Mark 15:21-32--The Crucifixion

Mark 15:21-32
English Standard Version
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The Crucifixion
21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

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By the time they were finished with beating Jesus, He could not carry His cross (probably just the crossbeam) to the place of His crucifixion (Golgotha), so they laid His burden on another man named Simon of Cyrene.  Apparently, this man and his sons were well-known enough that Mark mentions that Simon of Cyrene is the father of Alexander and Rufus.  At least this gave people someone to contact for eyewitness testimony because there were many Simons, and probably more than one Simon of Cyrene, but there was probably only one Simon of Cyrene who had sons named Alexander and Rufus.

When they reached Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where Jesus and the others were to be crucified, they hung Him on His cross between two thieves (again, the word "thief" in Greek is a generic word for one who committed any number of felonies).  In order to try to ease the pain, the soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, but He would not drink it, as He did not want the pain to be numbed.  Then they divided His garments by casting lots for them, which fulfilled the Scriptures that foretold that this would happen.

Mark mentions that it was the third hour when they crucified Him.  That seems like a little detail that may only be there to tell us how long Jesus suffered, but this is the exact hour they were killing the Passover lambs in the Temple.  Yet, the people who should have been preparing themselves for the Passover celebration were there to mock Him.

They were upset by the sign that Pilate hung above Jesus's head with the list of His "crimes" that made Him worthy of a Roman execution.  It read, something like, "Here is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."  The chief priests asked Pilate to change the sign with the charges to say, "He claimed to be King of the Jews," but Pilate answered them saying, "I have written what I have written."  Pilate realized that Jesus died because He was the Messiah that the Jews (at least the Jewish leaders) didn't want.  "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."

Mark then describes the others who were there.  Jesus died between two robbers, which also fulfilled Scripture, and the people there wagged their heads at Him and ridiculed Him in much the same way that Satan did in the temptation in the wilderness saying, "If you are the Son of God....."  The implication there was that The Father would never let something like this happen to His Son and if the Father really loved the Son, then the Father should prove it by putting a stop to this.  This too is a fulfillment of Scripture (see Psalm 22, which describes perfectly the manner of Jesus's crucifixion before crucifixion even existed).  They also ridiculed Jesus saying to Him, "You who said you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself."  They did not understand that Jesus was referring to the body of His Temple, since He was filled with the Spirit.

They then continued their mocking saying, "He saved others, but He cannot save Himself," and "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross so we might believe."  They had no intention of believing, and He had no intention of coming down from the cross until they removed Him from the cross to put Him in His borrowed tomb, because He had fully surrendered and committed to the plan of salvation that the Father, Son and Spirit had agreed to since before time began.  Satan wanted to use these people to tempt Jesus one more time to not obey God in order to stop His own suffering and generate the applause of the people (but such applause would not last).  No, Jesus knew that what the people needed this Passover was "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." 

We'll look at some of the things that Jesus said from the cross next time and how no one took Jesus's life from Him, He gave it up willingly once He knew His purpose and mission had been fulfilled.