Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
Mark 15
Jesus Before Pilate
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole council made their decision. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “You say so.” The chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Do you have no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against you.” But Jesus gave no further answer, so Pilate was amazed.
Jesus Is Sentenced to Crucifixion
At the festival Pilate used to release for the people one prisoner they requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during an uprising. The crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do for them what he usually did. Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that Pilate would release Barabbas instead. Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!” Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. After having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
The soldiers led Jesus inside the courtyard—that is, the governor’s headquarters—and called together the whole cohort. They dressed him in purple, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. They began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spit on him, and knelt down in mock homage. After they had mocked him, they stripped off the purple, put his own clothes back on him, and led him out to crucify him.
Jesus Is Crucified
They compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country—the father of Alexander and Rufus—to carry Jesus’ cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull. They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. They crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, casting lots to decide what each person would take. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!” In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked him among themselves: “He saved others; he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
When the sixth hour came, darkness covered the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some standing nearby heard this, they said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait. Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down.” But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion standing opposite Jesus saw that he breathed his last in this way, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son.”
Some women were also watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women had followed him and served him. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Jesus Is Buried
Evening had already come. Since it was Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected council member who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked whether Jesus had been dead for some time. After learning from the centurion that Jesus was dead, Pilate gave the body to Joseph. Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Jesus down, wrapped him in the cloth, and laid him in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid.