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15 And before dawn, the chief priests held a council with the elders, and the scribes, and the whole Council; and bound Jesus and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.

Then Pilate asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And He answered, and said to him, “You have said so.”

And the chief priests accused Him of many things.

So Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do you answer nothing? Behold how many things they witness against You.”

But Jesus answered no more at all, so that Pilate marveled.

Now at the feast, Pilate would deliver a prisoner to them, whoever they desired.

And there was one named Barabbas (who was bound with his fellows) who had made insurrection, during which he had committed murder.

And the people cried aloud and began to desire that Pilate would do as he had always done for them.

Then Pilate answered them, and said, “Should I release to you the King of the Jews?”

10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him out of envy.

11 But the chief priests had incited the people to desire Barabbas.

12 And Pilate answered, and said to them again, “What then shall I do with Him Whom you call the King of the Jews?”

13 And they cried again, “Crucify Him!”

14 Then Pilate said to them, “But, what evil has He done?” And they cried even more fervently, “Crucify Him!”

15 So Pilate, willing to content the people, gave them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus - once he had scourged Him - to be crucified.

16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall (which is the common hall) and called together the whole band,

17 and clothed Him with purple, and put a crown of thorns on His head,

18 and began to salute Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

19 And they struck Him on the head with a reed, and spit on Him, and bowed their knees, and did Him reverence.

20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, and put His own clothes back on, and led Him out to crucify Him.

21 And they compelled one who passed by called Simon of Cyrene (who came out of the country and was father of Alexander and Rufus) to bear His cross.

22 And they brought Him to a place named Golgotha (which is by interpretation, ‘Place of Dead Mens’ Skulls’).

23 And they gave Him wine to drink, mingled with myrrh. But He did not receive it.

24 And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots for what every man should have.

25 And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.

26 And the title of His cause was written above, ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS.’

27 They also crucified two thieves with Him - one on the right and the other on His left.

28 Thus the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was counted among the wicked.”

29 And those who passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Hey, You who would destroy the Temple, and build it in three days,

30 save Yourself! And come down from the cross!”

31 Likewise even the chief priests, also mocking, said among themselves with the scribes, “He saved other men! Himself He cannot save!

32 “Let Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him also reviled Him.

33 Now, when the sixth hour had come, darkness arose over all the land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama-sabachthani?” Which is by interpretation, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 And some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, He calls Elijah!”

36 And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed and gave it to Him, saying, “Let Him alone! Let us see if Elijah will come and take Him down!”

37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.

38 And the veil of the Temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom.

39 Now when the centurion who stood near Him saw that He, thus crying, gave up the ghost, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

40 There were also women who watched from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome,

41 who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

42 And now when the night had come (because it was the Day of the Preparation that is before the Sabbath)

43 Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable councilman, who also looked for the Kingdom of God, went in boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

44 And Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. So, he called the centurion and asked him whether He were indeed dead.

45 And when he knew the truth from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph;

46 who bought a linen cloth, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb that was hewn out of a rock; and rolled a stone over the door of the sepulcher.

47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary Joses’ mother beheld where He was laid.

Jesus Before Pilate(A)

15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law(B) and the whole Sanhedrin,(C) made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.(D)

“Are you the king of the Jews?”(E) asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

But Jesus still made no reply,(F) and Pilate was amazed.

Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”(G) 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(H) 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,(I) and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus(J)

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace(K) (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!”(L) 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(M) to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus(N)

21 A certain man from Cyrene,(O) Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus,(P) was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.(Q) 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,(R) but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots(S) 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.(T)

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(U) and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,(V) 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(W) among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah,(X) this king of Israel,(Y) come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus(Z)

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.(AA) 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](AB)

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,(AC) 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.(AD)

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.(AE) 39 And when the centurion,(AF) who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”(AG)

40 Some women were watching from a distance.(AH) Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome.(AI) 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.(AJ)

The Burial of Jesus(AK)

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).(AL) So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council,(AM) who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God,(AN) 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(AO) 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.(AP) 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph(AQ) saw where he was laid.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 15:28 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Luke 22:37.
  2. Mark 15:34 Psalm 22:1
  3. Mark 15:39 Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry
  4. Mark 15:40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse 47