Mark 15

1 And at once in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole council, held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him and says, “You say it.” [a] 3 And the chief priests were accusing him of many things. 4 And Pilate was questioning him again, saying, “Do you answer nothing? See how many things they accuse you of.” 5 But Jesus no longer answered anything, so that Pilate was amazed.

6 Now at a feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whomever they asked for. 7 And there was the man called Barabbas, bound with the rebels who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask him to do as he used to do for them. 9 And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over out of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. 12 And Pilate again answered and was saying to them, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” 13 And they shouted again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate was saying to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he handed Jesus over, after flogging him, to be crucified. [b]

16 And the soldiers led him away inside the courtyard, that is, the praetorium, and they call together the whole cohort. [c] 17 And they dress him in purple, and twisting together a crown of thorns they put it on him; 18 and they began to greet him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him, and getting down on their knees they were bowing down to him. [d] 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped the purple off him and put his own clothes on him. And they lead him out to crucify him.

21 And they press into service a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is translated Place of a Skull. 23 And they were giving him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucify him, and they divide his clothes, casting lots for them to see who should take what. [e] 25 It was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him was written: The King of the Jews. 27 And with him they crucify two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. [f]

29 And those passing by were blaspheming him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the sanctuary and build it in three days, [g] 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests too, mocking among themselves with the scribes, were saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and trust.” And those crucified with him were reviling him.

33 And when the sixth hour came, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. † 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” [h] † 35 And some of those standing by, when they heard it, were saying, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a reed and gave him a drink, saying, “Leave him. Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down.” [i] 37 But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the commander of a hundred who stood there opposite him saw that he breathed his last in this way, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” [j]

40 And there were also women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome, 41 who used to follow him and serve him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

42 And when evening had already come, since it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, [l] 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a respected member of the council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he took courage and went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate was amazed that he had already died, and summoning the commander of a hundred he asked him whether he had died some time ago. 45 And when he had learned it from the commander of a hundred, he granted the corpse to Joseph. [m] 46 And he bought a linen cloth, took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. † 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he had been laid. [n]