Cornelius a Lapide

Mark XV

Table of Contents

Synopsis of the Chapter

First, Christ is handed over by the chief priests to Pilate, accused, set below Barabbas, scourged, crowned with thorns, and mocked. Second, at verse 21, on Golgotha He is crucified between two robbers; His garments are divided by lot; He is blasphemed by passers-by, and even by the robbers. Third, at verse 33, darkness covers the whole earth, Jesus laments being forsaken by His Father, and crying out, He expires; whereupon the Centurion says: Truly this man was the Son of God. Fourth, at verse 42, He is buried by Joseph.

Vulgate Text: Mark 15:1-47

1. And immediately in the morning the chief priests, holding a council with the elders and the Scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, bound Jesus and led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate. 2. And Pilate asked Him: Are You the King of the Jews? And He answering said to him: You say so. 3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things. 4. But Pilate again asked Him, saying: Do You answer nothing? See in how many things they accuse You. 5. But Jesus answered nothing further, so that Pilate marveled. 6. Now on the feast day he was accustomed to release to them one of the prisoners, whomever they requested. 7. And there was one called Barabbas, who was imprisoned with seditious men, who in the insurrection had committed murder. 8. And when the crowd had come up, it began to ask him to do as he always did for them. 9. But Pilate answered them and said: Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews? 10. For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over out of envy. 11. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. 12. And Pilate again answering said to them: What then do you want me to do with the King of the Jews? 13. But they cried out again: Crucify Him. 14. But Pilate said to them: What evil has He done? But they cried out the more: Crucify Him. 15. And Pilate, wishing to satisfy the people, released Barabbas to them, and having scourged Jesus, handed Him over to be crucified. 16. And the soldiers led Him into the courtyard of the praetorium, and called together the whole cohort, 17. and they clothed Him with purple, 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 spit upon Him, and bending the knee they worshiped Him. 20. And after they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the purple, and clothed Him with His own garments; and they led Him out to crucify Him. 21. And they forced a certain passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry His cross. 22. And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha, which is interpreted: The place of the Skull. 23. And they offered Him to drink wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. 24. And crucifying Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them, who should take what. 25. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26. And the inscription of His charge was written: The King of the Jews. 27. And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says: And He was reckoned with the wicked. 29. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying: Aha! You who destroy the temple of God, and in three days rebuild it, 30. save Yourself, coming down from the cross. 31. In like manner also the chief priests, mocking Him together with the Scribes, said to one another: He saved others, Himself He cannot save. 32. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. 33. And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? which is interpreted: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? 35. And some of those who stood by, hearing this, said: Behold, He calls Elijah. 36. And one running, and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it on a reed, gave Him drink, saying: Let be; let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down. 37. But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave up the spirit. 38. And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom. 39. And the centurion who stood facing Him, seeing that He had so expired with a cry, said: Truly this man was the Son of God. 40. And there were also women looking on from afar: among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joseph, and Salome: 41. and while He was in Galilee, they followed Him, and ministered to Him; and many other women, who together with Him had come up to Jerusalem. 42. And when evening had now come (since it was Parasceve, that is, the day before the sabbath), 43. Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counselor, who also himself was waiting for the Kingdom of God, came and boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44. But Pilate marveled that He should already have died. And calling the centurion, he asked him whether He were already dead. 45. And when he had learned it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46. And Joseph, having bought a linen cloth, and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the cloth, and laid Him in a tomb, which had been hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the entrance of the tomb. 47. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where He was laid.

Verse 25: And It Was the Third Hour

25. AND IT WAS THE THIRD HOUR; AND THEY CRUCIFIED HIM. — "The third," not the one beginning, but the one ending and passing into the sixth. For that Christ was crucified at the sixth hour, namely at noon, is clear from verse 33. Some suspect that there is a textual error, and that "the sixth" ought to be placed instead of "the third." For the Hebrews divided both the day and the night into four parts, or hours: namely the first, third, sixth, and ninth, each of which comprised three of our hours. For the first began at sunrise and lasted three hours; when these were finished the third began and lasted just as many hours, namely until noon, when the sixth commenced and was ended three hours after noon, when the ninth began and lasted until evening. Therefore Christ was crucified at the beginning of the sixth hour, and died at the beginning of the ninth. On this subject I shall say more at John, chap. xix, verse 14.

Verse 28: And He Was Reckoned Among the Wicked

28. AND HE WAS RECKONED AMONG THE WICKED. — In Hebrew, נמנה nimna, that is, He was numbered, He was counted. See what has been said at Isaiah LIII, 12. The reason was that Christ took upon Himself our place, our number, and our reckoning; we, however, were wicked: He therefore was reckoned among the wicked, so that out of wicked men He might make us upright, just, and holy.

Verse 42: Because It Was the Preparation, Which Is Before the Sabbath

BECAUSE IT WAS THE PREPARATION, WHICH IS BEFORE THE SABBATH. — In Greek, which is the prosabbatum. Parasceve is the same as "preparation": hence the sixth weekday is so called, because on it food and things necessary for the Sabbath were prepared — on which day it was unlawful to work; hence it is itself called prosabbatum, or the day before the Sabbath, or the vigil of the Sabbath. Antesabbatum ("before-the-sabbath"), therefore, is a single word answering to the Greek προσάββατον.