Mark 15:37 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

NIV: With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

NASB: But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died.

CSB: Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last.

NLT: Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.

KJV: And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

NKJV: And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

The cry Mark is referring to may be just a wordless, guttural expression. Or, Jesus may be giving His benediction. John records Jesus saying: "It is finished," (John 19:30). Luke quotes, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46). At last, after a morning of beatings and torture and six hours hanging on the cross, Jesus' physical ordeal is over.

More importantly, He is once again reunited with His Father. The Trinity is impossible to fully comprehend. God is three Persons with one nature. Jesus the Son and God the Father are one (John 10:30). God the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in God the Father. And yet, on the cross, Jesus felt separated from the Father. That's hard to understand, and even harder for us to attempt to explain in human terms. The nature of the Trinity is beyond human thought, to begin with; all we can do is note the truths explained in God's Word. According to this passage, when the Father puts the weight of the sins of the world onto Jesus, it impacts His connection with the Son. Jesus felt forsaken (Mark 15:34).

The centurion is moved by Jesus' loud cry (Mark 15:39), and likely by the accompanying earthquake (Matthew 27:51, 54). Crucifixion victims usually take two or three days to slowly die of asphyxiation. They die quietly, unable to breathe. Jesus shouts. That exclamation, combined with the blood and water that escape from His chest when He is later pierced (John 19:34), suggests Jesus dies of profound trauma, a combination of severe blood loss and fluid pooling in His chest. He has literally spilt His blood for our sins as a perfect sacrifice.

Mark 15:33–41 is a raw and stark account of Jesus' death. Jesus feels separated from God and abandoned by His friends. The land is covered by darkness. The earth shakes and the tombs open (Matthew 27:52–53). Only too late does the centurion get a glimpse of what he and his men have done. Even the women who supported Jesus during His ministry have moved farther away. But when Jesus breaths His last, the temple veil tears, marking the possibility of our reconciliation with God. Jesus' death is also recorded in Matthew 27:45–56, Luke 23:44–49, and John 19:28–37.

After sham trials, Jesus is taken to the local Roman governor, Pilate. This is the only person in Jerusalem with the legal authority to have Jesus executed. Pilate is not fooled, and he attempts to arrange for Jesus' release. But the ruler's ploys fail, in part because Jesus will not defend Himself, and partly because the mob is intent on His death. Pilate offers a prisoner exchange in Barabbas, and even has Jesus brutally beaten in order to pacify the crowd. Eventually, he caves in and Jesus is crucified. Thanks to His prior abuse, Jesus survives only a few hours on the cross before dying. Jesus is then buried in a tomb belonging to a secret follower among the Jerusalem council.

After being unfairly judged, Jesus will now be unfairly sentenced and cruelly murdered. It's reasonable to say this chapter provides context for everything else contained in the Bible. From Adam and Eve until the last baby born in the millennial kingdom, every person other than Christ is stained with sin. Conscience, law, Jesus' direct leadership, even the indwelling of the Holy Spirit cannot keep us from sinning. Sinless Jesus had to die on the cross, sacrificing Himself in our place, so our sins could be forgiven and we could be reconciled to God. Beneath the violence, darkness, dishonor, and death is the love of God for all mankind (John 3:16). Jesus' crucifixion is also found in Matthew 27, Luke 23, and John 19. The next chapter describes the miracle of His resurrection.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.