Mark 15:36

And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. For the exposition, see the notes at John 19:17....

Mark 15:36._Saying, Let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come to save him. Mark _relates these words as having been spoken by the soldier, while holding out the vinegar; but Matthew tells us that others used the same language. There is no inconsistency here, however; for it is probable that the jeering was begun by one person, but was eagerly seized by others, and loudly uttered by the multitude. The phrase, _let him alone, _appears to have implied not restraint, but ridicule; accordingly, the person who first mocked Christ, ironically addressing his companions, says, _Let us see if Elijah will come. _Others quickly followed, and every one sung the same song to his next neighbor, as usually happens with men who are agreed about any course. Nor is it of any importance to inquire if it was in the singular or plural number; for in either case the meaning is the same, the w

33-41 There was a thick darkness over the land, from noon until three in the afternoon. The Jews were doing their utmost to extinguish the Sun of Righteousness. The darkness signified the cloud which the human soul of Christ was under, when he was making it an offering for sin. He did not complain that his disciples forsook him, but that his Father forsook him. In this especially he was made sin for us. When Paul was to be offered as a sacrifice for the service saints, he could joy and rejoice, Philippians 2:17; but it is another thing to be offered as a sacrifice for the sin of sinners. At the same instant that Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. This spake terror to the unbelieving Jews, and was a sign of the destruction of their church and nation. It speaks comfort to all believing Christians, for it signified the laying open a new and living way i...

EXPOSITION MARK 15:1 AND STRAIGHTWAY IN THE MORNING THE CHIEF PRIESTS WITH THE ELDERS AND SCRIBES, AND THE WHOLE COUNCIL, HELD A CONSULTATION, AND BOUND JESUS, AND CARRIED HIM AWAY, AND DELIVERED HIM UP TO PILATE. _Straightway in the morning _(εὐθέως πρωΐ́)_. _The proceedings recorded in the last chapter terminated probably between five and six; the cock-crowing helps to fix the time. Now came the more formal trial. The whole Sanhedrim united in consultation. All the proceedings hitherto had been irregular and illegal. Now, for form's sake, they tried him afresh. But there was another law which was also violated. It was now Friday. In capital cases, sentence of condemnation might not legally be pronounced on the day of the trial. Yet our Lord was tried, condemned, and crucified on the same day. They "hound him," that he mi

AND ONE RAN AND FILLED A SPONGE FULL OF VINEGAR,.... Christ at the same time saying, I thirst; see John 19:28; AND PUT IT ON A REED; an hyssop stalk, John 19:29; AND GAVE HIM TO DRINK; and so fulfilled a prophecy in Psalms 69:21; SAYING, or "they said", as the Syriac version reads it; not he that fetched the sponge, but the others that were with him, and which agrees with Matthew 27:27; LET ALONE; as forbidding him to go near him, and offer him any thing to drink: LET US SEE WHETHER ELIAS WILL COME AND TAKE HIM DOWN; from the cross;...

Let us read again what we have often read before, that saddest of all stories which, nevertheless, is the fountain of the highest gladness,-the story of our Saviour's death, as recorded by Mark. Mark 15:1. _And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate._ «The whole council» could be there, so early in the morning, for such an evil purpose. Wicked men are very diligent in carrying out their sinful schemes; so, when Christ was to be murdered, his enemies were there, as Luke tells us, «as soon as it was day.» How much more diligent ought the followers of Christ to be to give him their devoted service! It is a good thing to begin the day with united prayer and holy converse with his people. Let these wicked men, who were so early in the mor

CHAPTER 15 _ 1. Before Pilate. (Mark 15:1 .Matthew 27:1; Luke 23:1; John 18:28 .)_ 2. Barabbas released and the Servant condemned. (Mark 15:6 .Matthew 27:15; Luke 23:16; John 18:39) 3. Crowned with thorns and mocked. ...

THE SILENCE OF JESUS (Mark 15:1-5)...

GAVE HIM. - was giving. See note on Matthew 27:34....

_full of vinegar_ Burning thirst is the most painful aggravation of death by crucifixion, and it was as He uttered the words, "_I thirst_," that the soldier ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, or the sour wine-and-water called _posca_, the ordinary drink of the Roman soldiers. _and put it on a reed_ i. e. on the short stem of a hyssop-plant (John 19:29). _Let alone_ According to St Mark, the man himself cries "Let be;" according to St Matthew, the others cry out thus to him as he offers the drink; according to St John, several filled the sponge with the sour wine. Combining the statements, together we have a natural and accurate picture of the excitement caused by the loud cry....