Hello, welcome to the podcast, Bible Wisdom Today. My name is Stan Watkins.

The Bible has always been an important foundation for my personal faith, leading me to complete a Bible degree and enter Christian ministry, ultimately going with my wife and family to Europe for 6 years. There I served in the areas of Bible teaching and music. Since returning to the states, I have supported my local church as I have had opportunity, but now I would like a more regular outlet for teaching God’s word.

Understanding the Bible is not simply a matter of belief that it is God’s word. The Bible was written long ago, in a foreign language, within an alien culture, using unfamiliar literary styles. Today’s Bible student must overcome each of these obstacles. This podcast is for those willing to do the hard work to discover God's wisdom for life today.

In our last episode we saw Jesus betrayed by Judas, arrested by the temple guard, interrogated by the high priest, and denied by Peter. Still, Jesus willingly embraced the decision he had made in the Garden of Gethsemane to obey his Father’s will. He would complete his purpose on earth to become atonement for all who would receive it. Today, we come to Episode 21, “Jesus’ steadfast devotion to the cross.” We will see Jesus resolutely keep his agreement with God, as he is condemned by Pilate, scourged and mocked by the soldiers, executed on a Roman cross, and abandoned by all around him. The most amazing element of this story is that Jesus did all this for our benefit. He substituted himself in death that we might gain a life of fellowship with God.

Jesus condemned by Pilate (15:1-15)

As we ended our story of Jesus in our last episode, Jesus had been questioned and condemned by the high priest and disowned by Peter. We pick up Mark’s narrative in chapter 15 verse 1.

​ Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 
 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
 “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
 The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
 But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
 Mark 15:1-15

We read that the Sanhedrin made their plans and brought Jesus to the Roman governor “very early in the morning.” Roman legal proceedings began at daybreak, because by mid-morning, upper-class Romans were busy with their leisurely pursuits. The governor of Judea heard cases from 6 to 9 in the morning.

The expression “handed over” which we see here represents a main theme of this section and has already appeared seven times in chapter 14 and will appear again later in this chapter. It has a double meaning. Sometimes it means betrayed and is translated that way (14:10, 11, 18, 21, 42, 44), but other times it means “to be delivered up” according to God’s purpose as a means of redemption (14:41; 15:1, 15). We already saw that meaning in the story of Judas’ betrayal, when Jesus says “Look, the Son of Man is delivered (that is,  ‘handed over’) into the hands of sinners.” God used Judas’ betrayal to advance his chosen purpose for Jesus. This did not absolve Judas of his guilt, but God stood behind the wicked actors in this drama. That is also the sense here, when the Sanhedrin handed Jesus over to Pilate.

Pilate was the Roman prefect of Judea from AD 26-36.[1] The prefect was an appointed position, responsible for overseeing the Roman military police, collecting taxes, managing construction projects and administering justice, including the power of capital punishment. He lived in Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast and only came to Jerusalem during festivals to keep order. The prefect of Judea was a low-prestige position. Nobody really wanted that appointment, and the fact that Pilate had the longest tenure of any Roman governor of Judea is not a sign of his success. The Jewish historian, Josephus, describes him as cruel, anti-Semitic, stubborn, and insensitive.[2] This seems somewhat at odds with the image in Mark of a governor who knew that Jesus was innocent and wanted to release him.

Mark likely wrote in the middle 60s, during the persecution of Nero, so he may have felt that he needed to report the actions of Pilate with discretion, without offending the Romans unnecessarily and causing his Christian brothers greater persecution. Even while being discreet, he was not going to misrepresent Pilate’s role. That would betray one of his central themes that true discipleship is marked by faithful witness, even in difficult times.

“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate worded his question exactly like the high priest did earlier, a statement with implied question. In doing so, Pilate, also, becomes Jesus’ unknowing confessor. The high priest had asked if Jesus was the Messiah, a religious term, but when presenting Jesus to the Roman authorities they converted that to its political equivalent title, “king of the Jews.” This title is mentioned 6 times in chapter 15 (vv. 2, 9, 12, 18, 26, 32), confirming that the Jewish and Roman authorities had colluded on their charge. If Jesus claimed to be “king of the Jews” that would threaten Rome’s authority over Judea.

Jesus answers Pilate ambiguously, “You have said so.” He agrees with the title, “king of the Jews,” but also understands it differently than either the Jewish leaders or Pilate. This is a “Yes, but…” answer.

Mark tells us that the chief priests accused Jesus of many things, probably making him out to be a zealot. “Aren’t you going to answer?” Pilate asked him further. Roman law called first for the presentation of the charges, then a response of the accused, then a decision by the court. If Jesus did not defend himself, Pilate must pronounce against him, but Jesus still made no reply.

Jesus’ silence dominates Mark’s portrayal of the passion. He began this approach with the trial before the Sanhedrin, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed and afflicted,
 yet he did not open his mouth; 
 he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 
 and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
 so he did not open his mouth.
 Isaiah 53:7

Other gospels offer lengthier treatments of Jesus trial before Pilate, but Mark focuses on Jesus’ silence and Pilate’s attempt to satisfy the crowd by offering him amnesty. The governor was amazed. Even in silence, Jesus bears witness to his judge. 

Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but the Jewish crowd clearly wanted Jesus condemned. When they asked Pilate to release a prisoner of their choice like he usually did at the festival, Pilate thought he saw a way out of his difficult situation. “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews?” he asked. Pilate knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over out of their own self-interest. This is Mark’s editorial comment.

The crowd would not have it. The chief priests stirred them up to request the release of Barabbas instead. Throughout Jesus trial and arrest, it was the high priest who was the prime mover. The Roman prefect executed him, but the chief priests laid out the plot against Jesus.

It is ironic that a known murderer received his freedom, so that an innocent man could be bound over for execution. The righteous substituted for the unrighteous. The drama of Jesus’ atonement was personal for Barabbas, as it has been for all who accept Jesus’ substitution by faith. Barabbas was probably a member of the Zealots, who had committed murder in an uprising. We don’t know anything about this incident, but Mark implies that his readers did. 

Three times Pilate lobbied for Jesus’ release, but the crowd cried out, “Crucify him!” Pilate seriously misjudged the crowd. First, he assumed that his offer of Jesus in amnesty would be well received. He may not have anticipated that the Jews would see Barabbas as a Robin Hood-like figure. Second, he failed to understand the control the chief priests had over the crowd. They were insistent!

Pilate did not want to kill an innocent man nor give in to the demands of the Jewish leaders he despised, but he saw the political value of releasing Barabbas and executing Jesus. His primary directive was to avoid a riot, and he was familiar how intractable Jewish protests could be from earlier controversies. He judged that Jesus was not worthy either of standing up on principle or showing force to put down the people’s protest. He opted, instead, for a routine crucifixion. To that end, he had Jesus flogged.

Flogging is a general term, but the specific instrument used on this occasion was a Roman scourge. This was a leather whip, with bits of bone or lead embedded near the ends of the strips. There was no limit to the number of strokes. Scourging cut away the flesh, often exposing bones and even entrails. It was a severe punishment that was part of the crucifixion procedure intended to weaken the victim and shorten their execution. Sometimes, however, the scourging itself brought death.

Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. This is the final use of this phrase, and it again means to be delivered up for the purposes of God. Peter makes clear on the day of Pentecost that he understands that both God’s plans and human plans were at work this day. He declares to the Jewish crowd,

This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
 Acts 2:23

Throughout his trial before Pilate Jesus did not waver from his resolute decision to complete his atonement for the sins of the world. Despite the pain, Jesus maintains his steadfast devotion to the cross.

Jesus mocked by the soldiers (15:16-20)

After Pilate handed Jesus over for crucifixion, we read in verse 16…

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
 Mark 15:16-20

Mark uses the Latin word, “praetorium,” for the benefit of his Roman readers. This refers to the elite soldiers who were the personal guard for the prefect, as well as the place where they were housed. The proceedings under Pilate had apparently taken place in the courtyard of Herod’s palace. Now the soldiers led Jesus into the palace itself, perhaps into a barracks area. There they called together the whole company of soldiers, about 600 men, for a macabre sport.

They staged a mock coronation for this upstart king. “Hail, king of the Jews,” they saluted him. This was a mocking version of the salutation for the emperor, “Hail, Caesar, victor, emperor,” and a restatement of the legal charge against him. They dressed him in a purple robe, the color of royalty because of the cost of the dye, and made a crown for him from the acanthus plant,[3] which had long thorns radiating outward[4] in mocking resemblance to an emperor’s diadem. They gave him a staff as a fake scepter and then beat him on the head with it to show their disdain. They made of parody of greeting him with a kiss of homage only to spit on him instead. Falling on their knees, they gave false reverence to this royal pretender.

This was Jesus’ second ordeal of mockery. The chief priests had mocked Jesus for his divine status. “Prophesy!” they challenged him. The soldiers mocked him for his political status. “Hail, King of the Jews!” Despite their intentions, the soldiers still acknowledged Jesus’ true character by their words. Irony prevails. They made fun of the true king of kings who will one day judge them from his eternal throne.

When they finished their fake enthronement, they put his own clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. It was common crucifixion practice to scourge the condemned and then lead them naked to the execution site, to heighten the shame. Here, they place Jesus’ garments back on him, perhaps to avoid angering the volatile festival crowd. 

Jesus had been beaten by the temple guards, scourged by Pilate, then beaten again by the Roman soldiers. Throughout he willingly gave himself over to their cruelty because he had chosen his destiny Despite the pain, the mockery, Jesus maintains his steadfast devotion to the cross.

Jesus crucified alone (Mark 15:21-39)

Cicero, the Roman lawyer and orator, called crucifixion the “most cruel and horrifying punishment.”[5] Only slaves and the basest criminals were executed in this manner, yet Mark announces it with simple objectivity, “they led him out to crucify him.”

 Continuing our reading from verse 21…

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 
 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
 Mark 15:21-32

Mark narrates the crucifixion with great restraint, without sensationalizing the pain and brutality. He emphasizes, instead, the mockery and shame. 

A Roman execution squad consisted of four soldiers overseen by a centurion. It was customary to force the condemned to carry his own crossbeam, weighing 30-40 pounds, to the place of execution. There the soldiers fastened it to an upright pole to form a cross. Jesus, weakened by the scourging and beating, was unable to carry it past the city gates.

Roman soldiers had the right of immediate conscription, and they used it now to force a man named Simon to carry Jesus’ cross. He was from Cyrene, the chief city of Libya, halfway between Alexandria and Carthage. We are not told whether he was a Jew or Gentile, but he may have been a pilgrim visiting Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

In his earlier teaching about discipleship, Jesus had said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Mark 8:34.” Mark understood this as the indispensable mark of discipleship. Here, Simon became the first person to literally take up Jesus’ cross. It was not just a symbolic gesture. In addition to Simon’s hometown, we also learn that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. It is extremely unusual for Mark to include three personal names in one verse, and the way they are given here implies that they are known to Mark’s readers. In the final chapter of his letter to the Roman church, Paul greets Rufus, a house church leader in the city, and also his mother. It is easy to imagine that Simon’s participation in this crucifixion scene may have led to his conversion and that of his family.

The soldiers brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means “the place of the skull.” Perhaps it was a hill shaped like a skull, or it may have been so named because so many executions were conducted there. “Golgotha” comes from Aramaic, and the fact that Mark translates it points again to his Roman audience. We don’t know the actual location, although the site of the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher is likely. One thing is sure, it was on the main road, since the Romans always chose a site on the main thoroughfare so that this inhumane execution could act as a warning for all.

Jesus did receive one small act of compassion when they offered him wine mixed with myrrh. This was a primitive narcotic, but Jesus refused it, choosing instead to accept God’s will in a fully conscious state.

The soldiers had placed Jesus’ clothes back on him after his scourging for the procession to his execution site, but now they stripped him again. Jesus is crucified nude, and his possessions given to the soldiers. The only thing Jesus had were his clothes, so they made a game of it, gambling over them. This alludes to Psalm 22:18, where we read,

They divide my clothes among them
 and cast lots for my garment.
 Psalms 22:18

Mark is careful to record the time of Jesus crucifixion. It was nine in the morning, the meaning given by the NIV translators. Other more literal translations read “it was the third hour,” retaining Mark’s use of Jewish time references by counting the hours from sunrise.

The charge against the criminal was often written on a board, carried through the streets in front of them, then nailed above the convict at the crucifixion. The Romans used four different shapes for crucifixion, but when they included a written charge, they used a small case T, the classic cross shape we see in art, since it provided a place to nail the charge. In this case it read “the king of the Jews.” The irony of this charge dominates the scene, since it proclaims not so much a legal charge but an eternal truth. This is the place where the royal Messiah sent by God hung in surrender to his mission 

Two rebels were crucified with him. This is traditionally translated “thieves,” but the word implies insurrection. These were likely the coconspirators with Barabbas, whom Jesus had replaced at the center of this execution tableau. As Isaiah 53:12 had predicted, Jesus was literally “numbered with the transgressors.” Luke specifically cites this Isaiah quotation, and some manuscripts of Mark include it also as verse 28, but the oldest and best versions do not.[6] These two criminals on Jesus’ right and left now occupy the places which James and John had once requested.

Those passing by hurled insults at Jesus. This would have included residents of the city who came out to watch as well as pilgrims entering the city. They shook their heads at him in an ancient gesture of contempt. The word for “hurled insults” is “blasphemia,” evil speech against God. Ironically the chief priests and the crowd become guilty of the very thing they had condemned in Jesus. They called on Jesus to come down from the cross and save himself, since he supposedly could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. This must have come from followers of the Sanhedrin court, but notice the irony. Jesus did not destroy the temple as they understood it, but the Jews and Romans destroyed the true temple, Jesus’ body. In his time, Jesus would save himself, rebuilding his body at his resurrection three days later. Jesus would save not only himself but offer salvation to all humankind.

 Not only the passersby, but the chief priests and teachers also mocked him. They have plotted against him now for at least two years and they want to be there for their final victory. “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” They must refer to Jesus’ healing ministry. If he couldn’t save himself then he certainly was not the Son of God. How wrong they were! Jesus could save himself and later he would. For now, however, Jesus was not on a mission of self-help, but to become a ransom for others. This taunt to come down from the cross was the same temptation he faced in Gethsemane, to avoid the cup of suffering. He has already made his costly decision.

The chief priests and teachers mockingly promise conversion. “Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Their demand for a sign was actually evidence of their unbelief, but with this taunt of hypothetical faith, Mark presses his audience, both ancient and modern, to truly believe.

Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Jesus’ rejection is now complete. He is completely alone, without allies even among those who share his destiny. Despite the pain, the mockery, the abandonment, Jesus maintains his steadfast devotion to the cross. 

Mark continues in verse 33,

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 
 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 
 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
 Mark 15:33-39

Again, the NIV translation uses modern time references to report that there was darkness from noon until 3 PM. Other versions may describe it as from the sixth to the ninth hour, but the meaning is the same. There are no more events to report. Just silence and darkness for three hours.

Ancient literature often portrays supernatural phenomena at the death of heroes. These phenomena are usually considered to be divine eulogies to honor the noble dead. This darkness, however, feels ominous, even evil, like the plague of darkness on Egypt before the exodus, or the darkness of chaos before creation. This is not a natural darkness, beginning at high noon and ending at 3 with Jesus’ death. It is not an eclipse or a dust storm or heavy fog. Mark portrays it as a judgment of God lying heavily over all the surrounding area. 

The prophet Amos had prophesied that in the day of the Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon
 and darken the earth in broad daylight.
 Amos 8:9

After three hours of darkness, Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” He spoke this in Aramaic and Mark gives the translation, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is a quotation from Psalm 22:1. Again, this expresses the agony of his soul, not the pain of death, marking the only time in eternity that Jesus is separated from his Father. This brings the abandonment of Jesus to its final culmination. Jesus dies in abject aloneness.

The crowd didn’t understand the quotation from the psalm and misunderstood his cry. “He’s calling Elijah.” They viewed Elijah as a messianic figure who would one day return when he was needed. Perhaps Jesus was calling for Elijah to rescue him. Someone then offers Jesus wine vinegar on a staff. This was sour wine, the drink of laborers and common soldiers. It is unclear whether this was an act of mercy or mockery, but more likely mockery. “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.” Perhaps he offered a drink to prolong Jesus’ life to give more time for Elijah to work a miracle of deliverance at the last moment.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. This is Mark’s understated way of saying, “Jesus died.” He did not die the typical death of a crucified victim, which ended with complete agony, utter exhaustion, and finally unconsciousness before death. Rather he simply stopped breathing. Jesus was sovereign to the last. Despite the pain, the mockery, the abandonment, the separation from his father, Jesus maintained his steadfast devotion to the cross until his purpose was completed.

Upon Jesus’ death, the two most significant events of the gospel take place, recalled briefly in such quick succession that they are easily overlooked. First, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. There were two curtains in the temple, an inner curtain, standing before the holy of holies, where the high priest entered only once a year on the day of atonement with the prescribed sacrifice, and an outer curtain at the entrance to the temple. It is impossible to know for certain which curtain Mark intended. Tearing the outer curtain at the entrance would create a public event, which seems to be in view, but the symbolism argues strongly in favor of the inner curtain. 

Throughout the final Jerusalem section of the Gospel of Mark, he has kept the temple in the forefront of the plot. In chapter 11 Jesus arrives triumphantly to the temple and brings the sacrificial system to a standstill by casting out the sellers of sacrificial animals in the temple courts. In chapter 12 he intellectually spars with the temple leadership, answering all their trick questions and more. In the thirteenth chapter he predicts the destruction of the temple and uses that as a preview of the end times. In chapter 14 he is accused before the high priest of threatening to destroy the temple, a charge we see repeated in his trial before Pilate and in his mockery at the cross. Now, with the death of Jesus, God himself removes the separation between humanity and God. This signifies the simultaneous ending of the temple era and the beginning of a new covenant era.

The second significant event at Jesus death was the proclamation by the centurion that Jesus was the Son of God. A centurion was an officer in charge of 100 soldiers, and this one led the execution detail at Jesus crucifixion. He had witnessed all the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death. This hardened soldier had likely seen many crucifixions but something about this death was revelatory. “Surely this man was the Son of God!” he proclaimed. Jesus’ calm, resolute, lordly control was beyond human heroics.

This declaration brings Mark’s theology of Jesus’ identity to its climax. He had announced Jesus as the Son of God in the first sentence of his gospel, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,” but what kind of son he would be remained to be seen. As Mark proceeded, he focused on two roles of Jesus as the Son of God; the son of God with kingly authority, and the Son of God who suffers righteously. At the cross, these two roles come together, when Jesus maintains sovereign control even over his death, as he offers himself as atonement for all. At the beginning of his gospel, Mark reported that heaven was torn open and the voice of God declared “You are my Son.” Now, at the end of his narrative, Mark tells us that the curtain of the temple is torn and a gentile centurion brings the revelation of Jesus identity to its culmination, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” The cross of Jesus is the consummation of why Jesus came and the climactic revelation of who Jesus is.

Closing Comments

In this episode we have seen Jesus maintain his steadfast devotion to the cross. He did so because of his steadfast commitment to our salvation. Jesus desperately wanted to pay the price for our forgiveness, so that we could come into right relationship with God. He was willing to remain faithful to his purpose, despite the pain, despite the mockery, despite the abandonment, and despite even the separation from his father.

In our next episode we will consider Mark’s story of the resurrection of Jesus, we will struggle with the questions surrounding the end of the book, and we will take a final look back at this wonderful gospel of Mark.

If you have found this podcast helpful, I would appreciate your help in expanding its reach. One of the best ways to assist is by recommending it to your friends. The easiest way to do this is to go to the podcast website, biblewisdomtoday.com, and share that link with your friend, along with your comment. Your personal recommendation is powerful. I look forward to spending time again, soon, with you and your friends. Thank you for your help in growing this Bible Wisdom Today family.

[1] Osborne, G. R., Strauss, M., & Walton, J. (2014). Mark (teach the text commentary series). Baker Publishing Group.
[2] Osbourne
[3] Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans.
[4] Osbourne
[5] Edwards, quoting Verrine Orations 2.5.165
[6] Osbourne