Mark 15:31-35
Mark 15:31 (KJB)
Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes,
He saved others; himself he cannot save.
Not only did Jesus receive mocking from the soldiers and the people, He now
received them from the scribes, chief priests, and elders. You would think that
them being the leaders would have stayed away and would not act like the rabble
they led. Their hatred and contempt for Jesus was not satisfied by Him being
crucified, so they had to continue the persecution by casting insults at Him.
The two disciples of Jesus on the council, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea
were not among those who were summoned to the meeting where they condemned Jesus
nor did they partake of any mockery as the others did. They did not even address
Jesus by name, instead they thought it was below their dignity so they addressed
Jesus in the third person as if they were speaking to each other knowing full
well that Jesus was more than able to hear them. When they said that “He saved
others,” they were not speaking of the ministry of salvation but His miracles.
Since they attributed His miracle power to the power of Satan, they now believed
that His death on the cross was full proof that He was not the Messiah or else
He would have done something about it.
Mark 15:32 (KJB)
Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and
believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
Again they put another sign test to Jesus. They claimed that they would believe
if He came down from the cross but if that would have happened, then they would
have probably claimed that it was Satan who helped Him off the cross. They would
not believe because they were dead in their sins of hatred and would not have
given the least credence to any facet of Jesus’ ministry, whether spoken or
through miracles. Jesus was the King of Israel but it was the Israel of God, the
body of believers. (Gal 6:16 KJV) And as many as walk according to this
rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. The King of
political Israel was Satan as Jesus told the leaders plainly. (John 8:44
KJV) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it. In the beginning of the crucifixion, even the
two thieves had joined in with the others and mocked Him. Maybe they did that
thinking they would get a reprieve if they did that.
Ridicule and mockery had come from everyone who had walked by from the soldiers
to the Sanhedrin and even the two thieves who were dying with Him had joined in
the reviling. Then in a turn of events, one of the thieves had become saved
right on the cross. (Luke 23:42 KJV) And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He did no works, he did not get
baptized, he did not do anything which the modern church makes their people do
to gain a false salvation. The man was saved by the grace of God because He was
predestined before the foundation of the world to be saved at that moment. (Eph
1:4 KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Mark 15:33 (KJB)
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until
the ninth hour.
The first hour of the day according to the Jewish day was 6 A.M. So the time
frame here would have been from noon to 3 P.M. (Luke 23:45 KJV) And the sun
was darkened,…This phrase in the Greek tells us that the sun was darkened
from an outside source, that is, God the Father had darkened the sun which
showed that the whole world was in darkness as Jesus was paying for the sins of
the Elect. It also signified the beginning of the last days which was from the
cross to the last day of history. (Amos 8:9 KJV) And it shall come to pass
in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon,
and I will darken the earth in the clear day: It was also a fulfillment of
the prophecy found in Amos 8:10. (Amos 8:10 KJV) And I will turn your feasts
into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up
sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as
the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
Mark 15:34 (KJB)
And at the 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?
As the darkness began to fade at the ninth hour, then Jesus cried out something
which He never faced in His life, even in His earthly ministry. While He was on
earth, Jesus was always doing the Father’s will and they did the miracles in
concert with each other while He was on earth. What Jesus was crying out was for
the first time in eternity, His Father had to forsake Him. It was because Jesus
was now bearing the penalty of trillions of sins and God could not look upon sin
in any fashion. While Jesus was bearing the penalty for His people, He was
forsaken by His Father and was all alone as He went through this ordeal. No
human being in the world could ever understand those moments when Jesus was
forsaken by His Father until the penalty was paid. (Psa 22:1 KJV) To the
chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring? David had felt that he was abandoned or forsaken by God but
he would never have experienced that feeling on the level that Jesus did. This
too was also a fulfillment of prophecy. It has been stated that about 300
prophecies were fulfilled in that one weekend.
Mark 15:35 (KJB)
And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth
Elias.
The people at the cross thought that He was calling for Elijah to free Him.
Since the name of Elijah in the Hebrew was much different than Eli, it may have
also been a form of mockery again. Even at the last moments of Jesus’ life they
continued to deride Him. Since Elijah was taken into Heaven and did not see
death, there was a tradition that he could come back at any time. In fact at the
passover meal, a chair is left empty for Elijah.