Mark 15

Jesus Before Pilate

1 Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, whole council, came together, made their plan, tied Jesus up, and took Him to Pilate.

2 Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You said it.”

3 The chief priests kept throwing accusations at Him.

4 Pilate asked again, “You not going to answer, Look how much they are bringing against You.”

5 But Jesus did not say another word, and Pilate was surprised.

Jesus or Barabbas

6 Now at the festival, Pilate would release one prisoner the people asked for.

7 There was a man named Barabbas locked up with rebels who had committed murder in an uprising.

8 The crowd came up asking Pilate to do what he usually did.

9 Pilate answered, “You want me to release the King of the Jews,”

10 He knew the chief priests handed Jesus over out of envy.

11 But the chief priests stirred the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead.

12 Pilate said, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call King of the Jews?”

13 They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

14 Pilate said, “Why, What has He done wrong?” But they shouted even louder, “Crucify Him!”

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard, the Praetorium, and called the whole unit together.

17 They dressed Him in purple, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on Him.

18 They started saluting Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

19 They kept hitting His head with a stick, spitting on Him, and dropping to their knees pretending to honor Him.

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

The Crucifixion

21 They forced a man named Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry His cross.

22 They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of the Skull.

23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.

24 Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots to see what each would get.

25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified Him.

26 The charge written against Him read: “The King of the Jews.”

27 They crucified two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

28 That fulfilled the Scripture saying He would be counted among lawbreakers.

29 People passing by were talking crazy, shaking their heads and saying, “So, you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

30 Save Yourself and come down from that cross!”

31 The chief priests and scribes were mocking Him too, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself.

32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now so we can see and believe.” Even the ones crucified with Him were talking against Him.

The Death of Jesus

33 At noon, darkness covered the whole land until three in the afternoon.

34 At three, Jesus cried out loud, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,”, which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 Some standing there heard it and said, “Look, He is calling Elijah.”

36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to Him to drink, saying, “Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

37 Then Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last.

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 When the centurion standing there saw how He died, he said, “This man truly was the Son of God.”

40 There were also women watching from a distance, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41 These women had followed Him and served Him when He was in Galilee. Many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem were there too.

The Burial of Jesus

42 It was already evening, since it was Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath.

43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was also waiting for the kingdom of God, stepped up boldly and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.

44 Pilate was surprised that He was already dead, so he called the centurion and asked if He had died already.

45 After confirming it, he gave the body to Joseph.

46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Jesus down, wrapped Him in it, and laid Him in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.