7.15

The Crucifixion of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

 

 

A Mode of Execution

Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified by Roman soldiers (15:15) after Jewish leaders convict him of blasphemy (14:61–65) and stir up the crowd against him (15:11). The execution is portrayed as sadistic, accompanied by brutality and mockery.

A Means of Redemption

Mark 8:31

“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering.” There is an element of divine necessity in Jesus’s suffering. The crucifixion is his appointed “cup,” which God wills him to drink (cf. 10:38; 14:23–24, 36; 15:36).

Mark 10:45

“The Son of Man came . . . to give his life a ransom for many.” This seems to point to what theologians later called a doctrine of vicarious or substitutionary atonement.

Mark 14:22–25

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” The symbolism of the Eucharist presents Jesus’s death as a sacrifice that pays for human sin.

A Model of Discipleship

Mark 8:34

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The “way of the cross” becomes the governing expectation for Christian discipleship. This involves devotion to serving others (cf. 10:41–43) and a willingness to suffer for the sake of others.