Mark 15-16

International Standard Version

Jesus is Taken to Pilate^(A)

15 As soon as it was morning, the high priests convened a meeting with the elders and scribes and the whole Council.^[a] They bound Jesus with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ² Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus^[b] answered him, “You say so.”

³ The high priests kept accusing him of many things. ⁴ So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have any answer? Look how many accusations they’re bringing against you!” ⁵ But since Jesus no longer answered, Pilate was astonished.

Jesus is Sentenced to Death^(B)

⁶ At every festival,^[c] Pilate^[d] would release any one prisoner whom the people^[e] requested. ⁷ Now there was a man in prison named Barabbas. He had been with the insurgents who had committed murder during the rebellion. ⁸ So the crowd came and began to request that Pilate^[f] do for them what he always did.^{[g] 9} Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” ¹⁰ because he knew that the high priests had handed him over due to jealousy.

¹¹ But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² So Pilate asked them again, “Then what should I do with the man you call^[h] ‘the King of the Jews’?”

¹³ “Crucify him!” they shouted back.

¹⁴ “Why?” Pilate asked them. “What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus^(C)

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus^[i] into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters)^[j] and called out the whole guard. ¹⁷ They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted some thorns into a victor’s crown, and placed it on his head.^{[k] 18} They began to greet him, “Long live the king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, kneeling in front of him, and worshiping him. ²⁰ When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Jesus is Crucified^(D)

²¹ They forced a certain passer-by named^[l] Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who happened to be coming in from the country, to carry Jesus’^[m] cross. ²² They took Jesus^[n] to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. ²³ They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he wouldn’t accept it. ²⁴ Then they crucified him. They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get. ²⁵ It was nine in the morning^[o] when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” ²⁷ They crucified two bandits^[p] with him, one on his right and the other on his left.^{[q] 29} Those who passed by kept insulting^[r] him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days— ³⁰ save yourself and come down from the cross!”

³¹ In the same way, the high priests, along with the scribes, were also making fun of him among themselves. They kept saying, “He saved others, but can’t save himself! ³² Let the Messiah,^[s] the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, since seeing is believing!” Even the men who were crucified with him kept insulting him.

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(E)

³³ At noon,^[t] darkness came over the whole land^[u] until three in the afternoon.^{[v] 34} At three o’clock,^[w] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, eloi,^[x] lema sabachthani?”^[y] (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)^[z]

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah!”^[aa]

³⁶ So someone ran and soaked a sponge in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus^[ab] a drink, saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down!”

³⁷ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ The curtain^[ac] in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion^[ad] who stood facing Jesus^[ae] saw how he had cried out and^[af] breathed his last, he said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Now there were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,^[ag] Mary the mother of young James and Joseph, and Salome. ⁴¹ They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.

Jesus is Buried^(F)

⁴² It was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Since it was already evening, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Council,^[ah] who was waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was amazed to hear^[ai] that Jesus^[aj] had already died, so he summoned the centurion to ask him if he was in fact dead. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he let Joseph have the corpse. ⁴⁶ Joseph^[ak] bought some linen cloth, took the body^[al] down, wrapped it in the cloth, laid it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Now Mary Magdalene^[am] and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where the body^[an] had been laid.

Jesus is Raised from the Dead^(G)

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene,^[ao] Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus.^{[ap] 2} Very early on the first day of the week,^[aq] when the sun had just come up, they were going to the tomb. ³ They kept saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. (It was a very large stone.)

⁵ As they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were utterly astonished. ⁶ But he told them, “Stop being astonished! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go and tell his disciples—especially Peter—that Jesus^[ar] is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

⁸ So they left the tomb and ran away, overwhelmed by shock and astonishment. They didn’t say a thing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[as]

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene^(H)

⁹ After Jesus^[at] had risen early on the first day of that week,^[au] he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,^[av] from whom he had driven out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with Jesus^[aw] and who now were grieving and crying. ¹¹ When they heard that he was alive and that he had been seen by her, they refused to believe Mary.^[ax]

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples^(I)

¹² After this, Jesus^[ay] appeared in a different form to two disciples^[az] as they were walking into the country. ¹³ They went back and told the others, who didn’t believe them, either.

Jesus Commissions His Disciples^(J)

¹⁴ Finally he appeared to his eleven disciples^[ba] while they were eating. He rebuked them for their unbelief and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen. ¹⁵ Then he told them, “As you go into the entire world, proclaim the gospel to everyone.^{[bb] 16} Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ These are the signs that will accompany those who believe: In my name they’ll drive out demons. they’ll speak in new languages,^{[bc] 18} and they’ll pick up snakes with their hands.^[bd] Even if they drink any deadly poison, it won’t hurt them, and they’ll place their hands on the sick, and they’ll recover.”

Jesus is Taken Up to Heaven^(K)

¹⁹ So the Lord Jesus,^[be] after talking with his disciples,^[bf] was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then his disciples^[bg] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the signs that accompanied it.