Mark 15; Mark 16

Mark 15

1 It was very early in the morning. The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, made a decision. They tied Jesus up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate.

2 "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes. It is just as you say," Jesus replied.

3 The chief priests brought many charges against him.

4 So Pilate asked him again, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they charge you with."

5 But Jesus still did not reply. Pilate was amazed.

6 It was the usual practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted.

7 A man named Barabbas was in prison. He was there with some other people who had fought against the country's rulers. They had committed murder while they were fighting against the rulers.

8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 "Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?" asked Pilate.

10 He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.

12 "Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

13 "Crucify him!" the crowd shouted.

14 "Why? What wrong has he done?" asked Pilate. But they shouted even louder, "Crucify him!"

15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace. It was called the Praetorium. They called together the whole company of soldiers.

17 The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head.

18 They began to call out to him, "We honor you, king of the Jews!"

19 Again and again they hit him on the head with a stick. They spit on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honor him.

20 After 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.

21 A 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.

22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means The Place of the Skull.

23 Then they gave him wine mixed with spices. But he did not take it.

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

25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.

26 They wrote out the charge against him. It read, the king of the jews.

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

29 Those 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?

30 Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!"

31 In 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!

32 Let 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.

33 At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted three hours.

34 At 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?"(Psalm 22:1)

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

36 One 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."

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

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

39 A 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!"

40 Not 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.

41 In Galilee those women had followed Jesus. They had taken care of his needs. Many other women were also there. They had come up with him to Jerusalem.

42 It was the day before the Sabbath. That day was called Preparation Day. As evening approached,

43 Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a leading member of the Jewish Council. He was waiting for God's kingdom.

44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the Roman commander. He asked him if Jesus had already died.

45 The commander said it was true. So Pilate gave the body to Joseph.

46 Then Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took the body down and wrapped it in the linen. He put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where Jesus' body had been placed.

Mark 16

1 The Sabbath day ended. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They were going to apply them to Jesus' body.

2 Very early on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. It was just after sunrise.

3 They asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?"

4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. The stone was very large.

5 They entered the tomb. As they did, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He was sitting on the right side. They were alarmed.

6 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he has risen! He is not here! See the place where they had put him.

7 Go! Tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. It will be just as he told you.' "

8 The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9 Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. He had driven seven demons out of her.

10 She went and told those who had been with him. She found them crying. They were very sad.

11 They heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him. But they did not believe it.

12 After that, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them. This happened while they were walking out in the country.

13 The two returned and told the others about it. But the others did not believe them either.

14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating. He spoke firmly to them because they had no faith. They would not believe those who had seen him after he rose from the dead.

15 He said to them, "Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.

16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who does not believe will be punished.

17 Here are the miraculous signs that those who believe will do. In my name they will drive out demons. They will speak in languages they had not known before.

18 They will pick up snakes with their hands. And when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people. And the people will get well."

19 When the Lord Jesus finished speaking to them, he was taken up into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God.

20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them. And he backed up his word by the signs that went with it.