Mark 15

Crucify Him

Mark 15

Mark 15:2

And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." (use)

Mark 15:3

And the chief priests accused him of many things. (use)

Mark 14:61

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (use)

Mark 15:4

And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." (use)

Mark 15:5

But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. (use)

Mark 15:10

For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. (use)

Mark 15:14

And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." (use)

The idea that we could register, as it were, a no-vote, that we could abstain, is actually to vote against Christ, and as we will see, it is to follow the sorry pattern that is established for us by this man Pilate, the Roman governor.

Begg, A., 2001. Pilate's Dilemma.
begg-2001-pilate~a1

Mark 15:15

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (use)

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.

Cowper, W. 1773. Light Shining out of Darkness.
cowper-1773-light~a4

Mark 15:20

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. (use)

The story of Jesus as he goes to the cross is the story we all know: the story of what happens when our vision of the world and of ourselves come crashing down.

Wright, N.T., 2021. Preaching The Cross in Dark Times.
wright-2021-preaching~a1

Mark 15:25

And it was the third hour when they crucified him. (use)

America has seen one of the most rapid de-Christianisations in the past two decades and the results so far are not good. What is left is not the rationalist paradise some naïve public philosophers were claiming at the start of the 21st century, but a sort of distilled Christianity, which without the supernatural elements is far less rational: and so what results is endless moral panics, a world seen in stark black and white between good and evil, competitive sanctimony and the sentimental glorification of victimhood in which everyone wants the glory of being on the Cross.

West, Ed., 2021. How God created the West.
west-2021-how~a1

A mountain hamlet in northern Japan claims Jesus Christ was buried there ...he cheated the executioners by trading places with the unsung, if not unremembered, Isukiri.

Lidz, F., 2013. The Little-Known Legend of Jesus in Japan.
lidz-2013-japan~a1

...if there is any fact of Jesus' life that has been established by a broad consensus, it is the fact of Jesus' crucifixion.

Eddy, P. 2007. The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition.
eddy-2007-legend~a1

...Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus...

Tacitus. 116. Annals.
tacitus-116-annals~a1

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. (Dunn, J., 2003. Jesus remembered.)

Josephus. 94. The Antiquities of the Jews.
josephus-94-antiquities~a1dunn

He [Christ] appeared on earth as a man and performed miracles (apparuisse eum ... virtutes perfecisse). Thus, he himself did not suffer. Rather, a certain Simon of Cyrene was compelled (Simonem quendam Cyrenaeum angariatum) to carry his cross for him. It was he [Simon] who was ignorantly and erroneously crucified (et hunc ... crucifixum), being transfigured by him [Jesus], so that (ut) he [Simon] might be thought to be Jesus. Moreover, Jesus assumed the form of Simon and stood by, laughing at them.

Irenaeus. 200. Against Heresies.
irenaeus-200-against~b1c24s40

For my death, which they think happened, (happened) to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death... It was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. I[t] was another upon Whom they placed the crown of thorns... And I was laughing at their ignorance. {Jesus as narrator}{200ADish}

Unknown. 300. Second Treatise of the Great Seth.
un-300-great-seth~a1

And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. {610AD->}

"Qur'an"
quran~s4v157

Genesis 3:15

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (use)

Psalm 22:16

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet (use)

Psalm 22:18

they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (use)

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (use)

Mark 15:25

And it was the third hour when they crucified him. (use)

Acts 2:23

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (use)

Hebrews 12:2

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (use)

So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself, He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood.

Winslow, O. 1864. The Foot of the Cross.
winslow-1864-foot~a1

Mark 15:24

And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. (use)

They set up a superscription over his head, by which they intended to reproach him, but really did him both justice and honour, The king of the Jews. Here was no crime alleged, but his sovereignty owned.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Mark
mhcom-mk~15a

Mark 15:30

save yourself, and come down from the cross (use)

Mark 15:32

Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (use)

Mark 15:36

And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." (use)

The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.

Tozer, A.W., 2005. The Radical Cross.
tozer-2005-radical~a1

Mark 15:37

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. (use)

But this we know: that our sins, not His, wove the veil which separated Him from His God. Such separation is the real death. Where cold analysis is out of place, reverent gratitude may draw near. Let us adore, for what we can understand speaks of a love which has taken on itself the iniquity of us all. Let us silently adore, for all words are weaker than that mystery of love.

Maclaren, A., 1904. Expositions of Holy Scripture.
maclaren-1904-exp~mk-15b

Mark 15:38

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (use)

Mark 15:39

And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (use)

Mark 15:47

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. (use)

Mark 15:40

There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. (use)

Mark 15:43

Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (use)

The mightiest Man, in the hour of trial, can do nothing without the strength of God; and the weakest Woman can do all things, if Christ strengthen her.

Clarke, A., 1831. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible.
clarke-1831-com~mk15

Mark 15:44

Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. (use)

Mark 15:45

And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. (use)

Mark 15:46

And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. (use)

We thought that everything was lost and gone, Disaster on disaster overtook us The night we left our Jesus all alone And we were scattered, and our faith forsook us. But oh that foul Friday proved far worse, For we had hoped that he had been the one, Till crucifixion proved he was a curse, And on the cross our hopes were all undone.

Guite, M. 2016. Parable and Paradox. Emmaus 2. Canterbury Press, Norwich.
guite-2016-parable-em2~s1

He was nailed to a cross and left to die, which he did. They silenced his lips, sealed his tomb, and, as any priest worth the price of a phylactery would tell you, Jesus is history. Three years of power and promises are decomposing in a borrowed grave. Search the crucifixion sky for one ray of hope, and you won’t find it. Such is the view of the disciples, the opinion of the friends, and the outlook of the enemies. But God is not surprised. His plan is right on schedule. Even in—especially in—death, Christ is still the king, the king over his own crucifixion. [pg.18] Lucado, M.

Graham, B., Lucado, M., Lotz, A.G., Omartian, S., 2007. Blessings of the cross.
graham-2007-blessings~a2

Topics and Themes

About Jesus

Questions

Mark 15:2

And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." (use)

Mark 15:4

And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." (use)

Mark 15:9

And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" (use)

Mark 15:14

And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." (use)

Key Verse

Mark 15:37

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. (use)