ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Mark 15

Mark 15:1 The whole council is the Sanhedrin. It did not have the right to execute a person. That right was reserved for Roman authorities, especially when dealing with popular figures. Pilate (see note on Luke 23:1) was temporarily in Jerusalem “to keep the peace” during the Passover. The Jewish authorities did not want to be busy with the case during the festive Passover day.

Mark 15:2 When they brought Jesus to Pilate, the Jewish authorities did not accuse him of blasphemy, a religious crime that would have made no difference to Pilate. Rather, they accused him of claiming to be King of the Jews. This was a direct challenge to Caesar’s rule, and thus was a capital crime.

Mark 15:5 No further answer fulfills Isa. 53:7.

Mark 15:6–7 release . . . one prisoner. . . . Barabbas. See note on Matt. 27:15–18.

Mark 15:11–13 release . . . Barabbas instead. Ironically, Pilate will free a man convicted of rebellion against Rome instead of a righteous man who has not spoken against Rome.

Mark 15:14 What evil has he done? See Isa. 53:9; Acts 3:13. By presenting evidence favorable to Jesus, Pilate tried to make the Jewish authorities solely responsible for his death. The fact remains, however, that Jesus’ death occurred under Pilate’s jurisdiction.

Mark 15:15 Pilate condemned Jesus to crucifixion, which was the means of executing criminals convicted of high treason. having scourged Jesus. Scourging, by itself, could lead to death (see note on Matt. 27:26).

Mark 15:16–19 On the governor’s headquarters, see note on John 18:28. The presence of the whole battalion (about 600 men at full strength) means they are assuming that Jesus is a rebel against Rome (King of the Jews).

Mark 15:21 According to both Jewish and Roman custom, Jesus had to be taken outside the city walls to be crucified. As allowed by Roman law, Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus’ cross (see note on Matt. 27:32). Crucifixion was the final public deterrent to warn people not to rebel against Rome. Alexander and Rufus may have been believers known in the early church at the time that Mark wrote his Gospel. See note on Rom. 16:13.

Mark 15:23 Wine mixed with myrrh is intended to have a mildly numbing effect.

Mark 15:24 And they crucified him. Jesus’ hands were nailed above the wrist on the horizontal beam, and his feet were placed with one above the other and then nailed to the vertical beam. On crucifixion, see note on Matt. 27:35. Casting lots fulfilled the prophecy in Ps. 22:18.

Mark 15:25 it was the third hour. John says “about the sixth hour,” but he was not trying to give the exact time. The time references should not be seen as contradictory (see note on John 19:14).

Mark 15:26 The inscription of the charge against him was posted above Jesus’ head, so that all could see why he was so shamefully executed. The inscription, King of the Jews, portrayed Jesus as a political rebel. This allowed Pilate to justify his actions. It also angered the Jewish authorities, who would never have claimed him as their king (John 19:19–22; compare Mark 15:10).

Mark 15:27 The two robbers crucified with Jesus fulfill the prophecy of Isa. 53:12. Luke alone records that, sometime later, one of the two robbers repented and expressed faith in Jesus (Luke 23:39–43).

Mark 15:29–31 Because it was Passover, many passed by the place of Christ’s crucifixion. wagging their heads. See Ps. 22:7–8. You who would destroy the temple. See note on Mark 14:58. Jesus appeared to have been silenced and divinely condemned for his blasphemy (see Deut. 21:23).

Mark 15:33 Between noon and 3:00 p.m. there was darkness. This sign from God was not a solar eclipse (see note on Matt. 27:45). Darkness represents lament (Amos 8:9–10) and divine judgment (see note on Luke 23:44–45).

Mark 15:34 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus utters the opening words of Psalm 22. He expresses his immense pain at being abandoned by God, which he suffers as a substitute for sinful mankind. See note on Matt. 27:46. Yet the following verses of Psalm 22 also anticipate divine intervention on his behalf (compare Heb. 5:7–9). Jesus knows why he is experiencing God-forsakenness, just as he knows his death will not be the end of his story.

Mark 15:35 he is calling Elijah. See note on Matt. 27:47.

Mark 15:36 sour wine. See note on Luke 23:36.

Mark 15:37 The final loud cry is probably the cry of victory, “It is finished” (John 19:30). In Mark’s account, once Jesus dies, all mocking ceases. Subsequently, only the voices of the respectful (the centurion) and the mourners are heard. Jesus died around the time of the daily afternoon sacrifice in the temple.

Mark 15:38 The inner curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, removing the separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (see Heb. 10:19–20; and note on Matt. 27:51). Access to God is now provided by the unique sacrifice of Jesus, making the temple sacrifices obsolete.

Mark 15:39 The centurion has observed the death of many crucified criminals. He recognizes correctly that Jesus is the Son of God.

Mark 15:40 women looking on. See note on Luke 23:49. Mary Magdalene. See note on Luke 8:2.

Mark 15:42 Deuteronomy 21:23 says that a corpse should be buried on the day of death (taking priority over Passover; see John 19:40). The day of Preparation is the day before the Sabbath. See note on John 19:14.

Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea courageously intended to bury Jesus before the Sabbath began at sundown (Nisan 16). Matthew 27:57 calls him “a disciple of Jesus.” See note on Matt. 27:57–60.

Mark 15:46 Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen shroud and placed it in a tomb . . . cut out of the rock. Rock-cut tombs were expensive since they required extensive excavation. This tomb would most probably have been Joseph of Arimathea’s family tomb. After a body had decayed, its bones were removed and piled elsewhere in the tomb or reburied in an ossuary, a specially designed box which held one or two bodies. The two main locations where it is thought that Jesus may have been buried are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb. Both of these were rock-cut tombs with rolling stone doors. Both would have been outside the first-century city walls. Early church tradition strongly favors the Holy Sepulchre site. The area around the Garden Tomb consists largely of tombs from OT times.