mark 15 recounts the events that culminated in jesus' crucifixion and death. the religious leaders take jesus to pilate. there is no explanation of who "pilate" is, so one must suppose that the intended readers of the gospel would already have been familiar with the stories mark is recording. his accusers' principal complaint seems to be that jesus has called himself "king of the jews," since pilate asks him if that what is what he is. jesus replies, "you say so." it appears that pilate doesn't take the accusations against jesus seriously, perhaps regarding him as insane. in reply to the many claims by his accusers, jesus makes no answer, to pilate's consternation. had pilate considered jesus another insurrectionist trying to rid palestine of roman rule, no other accusation would have been necessary, and his execution would have been swift and merciless.
it seems that the writer is going to some length to make pilate appear more reasonable and humane than jesus' jewish accusers, as he goes on to tell a most improbable story of pilate offering to allow the mob to choose a prisoner to be released during the passover festival. the two choices he offers are jesus or the leader of a rebellion named barrabas, who "with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection." the writer offers no further explanation concerning this "insurrection." according to mark, "the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release barabbas for them instead," and the crowd demands the crucifixion of jesus. it is unbelievable that a roman governor would release a known murderer and rebel or that there would be a custom in a roman province of releasing a prisoner annually during a religious celebration, so the writer appears to be going to some lengths to place all the blame for what follows on the shoulders of the jewish religious leaders and absolving pilate of guilt in the death of jesus.
after having jesus flogged, he is turned over to the roman soldiers who mock him by crowning him with thorns, placing a royal robe on him, spitting on him, calling him "king of the jews," and bowing before him, before stripping him of the purple cloak and redressing him in his own clothes. on the way to the place of crucifixion, a man called simon of cyrene is made to carry jesus' cross. this man must have been well known in the stories circulating among the christians to whom the narrative is addressed, because mark speaks of him familiarly as "the father of alexander and rufus," as if his readers would know who these men were also.
jesus is offered "wine mixed with myrrh," but he refuses it, and soon he is crucified with two bandits at the appointed place. those who pass by mock him, and the soldiers nail a sign above his head that reads "the king of the jews," perhaps to let the jews of jerusalem know in what contempt the romans hold them. "the chief priests, along with the scribes," are among the crowd mocking jesus. mark says that even the two thieves who were crucified on either side of jesus join in mocking him, which seems hard to believe since they would have been so concerned with their own suffering that the fate of jesus would have been of little concern to them. at a distance, the writer says, was a group of women that included mary magdalene, mary the mother of james the younger and of joses, and salome. here no further explanation of who these named women were, suggesting that they were also well known among mark's readers, but the writer does mention that this group of women, which includes "many other women," were followers of jesus who took care of him in galilee and had come with him to jerusalem.
in mark's account, the only intelligible thing jesus says from the cross is “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which mark says means, "“my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” after this cry of desperation, jesus is offered a drink of "sour wine" before he "gave a loud cry and breathed his last." then "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom," and the centurion in charge of jesus crucifixion proclaims that “truly this man was God’s son!” in this way the writer assures his readers of the significance of jesus' death.
once more, pilate is made to appear unbelievably humane, since he allows "a respected member of the council," joseph of arimathea, to take possession of jesus' body for burial. one wonders where this joseph was when his fellows on the religious council were trying jesus, turning him over to pilate, and demanding his crucifixion. apparently joseph was a believer in jesus' apocalyptic message, so perhaps he viewed these events as leading up to the coming of the expected "son of man" who would conquer the world, drive out the romans, and set up a righteous kingdom with a resurrected jesus at its head. joseph gives jesus a proper burial, as mary magdalene and the other mary that mark mentions witness where jesus' body is placed "in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock" and sealed with a stone. here the chapter ends.
so much of this account is difficult to believe, yet one senses a glimpse of the suffering jesus must have endured as he is mocked by all those who witness the events leading up to his death, except for the group of women who have been his caregivers throughout his ministry. it seems significant that the writer makes certain that the role of these women is made clear to readers of his account. they are the only ones of jesus' followers who seem to have stuck by him while his closest male companions are nowhere to be found according to mark.
may we see beyond the layers of fiction to the man who was jesus. may we have compassion for him during this period of great suffering that brought his ministry in palestine to an end. may we not diminish the significance of his teachings about love and respect for all people, regardless of their status or gender, by turning him into a god, so that the theological questions about who he was overshadows what he taught. shalom.
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