Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Mark
Book: Mark
Chapter: 15
Overview:
Christ before
Pilate.
(1-14) Christ led to be crucified.
(15-21) The
Crucifixion.
(22-32) The
Death of
Christ.
(33-41)
His body buried.
(42-47)
1-14 They bound
Christ. It is good for us often to remember the
bonds of the
Lord Jesus, as bound with him who was bound for us.
By delivering up the
King, they, in effect, delivered up the
Kingdom of God, which was, therefore, as
By their own consent,
taken from them, and given to another nation.
Christ gave
Pilate
a direct answer, but would not answer the witnesses, because the
things they alleged were known to be false, even
Pilate himself
was convinced they were
So.
Pilate thought that he might
Appeal
from the priests to the people, and that they would deliver
Jesus out of the priests' hands. But they were more and more
urged
By the priests, and cried, Crucify him! Crucify him! Let
us
Judge of persons and things
By their merits, and the standard
of
God's
Word, and not
By common report. The thought that
No one
ever was
So shamefully treated, as the only perfectly
Wise,
holy, and excellent Person that ever appeared
On Earth, leads
the serious mind to strong views of
Man's wickedness and
Enmity
to
God. Let us more and more abhor the evil dispositions which
marked the conduct of these persecutors.
15-21 Christ met
Death in its greatest terror. It was the
Death
of the vilest malefactors. Thus the
Cross and the shame are
Put
together.
God having been dishonoured
By the
Sin of
Man,
Christ
made satisfaction
By submitting to the greatest disgrace human
nature could be loaded with. It was a cursed
Death; thus it was
branded
By the Jewish
Law, De 21:23. The Roman soldiers mocked
our
Lord Jesus as a
King; thus in the high
Priest's
Hall the
servants had mocked him as a
Prophet and
Saviour. Shall a purple
or
Scarlet robe be matter of pride to a
Christian, which was
matter of reproach and shame to
Christ? He wore the
Crown of
thorns which we deserved, that we might wear the
Crown of
Glory
which he merited. We were
By Sin liable to
Everlasting shame and
contempt; to deliver us, our
Lord Jesus submitted to shame and
contempt. He was led forth with the workers of iniquity, though
he did
No Sin. The sufferings of the meek and holy
Redeemer, are
ever a source of instruction to the believer, of which, in his
best hours, he cannot be weary. Did
Jesus thus suffer, and shall
I, a vile sinner, fret or repine? Shall I indulge
Anger, or
utter reproaches and threats because of troubles and injuries?
22-32 The place where our
Lord Jesus was crucified, was called
The place of a Skull; it was the common place of execution; for
he was in all respects numbered with the transgressors. Whenever
we look unto
Christ crucified, we must remember what was written
over his head; he is a
King, and we must give up ourselves to be
his subjects, as Israelites indeed. They crucified two
Thieves
with him, and him in the midst; they thereby intended him great
dishonour. But it was foretold that he should be numbered with
the transgressors, because he was made
Sin for us. Even those
who passed
By railed at him. They told him to come down from the
Cross, and they would believe; but they did not believe, though
he gave them a more convincing sign when he came up from the
Grave. With what earnestness will the
Man who firmly believes
the
Truth, as made known
By the sufferings of
Christ, seek for
Salvation! With what gratitude will he receive the dawning
Hope
of forgiveness and eternal
Life, as purchased for him
By the
sufferings and
Death of the
Son of God! and with what godly
sorrow will he
Mourn over the sins which crucified the
Lord of
Glory!
33-41 There was a thick
Darkness over the land, from noon until
three in the afternoon. The Jews were doing their utmost to
extinguish the
Sun of
Righteousness. The
Darkness signified the
Cloud which the human soul of
Christ was under, when he was
making it an
Offering for
Sin. He did not complain that his
disciples forsook him, but that his
Father forsook him. In this
especially he was made
Sin for us. When
Paul was to be offered
as a
Sacrifice for the service saints, he could joy and rejoice,
Php 2:17; but it is another thing to be offered as a
Sacrifice
for the
Sin of sinners. At the same instant that
Jesus died, the
Veil of the
Temple was
Rent from the top to the bottom. This
spake terror to the unbelieving Jews, and was a sign of the
Destruction of their
Church and nation. It speaks comfort to all
believing Christians, for it signified the laying open a new and
living way into the holiest
By the
Blood of
Jesus. The
confidence with which
Christ had openly addressed
God as his
Father, and committed his soul into his hands, seems greatly to
have affected the
Centurion. Right views of
Christ crucified
will reconcile the believer to the thought of
Death; he longs to
behold,
Love, and praise, as he ought, that
Saviour who was
wounded and pierced to save him from the wrath to come.
42-47 We are here attending the
Burial of our
Lord Jesus. Oh
that we may
By Grace be planted in the likeness of it!
Joseph of
Arimathea was one who waited for the
Kingdom of God. Those who
Hope for a share in its privileges, must own
Christ's cause,
when it seems to be crushed. This
Man God raised up for his
service. There was a special
Providence, that
Pilate should be
So strict in his inquiry, that there might be
No pretence to say
Jesus was alive.
Pilate gave
Joseph leave to take down the body,
and do what he pleased with it. Some of the women beheld where
Jesus was laid, that they might come after the
Sabbath to
Anoint
the dead body, because they had not time to do it before.
Special notice was taken of
Christ's
Sepulchre, because he was
to rise again. And he will not forsake those who trust in him,
and
Call upon him.
Death, deprived of its sting, will soon
End
the believer's sorrows, as it ended those of the
Saviour.