Notes on Mark 15:34-43

Forsaken - Mark 15:34-36

Jesus quoted Ps. 22:1 in anguish when he was separated from his Father by the sin of others that he carried on the cross. This is the climax of a theme that runs throughout Mark's gospel. Judas, Peter, and the twelve all have forsaken him (14:43-45, 50, 66-72). Now for the first time he was totally alone. Mark put more stress on the unimaginable pain of Jesus' separation from the Father because of sin than he did on the physical torment of crucifixion. It is striking to note that even then Jesus' faith did not falter. He still called out, My God. Someone in the crowd misunderstood Jesus, mistaking Eloi, Eloi (my God, my God) for Eliyahu (Elijah). It is highly likely that Jesus' pronunciation was severely compromised by this point in the crucifixion. The confusion was all the more likely because of the belief of some Jews that Elijah would return (6:15).

Jesus cried out. - Mark 15:37-38

Mark reported that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, but did not report what Jesus said. Probably it was his triumph shout that is reported in John 19:30, It is finished. Whatever he shouted, it was amazing that he shouted at all. Crucifixion was an exhausting death that usually left the victim exhausted or unconscious. This death was no ordinary death. Jesus' triumphant completion of his messianic mission was signified when the temple curtain split in two. There were two temple curtains. The one curtain had separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exod. 26:31-33). The other separated the Holy Place from the outer courts. It is difficult to determine which of the two was torn apart. In either case the meaning is essentially the same. The completion of Jesus' perfect sacrifice for sin ended the need for the rituals of the temple and the temple itself (Heb. 9:11-14; 10:19, 20).

Roman centurion - Mark 15:39

A Roman centurion commanded a unit of 100 soldiers. This centurion had been in charge of Jesus' crucifixion. He concluded that this death was like none he had seen before. On his lips the title Son of God probably did not mean messianic son; and even less likely did it mean second person of the Trinity. Most likely he concluded that Jesus was some sort of human being who was specially blessed by one of his many gods. Mark, however, reported these words because he found in them a dramatic climax of the thought with which he began his gospel: Jesus Christ the Son of God (1:1). It must have been encouraging to Mark's Roman readers to hear these words from a Roman centurion.

Mary Magdalene - Mark 15:40-41

Luke reported that Jesus had cast 7 demons out of Mary Magdalene. Magdala was a town on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee. She is not to be identified with the sinful woman of Luke 7:37. On the note that other women ministered to Jesus during his life see Luke 8:1-3.

Day of Preparation - Mark 15:42-43

The Day of Preparation was the day before the Sabbath. It was the time to get everything done that could not be done on the Sabbath, such as food preparation. Since Jesus died around 3:00pm and the Sabbath began at sunset, the burial must have been completed very quickly. The exact location of Arimathea is not known. Most likely it was about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Joseph was a member of the council, but also a secret follower of Jesus (Luke 23:51; John 19:38). Mark said Joseph was a respected member of the council. All the details of the story fit his description as prominent and probably wealthy. See WLC 121.

Related Resources

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.