15:1 And 1 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 aa delivered [him] to Pilate.
(1) Christ being bound before the judgment seat of an earthly Judge, is condemned before the open assembly as guilty unto the death of the cross, not for his own sins (as is shown by the judges own words) but for all of ours, that we who are indeed guilty creatures, in being delivered from the guiltiness of our sins, might be acquitted before the judgment seat of God, even in the open assembly of the angels. (a) It was not lawful for them to put any man to death, for all authority to punish by death was taken away from them, first by Herod the great, and afterward by the Romans, about forty years before the destruction of the temple, and therefore they deliver Jesus to Pilate.
15:6 Now at [that] feast he b released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
(b) Pilate used to deliver.
15:172 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his [head],
(2) Christ going about to take away the sins of men, who went about to usurp the throne of God himself, is condemned as one that sought diligently after the kingdom, and mocked with a false show of a kingdom, that we on the other hand, who will indeed be eternal kings, might receive the crowns of glory from Gods own hand.
15:21 And they 3 compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
(3) The rage of the wicked has no measure; meanwhile, even the weakness of Christ, who was in pain under the heavy burden of the cross, manifestly shows that a lamb is led to be sacrificed.
15:224 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
(4) Christ is led out of the walls of the earthly Jerusalem into a foul place of dead mens carcasses, as a man most unclean, not because of himself, but because of our sins, which were laid upon him, with the result that we, being made clean by his blood, might be brought into the heavenly sanctuary.
15:245 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
(5) Christ hangs naked upon the cross, and as the most wicked and base person that ever was, most vilely reproved. This was so that we, being clothed with his righteousness and blessed with his curses and sanctified by his only sacrifice, may be taken up into heaven.
15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was 6 darkness over the c whole land until the ninth hour.
(6) How angry God was against our sins, which he punished in his son who is our sure substitute, is made evident by this horrible darkness. (c) By this word "land" he means Palestine: so that the strangeness of the wonder is all the more set forth in that at the feast of the passover, and in the full moon, when the sun shone over all the rest of the world, and at midday, this corner of the world in which so wicked an act was committed was covered over with great darkness.
15:34 And at the 7 ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
(7) Christ striving mightily with Satan, sin and death, all three armed with the horrible curse of God, grievously tormented in body hanging upon the cross, and in soul plunged into the depth of hell, yet he clears himself, crying with a mighty voice: and notwithstanding the wound which he received from death, in that he died, yet by smiting both things above and things beneath, by the renting of the veil of the temple, and by the testimony wrung out of those who murdered him, he shows evidently unto the rest of his enemies who are as yet obstinate, and mock at him, that he will be known without delay to be conqueror and Lord of all.
15:408 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
(8) Christ, to the great shame of the men who forsook the Lord, chose women for his witnesses, who beheld this entire event.
15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an d honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in e boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
(d) A man of great authority, of the council of the sanhedrin, or else a man who was taken by Pilate for his own council. (e) If we consider what danger Joseph put himself into we shall perceive how bold he was.
Mar 15:25And it was the third hour. This appears not to agree well with the testimony of the Evangelist John; for he relates that Christ was condemned about the sixth hour, (Mar 14:14.) But if we consider—what is evident from other passages—that the day was divided into four parts, and that each of the parts took its name from the first hour of its commencement, the solution will not be difficult. The whole time, from sunrise to the second part of the day, they called the first hour. The second part, which lasted till noon, was called by them the third hour. The sixth hour commenced at noon, and lasted till three or four o’clock in the afternoon. Thus, when the Jews saw that Pilate was wearing out the time, and that the hour of noon was approaching, John says that they cried out the more vehemently, that the whole day might not be allowed to pass without something being done, (Mar 14:15.) But this is not inconsistent with the assertion, that our Lord was crucified about the close of the third hour; for it is plain enough, that no sooner was he hastily condemned, than he was immediately executed; so eager was the desire of the Jews to put him to death. Mark therefore means not the beginning, but the close, of the third hour; and it is highly probable that Christ did not hang on the cross longer than three hours.
Mar 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 word being used in place of an interjection, as if they had said, Hush! Hush!
Mar 15:43, and Luk 23:51.Who also himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. The highest commendation bestowed on Joseph is, that he waited for the kingdom of God. He is likewise praised, no doubt, for righteousness, but this waiting for the kingdom of God was the root and source of his righteousness. By the kingdom of God, we must understand the renovation promised through Christ; for the perfection of order which, the prophets had every where promised, would exist at the coming of Christ, cannot exist, unless God assembles under his government those men who had gone astray. It is therefore pointed out in commendation of Joseph’s piety, that, during the disorder which then prevailed, he cherished the hope of that redemption which God had promised. Hence, too, arises the fear of God, and the desire of holiness and uprightness; for it is impossible for any one to dedicated himself to God, unless he expects that God will be his deliverer.
Yet let us observe, that while salvation through Christ was promised indiscriminately to all the Jews, and while the promise of it was common to them all, it is only of a very few that the Holy Spirit testifies what we are here told of Joseph. Hence it is evident, that nearly the whole of the people had buried in base forgetfulness the inestimable grace of God. All of them, indeed, had on their lips the language of boasting in reference to the coming of Christ, which was approaching; but few had the covenant of God fixed in their minds, so as to rise by faith to spiritual renovation. That was indeed an awful insensibility; and therefore we need not wonder if pure religion fell into decay, when the faith of salvation was extinguished. Would to God that a similar corruption did not prevail in this unhappy age! Christ once appeared as a Redeemer to the Jews and to the whole world, as had been declared in the predictions of the prophets. He set up the kingdom of God, by restoring affairs from confusion and disorder to a regular and proper condition. He has assigned to us a period of warfare, to exercise our patience till he come again from heaven to complete his reign which he has commenced. How many are there who aspire to this hope, even in a moderate degree? Do not almost all cleave to the earth, as if there had been no promise of a resurrection? But while the greater part of men, forgetful of their end, fall off on all sides, let us remember that it is a virtue peculiar to believers, to seek the things which are above, (Col 3:1;) and especially since the grace of God has shone upon us through the Gospel,
teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, justly, and piously, in the present world, looking for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of the great God,
