Mark 15 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Mark) Free Bible Online

Mark 15

1 - Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.

2 - Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"He answered,"So you say."

3 - The chief priests accused him of many things.

4 - Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!"

5 - But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

6 - Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.

7 - There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.

8 - The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them.

9 - Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

10 - For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.

11 - But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.

12 - Pilate again asked them, "What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

13 - They cried out again, "Crucify him!"

14 - Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?"But they cried out exceedingly, "Crucify him!"

15 - Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.

16 - The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort.

17 - They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

18 - They began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

19 - They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him.

20 - When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.

21 - They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.

22 - They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, "The place of a skull."

23 - They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn't take it.

24 - Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take.

25 - It was the third hour, and they crucified him.

26 - The superscription of his accusation was written over him, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."

27 - With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.

It was the third hour, and they crucified him. The superscription of his accusation was written over him, "THE KING OF THE JEWS." With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left. The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, "He was counted with transgressors."

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28 - The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, "He was counted with transgressors."

29 - Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,

30 - save yourself, and come down from the cross!"

31 - Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others. He can't save himself.

32 - Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him." Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.

33 - When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 - At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted,"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"Psalm 22:1

35 - Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah."

36 - One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let him be. Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down."

37 - Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.

38 - The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

39 - When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

40 - There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

41 - who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

42 - When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

43 - Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God's Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus' body.

44 - Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.

45 - When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

46 - He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

47 - Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.

The Book of Mark

Mark 1:15 - And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 2:12 - And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Mark in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. Mark by Titian - 1560

Introduction to The Gospel of Mark

The Word Gospel. The second book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the second of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of Mark

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is the suffering servant who came to die for the sins of all men. He did His work and "immediately" went to the cross, so be encouraged all who are suffering because Christ suffered for you.

Purpose. The Book of Mark is the shortest of the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. and he seems to write his account of the Gospel of Christ with a sense of urgency. He mentions the word "immediately" 27 times. In Mark many times Jesus exercises actions rather than words, which would impress his Roman readers who the Book seems to be addressing. He portrays Jesus as a man of power and miracles, who could set aside the laws of nature at will. Yet this powerful Son of God was the suffering servant who would give up His life as a ransom for all mankind (Mark 10:45). The clear purpose of mark was to encourage those suffering persecution that their master suffered first, and He suffered for them.

Audience. Apparently Mark wrote his Gospel account to encourage gentile Christians in Rome who were facing the persecutions of the Emperor Nero. History is clear about the atrocious behavior of the Romans and especially the insanity of Nero. The other evidence that scholars bring up concerning mark's audience as being gentiles is the fact that Mark does not deal with Jewish Laws and he only quotes one prophecy from the Old Testament. There is also careful thought into explaining Jewish customs and idioms. (See Mark 3:7; 5:41; 7:2; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34; 9:43; 14:12; 15:42).

Authorship. The gospel of Mark does not proclaim who the author is within the document, yet the information that we know about Mark can be seen in the writer of this gospel. It is evident that the writer was Jewish, he was a Christian, and he was familiar with every day Jewish life, as well as the Jewish Scriptures. We know from the Scriptures that Mark was Jewish, and he knew the teachings of Jesus very well. He also knew the teachings of the rest of the apostles. It is also important to notice that after Peter was imprisoned he went to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12-17). Also Peter mentions in his epistle "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). During Paul's missionary journeys Mark became a companion of Paul and Barnabas, and he left them at Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13), after Paul had rebuked him. Many years later Mark regained the favor of Paul  (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). Early Church tradition unanimously ascribes the second gospel to Mark as a companion of Peter and the writer of the second Gospel. One prologue to the Gospels which was written around 160 AD has this statement: "Mark� Was Peter's interpreter, and after Peter's decease wrote down this gospel in the region of Italy." Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian also attest to Mark as the author.

Location. Nothing in the Gospel of Mark indicates where it was written from. Most of the early writers who boast of Mark as the author also name Rome as the place it was written.

Date. Early Christian writers and traditions place the Gospel of Mark sometime close to the end of Peter's life, around 60-65 AD. Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, while the Second Temple in Jerusalem was still standing (Mark 13:1-2). Many scholars do not believe in the miracle of predictive prophecy and argue that the Gospel of Mark was written after the fall of Jerusalem, because of the accurate details of the events that Jesus spoke about.  Mark's Gospel account seems to have been written as encouragement to the Christians who were facing the persecution of the Emperor Nero which took place in 64 AD.

Outline of the Book of Mark

The Servant Comes - Chapter 1:1-13
The Servant's Work - Chapters 1:14-13:37
The Servant's Death - Chapters 14:1-15:47
The Servant's Resurrection - Chapter 16:1-20

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Mark Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire