Mark 15
15
Pilate Puts Jesus on Trial
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests agreed on a verdict with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin. They tied Jesus up, took him away, and turned him over to Pilate.
2“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3The chief priests brought many charges against him. 4So Pilate questioned him again. “Aren’t you going to answer?” he asked. “Look at how many things they’re accusing you of!”
5But Jesus still didn’t reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6It was his usual practice to let one prisoner go free at the Passover Feast. The people could choose the one they wanted. 7A man named Barabbas was in prison with some others who had committed murder in a rebellion against Rome. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to release a prisoner for them as usual.
9“Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?” asked Pilate. 10He knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him for trial because they were jealous of him. 11But the chief priests riled up the crowd and got them to ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
12“Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13“Crucify him!” they shouted.
14“Why? What has he done wrong?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even more loudly, “Crucify him!”
15Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he let Barabbas go free. But he ordered Jesus to be whipped, and then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, which was called the Praetorium. There they called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on Jesus, twisted thorns together to make a crown, and forced it onto his head. 18They pretended to greet him the way they would Caesar: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19But then they repeatedly beat him on the head with a stick and spit on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honor him. 20After they had made fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to nail him to a cross.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross
21A man from Cyrene named Simon (he’s the father of Alexander and Rufus) was coming in from the country. When he went past the soldiers who were leading Jesus away, they stopped him and forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. 23They offered him wine mixed with spices, but he wouldn’t drink it. 24Then they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes, casting lots to see what each of them would get.
25It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26They put up a written notice of the charge against him. It read,
the king of the jews.
27-28Two men who had rebelled against Rome were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 29Those who passed by shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “So, you’re going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? 30Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!” 31The chief priests and teachers of the law made fun of him in the same way. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross now! If we see that, then we’ll believe.” Those who were being crucified with Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
33At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted for three hours. 34At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (That means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”)
35Some of the people who were standing nearby heard Jesus cry out, and they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah.”
36Someone ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar. He lifted it up on a long stick and offered it to Jesus to drink. Then he said, “Now let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37With a loud cry, Jesus took his last breath.
38The curtain in front of the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn in half from top to bottom. 39When the Roman commander who was standing there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he exclaimed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joseph, and Salome. 41These women had traveled with Jesus in Galilee and taken care of his needs. Other women had also come up with him to Jerusalem, and many of them were there too.
Jesus Is Buried
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). As evening approached, 43a man named Joseph from the town of Arimathea, who was a leading member of the Jewish Council and who was looking forward to the kingdom of God, went bravely to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called for the Roman commander and asked if Jesus had already died. 45When the commander said that this was true, Pilate gave the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down, wrapped it in the cloth, and put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was placed.
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