The Crucifixion (15:20-39).
It must have come as a huge anti-climax to those who heard this story for the first time when they learned that this One Who had done such good and had taught so well should now be in a position of being led off to be crucified. We know the story so well that we take it for granted. But we also still recognise the staggering nature of it. Here was God's beloved Son, Whose one interest had been in the needs of His fellowmen, (even if that had meant that He sometimes made them feel uncomfortable), and He was now being borne off, bleeding and battered to be nailed to a cross.
Mark tells the whole story succintly and without obvious emotion. He is concerned for the plain facts of what happened, put plainly and simply, and the only detail that he goes into is that of the words spoken by Jesus' enemies, which he clearly wanted to highlight, for they paradoxically brought out why Jesus was there. For every reader and hearer would soon know that He did not remain dead, but ‘arose'. While He did not come down from the cross, He did something more. He defeated death once and for all and rose again from the dead. Thus did He save both Himself and others.
Analysis.
a And when they had mocked Him, they took off from Him the purple, and put on Him His own clothes (Mark 15:20 a).
b And they lead Him out to crucify him. And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them that he might bear His cross. And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted ‘the place of a skull (Mark 15:20-22).
c And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh and He did not receive it. And they crucify him and part his clothes among them, casting lots on them what each should take (Mark 15:23-24).
d And it was the third hour and they crucified Him, and the superscription of His accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS (Mark 15:25-26).
e And with Him they crucify two brigands, one on His right hand and one on His left (Mark 15:27).
f And those who passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Ha, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross” (Mark 15:29-30).
g In the same way also the Chief Priests, mocking Him among themselves with the Scribes, said, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save” (Mark 15:31)
f “Let the Messiah the king of Israel now come down from the cross that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32 a).
e And those who were crucified with Him reproached Him. And when the sixth hour was come there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (Mark 15:32-33).
d And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani” which is, being interpreted, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).
c And some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “See, he calls Elijah.” And one ran, and filling a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed and gave Him it to drink, saying, “Let be. Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down” (Mark 15:35-36).
b And Jesus, having uttered a loud cry, breathed His last, and the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom (Mark 15:37-38).
a And when the centurion who stood opposite Him saw that He breathed his last in such a way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
Note that in ‘a' the soldiers, having mocked Him, removed the purple robe, and reclothed Him in His own now disreputable clothes, while in the parallel the Roman centurion in contrast exalted Him to the skies, clothing Him in glory by declaring Him to be the Son of God. In ‘b' His journey to death is vividly portrayed, led out to be crucified, the crosspiece borne by another, the symbolic arrival at the place of a skull, and in the parallel we have God's verdict on it as Jesus breathes His last and the inner curtain of the Temple is torn in two. In ‘c' He is offered wine to drink and would not partake of it, being then stripped naked and crucified while the soldiers gambled for His clothes, a picture of total humiliation, and in the parallel He is again offered wine to drink and this time He drinks, and they desire to see whether Elijah, who was often called on by the religiously destitute, would come to save Him. In ‘d' it was the third hour and they crucified Him and placarded Him as the King of the Jews, (God's chosen), and in the parallel it was the ninth hour, and He cried out ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me'. (He was the rejected One). In ‘e' two brigands were crucified on either side of Him, and in the parallel the two brigands reproach Him. In ‘f' the bystanders wag their heads at Him and describe Him as the supposed miraculous Temple destroyer and restorer, and in the parallel the Chief Priests tell Him that if He is the Christ He should come down from the cross so that they might see and believe. Centrally in ‘g' the Chief Priests declare that ‘He saved others, Himself He cannot save', something soon to be totally disproved.