While Jesus was hanging on the cross, His detractors mocked Him by saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself” (Mark 15.31). But they failed to comprehend that Jesus’ refusal to save Himself was how He saved others (Mark 10.45). This lesson covers Mark’s account of the crucifixion, the self-sacrifice of Jesus that is at the center of the gospel message.
Notes from the text:
- 15.1:
- the morning “trial” was likely conducted to formulate charges acceptable to the Roman authorities. The Romans would not care about the charge of blasphemy (see Mark 14.64), but the claim of being King (Mark 15.2) would be taken very seriously.
- Pilate was governor of Judea from AD 26 – AD 37. His rule was marked by cruelty (see Luke 13.1) and antagonism of the Jews.
- 15.2: once again, Jesus answered the only question likely to result in his death. To proclaim Himself as king of the Jews would put Him into opposition to Caesar. Pilate, the dispenser of Roman justice, would be expected to brutally put down any challenge to Caesar.
- 15.3-5: see Isaiah 53.7.
- 15.6: “An example of a Roman official releasing a prisoner on the demands of the people occurs in the Papyrus Florentinus 61.59ff. There the Roman governor of Egypt, G. Septimus Vegetus, says to Phibion, the accused: ‘Thou hast been worthy of scourging, but I will give thee to the people’ (cited in Taylor, p. 580).” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
- 15.7: see Luke 23.19.
- 15.8: it would seem at this point that the crowd came for the purpose of requesting the release of Barabbas and they were unaware of Jesus’ arrest.
- 15.11: Barabbas credentials as a patriot were established; he had participated in an insurrection and was imprisoned by the Romans. It is likely that the chief priests were able to use this as a reason for the crowd to choose Barabbas over Jesus. After all, Jesus had shown His disapproval for how Temple business was being conducted and foretold the destruction of the city.
- 15.12-14: Pilate was walking a political tight-rope. He knew Jesus was innocent (Matthew 27.19) and while normally antagonistic to the Jewish leadership, he could not afford for the people to riot. The chief priests had convinced the crowd that Jesus was a blasphemer and deserving of death. That fact effectively tied the hands of Pilate.
- 15.15: “Since flogging did not necessarily precede crucifixion, Pilate was still hoping he could dissuade the crowd from their demand for Jesus’ crucifixion (cf. John 19:1–7, where after the flogging Pilate tried to persuade them against crucifixion) by administering a severe flogging instead. In any case, flogging was no light punishment. The Romans first stripped the victim and tied his hands to a post above his head. The whip (flagellum) was made of several pieces of leather with pieces of bone and lead embedded near the ends. Two men, one on each side of the victim, usually did the flogging. The Jews mercifully limited flogging to a maximum of forty stripes; the Romans had no such limitation.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
- 15.16: a battalion (cohort) usually consisted of 600 men. The Roman soldiers would have relished the opportunity to humiliate a Jewish “king”.
- 15.19: “The attentive reader/auditor of Mark will recall that earlier the Gerasene demoniac had run up to Jesus and done homage (προσεκύνησεν) to him, addressing Jesus as ‘Son of the Most High God’ (5:6–7). Roman soldiers now bow before Jesus, much as they would to Caesar, who for them was the ‘son of God’.” (Word Biblical Commentary)
- 15.20: “At last, tiring of their sadism, the soldiers tore the robe from Jesus’ back. The fabric had probably stuck to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds. Thus when it was callously ripped off him, it caused excruciating pain, just as when a bandage is carelessly removed. Jesus’ own clothes were now put back on him. The custom was for men condemned to death by crucifixion to be led naked to the place of execution and to be flogged on the way (Jos. Antiq. XIX, 269 [iv. 5]). Jesus, how ever, had already been scourged and was too weak to have survived an additional brutal beating.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
- 15.21:
- Note Mark 8.34. To be a disciple of Christ requires us to follow Him.
- Rufus is likely the Christian mentioned in Romans 16.13.
- 15.23: note Proverbs 31.6. Jesus refused a drink meant to give comfort to those afflicted.
- 15.24:
- Mark was incredibly restrained with his wording, “and they crucified him”. “Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes [the vertical beam].… The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain—the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward.… Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.… Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber: Then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.… It is now almost over—the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level—the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues—the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air.… The body of Jesus is now in extremis and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues.… His mission of atonement has been completed. Finally he can allow His body to die.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
- Note the fulfillment of Psalm 22.18.
- 15.26: note John 18.36.
- 15.27: “Perhaps the most plausible speculation is that these men were associates of Barabbas, who was himself involved in an insurrection in which murder was committed (cf. 15:7). These two violent men, who had probably been involved in the same insurrection, were only naturally associated with Jesus, who had himself been condemned for apparently claiming to be Israel’s anointed king. In Pilate’s view it was only fitting for the three of them to be executed together.” (Word Biblical Commentary)
- 15.29-32: note the irony in these verses:
- For Jesus to rebuild the Temple, He could not come down from the cross (John 2.19; Mark 14.58).
- For Jesus to save others, He must not save Himself (Mark 10.45).
- Jesus staying on the cross would be essential for people to “see and believe” (John 3.14-15).
- 15.33: the crucifixion began at the 3rd hour, or 9am (vs. 25). This darkness would have taken place from noon to 3pm.
- 15.34: Psalm 22.1. It should be noted that the Psalm concludes with the assurance that God hears and delivers (see Psalm 22.19ff).
- 15.35: “The ignorant and heartless bystanders mistook the first words of Jesus’ cry “Eloi, Eloi” (“My God, my God”) to be a cry for Elijah. (Or, instead of mistaking “Eloi” for “Elijah,” were they indulging in a cruel joke?) Elijah was regarded as the forerunner and helper of the Messiah and was also regarded as a deliverer of those in trouble. So tauntingly! they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah’.” (Expositors Bible Commentary)
- 15.36: the reason for this action seems to be that the crowd could sense that the end was near for Jesus. To prolong His agony, they gave Him the sour wine to drink.
- 15.38: this information may have been reported by some of the priests who did become disciples of Jesus (Acts 6.7). Jesus had foretold the destruction of the temple (Mark 13.1-4) and His death showed the certainty of it’s downfall. The Jerusalem temple was no longer needed because Jesus entered the true Temple on behalf of His people (Hebrews 6.19-20).
- 15.39: this Roman soldier confessed the truth about Jesus (see Mark 1.1).
- 15.41: note Luke 8.1-3.
- 15.42: the Jews reckoned the Sabbath beginning at 6PM on Friday.
- 15.43: Joseph’s act was one of courage because it would have identified him as a follower of Christ.
- 15.44: Pilate’s surprise was because many victims of crucifixion lingered for days before their death. The privations of Jesus’ life and the abuse He endured before His death explain why He died so quickly.
- 15.45: see John 19.33-34.
- 15.46-47: the details provided establish that 1) Jesus really died and 2) His disciples knew where the body was buried. This sets the stage for chapter 16.
Using the text in evangelism:
The events of Jesus’ crucifixion make for compelling reading, but become even more meaningful when we consider that He endured the cross for us (John 3.16; Romans 5.8). Such a sacrifice compels us to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1.15), to take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8.34) and to serve others as He served us (Mark 10.43-45). The crucifixion is the motivation to be a disciple of Christ.
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