RSV ~ Mark 15 Notes

Mk 15:2 | ISB Notes

Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea (A.D. 26-36). He was stationed in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. See note on Mt 27:2. King of the Jews?: The Jewish leaders give Jesus a title with obvious political overtones, fully aware that Roman law punishes the crime of sedition by death (Lk 23:2; Jn 19:12). The accusation dominates the subsequent narrative (15:9, 12, 18, 26).

Mk 15:11 | ISB Notes

Barabbas: An Aramaic name that literally means “son of the father”. Aramaic-speaking Christians surely detected the tragic irony: the guilty Barabbas is released in place of Jesus, the truly innocent Son of the Father (1:1, 11; 3:11; 9:7; 15:39).

Mk 15:15 | ISB Notes

to satisfy the crowd: Pilate remained unconvinced of Jesus’ guilt throughout the trial (15:14; Lk 23:4; Jn 19:4). Nevertheless, he lacked the integrity to release Jesus and crumbled instead beneath the pressure of the Jerusalem mob. As the Roman magistrate, Pilate alone had the authority to execute Jesus, since the Jewish leaders were powerless to enforce the penalty of capital punishment without him (Jn 18:31; 19:10; CCC 596-97).

Mk 15:16 | ISB Notes

the praetorium: Pilate’s official residence in Jerusalem, built by Herod the Great.

the whole battalion: A military cohort of up to 600 men.

Mk 15:17-19 | ISB Notes

The soldier’s mockery of Jesus is surrounded with paradox and irony. They remain unaware in their ridicule that Jesus is truly a king (Jn 18:36). Adorning him with a purple cloak and a crown and kneeling in false homage, the soldiers unwittingly bear witness to the royal identity of Jesus (Lk 1:32-33; Rev 19:16).

Mk 15:21 | ISB Notes

they compelled: Roman garrisons in NT Palestine claimed the right to recruit Jews for temporary service (see Mt 5:41). Mark designates Simon of Cyrene as the individual forced to assist Jesus. His son Rufus may have been a well-known member of the early Roman Church (Rom 16:13).

Mk 15:22 | ISB Notes

Golgotha: The Aramaic word for skull. The popular term “Calvary” is derived from the Latin Vulgate translation (Lat. Calvariae). Located outside Jerusalem’s walls (Jn 19:20), Golgotha may have acquired its name as a common site for criminal executions.

Mk 15:23 | ISB Notes

wine … with myrrh: A narcotic painkiller. Jesus refuses it, choosing instead to bear the full weight of suffering for man’s sin (10:45; 1 Pet 2:24).

Mk 15:24 | ISB Notes

they crucified him: A form of Roman execution adopted from earlier Persian practice. Crucifixion was torturous, degrading, and reserved for the most heinous criminals—usually insurrectionists. The victims’ feet were nailed to an upright stake and their wrists to a wooden crossbeam (Ps 22:16). Death came slowly from a combination of blood loss and asphyxiation, a process that could be hastened by breaking the criminal’s legs (Jn 19:33). Corpses were often left hanging for days as a public deterrent against criminal activity and a powerful symbol of Rome’s domination of Palestine.

• Christian tradition sees in Jesus’ physical death on the tree (Acts 10:39) the antithesis of Adam’s spiritual death at the tree of good and evil (Gen 3:6, 17-19). Whereas Adam’s sin brought death to the entire human family, Jesus’ death rescues man from sin and gives him new life in the family of God (Rom 5:12-19).

divided his garments: The collection of spoil by the execution squad recalls the messianic prophecy of Ps 22:18. This text is explicitly quoted in Jn 19:24. See note on Mk 15:34.

Mk 15:25 | ISB Notes

the third hour: About 9 A.M. on Friday morning of Passion Week (15:42). See note on Mt 20:1.

Mk 15:29 | ISB Notes

derided him: Literally, “they were blaspheming him”.

• By slandering and shaking their heads at Jesus, the angry crowd unwittingly fulfills messianic prophecy from Ps 22:7.

Mk 15:33 | ISB Notes

sixth hour … ninth hour: i.e., from noon until 3 P.M. Luke’s account may suggest that the darkness was caused by an extended solar eclipse (Lk 23:45).

• The OT associates such dreadful darkness with divine judgment on sin (Ex 10:21-23; Is 13:10-11; Amos 8:9). .

Mk 15:34 | ISB Notes

Elo-i, Elo-i: Jesus quotes the opening line of Ps 22 in Aramaic (CCC 603, 2605).

• Psalm 22 forecasts both the Messiah’s suffering and his eventual deliverance. The full context of Ps 22, in light of its hopeful outcome, rules out the possibility that Jesus succumbed to despair (Lk 23:46). See note on Mt 27:46.

Mk 15:38 | ISB Notes

the curtain: Two veils hung in the Jerusalem Temple to symbolize God’s inaccessibility to sinners (Heb 9:8). One was visible, as it separated the outer courts from the sanctuary proper, and the other was invisible to all but the priests, as it hung inside the sanctuary in front of its most sacred chamber, the Holy of Holies (Ex 26:31-34; Heb 9:3, 7). Although the evangelist does not specify which of the two veils was torn, the lesson to be learned is clear: access to the Father is now open through Jesus, who as high priest has entered on our behalf (Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19-22). Moreover, as the curtain

ripped from top to bottom, the barrier between the face of God and his people was removed, and the termination of the Old Covenant was prophetically announced. was torn: Mark uses the same Greek expression at 1:10 to describe God “tearing” the heavens at the Baptism of Jesus. If a connection is being made between these two events, as seems likely, it may have been the outer veil draped in front the sanctuary that was rent in two, since history testifies that it was embroidered with images of the heavens and the cosmos (Josephus, Jewish War 5, 212-14).

Mk 15:39 | ISB Notes

centurion: A Roman commander of 100 soldiers. Son of God!: A confession of faith that stands in contrast to the taunting cries of the mob (15:14, 18, 29-30, 31, 32, 36). It marks a high point in Mark’s Gospel, as it crowns the theme of Jesus’ divine Sonship developed throughout (1:1, 11; 3:11; 9:7; CCC 444). It likewise adds more irony to Mark’s narrative: a non-Jewish soldier was the only one to profess faith in the “King of the Jews” at the Cross (15:26). Similar faith is exhibited by a Gentile centurion in Mt 8:5-13 and Lk 7:1-10.

Mk 15:43 | ISB Notes

Joseph of Arimathea: A wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. According to Luke, he withheld his consent from the court’s condemnation of Jesus (Lk 23:51). His courage as a “disciple of Jesus” (Jn 19:38) helped him to arrange the burial (Mt 27:57-60) and so risk his reputation as a respected leader in Israel. See note on Mk 14:55.

Mk 15:46 | ISB Notes

in a tomb: Located in a garden near Jerusalem (Jn 19:41-42). The site had to be close by, since the Sabbath rest began at sunset and all labor would have to cease by then (15:42). See note on Mk 1:21.