St Mark Chapter XV : Verses 26-41
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| The death of Jesus. J-J Tissot. |
[27] And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
[28] And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: And with the wicked he was reputed.
[29] And they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again;
[30] Save thyself, coming down from the cross.
[31] In like manner also the chief priests mocking, said with the scribes one to another: He saved others; himself he cannot save.
[32] Let Christ the king of Israel come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
[33] And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour.
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| Indeed this man was the son of God. J-J Tissot |
[35] And some of the standers by hearing, said: Behold he calleth Elias.
[36] And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias come to take him down.
[37] And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.
[38] And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom.
[39] And the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the son of God.
[40] And there were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph, and Salome:
[41] Who also when he was in Galilee followed him, and ministered to him, and many other women that came up with him to Jerusalem.
[26] Et erat titulus causae ejus inscriptus : Rex Judaeorum. [27] Et cum eo crucifigunt duos latrones : unum a dextris, et alium a sinistris ejus. [28] Et impleta est Scriptura, quae dicit : Et cum iniquis reputatus est. [29] Et praetereuntes blasphemabant eum, moventes capita sua, et dicentes : Vah qui destruis templum Dei, et in tribus diebus reaedificas : [30] salvum fac temetipsum descendens de cruce. [31] Similiter et summi sacerdotes illudentes, ad alterutrum cum scribis dicebant : Alios salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere. [32] Christus rex Israel descendat nunc de cruce, ut videamus, et credamus. Et qui cum eo crucifixi erant, convitiabantur ei. [33] Et facta hora sexta, tenebrae factae sunt per totam terram usque in horam nonam. [34] Et hora nona exclamavit Jesus voce magna, dicens : Eloi, eloi, lamma sabacthani? quod est interpretatum : Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me? [35] Et quidam de circumstantibus audientes, dicebant : Ecce Eliam vocat. [36] Currens autem unus, et implens spongiam aceto, circumponensque calamo, potum dabat ei, dicens : Sinite, videamus si veniat Elias ad deponendum eum. [37] Jesus autem emissa voce magna expiravit. [38] Et velum templi scissum est in duo, a summo usque deorsum. [39] Videns autem centurio, qui ex adverso stabat, quia sic clamans expirasset, ait : Vere hic homo Filius Dei erat. [40] Erant autem et mulieres de longe aspicientes : inter quas erat Maria Magdalene, et Maria Jacobi minoris, et Joseph mater, et Salome : [41] et cum esset in Galilaea, sequebantur eum, et ministrabant ei, et aliae multae, quae simul cum eo ascenderant Jerosolymam.
Notes
26. the inscription , etc. This refers to the tablet recording the name, parentage, and cause of condemnation. It was placed on the upper part of the cross, over our Lord’s head. St Luke calls it superscription , and St John has title. The inscription was threefold —
(а) In Aramaic, the language of the people.(b) In Greek, the most universally spoken language.(c) In Latin, the language used by the Romans.
The Aramaic tongue is written from right to left, and on the tablet all these sentences are said to have been thus written. This tablet is still preserved in Rome, in the church of the Holy Cross.
The King of the Jews.
(a) This is Jesus the King of the Jews (St Matt, xxvii. 37).(b) This is the King of the Jews (St Luke xxiii. 38).(c) Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews (St John xix. 19).
The cause of Christ’s death is given by all four. Jesus was crucified because He was the King of the Jews, though they rejected Him. St Matthew and St John give the holy name Jesus. St John’s is probably the exact inscription, since he was an eye-witness of the Crucifixion. Moreover, the word Nazarenus can still be read on the tablet.
This title greatly displeased the Sanhedrin, as we learn from St John (xix. 21). Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate : Write not, the King of the Jews, hut that he said : I am King of the Jews. Pilate refused, probably because he desired to annoy the chief priests, and also to assert his conviction that Christ was innocent ; besides, it was impossible to substitute any other cause of condemnation.
27. with him they crucify two thieves. No mention is made of their condemnation. They may have been two of the seditious men of whom Barabbas was the chief. They were “ robbers ” rather than “ thieves,” that is, members of a band of brigands and malefactors.
Tradition gives their names, Gistas and Dysmas ; the latter repented. Josephus, speaking of the difficulties which the governors of Judea experienced in restraining these bands of outlaws, relates how “ one Simon straggling about with the robbers .... burnt the palaces of Jericho,” and that “Felix having caught the chief robber Eleazar, who for twenty years had wasted the country with fire and sword, sent him to Home, and many others with him ” ( Wars, ii. 6) .
one on his right hand , etc. Jesus was placed in the centre, as though He were the greatest criminal. The two thieves are said to typify the Jews and the Gentiles.
28. with the wicked. These words are quoted from Is. liii. 12. This verse is omitted in several of the best manuscripts ( e.g . the Sinaitic, the Alexandrine, the Vatican, etc.). But it is found in the Vulgate, the Gothic and the Armenian, and therefore rests on good authority. It is one of the few occasions on which St Mark refers to the fulfilment of a prophecy.
29. they that passed by, etc. The passers-by who came out to see the Crucifixion. Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims at this time and the slopes of the suburbs were covered with tents. Golgotha was situated close to the high road.
blasphemed him. To blaspheme is to speak against God. Therefore, as Jesus was the Son of God, all mockeries were really blasphemies, though only intended as insults, by those who proffered them. Hence St Peter excuses the Jews, saying, But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you . And now , brethren , I know that you did it through ignorance , as did also your rulers (Acts iii. 14, 17).
wagging their heads : in mockery, not in disapprobation. All these insults had been foretold by the royal Psalmist : All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips , and wagged the head (Ps. xxi. 8).
Vah. A Latin word expressing extreme contempt.
thou that destroyest the temple, etc. This was the formal accusation brought by the false witnesses, many of whom were possibly present on Calvary.
30. Save thyself. From St Matthew we see that they added, if thou be the Son of God.
Thus Satan puts in the mouth of these men the very words he used to tempt Christ in the desert, and the temptation was the same, the victory without the conflict.
31. In like manner also the chief priests, etc. They forget their dignity and join with the multitude in mocking at our Lord ; though they do not seem to have addressed Him, they spoke in His hearing. Their vengeance was now fully satisfied, and for a brief moment they exult over their triumph. It is their hour, but it will soon pass.
he saved others. At least now they acknowledge Christ’s miracles. He had saved others, and at that moment was saving all mankind. There is perhaps a reference to His name Jesus , i.e. Saviour.
32. Let Christ , the king , etc. They ask for a sign as of old, and presently one is given (though not the one they desired) when darkness covered the whole earth for three hours. Jesus had confessed before Caiphas that He was the Christ (xiv. 62), and in presence of Pilate He had asserted that He was the King of the Jews (xv. 2). His enemies now put these two assertions together and ask Him to establish His claims by a manifest miracle.
that we may see and believe. Had Jesus condescended to their wishes, they would have attributed the miracle to magic.
they that were crucified with him , reviled him. St Luke speaks of one only as having reviled Christ. St Chrysostom thinks that at first both taunted Him, then one, Dysmas, repented, while the other continued to insult our Lord.
33. when the sixth hour was come, — i.e. about noon. Now St John says it was the sixth hour when Pilate condemned Jesus. How are we to reconcile these two statements? Some think that in the Vulgate and other MSS. of St John’s gospel, by a copyist’s error six has been put for three. Others are of opinion that St John used a different method of computation.
The Jews had adopted the same divisions of time as the Romans, who divided the day into four principal divisions called “hours.” These “great” hours at the vernal equinoxes (when the Pasch was celebrated) were as follows: —
First hour, 6- 9 a.m.Second hour, 9-12 a.m.Third hour, 12- 3 p.m.Fourth hour, 3-6 p.m.
As these “great” hours were counted from sunrise to sunset, their length varied with the different seasons. These principal divisions were evidently subdivided, since we read of the “ eleventh ” hour (St Matt. xx. 9).
darkness over the whole earth. This need not be taken literally. The darkness may have extended only over the land of Israel or over those lands that lay on the same meridian. This darkness was preternatural. It could not have been an ordinary eclipse —
(1) because it was at the time of full moon (the 14th of the lunar month Nisan), when such a phenomenon could not take place naturally.
(2) because it lasted for three hours, whereas a total eclipse of the sun can only last fifteen minutes.
All the Evangelists mention this darkness.
until the ninth hour , — i.e. till three o’clock, the hour of the evening sacrifice.
34. cried out with a loud voice. Unlike ordinary men, whose vocal powers become enfeebled as life ebbs away.
Eloi, Eloi , lamma sabacthani ? Our Lord here uses the words of the Psalm, Deus , Deus meus , etc. (xxi. 1), which Tertullian says is an epitome of the passion of Christ. St Mark used the Aramaic version, whereas St Matthew gives the Hebrew form, Eli , Eli, etc. This is our Lord’s fourth word on the cross, and the only one given by St Mark. The Evangelists record seven words in all : —
(a) Three referring to others —
(1) Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (St Luke xxiii. 34).(2) Amen, I say to thee, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise (St Luke xxiii. 43).(3) Woman, behold thy son. Behold thy mother (St John xix. 26, 27).
(b) Four referring to His sufferings or addressed to His heavenly Father —
(4) Eli, Eli , lamma sabacthani ? (St Matt, xxvii. 46).(5) Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit (St Luke xxiii. 46).(6) I thirst (St John xix. 28).(7) It is consummated (St John xix. 30).
forsaken me. Jesus was not really abandoned by God the Father, since the Hypostatic Union could not cease to exist, but He was deprived of its beatific and consolatory effects. It is probable that Jesus on the cross said the whole of this beautiful psalm, which expressed so well what He was undergoing.
35. some of the standers-by , etc. In spite of the darkness some of the people had remained to see the end, besides the soldiers on guard, our Blessed Lady and her companions at the foot of the cross.
This seems to prove that it was not a darkness such as that, with which God afflicted the Egyptians, which is described as so thick that it may be felt, and when no man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was (Exod. x. 21-23). It is probable that during the three hours of darkness there was comparative silence on Calvary, and that, awed by the preternatural gloom, the people for a time ceased to mock at our Lord.
Behold , he calleth Elias . There was a tradition among the Jews that Elias would accompany the Messiah when He came in pomp and majesty, and this great prophet was also invoked as a deliverer in times of peril. We cannot determine whether the standers-by pretended to misunderstand, or if they really thought that our Saviour had invoked Elias. Neither do we know if Jews or Gentiles thus interpreted our Lord’s words. The sound of the word “ Eli ” (as St Matt, gives it) was in Hebrew the first syllable of the Hebrew word for Elias, Eli-jahu.
36. one running. This happened after Jesus had said I thirst . Possibly it was one of the guards who gave Him the vinegar.
vinegar , — i.e. the posca or sour wine used by the soldiers. The word vinegar signifies sour wine, “ vin-aigre.”
a reed. St John gives a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop (xix. 29).
The caper plant or hyssop is found in ... . the deserts of Sinai .... Its habit is to grow on the most barren soil or rocky precipice .... It is capable of yielding a stick to which the sponge might be affixed (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 21). This plant only attains a height of about one to two feet.
gave him to drink. Jesus accepted it, (a) because the wine was not drugged ; (b) a prophecy was thereby fulfilled ; (c) the end was nigh. This was the second time drink had been offered to Christ. The first was drugged wine, and was given when they were crucifying Him. The vinegar was given just before He expired.
Stay, let us see if Elias , etc. Some think that the persons present did not wish Jesus to have even this alleviation, for St Matthew puts the words Let be, let us see, etc., on their lips. St Mark evidently attributes them to the one who filled the sponge. Perhaps both used the same words, but with a different meaning. The onlookers desired to see whether Elias would come to Christ’s assistance, while the one who gave the drink wished to alleviate our Lord’s thirst till Elias should come.
From the words we cannot ascertain what motives prompted the one who gave Jesus the vinegar. If we consider the prophecy, And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink (Ps. lxviii. 22), it would appear as though it was done in mockery.
37. cried out with a loud voice. His last words were, It is consummated.
gave up the ghost. Bowing His sacred head, He sent forth His soul. Jesus died not as men die, but “ because He willed, when and how He willed” (St Augustine). As He Himself had said, No man taketh it away from me : but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again (St John x. 18). Some commentators have thought that the natural cause of death was the rupture of the vessels of the heart, others are of opinion that there was no lesion of any vital organ, but that death resulted from the exhaustion produced by the loss of blood in the garden, during the scourging, and on the cross, and to the intense mental suffering. At the hour of the evening sacrifice Jesus, the Lamb of God, consummated the sacrifice of His life for us men and for our salvation , and He “ encountered death not as conquered but as conqueror.” From the cross of shame His holy soul, united to the Divinity, went to announce to the souls in limbo that the hour of their deliverance was at hand St Peter tells us that Jesus enlivened in the spirit . ... he preached to those spirits that were in prison (1 St Peter iii. 18, 19).
38. the veil of the temple was rent in two. This refers to the beautiful curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
It was a costly material of gold and purple, embroidered with figures of cherubim. It measured 60 by 30 feet, and is said to have been woven in seventy-two separate squares, which were joined together. This veil was rent at three P.M., the hour when the priest offered incense in the Holy Place. There were two curtains before the Holy of Holies. The outer one must have been rent, otherwise the tear might not have been perceived at once. Perhaps both were torn, since the rending of the veil signified that humanity, in virtue of Christ's merit, could now have a confidence in the entering into the Holies by the blood of Christ; a new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Heb. x. 19, 20). The veil was rent from the top to the bottom, a proof that it was not rent by human hands. Possibly there were eye-witnesses of the rending among the great multitude of priests who after Pentecost obeyed the faith (Acts vi. 7).
39. the centurion who stood over against him, — i.e. on guard, in charge of the “quaternion.”
Tradition has given him the name of Longinus, and he, with the centurion at Capharnaum whose servant Christ healed, and Cornelius the centurion of the “ Italian band ” (Acts x. 1), “form a triumvirate of believing Gentile soldiers. ”
seeing that, etc. The loud cry, the preternatural gloom, and Christ’s majesty in death, had convinced the centurion that a terrible injustice had been committed. He and those that were watching Jesus, i.e. the four guards, and all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight (St Luke xxiii. 48).
Indeed this man was the Son of God. St Luke says he glorified God saying, Indeed this was a just man (xxiii. 47). Now that Jesus is dead, the fruits of His victory are seen. Even on the cross the dying thief had been converted, and now the Roman soldiers are struck with fear, and the multitude returned , striking their breasts. Jesus has been lifted up, and therefore begins to draw all men to Him. We are not told what effect the miracles which accompanied the death of Christ had on the chief priests and the scribes. Possibly they did not remain on Calvary until the death of Christ, as three o’clock, or the ninth hour, was the hour of prayer ; hut if they were in the Temple or its precincts they would have heard of the veil being rent in twain, and would have felt the shock of the earthquake. Some of those who mocked, may have been officiating in the Holy Place when the veil was rent.
St Mark omits to mention that many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many (St Matt, xxvii. 52, 53). It is probable that these “saints” appeared to the disciples and to those whose testimony might be useful in defence of our Lord’s teaching.
40. women looking on afar off : among whom , etc. St Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas were close to the cross for a time. Perhaps the guards had driven them away. St Luke gives us to understand that some men were also looking on afar off. And all his acquaintance , and the women that had followed him from Galilee , stood afar off beholding these things (xx iii. 49). Thus the Psalmist had foretold, Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me ; and my acquaintance , because of misery (Ps. lxxxvii. 19).
Mary Magdalen (see Biog. Notes, p. 76).
Mary the mother of James the less and of Joseph , — i.e. Mary, wife of Cleophas (otherwise called Alphaeus), as we see from St John xix. 25 : Now there stood by the cross of Jesus , his mother and his mother's sister , Mary of Cleophas , and Mary Magdalen.
Salome. The mother of Zebedee’s children. Therefore St John’s mother was present. (See Genealogical Table, p. 75.)
41. Who also when he was in Galilee , etc. In St Luke we read that the Twelve accompanied Jesus on His tour through Galilee, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities : Mary who is called Magdalen , out of whom seven devils were gone forth; and Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward , and Susanna , and many others who ministered unto him of their substance (viii. 1, 2, 3).
Additional Notes
On the Inscription of His Cause. The Jews had most probably adopted the capital punishment of crucifixion from the Persians or the Romans. The ordinary capital punishments in use among the Hebrews were stoning, drowning, and burning. In some points they had, however, similar customs. Thus Lightfoot, quoting from the Jerusalem Gemara, writes : “ These things are delivered of one guilty of stoning ” ( i.e . condemned to be stoned). “If there be no defence found for him, they lead him out to be stoned, and a crier went before saying aloud thus : — N. the son of N. comes out to be stoned because he hath done so and so. The witnesses against him are N. and N. : whosoever can bring anything in his defence let him produce it. ” Again Lightfoot writes : “ The tradition is that on the evening of the Passover, Jesus was hanged, and that a crier went before Him for forty days making this proclamation : “ This man comes forth to be stoned, because he dealt in sorceries, and persuaded and seduced Israel ; whoever knows of any defence for him, let him come forth and produce it ” ; but no defence could be found, therefore they hanged him on the evening of the Passover. ” This citation shews how the Jews tried to defend themselves against the attacks of Christian apologists, when accused of having condemned Christ unjustly. The second assertion is, of course, a pure invention put forth by the Jews, in order to justify themselves and discredit our Lord.
Jesus mocked on the Cross.
On the Cross, Jesus was derided by four different classes, viz. —
I. The' chief priests said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save : if he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God ; let him now deliver him if he will have him : for he said, I am the Son of God” ( St Matt. xxvii. 42, 43).
II. The passers-by said, “ Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again ” (St Mark xv. 29). St Matthew adds, “if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross ” (xxvii. 40).
III. The thieves “ also reproached him.” “ If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us ” (St Luke xxiii. 39).
IV. The soldiers mocked him, saying, “If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself” (St Luke xxiii. 37).
I. The chief priests both mock (ver. 42) and blaspheme Christ (42), and their last taunt is a blasphemy against God (it is a quotation from Ps. xxi.).
II. These insults show that the multitude believed Jesus to be guilty of blas¬ phemy against God and the Temple.
III. Our Lord suffered from every class ; the very criminals derided Him in His agony.
IV. They take the inscription on the “title” for the subject of their mockery, and blaspheme against His royalty.
Note on the darkness over all the earth.
It has been said that pagan writers have borne witness to the darkness, that overspread the earth, while Jesus hung on the cross, but this assertion cannot be proved. The three authors generally cited are Phlegon, a chronicler who lived in the time of Adrian, Thallus, and Dionisius the Areopagite. But none of these sources are trustworthy, for the date of the eclipse, of which Phlegon speaks, does not coincide with the date of our Lord’s Crucifixion. The “ darkness ” mentioned by Thallus cannot be proved to refer to that which took place on Good Friday, and the letters attributed to Dionisius have been shewn to be forgeries. There is therefore, so far as we know, no certain reference to this miracle outside the gospels. But in holy Scripture it is most clearly mentioned, and various reasons have been assigned to show its fitness. Among these may be cited the following : —
(1) It was a proof of the divinity of Christ, since Nature was thus convulsed when He died.
(2) It typified the blindness of the Jews.
(3) It was meet the earth should be in darkness when the “ Sun of Justice” was setting.
(4) It symbolized the interior desolation of Christ.
(5) As when Christ was born, a bright star proclaimed His advent, so when He died, the earth was darkened.
Jesus abandoned on the Cross by His heavenly Father.
(1) This abandonment was the fulfilment of a prophecy, “O God, my God, look upon me : why hast thou forsaken me ? ” ( Ps . xxi. 1). Our Saviour’s intense desolation of soul wrung from Him this piercing cry. It is the only “ word ” uttered on the cross which is a quotation from Scripture.
(2) The Fathers teach us that our Lord spoke thus, “ not on His own account, but as holding the place of humanity with regard to God estranged from it by sin.”
(3) In the midst of this desolation Jesus shows His full confidence in His heavenly Father. He calls Him “my God,” and the whole Psalm, from which these words are taken, expresses the suppliant’s firm confidence in God.
(4) It is probable that Jesus uttered these words, because in the extreme desolation of His soul, He suffered as though He were abandoned by God, for these words were said when the bodily anguish was at its climax and death near, also when His sacred soul was overwhelmed with bitterness, sadness, and tedium.
(5) It is also possible that the devil caused new sufferings and trials to our Lord, and that the interior Passion begun in Gethsemani continued, even with greater intensity, until the moment when our redemption was consummated and Jesus yielded up the ghost.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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