ready to take part in such desperate risings against the Roman power. Thus he touched life at its lowest point, plunged into the stream of humanity where it was blackest.

Mark 15:28. This verse is omitted in the Revised Version, not being found in the oldest manuscripts.

Mark 15:29. They that passed by railed at him. The people going in and out of the city, on the thoroughfare near the place of crucifixion. Wagging their heads. Derisively and insultingly. Compare 2 Kings 19:21; Job 16:4; Psalms 109:25. Thou that destroyest the temple. It is evident that the Lord’s saying (John 2:19-21), or rather this perversion of it (for he claimed not to destroy but to rebuild the temple destroyed by them), had greatly exasperated the feelings which the priests and Pharisees had contrived to excite against him.

Mark 15:30. Save thyself. This may be ironical, or it is a recognition of his miracles of mercy, to taunt him with a supposed loss of power just when he needed it most for himself. His very mercy is used in mockery.Schaff. If Christ had saved himself he could not have saved others.

Mark 15:31. The chief priests. The chief priests, and scribes, and elders, less awestruck, less compassionate, than the mass of the people, were not ashamed to add their heartless reproaches to those of the evil few.

Mark 15:32. Descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. A true index to their religious ideas. If they saw Him with their bodily eyes by a miracle come down from the cross, they would believe. Their religion rested on their five senses. The invisible spiritual power, in which Jesus taught, did his work, and founded his kingdom, had no existence for them. The only authority for their faith was what they could grasp with their hands, or see with their eyes.Geikie. They that were crucified with him reviled him, It is not certain whether both of the malefactors reviled him, or but one; Matthew and Mark speak of both; Luke of but one. Most, after Augustine, suppose that Matthew and Mark speak in general terms of them as a class of persons that joined in deriding Jesus, but without meaning to say that both actually derided him.

III.

THE EARTH DRAPED IN MOURNING.

Mark 15:33. The sixth hour... there was darkness. This was no eclipse of the sun, for it was full moon at the timenor any partial obscuration of the sun such as sometimes takes place before an earthquakefor it is clear that no earthquake in the ordinary sense of the word is here intended. Those whose belief leads them to reflect Who was then suffering, will have no difficulty in accounting for these signs of sympathy in nature nor in seeing their applicability. The consent, in the same words, of all three evangelists, must silence all question as to the universal belief of this darkness as a fact; and the early Fathers appeal to the testimony of profane authors for its truth.Alford. Over the whole land. The darkness began at the sixth hour, or twelve A.M., and continued till the ninth, or three P.M. The forms of expression, over all the land, (Matthew), over the whole land, (Mark and Luke), do not determine how far the darkness extended. Many would confine it to the land of Judea as our version does.

Mark 15:34. At the ninth hour. Three o-‘clock; so far as appears, during the three hours of gloom the Lord was silent, and, doubtless, all were silent around him. My God, my God. The Savior here applies the holy psalm (Psalms 22) to himself as prophetic. The particular words are expressive of the divine abandonment, of the departure of the divine presence, as part of his atonement endurance. They are uttered by him to show that he is enduring an intolerable agony, deeper than any external infliction. The finest thing in all this dear history of Immanuel on the earth is exhibited just here. When he began his suffering on the cross, he said, Father; and when he reached its end he also said Father; but in the deep midnight of woe between them, he said My God, My God! Reasons for the forsaking: one is, God rejects sin, and sin was then laid on Jesus. Again, perhaps the almighty Father meant that Jesus should now fight the battle single-handed, in order that the glory of the final victory to be gained might be his own.Robinson.

Mark 15:35. He calleth for Elias. The resemblance between the word Eli and the name Elijah is very close in the original. There is here an allusion to the belief that Elijah would come before the Messiah, and hence a sarcastic denial of his Messiahship. The words may have been imperfectly understood.

Mark 15:36. Sponge full of vinegar. The vinegar is the posca, sour wine, or vinegar and water, the ordinary drink of the Roman soldiers. Put it on a reed. The reed is described by John as the hyssop.

Mark 15:37. Cried with a loud voice. Emitting a great voice, not a mere cry, but an articulate, intelligible utterance, the words of which have been preserved by John (John 19:30), and Luke (Luke 23:46). Gave up the Ghost. A better translation is yielded up his spirit.

Mark 15:38. The veil of the temple was rent. The great work of salvation was now, at last, completed; prophecy fulfilled; the ancient covenant at an end, the new inaugurated. Judaism was forever obsolete, and the holy of holies had ceased to be the peculiar presence chamber of Jehovah among men. Nor was a sign wanting that it was so, for the great veil of purple and goldsixty feet long and thirty broadbefore the inner sanctuary of the temple, suddenly rent itself in two from the top to the bottom at the moment of Christ’s death, as if he who had hitherto dwelt there had gone forth to lead up his eternal Son to his own right hand.Geikie.

Mark 15:39. The centurion. An officer of the Roman answering to the captain in our own organization. He commanded a century, answering to our company, originally a hundred men, subsequently from fifty to a hundred. This man was the Son of God. Observe that he says not is but was a Son of God; evidently in his thought the death of Christ was the end. It is worth noticing that the cross had greater effect on the centurion, who had been before simply ignorant of and indifferent to Christ, than on the Pharisees.

FACT QUESTIONS 15:21-39

What two places are identified as the location of Calvary?

Give three Scriptural facts about Calvary.

Why do we reject the location chosen by the Roman Catholics?

Mention three other forms of capital punishment than crucifixion.

What was the Jewish opinion of crucifixion?

What did Cicero say about crucifixion?

It would help in our appreciation of what our Savior suffered for us if we were to attempt to rewrite in our own words what Johnson has given us from Farrar and Geikie. Try it.

How does Matthew 5:41 relate to Simon of Cyrene?

Where is Cyrene?

Do you agree with Johnson and Schaff that Jesus and Simon carried the cross?

The English word Calvary (Cf. Luke 23:33) should not appear at allwhy not?

Why called the place of a skull?

The Talmud says there was a certain association of women in Jerusalemwhat was their work?

The refusal to drink the wine and myrrh indicated a desire to drink another cupwhat was it?

Describe and name the three types of crosses used in the days of our Lordwhich was used with our Lord?

Over what robe did the soldiers gamble? What did they use in casting lots?

Please notice how remarkable a prediction is Psalms 22:16. Remembercrucifixion was a Roman form of capital punishment.

Mark says the third hourJohn says it was the sixth hour. Cf. John 19:14how reconcile these times?

No serious and sensible writer would dream of talking about a discrepancy in the different versions of the title on the crosswhy not?

The chief priests did not like the titlewhy not?

Show how Jesus touched life at its lowest point.

Why leave out Mark 15:28? Isn-’t it true?

Why would some folks be passing by the scene of the crucifixion?

Was the expression save thyself ironical?

The men who lied when they told the truthwho were they? Cf. Mark 15:31.

What shows a true index of the religious ideas of the chief-priests?

How does Augustine explain the thought that Mark says both thieves reviled Jesus?

How do we know the darkness was not an eclipse of the sun?

How account for the darkness? Was the darkness confined to Judea?

What is the finest thing in all this dear history of Immanuel?

What could have been a sarcastic denial of His Messiahship?

Did Jesus control His own death? i.e., choose the time His spirit would depart His body? Discuss.

Show how beautifully symbolic was the tearing of the temple veil.

Why did the death of Christ have more effect on the centurion than on the Pharisees?

Mark 15:40-47

**7. WOMEN WATCHING. DESCENT FROM THE CROSS. THE BURIAL. 15:40-47

TEXT 15:40-47**

And there were also women beholding from afar: 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, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is the day before the sabbath, there came Joseph of Arimathea, a councillor of honourable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 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. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 15:40-47

What purpose did Mark have in mentioning the women of Mar 15:40?

Have we heard of Mary of Magdala, or Magdalene, before?

Please attempt to identify the persons here mentionedi.e.: (1) James the less, (2) Joses, (3) Salome.

What is the meaning of the expressionministered unto him?

Why the many women who followed Jesus i.e., why were they there?

Can we definitely identify Friday as the day of the crucifixion?

Are we to understand from Mark 15:43 that Joseph of Arimathaea was a member of the Sanhedrin?

Just what was involved in looking for the kingdom of God?

What could Pilate learn from the centurion he could not have found out from Joseph?

Why use a linen cloth for the body?

To whom did the tomb belong?

COMMENT

TIME.Friday. PLACE.Calvary or Golgothathe tomb.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Matthew 27:45-66; Luke 23:49-56; John 19:28-42; John 19:40-42.

OUTLINE.1. Women watching, Mark 15:40-41. 2. The descent from the cross, and the burial of Jesus, Mark 15:42-47.

ANALYSIS

I.

WOMEN WATCHING, Mark 15:40-41.

Watched from a distance.

They were: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less, and of Joses and Salome.

Earlier they had followed Him and ministered to Him in Galilee.

There were many other women present who had followed Him to Jerusalem.

II.

THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, AND THE BURIAL OF JESUS, Mark 15:42-47.

Joseph of Arimathaea came in the late afternoon of the day before the Sabbath to ask of Pilate the body of Jesus.

Pilate was surprised Jesus was already deadhe confirmed the report by asking the centurion.

Upon a sure knowledge of the death of Jesus, the corpse was given to Joseph.

Joseph bought linen in which to wrap the body of JesusJesus-’ body was taken down from the cross and laid in a rock-hewn tomba stone was rolled against the door of the tomb.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses noticed the place of His burial.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

WOMEN WATCHING.

All the synoptists mention this group of women, Luke without enumeration of their names. Luke has a similar group (or, more strictly, the same) at chap. Mark 8:2-3, with some names enumerated. Here three are mentioned as belonging to the company that followed him, when he was in Galilee, and ministered unto him (Luke 8:3, ministered to him of their substance), and many other women are mentioned (by Mark alone) as having come up *with him unto Jerusalem.*They stood afar off (so all the synoptists), looking on, and with them (Luke) were all his acquaintancei.e., the group contained generally those of his friends who were present in Jerusalem. Of course the mention of this group, being introduced after the record of his death, relates to no single moment, and does not imply that the same persons were together during the whole time of the crucifixion. John has already spoken of all whose names are given here as standing earlier beside the cross. It is a touching fact that the mother of Jesus appears only there, beside the cross, and not among those who stood afar off.Mary Magdalene. Now earliest mentioned, except in Luke 8:2. Her connection with her Lord began, as that passage leads us to believe, with his act in casting out of her seven demonsi.e., in relieving her of some specially severe form of demoniacal possession; for there is no good reason to spiritualize the healing, as James Freeman Clarke has done (The Legend of Thomas Didymus) into the deliverance from falsehood, murder, pride, luxury, selfishness, unbelief, and despair. There is no evidence for identifying her with any other Mary of the Gospels or to cast doubt on the purity of her life. The most probable derivation of her name is from Magdala, or Migdol, the watchtower, a town on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. After the healing she became one of the ministering women; but her recorded connection with her Lord has to do mainly with the scenes of his death and resurrection.Mary the mother of James the less, or the little. Probably a descriptive name, given because he, like Zacchaeus, was small of stature.And of Joses. (See Mark 3:18). There are unanswered questions about this family group, but it seems most probable that the James and Joses here mentioned are not to be identified with those who appear among the brethren of the Lord at Mark 6:3.Salome is to be identified with the mother of Zebedee’s children in the parallel passage in Matthew, and probably with the sister of our Lord’s mother in John 19:25.

Between the record of the death and that of the descent from the cross John inserts the narrative, which he alone has preserved, of the breaking of the legs of the two robbers, in order to hasten their death before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, and of the piercing of the side of Jesus with the soldier’s spear, in order to test the reality of his death, or rather to decide the question, if there was any doubt. It is from the outflow of blood and water that the inference is drawn respecting the physical cause of his death.

II.

THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS AND THE BURIAL OF JESUS.

Mark 15:42. The natural inference is that the death occurred not long after the ninth houri.e., at between three and four o-‘clock by our reckoning. The Sabbath would begin at sunset. It was common enough for the Romans to leave the bodies of the crucified on the crossindeed, they often remained there till they were devoured by birds or fell to pieces in decaybut this execution had taken place under Jewish auspices, and the Jews would not be willing, in view of the prohibition in Deuteronomy 21:23, that the body of Jesus should remain all night on the cross, and still less over the Sabbath, which as the Sabbath of the passover week, was a great day (John 19:31).The Preparation, that is, the day befor the Sabbath. A valuable definition, because it removes the suspicion that the same word may elsewhere mean the day before the passover.The time, when the even was come, cannot be more closely defined, but it cannot have been long after the death of our Saviour.

Mark 15:43. Joseph of Arimathaea, or who was from Arimathaea. Mentioned on this occasion only, his name and residence being given by all four evangelists. Arimathaea is of uncertain site. It is commonly identified with Ramah, or Ramathaim-zophim, the home of Elkanah, the father of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Samuel 2:11)a place which is known in the Septuagint as Armathaim. The identification is probably correct, but the site of Ramah has long been in doubt. The best modern theory follows a somewhat ancient tradition in locating it at Neby Samwil, about four miles north-west from Jerusalem. This site would satisfy all the requirements of the history, and may be regarded as probably the true one. Concerning Joseph himself, we learn from Matthew that he was a rich man; from Mark, that he was an honorable counsellor, or, more probably, a counsellor of honorable estate, a rich and prosperous man. Luke as well as Mark calls him a counsellor, which means, here, a member of the council, or Sanhedrin, of the Jews. Luke further calls him a good man and a just, and adds that he had not consented to their counsel and deed. Apparently, he had been absent from the meeting; perhaps intentionally omitted from the call, perhaps absent at daybreak, when the meeting was held, at his home in Arimathaea. Concerning his relations to Jesus, we have in Mark and Luke that he waited, or was looking, for the kingdom of God (compare Luke 2:25; Luke 2:38), by which is meant that he was a devout Jew who delighted in the promises of God concerning his coming kingdom and was expecting their early fulfillment. The phrase does not declare that he was a disciple of Jesus, but it does represent him as one of those who were ready for discipleship. Matthew says, however, that he was a disciple of Jesus, and John says the same, adding, but secretly, for fear of the Jews. Thus he belonged to the class mentioned in John 12:42-43. Not until now, apparently, had his convictions in favor brought him to frank confession. His position was a trying one, and he had not had moral power to conquer its difficulties. But now, the Lord being merciful unto him, as he was to Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19:16), he was brought forth out of his false position, love and sorrow being the messengers that led him forth. He camei.e., to the place of crucifixion. Perhaps the word, standing where it does, indicates that he arrived at the place when Jesus was dying or dead, having only then come into the city from his home. If he had been at Arimathaea since the night before, he may have known nothing of what was going on; in which case the sudden amazement would swell the tide of his indignation and horror, and easily lead him beyond his former self in devotion to the Crucified one. The participle does not merely mean boldly; it means, waxing bold, coming to new boldness. The word is peculiar to Mark. In this new boldness he went in unto Pilate, to his house or place of judgment, whither the chief priests would not go for fear of defilement (John 18:28). There he cravedor, literally, askedthe body of Jesus. So, identically, the synoptists; John, asked that he might take away the body of Jesus.

Mark 15:44-45. The mention of Pilate’s wonder and inquiry is peculiar to Mark. Plainly, Pilate did not know of the breaking of the legs of the robbers. Only a few hours had passed, and it seemed impossible that Jesus was dead. Not improbably, there was a shock to Pilate’s mind in the tidings: he had honestly wished to save him, and so soon all was over! Calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long (palai), not any while. There is a certain rough tenderness in Pilate here; he would do what he could to preserve the Crucified One from insult and help him to honorable burial; so, the death being officially confirmed, he gave the body (or, rather, granted the corpse) to Joseph. So the best text: ptoma, instead of soma. Here John adds, he came therefore, and took away his body. Here, also, John tells of the coming of a helper to Josepha man of the same class, a fellow-member of the Sanhedrin, another secret discipleNicodemus, who came to Jesus by night (John 3:1). His accession now is a surprise to us, but it may not have been to Joseph. He has appeared before only in that nightly conversation, and as pleading for candor in the judgment respecting Jesus, and taunted by his companions as if they already suspected him of a kind of discipleship (John 7:50-52). He now brought a mixture of myrrh and aloesi.e., of the aromatics used in preparing the dead for burialabout a hundred pounds weight. This was not necessarily bought beforehand; speedy burials were common in that land, and rapid preparation must have been common too. Moreover, there is no reason to doubt that Nicodemus knew all the day what was going on. He may have been preparing while Jesus was dying. So there is no reason to suppose, as some have done, that his preparation was parallel to that of Mary of Bethany, made beforehand (Mark 14:8). There is something extremely touching about the coming of these two men to bury the body of him whom they had not publicly confessed when he was alive. The shock of sorrow and indignation quickened love and rendered secret discipleship no longer possible. If the two men were thus drawn to Jesus in his extremest humiliation, it seems likely that by his resurrection their faith would be confirmed and rendered permanent.

Mark 15:46. The fine linen was the sindon, the same as that mentioned in Chap. Mark 14:51a foreign fabric, probably Indian, said to have been used in Egypt as a wrapping for mummies. In later Greek, however, the word means linen. It can scarcely be said to define positively the nature of the cloth. Mark alone says that it was bought now, at the very time it was to be used. Wrapped him in the linen. The wrapping in this cloth was not a mere enfolding of the body, but, at least in part, the closer wrapping or binding (John, they took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices) which was customary among the Jews. When Lazarus came forth, he was bound hand and foot with grave-clothes (John 11:44), each limb wrapped up by itself. This wrapping, however, in the case of Jesus, was left unfinished because of haste, the Sabbath coming quickly on. Observe that the very thought of preparing the body thus for burial was inconsistent with all thought of a resurrection. Of the site and ownership of the sepulchre Mark tells us nothing, saying merely that it was hewn out of a rock, or rather, out of the rocki.e., not a natural cavern, such as were frequently used for tombs. Matthew and Luke note the same fact, Luke using a word (laxeutos) that points a little more definitely to the skillful workmanship of which the tomb gave evidence. It was no rude cave in which he was laid, but a carefully-made sepulchre. Luke and John tell us that it was new and had never before been used; Matthew, by a single word, that it was the property of Joseph. From John we learn that it was in a garden or orchard, an enclosed and cultivated placethe same word that is used of Gethsemaneand that the garden was in the place where he was crucifiedi.e., close at hand. The nearness of the spot is given by John, who says nothing of Joseph’s ownership as the reason for selecting it, the approach of the Sabbath requiring haste. Having thus placed the body, Joseph rolled a stone unto, or against (epi), the door of the sepulchre. Matthew, a great stone. Visualize the tomb described in the following passage: In Jerusalem has been found a peculiar tomb. The sloping ground has been cut down perpendicularly and the rock is cut out, so that the front wall is perpendicular rock. There is a chamber within, containing a table of stone on which to prepare the body for burial and a stone bowl for water. Within this is the tomb itself, an inner chamber, with shelves to receive the bodies. The entrance to this is an opening in the upright rock-wall three feet square. Running across before this opening, at the foot of the wall in which it is made, is a groove in the floor, one foot deep and six inches wide. In this groove is a round stone, six inches thick, just fitting the groove, and four feet or more in diametera stone like a grindstone. This runs in the groove, and can be rolled up before the square opening so as to cover it, and rolled away from it so as to give entrance. It is so heavy that the full strength of a man is required to roll it away. If Joseph’s new tomb were like this, the women might well ask who should roll away the stone for them. The date of this tomb, however, seems to be unknown, and so high an authority in Jewish customs as Dr. Edersheim appears to know nothing of such structures. (See Bible Educator, vol. iv., p. 332.) It is certain that rock-hewn tombs usually had doors of stone that turned on hinges. (See Hackett’s Illustrations of Scripture, p. 108; Van Lennep’s Bible Lands, p. 580.) If Joseph’s new tomb, perhaps unfinished, had such a door, with its fastenings yet uncompleted, he may, for additional security, have caused a stone so large as to be moved only with difficulty to be rolled up against it, on the outside.

Mark 15:47. The women had remained at the cross when no apostle was there, and now they followed to the sepulchre, where new friends were doing the work that belonged to old. Only two are mentioned here and in Matthew; in Luke, the women generally who had followed from Galilee. Matthew shows them sitting over against the sepulchre; Mark says that they beheld where he was laid; and Luke shows them present and watchful during the entombment. He also shows them going home and preparing spices to finish the embalming, but not till after the Sabbath. (See the true division of paragraphs in Luke, in the Revision.) That Sabbath was to be a high-day with the Jews; to the disciples it was a day of despair. In truth, it was the turning-point of time, though neither Jews nor disciples knew it. The crime of the Jews and of sinful humanity was completed; the revelation of God as Saviour had been made; the work of preparatory dispensations was ended; all was ready for the breaking forth of the new power of God unto salvation. But that Jewish Sabbath before the dawning of the first Lord’s Day was the time of pause and silence: the Prince of Life lay dead, and all hopes seemed disappointed; the new power was as yet unknown and undreamed of in the world. No day was ever like that, or ever shall be.

Matthew adds the record of what was done after the night had passed: the enemies of Jesus secured the placing of the official seal of the governor on the door of the tomb and the setting of a guard there, under the pretence of fear that his friends might steal his body and declare that he had risen. (W. N. Clarke)

FACT QUESTIONS 15:40-47

What purpose was there in mentioning the women who followed and ministered to Him of their substance?

What touching fact is mentioned about the mother of Jesus?

What was the first mention of Mary Magdalene?

There is no reason to associate Mary Magdalene with some special acts of sinfulnesswhy do some do this?

Identify Mary the mother of James the lesswho was Joses and Salome? (Cf. John 19:25; Mark 3:17.)

John alone records an incident between the record of the death and the descent from the crosswhat was it?

Is it true that Jesus died of a literal, physical broken heart? Discuss.

What Jewish law forbid bodies to be left on the cross overnightwhat was the practice of the Romans?

Why refer to one sabbath day as a great day? (Cf. John 19:31.)

What is meant by The Preparation,?

Give three facts about Joseph of Arimathaea.

Where is Arimathaea?

What was Joseph’s attitude toward the condemnation of Jesus?

What is meant by the expression he waited, or was looking, for the kingdom of God?

Joseph was a disciple of Jesusbut what kind?

When did Joseph arrive at the crucifixion? Show the boldness in the act of asking for the body of Jesus.

What certain rough tenderness is seen in the actions of Pilate?

What was probably a shock to Pilate? Why had Jesus died so soon? What had hastened the death of the robbers?

Who came to help Joseph in the burial of Jesuswhat did he bring.

What was it that quickened love and rendered secret discipleship no longer possible?

Did Nicodemus know of the events on the day of the crucifixion?

What type of cloth was bought for the body of Jesus?

Was Jesus bound in the cloth even as Lazarus?

Give three facts about the tomb where Jesus-’ body was laid.

What should we understand in the fact that a stone was rolled in front of the door of the tomb?

How were doors usually fastened to the rock-hewn tombs?

New friends were doing the work that belonged to oldwhat was it?

What day was the turning point of time? Explain.

What was done after the night was passed?