This Sunday used to be called Palm Sunday to commemorate the beginning of the week of the Passover festival when Jesus entered Jerusalem to palm-waving crowds. More recently the name has changed to Passion Sunday, since the passion theme dominates the succeeding days of Holy Week. To reflect this change the whole passion narrative is read. (Mark 14:1-15:47)

This commentary focuses on the following, small part of the larger gospel passage in which Mark’s perspective on Jesus’ death is journalistic. It addresses who, (Jesus) where (Golgotha), when (nine AM), why (His claim to be king of the Jews) and how (crucifixion). His account is straight-forward, unadorned with interpretation.  

…they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’  In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Crucifixion was a public communication as well as a punishment for crimes. Golgotha, outside the walls of Jerusalem, near a road leading to the city, meant that passers-by could see the consequences of breaking Roman law. Crucifixion involved tying the person to the cross then nailing hands or forearms and feet to a wooden cross. The excruciating pain of nails being driven through nerves, muscles and sinews, would not, itself, kill Jesus, though it probably induced shock. Death would come from loss of blood combined with asphyxiation from not being able to raise his body to breath.

Wine mixed with myrrh was believed to dull pain. However, more than a bit of myrrh would make the wine bitter. Mark did not comment on whether the offer of wine was compassionate or a practice. He simply noted it.

Mark repeated the phrase, They crucified him. Beyond this passage, his death and resurrection was a central message of Jesus’ ministry according to Mark (8:31, 9:30, 10:32,). Jesus presented his death as the portal through which he would reverse one of the consequences of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:19) and return to life but also offer salvation to those who follow his commandments.

Mark noted that they divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take but makes no mention of Psalm 22:18 which reads, they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. Again, Mark’s intent is to describe the situation, not to offer interpretation.

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

The proceedings before Pilate, including his discussion with the chief priests, the mocking by the soldiers and the trip to Calvary would have had to take place very early in the morning for the crucifixion to happen at nine. No other gospel reports the time of crucifixion.

And with him they crucified two bandits…. recalls Isaiah 53:12 He was numbered with the transgressors;

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The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’

Romans used inscriptions to identify the crime that led to such punishment. In particular, this was a warning to avoid following other charismatic leaders. It may also have been intended as an ironic mockery. Yet it was also true.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

Noon is usually the time of full sun. Mark noted the unusual circumstance that darkness came over the whole land, again without commenting on whether that bore any significance. In Deuteronomy however, one of the consequences of not following God’s commandments would be that, you shall grope about at noon as blind people grope in darkness, but you shall be unable to find your way; and you shall be continually abused and robbed, without anyone to help. (Deut 28:28) Job describes his own reason for faithfulness in the face of his difficulties by describing the wily…. who meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night. The implication of Mark’s report of darkness at noon would have been clear to those familiar with the Old Testament.

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At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

At three o’clock …Both Luke (23:44-46) and Matthew (27:45-46) report that Jesus’ died shortly after 3 PM. John does not provide a time but hints that it was in the later afternoon Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, (which began at sundown) especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. (John 19:33)

Jesus’ words, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, are the opening lines of Psalm 22, a desperate plea of a righteous person for deliverance from suffering and hostility. Jesus used them to express both his physical suffering and his sense of isolation from the Father. Many commentators note that Psalm 22 turns into a prayer of praise for the triumphal God, starting at verse 21,

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me…

You who fear the Lord, praise him!...   

    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he did not despise or abhor

    the affliction of the afflicted;

he did not hide his face from me,

    but heard when I cried to him…

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord…

For dominion belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.

It may be that Jesus intended to complete the psalm with its praise, but he never did.…someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

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  • Mark’s account of the crucifixion does not include any of his disciples. Were they there? Did Mark intentionally exclude them to emphasize Jesus’ isolation and abandonment at the time of his death?'
  • Do you read My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? as a cry of abandonment or as a final hymn of praise?
  • How do you personally connect “the Fall” in Genesis 3 to Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross? Is it tenuous… only vaguely connected? Is it held together by the thread running through the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah and Jeremiah (among others)? Is it a mirror image of self-sacrifice compared to the selfishness of our “first parents”? Something else?

Peace

Michael