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Mark 15
1 And as soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate wondered.
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barab′bas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them. 9 And he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barab′bas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barab′bas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Barab′bas represents us. He was the guilty man that was let go and in his place the innocent man was condemned. The Lord Jesus being innocent was condemned for us who were guilty.
“…Having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” what a small sentence for such a weighty matter. The condemned victim in the scourging was tied to a pillar. Their backside was uncovered and exposed. They were whipped with a Cat of Nine Tails Whip also known as the flagrum. This whip is made of leather with pieces of bone and metal sown into the straps. The metal and bone were constructed to tear the flesh of the victim. Jesus was scourged. This brings new meaning to the prophecy: by His stripes we are healed.[1]
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
They clothed Him in purple. Purple represents majesty. Crafting a cruel crown of thorns, they placed it on His head and bowed to worship Him. They mocked His Kingship. The world today still mocks the Kingship of Jesus. The world may mock His Kingship but the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Lord.[2]
21 And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyre′ne, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Simon of Cyrene represents us. We are called to carry our cross.[3] The Lord Jesus also asks us to take His burden upon ourselves. Through this we receive rest for our souls.[4] When we take up our cross, we are mystically joined with Him on the cross. Saint Paul, penned, I am crucified with Christ.[5] God could have supernaturally strengthened Christ’s broken body, but instead chose to purposely use man to help Him carry the cross.
22 And they brought him to the place called Gol′gotha (which means the place of a skull).
The place of a Skull. Tradition has that Golgotha is the burial site for Adam.[6] In many Eastern Crucifixes, the skull of Adam is found at the bottom of the cross with the Blood of Jesus dripping onto it. This represents the redemption of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Golgotha is also conflated with Mount Moriah[7], where Abraham was called by God to sacrifice His son, Isaac. At the last moment before the sacrifice an angel stops Abraham. A lamb is caught in the thicket of thorns. Seeing the lamb, Abraham offers the lamb as a sacrifice instead. Abraham calls God, Yahweh Yireh, the Lord Will Provide. It is fitting that the Lamb of God, with a thicket of thorns around His head would be sacrificed in our place on the same spot.[8]
23 And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.[a] 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land[b] until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “E′lo-i, E′lo-i, la′ma sabach-tha′ni?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Eli′jah.” 36 And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Eli′jah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus[c] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son[d] of God!”
40 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Mag′dalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salo′me, 41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to him; and also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
Jospeh of Arimathea represents us. We are all called to beg for the Body of Christ. We are called to pray and intercede for the Church. The human aspect of the church is broken, divided and fractured. We need to pray for healing and unification of the Body of Christ.
44 And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.[e] 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Mag′dalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Live repentance. Be zealous. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
May 20, 2025, Tuesday Fifth Week of Easter
[1] Isaiah 53:6
[2] Philippians 2:10, 11
[3] Matthew 16: 24
[4] Matthew 11:28, 29
[5] Galatians 2:20
[6] Adam’s Deep Sleep; Fr Mawdsley, James (Published by: New Old) pg 19
[7] Adam’s Deep Sleep, Fr Mawdsley, James (Published by: New Old) pg 65
[8] Genesis 22:1-14
Be Zealous 
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