Get Ready
Have you attended a funeral or “life celebration” recently? Did you have a role or responsibility in the event? What was your relationship to the person who died? How did the event make you feel about the person? Did the event lead you to think about your own life? About your death?
The Word
15 15Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18 And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. 20 After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The crucifixion of Jesus
21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
The death of Jesus
33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
The burial of Jesus
42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.
45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. Where is Jesus as this section begins? Who is with him? What do these people do to Jesus? How do they treat him? Why do you suppose they did these things?
2. Where do the soldiers take Jesus? Who gets involved in Jesus’s plight? What does he do for Jesus? What do the soldiers offer Jesus? What do they do while he is dying?
3. What other details does Mark provide about Jesus’s crucifixion? What details do the other Gospel writers give us [see Notes]?
4. Who is with Jesus when he is crucified? What does Jesus say to one of them [see Notes]? Why did Jesus make such a promise? What do the people say to Jesus? What do the Jewish leaders say? What is the great irony in these comments?
5. When does the end begin to happen? What sign occurs? What does Jesus cry out at the end? When does this happen? How do the people watching react to Jesus’s cry? What do they try to give him? Why? What happens at the moment Jesus “breathed his last”? Why is this significant? Who else watches Jesus die? How does this person respond?
6. What happens after Jesus has died? Who is involved? What does this person do for Jesus? Who does he talk with? How does this person react? What happens to Jesus’s body that evening? Where is he buried? Who was involved?
Get Personal
What details about Jesus’s crucifixion and burial stand out for you? Would you have been part of the crowd or with Jesus’s friends? How has God helped you understand Jesus’s death in your life? How has it affected your faith?
Notes . . .
(Cross-references to Matthew and Luke are given in brackets)
15:16-20. The soldiers mock Jesus — Matthew’s account is almost identical to Mark’s [Matt 27:27-31]. Luke does not include this incident.
15:21-32. The crucifixion of Jesus — Only Mark mentions Simon’s two sons. Matthew records the crucifixion very close to Mark’s version, although he does not mention the chief priests and scribes, only “those who passed by,” [Matt 27:32-44].
Luke adds considerable detail to the report. Jesus tells the women who lined the street, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? Luke also includes Jesus’s promise to one of the “criminals,”
Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise, and his prayer: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing, [Luke 23:26-43].
15:33-41. The death of Jesus — Matthew’s report is similar to Mark’s except that he includes a report about tombs opening and “saints who had fallen asleep” entering Jerusalem and appearing to many people. He does not mention the mother of John and James, or “Salome” being at the cross.
Luke does not include Jesus’s cry of being forsaken or the torn curtain in the temple, but does report Jesus’s cry: Father into your hands I commend my spirit. Luke says “acquaintances, including the women . . . stood at a distance,” but does not name them, [Luke 23:44-49].
15:42-47. The burial of Jesus — Matthew omits Pilate’s question of the centurion, but does include the story of the Jewish leaders directing the guards to seal the tomb [Matt 27:57-66].
Luke’s version of the burial is very similar to Mark’s, although he also omits the centurion [Luke 23:50-55].
Memory Verse
Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” [Mark 15:39]
Next Lesson:
Jesus’s resurrection — Mark 16
