Mark 15

1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole council made their decision. They tied Jesus up, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.

2Pilate asked Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered: Yes, it is as you say.

3The chief priests accused Him of many things.

4So Pilate asked Him again: Have you no answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of.

5But Jesus still said nothing, and Pilate was amazed.

6Now at every Passover feast, Pilate would set free one prisoner that the people asked for.

7A man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during an uprising.

8The crowd came and asked Pilate to do what he usually did for them.

9Will you have me set free the King of the Jews? Pilate asked,

10because he knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over because they were jealous.

11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate set Barabbas free instead.

12Pilate asked them again: Then what should I do with the one you call the King of the Jews?

13They shouted: Nail Him to a cross!

14Pilate asked: Why? What wrong has He done? But they shouted even louder: Nail Him to a cross!

15Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he set Barabbas free. Then he had Jesus beaten with whips and handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, called the Praetorium, and called the whole group of soldiers together.

17They put a purple robe on Him and made a crown out of thorns and put it on His head.

18Then they began to mock Him: Hail, King of the Jews!

19Again and again they hit Him on the head with a stick and spit on Him. They knelt down and pretended to worship Him.

20After they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to nail Him to a cross.

21A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross.

22They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).

23There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He would not take it.

24Then they nailed Him to the cross. They divided His clothes among themselves, rolling dice to decide who would get what.

25It was nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed Him to the cross.

26A written notice of the charge against Him said: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27They also nailed two robbers to crosses with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

28And the Scripture came true that says: He was counted as one of the criminals.

29People passing by insulted Him, shaking their heads. They said: So! You were going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days?

30Come down from the cross and save yourself!

31The chief priests and the teachers of the law also mocked Him among themselves. They said: He saved others, but He cannot save Himself.

32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so we can see it and believe. Even the men who were nailed up with Him insulted Him.

33At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three o'clock in the afternoon.

34At three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? This means: My God, my God, why have You left me?

35When some of the people standing nearby heard this, they said: Listen, He is calling Elijah.

36One man ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a stick and offered it to Jesus to drink. He said: Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.

37With a loud cry, Jesus took His last breath.

38And the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39The officer standing in front of the cross saw how Jesus died. The officer said: This man really was the Son of God!

40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41These women had followed Jesus and cared for Him while He was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up with Him to Jerusalem were also there.

42It was now evening. The next day was the Sabbath, so this day was the day to get ready for it.

43Joseph from Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was also waiting for God's kingdom, bravely went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. Pilate called the officer and asked if Jesus had already died.

45When the officer told him it was so, Pilate gave the body to Joseph.

46Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took the body down, wrapped it in the linen, and laid it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.