Mark 15:22-32 records the crucifixion of Jesus. The word “crucified” occurs four times in these verses. That terrible term is the dominating theme of the text. Crucifixion was a slow death by dehydration, exhaustion, and asphyxiation. It was illegal for the Roman government to crucify Roman citizens. Foreign slaves, soldiers, and citizens were crucified. This “cruel and unusual punishment” was a public service announcement that warned all of the consequences of defying Caesar and Rome.

The Jewish religious establishment and Roman political authorities did not crucify Jesus simply to get rid of him. They did it to make a point. Mark’s account focuses on the point that the Jews and Romans were making. The text is about the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet Mark says little about the crucifixion itself. The Gospels describe the crucifixion of Jesus in an economy of words. Mark ignores the physical agony Jesus suffered. He spotlights the faces around the cross. To get us to see the face on the cross, Mark shows us the faces around the cross. 

Jesus was crucified with no friendly faces around him. Verse 40 says, “There were also women looking on from a distance.” But Mark does not mention the women until after Jesus dies. Jesus suffered and died all alone. The only faces around the cross were his enemies. This sad scene reveals good news: Jesus was rejected by man so that sinners may be accepted by God. The old spiritual asks: 

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 
Sometimes, it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. 
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

We were not there. Mark 15:22-32 tells us about who was there. These faces around the cross should cause us to tremble. Who was there when Jesus was crucified?

The Roman Soldiers

After Pilate condemned Jesus to death, Roman soldiers led Jesus out to be crucified. Verse 21 says, “And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.” Most likely, Simon’s eyewitness testimony reported the place and process of crucifixion. 

The Place of Crucifixion. Verse 22 says, “And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a skull).” A centurion and four soldiers led this death march. Finally, they arrive at Golgotha. Mark translates this Aramaic name for Greek readers: “Place of a skull.” “Calvary” is Latin for skull. This place of execution likely resembled a skull. The Gospels never say it was a hill. But the name suggests it was a skull-shaped hill. John 19:20 says it was “near the city.” Hebrews 13:12 says it was “outside the gate.” Several places near Jerusalem claim to be the place of crucifixion. We are not sure. But it is understandable that pilgrims visit these sites. Golgotha is “Ground Zero” for the most significant event in history. There, the Son of God, King of the Jews, and Savior of the world died for our sins. 

The Process of Crucifixion. Verses 23-24 record two details about the process of crucifixion. 

The Mixed Wine. Verse 23 says, “And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.”This mixed drink was an ancient narcotic. Proverbs 31:6-7 says, “Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.” Women gave spiked drinks to condemned men. Marks says the soldiers offered it to Jesus. It was an act of cruelty, not compassion. The soldiers mocked Jesus with a purple robe and a crown of thorns. Now they offer the so-called king a toast. Matthew 27:34 says, “When he tasted it, he did not drink it.” Mark says, “He did not take it.” Jesus freely and fully drank the cup of wrath for us. Mark 15:25 says, “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Jesus refused the soldiers’ offer to keep his promise to the disciples! 

 The Lots Cast. Verse 24 says, “And they crucified him.”

• Christ is the central figure of history. 
• The cross is the central factor of history. 

Mark records this seminal event in three words: “They crucified him.” Verse 24 focuses on the soldiers who “divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.”Executioners received the condemned’s possessions. It was a bonus for services rendered. 

John 19:23-24 says, “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, ‘They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.’” As Jesus died for our sins, the soldiers turned that holy place into a makeshift casino to gamble for his clothes. 

The Condemned Criminals

• When was Jesus crucified? 
• Why was Jesus crucified? 
• How was Jesus crucified? 

Verses 25-27 answer these big questions. 

The Strategic Time. Jesus hung on the cross for six hours. Mark notes three periods during these six hours. 

• Verse 25 says Jesus was crucified at the third hour. 
• Verse 33 says the sky went dark at the sixth hour. 
• Verse 42 says it was evening when Jesus was buried. 

The “third hour” was 9 A.M. Mark tells time by Jewish rather than Roman reckoning. 9 AM was the third hour after sunrise. It’s remarkable how swiftly events transpired. It was about midnight when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane. They marched him from judgment hall to judgment hall. The condemned Savior was attacked, mocked, and scourged. Then he was crucified at the same time priests began to sacrifice Passover lambs in the temple. At this strategic time, the lamb slain before the foundations of the world paid for our sins. 

The Ironic Charge. Verse 26 reveals the irony of the cross: “And the inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’” The charge against the condemned was posted on the cross. The superscription above Jesus read: “The King of the Jews.” This was the charge brought against Jesus before Pilate. He was condemned for sedition against Caesar. With this inscription, Jesus was mocked as king even on the cross. 

John 19:19-22 says, “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” Pilate did this to irk the Sanhedrin with the claims of Jesus. The irony is that the one who was mocked as king was king.  

The Central Place. Verse 27 says, “And with him they crucified two robbers.” Stealing was not a capital offense in the Roman world. These men were more than robbers. They were insurrectionists; most likely, coconspirators with Barabbas. These domestic terrorists were to be crucified with Barabbas. Jesus took Barabbas’ place. The two robbers were crucified with Jesus, “one on his right and one on his left.” In Mark 10:37, James and John asked, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus told them that those seats were reserved. We now discover that two robbers were on his right and left at the cross. This is fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 53:12 says he “was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

The Mocking Onlookers

Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the crowds are on Jesus’ side. It is not until this chapter that people turn against him. Yet verse 11 says the religious leaders “stirred up the crowd” against Jesus. In verses 29-30, the general public rejects Jesus’ messianic claims. 

Their Vile Attitude. Verse 29 says, “And those who passed by derided him.” The Romans crucified their victims on public thoroughfares. Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem. As Passover pilgrims came in and out of the city, they saw the three crosses at Golgotha. These passersby derided Jesus. “Deride” means to curse, insult, revile, defame, or slander. In reference to deity, it means to blaspheme. Here is another irony of the cross. The one who was crucified for blasphemy was himself blasphemed at the cross. The passersby were “wagging their heads” in scorn, contempt, and derision. Their vile attitude fulfilled Psalm 22:7: “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads.” 

Their Verbal Abuse. With irony, sarcasm, and contempt, they said, “Aha!” They identified Jesus as “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.” If he can build the world in six days, he can rebuild the temple in three days! This was one of the false charges against Jesus in Mark 14:57-58. It was a misinterpretation of John 2:19: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:21 explains: “He was speaking about the temple of his body.” By his death, Jesus destroyed the temple! Mark 15:38 says, “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” By his resurrection, Jesus rebuilt the temple in three days. They did not understand what was happening. In verse 30, they said, “Save yourself, and come down from the cross.” Jesus stayed on the cross to save us!

The Religious Leaders

Verse 31 says “the chief priests with the scribes” were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. Mark says they “mocked him to another.” They did not understand the necessity and nature of Christ’s death. 

The Necessity of Christ’s Death. Verse 31 reports that the religious leaders said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.” In mock praise, they acknowledge Jesus “saved others.” This refers to his healing ministry; specifically, raising the dead. 

• Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. 
• Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead. 
• Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. 

He saved others from death. Their proof that he was a fraud was that “he cannot save himself.” D. Edmond Hiebert said, “They could only conceive of a power that would act in self-interest.” The religious leaders were right! If he saved others, he could not save himself. If he saved himself, he could not save others. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” 

The Nature of Christ’s Death. Verse 32 reveals the nature of Christ’s death in a juxtaposition of seeing and believing. 

Seeing Without Believing. The religious leaders said, “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross that we may see and believe.” 

• Jewish religious authorities condemned Jesus for claiming to be “the Christ.” 
• Roman political authorities condemned Jesus for claiming to be “the king of Israel.”

Both charges fell from the sneering lips of the religious leaders. They gave Jesus one more chance to prove himself: “Come down from the cross.” This was the last temptation of Jesus. In the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus to avoid the cross by bowing down to him. After the Great Confession, Peter rebuked Jesus when he said he would die. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that this cup would pass away, if possible.

Now the religious leaders say, “Come down from the cross that we may see and believe.” That was a lie. They had seen Jesus do signs, wonders, and miracles. But they did not believe. After Jesus rises from the dead, they still will not believe. Seeing is not believing. There must be a change of heart by sovereign grace. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Believing Without Seeing. Verse 32 ends: “Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.” We can understand why the religious leaders mocked Jesus. They hated him. Why did the two robbers revile Jesus? As they suffocated, they blasphemed the son of God. The unbelieving heart is pervasively depraved. It is not incurably depraved. 

Luke 23:39-43 tells the rest of the story. One thief had a change of heart. He said to his coconspirator, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due rewards of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This is the greatest statement of faith in the Bible. Jesus looked least like a king on the cross. Yet, believing what he could not see, he asked Jesus to remember him when he entered his kingdom. Luke 23:43 says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

• Jesus saves sovereignly. 
• Jesus saves graciously. 
• Jesus saves immediately. 
• Jesus saves completely.
• Jesus saves eternally. 

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. 
And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.