Open English Translation MARK Chapter 15

15 First thing in the morning, the chief priests called a meeting with the elders and the religious teachers and all the council, and they ordered that Yeshua be tied up and taken over to Governor Pilate. 2 There Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You said it,” replied Yeshua.

3 Then the chief priests started hurling accusations against Yeshua. 4 So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have anything to say? Listen to all these accusations they’re making against you.”

5 But Pilate was astounded that Yeshua didn’t answer any further.

6 Now at time of the Jewish Passover, Pilate would normally pardon one prisoner for them and release him. 7 There was another prisoner at the time named Barabbas who was an activist accused of murder. 8 By now, the crowd had arrived and asked Pilate to release a prisoner as usual at Passover. 9 So he asked them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” 10 This was because Pilate was well aware that the chief priests had brought Yeshua because they were jealous of his popularity. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to start saying that it was Barabbas that they wanted released. 12 So Pilate asked again, “Then what should I do with this man that you call the King of the Jews?”

13 The crowd yelled back, “Execute him on a pole.”

14 Pilate demanded, “What has he even done wrong?”

But they just yelled louder, “Execute him on a pole!”

15 Now Pilate wanted to placate the crowd, so he had Barabbas released while he had Yeshua flogged and then handed over to the execution squad.

16 So the soldiers led Yeshua inside the palace that was the governor’s residence, and called in the rest of the battalion. 17 They mocked Yeshua by dressing him in a kingly robe, and after someone twisted some thorns together into a mock crown, they pressed it onto his head, 18 and began saluting him, “Greetings, King of the Jews.” 19 They took turns whacking his head with a stick and spitting on him, while others knelt down in front of him and pretended to be bowing to him. 20 After they’d finished having fun mocked him, they took the purple robe off him, and put his own robe back on him. Then they led him outside towards the execution spot.

21 [ref]As they walked out of the city, they came across a man coming in from the country. He was Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, and the soldiers forced him to carry the execution pole, 22 and so they all arrived at Golgotha (which means “Place of the skull”). 23 There the soldiers went to give some spiced wine to Yeshua, but he declined it. 24 [ref]So they carried out the execution, taking Yeshua’s clothes and drawing straws to see who would get what. 25 By now it was 9am, and they affixed Yeshua to the pole. 26 The charge had been written out and attached at the top: “The King of the Jews.” 27 That morning, two thieves were also executed there—one on each side of Yeshua.

28 ◘ 29 [ref]As people passed by on the path, they insulted Yeshua, shaking their heads and shouting, “Hoy there! You who reckoned you could demolish the temple and rebuild it in three days. 30 Come down from that pole and save yourself.”

31 Similarly the chief priests and the religious teachers laughed together and mocked, “He did miracles for others, but he can’t even save himself. 32 The so-called ‘chosen one’ or ‘King of Israel’. Now, if he’d just come down from there, then we’d be able to believe him.”

Even the other two being executed with him were deriding him.

33 At noon, it got dark everywhere, until 3pm, 34 [ref]when Yeshua shouted loudly, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

35 Some of the people standing nearby thought he was calling the prophet Eliyah. 36 [ref]One of them ran, and soaked a sponge in some sour wine, then put it on a stick and held it up for Yeshua to drink, saying, “Hang on. Let’s see if Eliyah does come to get him down.”

37 But just then Yeshua uttered a loud cry and exhaled his last breath.

38 [ref](Back in the temple, the curtain tore down the middle from the top to the bottom.) 39 The Roman centurion who had been standing back watching everything, said when Yeshua died, “This man was definitely God’s son.”

40 [ref]Further back, there was also a group of women observing everything. These included Maria from Magdala, Maria the mother of young Yacob and Joses, and Salome, 41 and others who had followed Yeshua around Galilee and helped look after him, along with many others who had come down with him to Yerusalem.

42 As evening came, it was now the Preparation Day, i.e., the day before the Rest Day. 43 Yosef (who’d come from the city of Arimathea and one who was waiting for the coming of God’s kingdom), a prominent council member, steeled himself up and went in to see the governor to get permission to transfer Yeshua’s body. 44 Governor Pilate didn’t think he’d be dead yet, so he called an army commander to find out if Yeshua had indeed died. 45 As soon as he found out, he gave Yosef permission. 46 So Yosef and his companions went and bought some linen burial cloth and then, removing Yeshua’s body from the pole, wrapped it in the cloth and placed it in a burial chamber that had been chiselled into a rockface. Then they rolled a rock across the opening. 47 Others were watching and noted where the body had been laid, including Maria from Magdala and Maria the mother of Joses.