Mark 15

New King James Version

Jesus Faces Pilate^(A)

15 Immediately, ^(B)in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and ^(C)delivered Him to Pilate. ^2 (D)Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”

³ And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He ^(E)answered nothing. ^4 (F)Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things ^[a]they testify against You!” ^5 (G)But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(H)

⁶ Now ^(I)at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. ⁷ And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. ⁸ Then the multitude, ^[b]crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. ⁹ But 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 because of envy.

¹¹ But ^(J)the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. ¹² Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the ^(K)King of the Jews?”

¹³ So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴ Then Pilate said to them, “Why, ^(L)what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”

^15 (M)So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be ^(N)crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(O)

^16 (P)Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called ^[c]Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. ¹⁷ And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, ¹⁸ and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Then they ^(Q)struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. ²⁰ And when they had ^(R)mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

The King on a Cross^(S)

^21 (T)Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. ^22 (U)And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ^23 (V)Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. ²⁴ And when they crucified Him, ^(W)they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

²⁵ Now ^(X)it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. ²⁶ And ^(Y)the inscription of His ^[d]accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^27 (Z)With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. ^28 [e]So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ^(AA)“And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

²⁹ And ^(AB)those who passed by blasphemed Him, ^(AC)wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! ^(AD)You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

³¹ Likewise the chief priests also, ^(AE)mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved ^(AF)others; Himself He cannot save. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and ^[f]believe.”

Even ^(AG)those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(AH)

³³ Now ^(AI)when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, ^(AJ)“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

³⁵ Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” ³⁶ Then ^(AK)someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and ^(AL)offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

^37 (AM)And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

³⁸ Then ^(AN)the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ So ^(AO)when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that ^[g]He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

^40 (AP)There were also women looking on ^(AQ)from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, ⁴¹ who also ^(AR)followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(AS)

^42 (AT)Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who ^(AU)was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ^46 (AV)Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.