Day 43 – Friday, February 28, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Mark 15

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

Pilate Tries Jesus

Matt. 27:1, 2, 11–23; Luke 23:1–5, 13–23; John 18:28–19:15

1 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. ² Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”³ And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. ⁴ Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” ⁵ But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.⁶ Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. ⁷ And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. ⁸ Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. ⁹ But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. ¹² Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”¹³ So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”¹⁴ Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 15:1–14.

Points to Ponder:

• After the Council interrogated Jesus all night, they took Him to Pilate the next morning. This passage is also found in Matthew 27, but with a longer account.
• In Mark, Pilate primarily asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews and Jesus remains silent.
• Pilate did not want to execute Jesus, so he sought to offer a prisoner for release, as was his custom annually at Passover. He hoped they would select Jesus, but instead they asked for his other choice, Barabbas, a rebel against Rome.
• When Pilate asked what he should do with Jesus, the crowd cried out for Him to crucify Jesus.
• In Matthew, the account of Pilate’s wife’s dream is shared, and the role of the religious leaders in turning the crowd against Jesus.

Jesus is Beaten

Matt. 27:26–34; Luke 23:24–32; John 19:16–22

¹⁵ So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.¹⁶ Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. ¹⁷ And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, ¹⁸ and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.²¹ Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. ²² And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 15:15–23.

Points to Ponder:

• This passage is almost identical to the passage in Matthew 27.
• Jesus is scourged (beaten) and then delivered to the soldiers to be crucified.
• The soldiers mocked Him, putting a purple robe on Him, and a crown of thorns on His head. They bowed and saluted Him as “King of the Jews.”
• They hit him on the head with a reed and spat on Him. Then they took the robe off of Him and led Him out to the place of crucifixion.
• After the beatings, He was not strong enough to carry the cross, so they forced a man named Simon to carry His cross.
• This mockery and shame was uncalled for. Jesus was not worthy of this treatment. Yet He endured it for our sins. What a great sacrifice Jesus made for you and me!

Jesus is Crucified

Matt. 27:35–56; Luke 23:33–49; John 19:18, 23–30

²⁴ And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.²⁵ Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. ²⁶ And the inscription of His accusation was written above:THE KING OF THE JEWS²⁷ With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. ²⁸ So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”²⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”³¹ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 15:24–32.

Points to Ponder:

• This passage parallels Matthew 27’s account of the crucifixion.
• Matthew includes the prophecy from Psalm 22 about the prisoners casting lots for His garment, which Mark did not.. Mark includes the prophecy from Isaiah 53 about Jesus being numbered with the transgressors, which Matthew does not.
• Pilate had an inscription put over Jesus head on the cross. This was common for crucifixions, so that people would know the charges against the criminal that led to their death. In Jesus’ case, the crime was simply being who He said He was.
• Many came by the cross and mocked Jesus, telling Him that if He was truly who He said He was, He would come down off the cross, or at least God would come to rescue Him. Even the criminals crucified on either side of Him mocked Him.
• They just did not understand that this was the sacrifice ordained from the beginning of time, this was the solution to their sin problem, this was the Savior Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Distress and Death

³³ Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”³⁵ Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” ³⁶ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”³⁷ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.³⁸ Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, 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.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 15:33–41.

Points to Ponder:

• The sixth hour is equivalent to our 12 noon. So, it was incredibly unusual for their to be complete darkness until 3:00 pm (the ninth hour).
• At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out asking, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” As Jesus spoke from the cross, He was reflecting both His divinity and His humanity. The man Jesus would have felt forsaken, while the God Jesus knew He still was one with the Father and the Spirit. However, Jesus could not look upon the sin Jesus carried for us that moment. It could have been the express presence of God that Jesus was missing, because He could not look upon Him at that moment.
• Either way, the people misunderstood Him and thought He was calling for Elijah the prophet. Someone offered Him sour wine, but the leaders told them to leave Him alone and then mockingly asked if Jesus really thought Elijah would come to save Him.
• At that moment, Jesus cried out loudly and died.
• Matthew recorded that at that moment an earthquake occurred, and many of the righteous dead were raised.
• At that moment, the veil of the temple tore in two from top to bottom, opening the presence of God to all who would come.
• At that moment, a hardened soldier admitted that Jesus was the Son of God.
• At that moment, the women wept over His death.
• At that moment, we were provided with a way for our sins to be forgiven.

Jesus is Buried

Matt. 27:57–61; Luke 23:50–55; John 19:38–42

⁴² Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 15:42–47.

Points to Ponder:

• This passage is almost identical to Matthew’s account. Matthew does not record Pilate’s surprise at the soon death of Christ, nor his sending a centurion to check on Him. Matthew also does not mention that it was Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath.
• Joseph cared about Jesus, having followed Him from afar.
• He asked for Jesus’ body, and, upon receiving permission, took Him from the cross, wrapped His body in a linen cloth, and laid Him in his own tomb, freshly hewn from the rock. He rolled a stone against the door, and the ladies followed to see where Jesus was laid.
• This probably seemed like the lowest moment in the lives of His followers since Jesus showed up three years before.
• Although He prepared them, there was no way that they were completely ready to see Jesus crucified and mocked and forsaken as He was.
• Even though He told them in some detail, they could not grasp that this was God’s plan.

• We get like that sometimes. “God, this does not seem right. I did not think you would let this happen!” But God is always God, and He knows what we need. Don’t stop believing, even in the face of defeat.
• Sunday’s coming…

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.