Mark 15

Mark 15 is the fifteenth of the sixteen chapters of the Gospel of Mark. Following the arrest and the hearing before the council in Mark 14, it covers the events from the trial before the Roman governor through the crucifixion and burial.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The council binds Jesus and hands him over to Pilate. Jesus gives no answer to the accusations.
• Verses 6–15 In keeping with the custom of releasing one prisoner at the feast, the crowd asks for the release of Barabbas. Pilate has Jesus scourged and delivers him to be crucified.
• Verses 16–20 In the courtyard of the Praetorium, the soldiers mock Jesus with a purple robe and a crown of thorns.
• Verses 21–28 Simon of Cyrene carries the cross, and at the third hour Jesus is crucified at Golgotha together with two thieves. The inscription of his accusation reads "The King of the Jews."
• Verses 29–32 Passersby, the chief priests and scribes, and those crucified with him revile him.
• Verses 33–39 Darkness covers the land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour; Jesus cries out with a loud voice and breathes his last. The veil of the temple is torn, and the centurion makes his confession.
• Verses 40–41 Women who had followed him from Galilee watch from a distance.
• Verses 42–47 On the evening before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea receives the body and lays it in a tomb hewn out of rock.

Key Verses

• Mark 15:34 "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" — Jesus cries out in Aramaic the words of Psalm 22:1.
• Mark 15:38 "And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." — This verse is the basis for the interpretation that Jesus' death opened the way of access to God.
• Mark 15:39 "Truly this man was the Son of God." — Here the declaration at the opening of the book (1:1) is confirmed by the words of a Gentile centurion.

People and Places

• Pontius Pilate, Barabbas, Simon of Cyrene, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea
• Centurion: a Roman army officer in command of about one hundred soldiers.
• Praetorium: the governor's residence or the courtyard within it.
• Golgotha: the place of execution, whose name means "the place of a skull."

Points for Reflection

• Verse 28 is absent from early manuscripts, so the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version mark it as "(omitted)." Some later manuscripts include a verse quoting Isaiah 53.
• Various explanations have been offered for reconciling the time of the crucifixion, "the third hour" (verse 25), with the reference to "the sixth hour" in John 19.
• Of the Seven Last Words of Christ, Mark records only the single saying in verse 34.
• Some identify the Rufus of verse 21 with the Rufus mentioned in Romans 16.
• The tearing of the veil is often read in connection with Hebrews 10:19–20.

In the Korean Church

The chapter is frequently read as a text on the crucifixion during Holy Week and in Good Friday services.