Mark 15:13 Study Bible: They shouted again, "Crucify him."

◄ Mark 15:13 ►

And they shouted back, "Crucify Him!"

And they shouted back
This phrase captures the intensity and collective nature of the crowd's response. The Greek word for "shouted" is "κραυγάζω" (kraugazō), which implies a loud, vehement cry. This was not a mere suggestion but a forceful demand. Historically, this scene takes place during the Passover festival, a time when Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims. The crowd's unified voice reflects the influence of the chief priests and the volatile atmosphere of the time. The phrase "shouted back" indicates a response to Pilate, who was attempting to reason with the crowd. It underscores the rejection of Jesus by His own people, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:3, which speaks of the Messiah being "despised and rejected by men."

'Crucify Him!'
The call for crucifixion is significant both historically and theologically. Crucifixion was a Roman method of execution reserved for the most heinous criminals and was considered the most shameful and excruciating form of death. The Greek word "σταυρόω" (stauroō) means to crucify, and it is a term loaded with the weight of Roman oppression and the curse of the law, as Deuteronomy 21:23 states, "anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse." Theologically, this demand for crucifixion highlights the depth of human sin and the extent of Jesus' sacrifice. It was not just a call for death but for a death that was cursed and humiliating. This moment is pivotal in the Gospel narrative, as it sets the stage for the fulfillment of Jesus' mission to atone for the sins of humanity. The crowd's insistence on crucifixion, despite Jesus' innocence, illustrates the blindness of sin and the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan through the suffering of His Son.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The Crowd
A group of people in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, influenced by the chief priests and elders to demand Jesus' crucifixion.

2. Pontius Pilate
The Roman governor who presided over the trial of Jesus and sought to release Him, but ultimately succumbed to the crowd's demands.

3. Jesus Christ
The central figure of the Christian faith, who was unjustly condemned to crucifixion despite His innocence.

4. The Chief Priests and Elders
Jewish religious leaders who orchestrated the plot to have Jesus crucified, fearing His influence and teachings.

5. Jerusalem
The city where these events took place, significant as the center of Jewish worship and the location of the Temple.

Teaching Points

The Power of Influence
The crowd was swayed by the chief priests and elders, demonstrating how easily people can be influenced by authority figures. As Christians, we must discern truth from manipulation.

The Cost of Compromise
Pilate's decision to yield to the crowd's demands shows the danger of compromising justice for the sake of peace or popularity. Believers are called to stand firm in righteousness, even when it is unpopular.

The Fulfillment of Prophecy
Jesus' crucifixion was not a random event but the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan as foretold in the Scriptures. This reassures us of God's sovereignty and faithfulness.

The Rejection of Christ
The crowd's cry to crucify Jesus reflects humanity's rejection of God's offer of salvation. It challenges us to examine our own response to Christ's lordship in our lives.

The Call to Repentance
The events leading to Jesus' crucifixion remind us of the need for repentance and the grace available through His sacrifice. We are invited to turn from sin and embrace the forgiveness offered through Christ.

Bible Study Questions

1. What factors contributed to the crowd's decision to demand Jesus' crucifixion, and how can we guard against similar influences in our own lives?

2. How does Pilate's response to the crowd's demands challenge us to uphold justice and truth in our daily decisions?

3. In what ways does the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus' crucifixion strengthen your faith in God's sovereignty and plan?

4. How can we ensure that we are accepting Christ's lordship in our lives rather than rejecting Him as the crowd did?

5. Reflect on the significance of Jesus' sacrifice. How does understanding the events of His crucifixion lead you to a deeper appreciation of His grace and a commitment to repentance?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 27:22-23
This passage parallels Mark 15:13, showing the crowd's insistence on crucifying Jesus despite Pilate's attempts to reason with them.

Luke 23:21
Another account of the crowd's demand for crucifixion, highlighting the intensity of their cries.

John 19:15
Provides additional context to the crowd's rejection of Jesus as their king, choosing Caesar instead.

Acts 2:23
Peter's sermon at Pentecost, where he speaks of Jesus being handed over by God's plan and foreknowledge, yet crucified by lawless men.

Isaiah 53:3
A prophecy about the suffering servant, despised and rejected by men, which is fulfilled in Jesus' crucifixion.

Sermons

Judicial Processes	J.J. Given	Mark 15:1-15
The Second Trial	E. Johnson	Mark 15:1-20
Barabbas; Or, the Evil Choice	R. Green	Mark 15:6-15
Christ or Barabbas	A.F. Muir	Mark 15:6-15

People

Alexander, Barabbas, Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Mary, Pilate, Rufus, Salome, Simon

Places

Arimathea, Cyrene, Galilee, Golgotha, Jerusalem, Place of the Skull

Topics

Cried, Cross, Crucify, Loudly, Shouted

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Mark 15:2-15

5203 acquittal
5593 trial

Mark 15:5-20

2585 Christ, trial

Mark 15:6-14

7505 Jews, the

Mark 15:6-15

5349 injustice, examples
5936 riots

Mark 15:8-15

5279 crowds

Mark 15:9-15

5714 men
5884 indecision

Mark 15:9-20

5838 disrespect

Mark 15:11-15

2525 Christ, cross of

Mark 15:11-20

2545 Christ, opposition to

Mark 15:12-13

2312 Christ, as king

Mark 15:12-14

6231 rejection of God

Library

Simon the Cyrenian
'And they compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His Cross.'--Mark xv. 21. How little these soldiers knew that they were making this man immortal! What a strange fate that is which has befallen chose persons in the Gospel narrative, who for an instant came into contact with Jesus Christ. Like ships passing athwart the white ghostlike splendour of moonlight on the sea, they gleam silvery pure for a moment as they cross its …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ and Pilate: the True King and his Counterfeit
'And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2. And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things: but He answered nothing. 4. And Pilate asked Him again, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against Thee. 6. But Jesus yet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Death which Gives Life
'And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. 22. And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 23. And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. 24. And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26. And the superscription …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Dying Saviour Our Example.
(On Good Friday.) TEXT: MARK xv. 34-41. HEAVENLY Father! On all who are assembling to day to commemorate the death of the Holy One, in whom Thou wast well pleased, look graciously down! Let not one go away from the cross of Thy Well-beloved without exclaiming, with new, living faith, Truly this was the Son of God! Let not one wipe away his tears of emotion until the heartfelt desire has taken possession of him that his end may be like that of this righteous One! Let not the feeling of holy reverence …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

The Centurion at the Cross.
MATT. XXVII. 54. Comp. MARK XV. 39. "Now, when the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying: Truly this was the [a] Son of God." LUKE XXIII. 47. "Now, when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying: Certainly this was a righteous man." Note.--The centurion here spoken of is the one who, according to Roman custom, presided over the execution (hence called by Seneca centurio supplicio præpositus; …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

Joseph of Arimathea
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D.. LL.B. "Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God."--MARK xv. 43. The crucifixion of our Lord produced strange and startling effects in moral experience, as well as in the physical world. The veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom as if a hand from heaven had torn it, in order to teach men that the ancient ritual was done with. Darkness covered the earth, suggesting to thoughtful minds the guilt of the world and …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

"Himself He could not Save. " --Mark xv. 31
"Himself He could not save."--Mark xv. 31. "He saved others," scorners cried, Beholding Jesus crucified; "Is this the Son of God with power? Lo, in His own afflictive hour, Himself he cannot save." He was the Son of God with power, He "came unto that very hour;" I'll joy in His reproach and shame, "He savest others;" I'll exclaim, "Himself He could not save." His agony and bloody sweat, His cross and passion paid my debt; He saved others when he fell, Yet,--who the mystery can tell? Himself, He …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Whether Christ was Buried in a Becoming Manner?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ was buried in an unbecoming manner. For His burial should be in keeping with His death. But Christ underwent a most shameful death, according to Wis. 2:20: "Let us condemn Him to a most shameful death." It seems therefore unbecoming for honorable burial to be accorded to Christ, inasmuch as He was buried by men of position---namely, by Joseph of Arimathea, who was "a noble counselor," to use Mark's expression (Mk. 15:43), and by Nicodemus, who was "a ruler of …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

H. The Crucifixion. Ch. 23:26-38
26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the …
Charles R. Erdman—The Gospel of Luke, An Exposition

Pilate
"And straightway in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate." ". . . And they lead Him out to crucify Him." MARK 15:1-20 (R.V.) WITH morning came the formal assembly, which St. Mark dismisses in a single verse. It was indeed a disgraceful mockery. Before the trial began its members had prejudged the case, passed sentence by anticipation, and abandoned Jesus, as one …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Christ Crucified
"And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear His cross. And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. And they crucify Him, and part His garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the superscription of …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Death of Jesus
"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elijah. And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take Him down. And Jesus …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Part 1 Christ's Humiliation, Exaltation, and Triumph. Phil. 2:8,9; Mark 15:20,24,29; Col. 2:15
Christ's humiliation, exaltation, and triumph. Phil. 2:8,9; Mark 15:20,24,29; Col. 2:15. The mighty frame of glorious grace, That brightest monument of praise That e'er the God of love designed, Employs and fills my lab'ring mind. Begin, my soul, the heav'nly song, A burden for an angel's tongue: When Gabriel sounds these awful things, He tunes and summons all his stungs. Proclaim inimitable love: Jesus, the Lord of worlds above, Puts off the beams of bright array, And veils the God in mortal …
Isaac Watts—The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts

The Fourth Word
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani."--ST. MATT. XXVII. 46; ST. MARK XV. 34. There are three peculiar and distinguishing features of this fourth word which our Saviour uttered from His Cross. 1. It is the only one of the Seven which finds a place in the earliest record of our Lord's life, contained in the matter common to St. Matthew and St. Mark. 2. It is the only one which has been preserved to us in the original Aramaic, in the very syllables which were formed by the lips of Christ. 3. It is the …
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis

The Shortest of the Seven Cries
As these seven sayings were so faithfully recorded, we do not wonder that they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation. Fathers and confessors, preachers and divines have delighted to dwell upon every syllable of these matchless cries. These solemn sentences have shone like the seven golden candlesticks or the seven stars of the Apocalypse, and have lighted multitudes of men to him who spake them. Thoughtful men have drawn a wealth of meaning from them, and in so doing have arranged …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 24: 1878

Third Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Formally Condemned by the Sanhedrin and Led to Pilate.
(Jerusalem. Friday After Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 1, 2; ^B Mark XV. 1; ^C Luke XXII. 66-23:1; ^D John XVIII. 28. ^a 1 Now when morning was come, ^c 66 And as soon as it was day, ^b straightway ^c the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away into their council, ^a all the chief priests and { ^b with} the elders ^a of the people ^b and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and ^a took counsel against Jesus to put …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

First Stage of the Roman Trial. Jesus Before Pilate for the First Time.
(Jerusalem. Early Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 11-14; ^B Mark XV. 2-5; ^C Luke XXIII. 2-5; ^D John XVIII. 28-38. ^d and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. [See p. 641.] 29 Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee. [The Jewish rulers first attempt to induce …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Crucifixion.
Subdivision A. On the Way to the Cross. (Within and Without Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 31-34; ^B Mark XV. 20-23; ^C Luke XXIII. 26-33; ^D John XIX. 17. ^a 31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the ^b purple, ^a robe, and put on him his garments [This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we can not contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Crucified, Dead, and Buried. '
It matters little as regards their guilt, whether, pressing the language of St. John, [6034] we are to understand that Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, or, as we rather infer, to his own soldiers. This was the common practice, and it accords both with the Governor's former taunt to the Jews, [6035] and with the after-notice of the Synoptists. They, to whom He was delivered,' led Him away to be crucified:' and they who so led Him forth compelled' the Cyrenian Simon to bear the Cross. …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Death of Jesus.
Although the real motive for the death of Jesus was entirely religious, his enemies had succeeded, in the judgment-hall, in representing him as guilty of treason against the state; they could not have obtained from the sceptical Pilate a condemnation simply on the ground of heterodoxy. Consistently with this idea, the priests demanded, through the people, the crucifixion of Jesus. This punishment was not Jewish in its origin; if the condemnation of Jesus had been purely Mosaic, he would have been …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

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