Mark 15:24-47

The soldiers crucified Jesus and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing lots to decide what each soldier would get. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified Jesus. There was a sign with this charge against Jesus written on it: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus, one on the right, and the other on the left. [And the Scripture came true that says, “They put him with criminals.”] People walked by and insulted Jesus and shook their heads, saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross!” The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also making fun of Jesus. They said to each other, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself. If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross. When we see this, we will believe in him.” The robbers who were being crucified beside Jesus also insulted him. At noon the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted for three hours. At three o’clock Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” Someone there ran and got a sponge, filled it with vinegar, tied it to a stick, and gave it to Jesus to drink. He said, “We want to see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.” Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and died. The curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. When the army officer who was standing in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died, he said, “This man really was the Son of God!” Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching; among them were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.) These women had followed Jesus in Galilee and helped him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. This was Preparation Day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) That evening, Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph, an important member of the Jewish council, was one of the people who was waiting for the kingdom of God to come. Pilate was amazed that Jesus would have already died, so he called the army officer who had guarded Jesus and asked him if Jesus had already died. The officer told Pilate that he was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down from the cross, and wrapped it in the linen. He put the body in a tomb that was cut out of a wall of rock. Then he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw the place where Jesus was laid.