seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Mark 15:1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] [a] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
a. Mark 15:28 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Luke 22:37.
b. Mark 15:34 Psalm 22:1
c. Mark 15:39 Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry
d. Mark 15:40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse 47
This is from the easy English site.
In an effort to gain support from the Jews, Pilate allowed one prisoner to go free at Passover time.
There were some men in prison after a recent attack on the Romans. Among them was Barabbas. He had murdered during the attack, but he may have been a hero among the Jews.
Pilate knew that Jesus had not done anything wrong. So, he asked if he should set free Jesus, ‘the king of the Jews’.
The crowd would include people who supported Barabbas. There were probably other people whom the priests had paid to shout against Jesus. People in a crowd often do things that they would never do on their own.
Pilate asked the crowd what he should do with Jesus. That was not a wise question. He should have made the decision himself, and set Jesus free. But perhaps he expected the crowd to support Jesus.
The crowd demanded that Pilate should kill Jesus on a cross. He protested that Jesus was not guilty. But they insisted, ‘Fix him to a cross.’
Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, because he was afraid. He was afraid that he would be in trouble. He was already in trouble with the Jews for several reasons.
1. When he became ruler, he ordered the Roman army flags to go into Jerusalem. He had to remove them after the Jews complained.
2. He had used Temple money to improve the water supply to Jerusalem.
3. People blamed Pilate for the death of Jews from Galilee while they were in the Temple (Luke 13:1-4). The Jews said that Pilate would not be loyal to Caesar if he set Jesus free (John 19:12). They were suggesting that they could make him lose his job. So, Pilate set free a criminal and he ordered the death of an innocent man.
The Roman army officer had probably seen many men die. But he realised that the death of Jesus was different. He said that Jesus was ‘the Son of God’. The officer was a Gentile. His words were a sign that Gentiles would be part of the Christian church. ‘Son of God’ were the words with which Mark began his Gospel.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John were at the cross (John 19:25). Mark writes about Mary Magdalene. She came from Magdala, on the west coast of Lake Galilee. Mary, who was the mother of James the younger and Joses, was there too. Salome was the mother of James and John. She was probably the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. They were all witnesses at the death of Jesus.
The day when Jews prepared for the Sabbath was Friday. The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday, about six o’clock. Then it was against the Jewish law to do physical work.
Joseph came from a town that was 20 miles north west of Jerusalem. He was a member of the Sanhedrin. He had remained silent. Or he had no opportunity to change the decision to kill Jesus. The Romans left bodies on crosses to warn other people. But God’s rules meant that a man’s body should not stay on a cross after sunset (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Joseph was being fairly brave. People would know now that he was a friend to Jesus. That might have been dangerous for Joseph. Joseph also risked the possibility that Pilate might refuse his request.
Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly. But the Roman officer was able to support Joseph’s request. Mark shows clearly that Jesus died. Some people want to deny the resurrection. So they say that Jesus did not really die. But Pilate, the Roman officer, Joseph and the women all knew that Jesus did suffer actual death.
Joseph had little time between Jesus’ death at three o’clock and the beginning of the Sabbath at six o’clock. John says that Nicodemus helped him (John 19:38-40). The grave was a large cave that men had dug out of the rock. It belonged to Joseph and it had never had a body in it before. He used a heavy stone to roll across the entrance.
The women knew which cave Joseph had put Jesus in. They intended to return after the Sabbath in order to anoint Jesus’ body.
There use to be a TV show called "Night Court". Night Court in Jerusalem was not at all like "Night Court" the TV Show. First of all.... it was illegal for them to hold court at night. So everything that happened after Jesus was arrested.... was illegal. A lousy lawyer today could get Jesus off just because of the fact they met at night.... when no one could witness the proceedings. By 9AM.... Jesus had been found "gilty" by the Sanhedrin [more like they found something they could make stick in all the false accusations]. Jesus had been beaten so severely that someone else was conscripted to carry His Cross. By 9AM another man, a political prisoner, was released. By 9AM two [not one] two "trials" had been heard.... one at the Temple and one at the Palace. Jesus was nailed to the cross.
They offered Him drugs to ease the pain of the crucifixion. He didn't take them. At noon.... in the height of the day.... the sun eclipsed. At 3PM Jesus cried out..... and they tried to offer Him something to ease the pain again.... but He refused it and died.
By 6PM it would have been illegal to work on taking Jesus off the Cross and getting Him into a grave..... and dressing Him for burial. Joseph had three hours. He went to Pilate and asked for the body, citing Jewish law. Pilate was surprised Jesus had passed so quickly. I wonder if Pilate was dreading the thought of that innocent Jew hanging on a cross, reminding of his part in this sham. I wonder if Pilate was relieved that Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, had taken the responsibility of tending to the body [and family] of that innocent Jew.
Mark says Joseph is the one who had the rock rolled in front of the tomb. So far.... in Mark's gospel.... the Roman guard and the Roman seal haven't been addressed. But by 6PM on Friday..... when the Sabbath began..... the women who were at the foot of the cross and Joseph [a member of the Sanhedrin] knew the body was secure..... and they planned to return after the Sabbath.
Jesus knew this was going to happen. He probably discussed it with Elijah and Moses.... several times. He was there when His Father designed and created the human body. He knew there would be pain. He was there when His Father designed the human mind to comprehend emotions of fear, anger, sorrow, and loneliness. He knew what was coming.... but He took it on anyway.... drug free.
I cannot conceive how Mary, the mother of Jesus, felt that day. Her life had been extraordinary. She had been spoken to by an angel. She had a miraculous conception. She rode for miles and miles and miles and miles on the back of a donkey, nine months pregnant, and gave birth [probably at the age of about 12 or 13] in a stable...... where strangers kept wanting to "see the Baby". She survived a death threat on her Baby.... she ran to Egypt to keep Him safe. And on this day..... she was there when they nailed Him to the cross. She was there when He cried out in pain. She was there when He breathed His last breath. She was there when they put Him in the tomb. They say a mother should never have to bury her Son. She had to bury her Innocent Son.
