Jesus before Pilate

15 (A)Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire [a](B)Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate. (C)Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, It is as you say.” And the chief priests started accusing Him [b]of many things. But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!” But Jesus (D)said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

(E)Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt. And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd (F)to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted [c]back, “Crucify Him!” 14 But Pilate said to them, “Why, what [d]evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus (G)flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

16 (H)Now the soldiers took Him away into (I)the [e]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman [f](J)cohort. 17 And they *dressed Him in [g]purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; 18 and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they repeatedly beat His head with a [h]reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him. 20 And after they had mocked Him, they took the [i]purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

21 (K)And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and (L)Rufus), to carry His cross.

The Crucifixion

22 (M)Then they *brought Him to the place (N)Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 And they tried to give Him (O)wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. 24 And they *crucified Him, and *(P)divided up His garments among themselves, casting [j]lots for them to decide [k]what each man would take. 25 Now it was the [l](Q)third hour [m]when they crucified Him. 26 The inscription of the charge against Him [n]read, “(R)THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

27 And they *crucified two [o]rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left.[p] 29 Those passing by were [q]hurling abuse at Him, (S)shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to (T)destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save Yourself by coming down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “(U)He saved others; [r]He cannot save Himself! 32 Let this Christ, (V)the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” (W)Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

33 (X)When the [s](Y)sixth hour came, darkness [t]fell over the whole land until the [u](Z)ninth hour. 34 At the [v](AA)ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, (AB)Eloi, Eloi, lema sabaktanei?” which is translated, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “[w]Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” 37 (AC)But Jesus let out a loud cry, and [x]died. 38 (AD)And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 (AE)And when the centurion, who was standing [y]right in front of Him, saw that He [z]died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was [aa]the Son of God!”

40 (AF)Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of [ab]James (AG)the [ac]Less and Joses, and (AH)Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and (AI)serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

42 (AJ)When evening had already come, since it was (AK)the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a (AL)prominent member of the Council, who was himself also (AM)waiting for the kingdom of God; and he (AN)gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And after learning this from (AO)the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 (AP)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 15:1 Or Sanhedrin
  2. Mark 15:3 Or harshly
  3. Mark 15:13 Or again
  4. Mark 15:14 Or crime has He committed
  5. Mark 15:16 Or court
  6. Mark 15:16 Normally 600 men (the number varied)
  7. Mark 15:17 Prob. a term for a Roman soldier’s red cloak (cf. Matt 27:28)
  8. Mark 15:19 Or staff (made of a reed)
  9. Mark 15:20 See note v 17
  10. Mark 15:24 Lit a lot upon
  11. Mark 15:24 Lit who would take what
  12. Mark 15:25 I.e., 9 a.m.
  13. Mark 15:25 Lit and
  14. Mark 15:26 Lit had been inscribed
  15. Mark 15:27 Or robbers
  16. Mark 15:27 Late mss add the following as v 28: And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was counted with wrongdoers.”
  17. Mark 15:29 Or blaspheming Him
  18. Mark 15:31 Or can He not save Himself?
  19. Mark 15:33 I.e., noon
  20. Mark 15:33 Lit occurred
  21. Mark 15:33 I.e., 3 p.m.
  22. Mark 15:34 I.e., 3 p.m.
  23. Mark 15:36 Lit Allow that we see; or Hold off, let us see
  24. Mark 15:37 Lit expired
  25. Mark 15:39 Or opposite Him
  26. Mark 15:39 Lit expired
  27. Mark 15:39 Or a son of God; or a son of a god
  28. Mark 15:40 Or Jacob
  29. Mark 15:40 Lit little (either in stature or age)

Jesus Faces Pilate

15 As(A) soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders,(B) scribes,(C) and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests(D) tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.(E)

So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king(F) of the Jews?”(G)

He answered him, “You say so.”

And the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate(H) questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!” But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.

Jesus or Barabbas

At(I) the festival(J) Pilate(K) used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested. There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder(L) during the rebellion.(M) The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king(N) of the Jews(O) for you?” 10 For he knew it was because of envy(P) that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. 12 Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”

13 Again they shouted, “Crucify him!”

14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

Mocked by the Military

16 The(Q) soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence(R)) and called the whole company together. 17 They dressed him in a purple(S) robe, twisted together a crown(T) of thorns, and put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail,(U) king(V) of the Jews!” 19 They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees,(W) they were paying him homage. 20 After they had mocked(X) him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him.

Crucified between Two Criminals

They led him out to crucify him. 21 They(Y) forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross.(Z) He was Simon of Cyrene,(AA) the father of Alexander and Rufus.(AB)

22 They(AC) brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull(AD)). 23 They tried to give him wine(AE) mixed with myrrh,(AF) but he did not take it.

24 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots(AG) for them to decide what each would get. 25 Now it was nine in the morning[a] when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge written against him was: The King(AH) of the Jews.(AI) 27 They(AJ) crucified two criminals[b](AK) with him, one on his right and one on his left.[c]

29 Those(AL) who passed by were yelling insults(AM) at[d] him, shaking their heads,(AN) and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,(AO) 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross!”(AP) 31 In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes(AQ) were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32 Let the Messiah,(AR) the King(AS) of Israel,(AT) come down now from the cross,(AU) so that we may see and believe.”(AV) Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

The Death of Jesus

33 When(AW) it was noon,[e] darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.[f](AX) 34 And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”[g](AY)

35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “See, he’s calling for Elijah.”

36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink,(AZ) and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

37 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 Then the curtain(BA) of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he[h] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” [i](BB)

40 There(BC) were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,(BD) Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee(BE) these women followed him and took care of him. Many other women had come up with him to Jerusalem.(BF)

The Burial of Jesus

42 When(BG) it was already evening, because it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward(BH) to the kingdom of God,(BI) came and boldly went to Pilate(BJ) and asked for Jesus’s body.(BK) 44 Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had already died. 45 When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph. 46 After he bought some linen cloth, Joseph took him down and wrapped him in the linen. Then he laid him in a tomb(BL) cut out of the rock and rolled a stone(BM) against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene(BN) and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid.

Footnotes

  1. 15:25 Lit was the third hour
  2. 15:27 Or revolutionaries
  3. 15:27 Some mss include v. 28: So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And he was counted among criminals.
  4. 15:29 Or passed by blasphemed
  5. 15:33 Lit the sixth hour
  6. 15:33 Lit the ninth hour, also in v. 34
  7. 15:34 Ps 22:1
  8. 15:39 Other mss read saw that he cried out like this and
  9. 15:39 Or a son of God