Mark 15:16-41 16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 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. 20 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.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. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. 25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the Jews. 27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. 28And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. 29 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, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 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! 32 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. 33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 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?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 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. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 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!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Crucifixion of Jesus Mark 15:16-41
This passage is about the crucifixion of Lord Jesus. Before he was crucified, the soldiers mocked him, then they took him to Calvary for crucifixion. There was some distance to go there. They forced a man named Simon to carry the cross of Jesus. They gave Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not accept it. Proverbs 31:6-7 says: “Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.” But Jesus did not accept such narcotic drinks. Then they nailed Jesus to the cross and cast lots for his clothes. This was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy: “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” The soldiers really did this. Two robbers were crucified together with him, one on the left and one on the right. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 of the Old Testament: “he was numbered with the transgressors.” People who passed by scolded him and asked him to save himself and came down from the cross, it is not that Jesus could not save himself. If he saved himself, he would not be a sin offering to save the world. One of the two rebels who were crucified with him also ridiculed him, and the other rebuked this rebel, repented, and got permission from Jesus to enter the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in half from top to bottom. This means that Jesus opened the barrier (curtain) between man and God when he died on the cross for the sins of the world, so that man can be reconciled with God and enter the temple of God, the presence of God. We also saw that when Jesus was crucified, many women were there to watch, and Jesus’ disciples were gone except John. We can see the faithfulness of these women to Jesus. On the cross Jesus said, Father, forgive them. Because what they did, they didn’t know. We see the forgiving love, great love of Jesus.