Mark 15:22-32

Contemporary English Version

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

(Matthew 27.31-44; Luke 23.27-43; John 19.17-27)

²²The soldiers took Jesus to Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.”^[a] ²³There they gave him some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain, but he refused to drink it.

²⁴^(A) They nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. ²⁵It was about nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed him to the cross. ²⁶On it was a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, “This is the King of the Jews.” ^27-28^(B) The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.^[b]

²⁹^(C) People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, “Ha! So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰Save yourself and come down from the cross!”

³¹The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can't save himself. ³²If he is the Messiah, the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross! Then we will see and believe.” The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.

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Footnotes

15.22 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
15.27-28 left: Some manuscripts add, “So the Scriptures came true which say, ‘He was accused of being a criminal.’ ”