Mark 15:20–40

²⁰After they had made fun of him, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to nail him to a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

²¹A man named Simon from Cyrene was passing by. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Simon was on his way in from the country. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross.

²²They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means The Place of the Skull. ²³Then they gave him wine mixed with spices. But he did not take it.

²⁴They nailed him to the cross. Then they divided up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each of them would get.

²⁵It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶They wrote out the charge against him. It read, The King of the Jews.

^27/28They crucified two robbers with him. One was on his right and one was on his left.

²⁹Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads and said, “So you are going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? ³⁰Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!”

³¹In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law made fun of him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said. “But he can’t save himself! ³²Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross! When we see that, we will believe.”

Those who were being crucified with Jesus also made fun of him.

Jesus Dies

³³At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted three hours. ³⁴At three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

³⁵Some of those standing nearby heard Jesus cry out. They said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah.”

³⁶One of them ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar. He put it on a stick. He offered it to Jesus to drink. “Leave him alone,” he said. “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷With a loud cry, Jesus took his last breath.

³⁸The temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹A Roman commander was standing there in front of Jesus. He heard his cry and saw how Jesus died. Then he said, “This man was surely the Son of God!”

⁴⁰Not very far away, some women were watching. Mary Magdalene was among them. Mary, the mother of the younger James and of Joses, was also there. So was Salome.