đ Heavenly Father, as we finish this Gospel of Mark. Let us humbly accept Your will for us as Jesus accepted Your will for Him, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Let us keep in our hearts the fact that this is Your creation and Your perfect plan to redeem Your beloved children. Let us see the beauty and Your wisdom within the retelling of Jesusâ crucifixion. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus Before Pilate
15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 âAre you the king of the Jews?â asked Pilate.
âYou have said so,â Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, âArenât you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.â
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 âDo you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?â asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 âWhat shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?â Pilate asked them.
13 âCrucify him!â they shouted.
14 âWhy? What crime has he committed?â asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, âCrucify him!â
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Points to Ponder: We see Proverbs 16:9, Isaiah 53:3, Psalm 38:12-13, and Psalm 22, among many others, begin to be fulfilled, as the Jewish leaders make their plans, but we remember it is the Lord who directs their steps. We watch Pilate trying to weigh justice but caving to the will of the crowd. We see the crowd rejecting their savior and demanding the release of a murderer instead. The power of evil over mankind is heartbreaking. But I am thankful that if I can feel my own heart break, then I recognize I have only a glimpse of Godâs heartbreak â great is His faithfulness to redeem us from the power of evil.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, âHail, king of the Jews!â 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Points to Ponder: In a sad case of irony, soldiers, men with authority and power, take the time to mock Jesus â calling Him what He action is â King! (Isaiah 45:23, Philippians 2:10-11, Romans 14:11, Revelation 5:13) In this life, we can reject Him, ignore or be indifferent towards Him, or believe and follow Him â but there will come the time when all people go before Him and bow down to their creator, their Lord.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means âthe place of the skullâ). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28]  29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, âSo! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!â 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. âHe saved others,â they said, âbut he canât save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.â Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Points to Ponder: A short recap of the crucifixion is included in this Gospel. We meet Simon from Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus. (One wonders at the seeds planted here as this region, and most likely, these individuals play a part in the growing church. Acts 13:1) The wine, the division of the clothes, the casting lots⌠all fulfilling scripture. The Jewish leaders demanding a sign as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:22. The mocking and rejecting of Jesus â the One who tabernacled among us â who was raised again in three days.
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, âEloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?â (which means âMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?â).
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, âListen, heâs calling Elijah.â
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. âNow leave him alone. Letâs see if Elijah comes to take him down,â he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, âSurely this man was the Son of God!â
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Points to Ponder: Jesus cries out the words of Psalm 22:1 â âMy Godâ â perhaps the only time He doesnât call Him, Father. God promises not to forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:8) And now, in a mind-expanding meditation on Scripture, we see that He forsakes Himself, on our behalf, in order to save us! Astounding! There is no greater love that what we see here. (Expanded in Hebrews 13:5-8) The curtain, separating man from Godâs presence, is torn⌠from the top, from the hand of God.
The Burial of Jesus
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesusâ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
Points to Ponder: Another short recap of Jesusâ burial. Here we see a Jewish leader going boldly to Pilate to care for Jesusâ body. Between the lines, we know this behavior goes against the rest of the Jewish council where he was a prominent member. Joseph of Arimathea displays a great act of faith. (James 2:14,17-19) We also see the evidence of Jesusâ will to die when He chose â on Preparation Day, a Friday â surprising even Pilate at the speed of His death.
Jesus Has Risen
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesusâ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, âWho will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?â
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 âDonât be alarmed,â he said. âYou are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, âHe is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.ââ
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Points to Ponder: Some of the early manuscripts of Mark end here with the reader wondering, what happened next? Perhaps Mark wanted us, the subsequent generations, to wonder how we would respond to the angelic news that He has risen! Maybe a page was lost. It’s all good, we have more accounts! (When the Sabbath was over… on the first day of the week… these time references give us a glimpse into why worship for Christians moved from Saturday to Sunday. Not a ‘main’ thing… personally, everyday is a good day to worship Him!)
[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9â20.]
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, âGo into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.â
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Points to Ponder: I am not surprised or disappointed that later manuscripts include these verses. They fill out the rest of Jesusâ time on earth between His resurrection and His ascension. They may have been drawn from Luke 8:2, Luke 24:13,15-16, 36, 38-39,51 and Matthew 28:18-19, Acts 1:8-9 to make sure that the recipients of Markâs Gospel had a more complete understanding of Who Jesus is.
Summary: Markâs Gospel is the shortest Gospel and the one with the quickest pace. If it represents the Ox as one of the four living creatures around the throne in heaven, this Gospel presents Jesus as the servant of God, fulfilling His will. In these last chapters we read of Jesus quietly enduring all that was foretold in the Scriptures as He willingly goes to His death for our salvation.
đ Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word.  We thank You for Your Son. On our own, we are not worthy of Your love. Grow our hearts and mind to see ourselves and those around us as You do. Help us to let go of the things of this world and strengthen our faith. Let us not demand any âsignâ from You as  these Gospels are the greatest âsignâ You have given us. Let Your Spirit strengthen and guide us for each of our remaining days as we grow closer and closer to You. In the mighty name of our Lord, Jesus, we pray this with thankful hearts.  Amen.