Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Mark 15:33 - 15:39
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_15:33-39
33When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" 35When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, "Behold, He is calling for Elijah." 36Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down." 37And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
Mar_15:33 "the sixth hour" If Jewish time is used, this would be twelve o'clock noon. See note at Mar_15:1.
▣ "darkness fell over the whole land" This is one of the OT judgment signs, either in a covenantal sense (i.e., one of the Egyptian plagues, cf. Exo_10:21; Deu_28:28-29) or an apocalyptic sense (cf. Joe_2:2; Amo_8:9-10; Zep_1:15). This was a symbol of God the Father taking His presence away from His Son, who bore the sin of all humanity. This is what Jesus feared most in Gethsemane (symbolized by "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" in Mar_15:34). Jesus became a sin offering and bore the sin of all the world (cf. 2Co_5:21). He experienced personal separation from the Father. Darkness was a physical symbol of God the Father turning away from His Son.
Mar_15:34 "at the ninth hour" If Jewish time is used, this was three o'clock in the afternoon.
▣ "'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me'" This is a quote from Psa_22:1. Since the Jewish scrolls had no chapter and verse divisions (all of which were added to Bible texts in the middle ages), it seems that by quoting the first verse, Jesus wanted to highlight the entire Psalm.
There is a difference of scholarly opinion on how this phrase should be translated
1. The Septuagint has "O God, My God, attend to me" (which happens in the Psalms)
2. The Peshitta (translated by George M. Lamsa) has
a. Psa_22:1, "My God, my God, why hast thou let me live?"
b. Mar_15:34, "My God, my God, for this I was spared!"
3. The Jewish Publication Society of America has, Psa_22:1 as "My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?"
4. Codex Bezae (fifth century) has "My God, my God, why have you reviled me?" For a full discussion of the Gnostic problems connected to this verse see Bart D. Ehrman's The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Affect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament, pp. 143-145.
Jesus was experiencing the last full measure of human sin—separation from fellowship with the Father (cf. Isa_54:2). Humans were created for fellowship with God; without it we can never be whole!
Mar_15:34-35 "He is calling for Elijah" Jesus and the Apostles (and all Jews in Palestine of the first century) spoke Aramaic. Mark, writing to Romans, always translates these Aramaic phrases, which Peter remembered so well. In Aramaic Elijah is Elia. The Aramaic phrase is also recorded in Mat_27:46. This is the most startling phrase Jesus cried from the cross. He felt alienated from the Father. Elijah was traditionally the prophet who would come in times of trouble and before the Messiah (cf. Mal_3:1-6; Mal_4:4-6), therefore, the bystanders thought Jesus was praying for him to come help Him.
One of my favorite authors is F. F. Bruce. In his book Answers to Questions, p. 65, he mentions an article in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Jan. - April, 1951, by Alfred Guillaume, which notes that the suffix "my" is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls as iya. When Jesus said, "My God," the form would be Eliya, which is pronounced very close to Elijah's name. This may explain why the bystanders misunderstood Jesus' words.
Mar_15:36 "with sour wine" This was the cheap wine that the populace and soldiers drank. This may relate to Psa_22:15. Jesus was so dry that He needed a drink to help Him speak the last few words from the cross (cf. Joh_19:28-30).
▣ "put it on a reed" The reed was used to reach His mouth. Giving a drink to crucified persons was not an act of compassion, but a way to prolong life and agony.
▣ "'Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down'" This was not from compassion, but the desire to see a sign (cf. Mat_27:47-48).
Mar_15:37 "a loud cry" Joh_19:30 tells us He said, "It is finished!" This word has been found written across business documents in the Koine Greek papyri from Egypt. It apparently was a commercial term that meant "paid in full" (i.e., Isaiah 53).
Mar_15:38 "the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" There were two curtains to the inner shrine of the Temple, one in the Holy Place and a second before the Holy of Holies. If the second was ripped no one would have seen it except the priests, unless the first one was regularly pulled back and tied to the sides. These curtains are described in Exo_26:31-37. In Jesus' day, in Herod's remodeled Temple, this curtain was 60' by 30' and about 4" thick! If the outer one was ripped all worshipers in the different outer courts would have seen it. This seems to show that the way to intimate fellowship with God has been reestablished by God at Christ's death (cf. Gen_3:15; Exo_26:31-35). In Mat_27:51-53 other miracles are recorded as attesting signs.
Mar_15:39 "a centurion" This was the rank of a low-level Roman military officer. It literally means "a leader of one hundred." These men were the backbone of the Roman army. Cornelius in Acts 10 is also a centurion. Mark is written to evangelize Romans!
▣ "Truly this man was the Son of God" This is literally "this man was a son of God." However the absence of the article does not automatically mean it is not definite (cf. Mat_4:3; Mat_4:6; Mat_14:33; Mat_27:43; and Luk_4:3; Luk_4:9). This was a hardened Roman soldier. He had seen many men die (cf. Mat_27:54). This may be "the focal passage" of Mark because this Gospel was specifically written to Romans. It has many Latin words and very few OT quotes. Also Jewish customs and Aramaic phrases are translated and explained. Here is a Roman centurion professing faith in a crucified Jewish insurrectionist!
It is possibly theologically purposeful that passers by, chief priests, and even fellow prisoners mock Jesus, but the Roman centurion responds in affirmation and awe!