Mark 15
Amplified Bible
Jesus before Pilate
15 Early in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), immediately consulted together; and they bound Jesus, they took Him away [violently] and handed Him over to Pilate.(A) 2 Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He replied to him, “It is as you say.”(B) 3 The chief priests began accusing Him of many things. 4 Then Pilate again asked Him, “Have You no answer [to give]? See how many charges they are bringing against You!” 5 But Jesus gave no further answer; so Pilate was perplexed.(C)
6 Now at the [Passover] feast Pilate used to set free for them any one prisoner whom they requested.(D) 7 The man called Barabbas was imprisoned with the insurrectionists (revolutionaries) who had committed murder in the civil rebellion. 8 The crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to set free for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he was aware that the chief priests had turned Jesus over to him because of envy and resentment. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Again Pilate answered, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They screamed back, “Crucify Him!” 14 But Pilate asked them, “Why, what has He done that is evil?” But they screamed all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set Barabbas free for them; and after having Jesus [a]scourged, he handed Him over [to his soldiers] to be crucified.(E)
Jesus Is Mocked
16 The soldiers led Him away into the palace (that is, the [b]Praetorium), and they called together the entire [Roman] battalion [of 600 soldiers].(F) 17 They dressed Him up in [a ranking Roman officer’s robe of] purple, and after twisting [together] a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him; 18 and they began saluting and mocking Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They kept beating Him on the head with a [c]reed and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing in [mock] homage to Him.(G) 20 After they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him. And they led Him out [of the city] to crucify Him.
21 They forced into service a passer-by coming in from the countryside, Simon of [d]Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), [e]to carry His cross.(H)
The Crucifixion
22 Then they brought Him to the place [called] Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a [f]Skull.(I) 23 They tried to give Him [g]wine mixed with myrrh [to dull the pain], but He would not take it. 24 And they crucified Him, and [h]divided up His clothes among themselves, casting lots for them to see who should take what.(J) 25 It was the third hour (9:00 a.m.) when they crucified Him.(K) 26 The inscription of the accusation against Him had been written [above Him]: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
27 They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28 [i][And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was counted with the transgressors.”](L) 29 Those who were passing by were insulting Him with abusive and insolent language, wagging their heads [as a sign of contempt], and saying, “Ha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in [only] three days,(M) 30 save Yourself by coming down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were ridiculing and mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself!(N) 32 Let the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe and trust [in Him]!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
33 When the sixth hour (noon) came, darkness covered the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).(O) 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”(P) 35 Some of the bystanders heard Him and said, “Look! He is calling for [j]Elijah!” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah is coming to take Him down.”(Q) 37 But Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His last [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan]. 38 And the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from [k]top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last [being fully in control], he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
40 Now some women also were watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and [l]Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and [m]Salome.(R) 41 When Jesus was in Galilee, they used to accompany him and minister to Him; and there were also many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
Jesus Is Buried
42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,(S) 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent and respected member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God—and he courageously dared to go in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate [n]wondered if He was dead by this time [only six hours after being crucified], and he summoned the centurion and asked him whether He was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion [that Jesus was in fact dead], he gave the body to Joseph [by granting him permission to remove it]. 46 So Joseph purchased a [fine] linen cloth [for [o]wrapping the body], and after taking Jesus down [from the cross], he wrapped Him in the linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been cut out of rock. Then he rolled a [large, wheel-shaped] stone against the entrance of the tomb.(T) 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were [carefully] watching to see where He was laid.
Footnotes
- Mark 15:15 I.e. whipped with a short whip of metal-tipped leather thongs. There was no limit to the number of lashings. Frequently, the body was so lacerated that the intestines gushed out. It was not uncommon for a prisoner to die from scourging.
- Mark 15:16 The residence of the Roman provincial governor.
- Mark 15:19 I.e. a long bamboo-like stick.
- Mark 15:21 A port city in north Africa.
- Mark 15:21 The crossbeam was usually placed on the nape of the neck like a yoke.
- Mark 15:22 Latin: Calvaria; or Calvary; Aram: Golgotha; Greek: Kranion.
- Mark 15:23 The myrrh had a narcotic effect and was added to dull the senses.
- Mark 15:24 See note Matt 27:35.
- Mark 15:28 Early mss do not contain this verse.
- Mark 15:35 The Jews believed that the prophet Elijah would return before the Messiah appeared.
- Mark 15:38 This act of God signified that the death of Jesus ended the need for temple sacrifices and intermediaries, and opened the way for free and direct access to God.
- Mark 15:40 Gr Maria. She is believed to be a sister or sister-in-law of Jesus’ mother, Mary (Gr Mariam).
- Mark 15:40 Matt 27:56 indicates that Salome was the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Salome is believed to be one of the sisters of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
- Mark 15:44 Death by crucifixion was usually a slow process, sometimes lasting two or three days.
- Mark 15:46 It was Jewish custom to wash the body of a deceased person, then wrap it tightly in linen, placing spices or pouring aromatic perfumes between the successive layers of cloth to mitigate the stench of decay (see John 19:39, 40).
Mark 15
New Testament for Everyone
Jesus before Pilate
15 As soon as morning came, the chief priests held a council meeting with the elders, the legal experts, and the whole Sanhedrin. They bound Jesus, took him off to Pilate, and handed him over.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said it,” replied Jesus.
3 The chief priests laid many accusations against him.
4 Pilate again interrogated him: “Aren’t you going to make any reply? Look how many accusations they’re making against you!”
5 But Jesus gave no reply at all, which astonished Pilate.
6 The custom was that at festival time he used to release for them a single prisoner, whoever they would ask for. 7 There was a man in prison named Barabbas, one of the revolutionaries who had committed murder during the uprising. 8 So the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do what he normally did.
9 “Do you want me,” answered Pilate, “to release for you ‘the king of the Jews’?”
10 He said this because he knew that the chief priests had handed him over out of envy. 11 The chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead to be released to them. So Pilate once again asked them, 12 “What then do you want me to do with the one you call ‘the king of the Jews’?”
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted again.
14 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What has he done wrong?”
“Crucify him!” they shouted all the louder.
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd; so he released Barabbas for them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The crucifixion
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard, that is, the Praetorium, and called together the whole squad. 17 They dressed Jesus up in purple; then, weaving together a crown of thorns, they stuck it on him. 18 They began to salute him: “Greetings, King of the Jews!” 19 And they hit him over the head with a staff, and spat at him, and knelt down to do him homage. 20 Then, when they had mocked him, they took the purple robe off him, and put his own clothes back on.
Then they led him off to crucify him. 21 They compelled a man called Simon to carry Jesus’ cross. He was from Cyrene, and was coming in from out of town. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus.
22 They took Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which in translation means “Skull’s Place.” 23 They gave him a mixture of wine and myrrh, but he didn’t drink it.
24 So they crucified him; they “parted his clothing between them, casting lots” to see who would get what. 25 It was about nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription, giving the charge, read: “The King of the Jews.” 27 They also crucified two bandits alongside him, one on his right and one on his left.
29 People who were passing by abused him. They shook their heads at him.
“Hah!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple, were you? And build it again in three days? 30 Why don’t you rescue yourself, and come down from the cross?”
31 The chief priests and the lawyers were mocking him in the same way among themselves.
“He rescued others,” they said, “but he can’t rescue himself. 32 Messiah, is he? King of Israel, did he say? Well, let’s see him come down from the cross! We’ll believe him when we see that!”
The two who were crucified alongside him taunted him as well.
The death of Jesus
33 At midday there was darkness over all the land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus shouted out in a powerful voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
35 When the bystanders heard it, some of them said, “He’s calling for Elijah!”
36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a pole, and gave it him to drink.
“Well then,” he declared, “let’s see if Elijah will come and take him down.”
37 But Jesus, with another loud shout, breathed his last.
38 The Temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion who was standing facing him saw that he died in this way, he said, “This fellow really was God’s son.”
The burial of Jesus
40 Some women were watching from a distance. They included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. 41 They had followed Jesus in Galilee, and had attended to his needs. There were several other women, too, who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 It was already getting towards evening, and it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath. 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a reputable member of the council who was himself eagerly awaiting God’s kingdom, took his courage in both hands, went to Pilate, and requested the body of Jesus.
44 Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion, and asked whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned the facts from the centurion, he conceded the body to Joseph.
46 So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took the body down, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut out of the rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was buried.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
