The Gospel of St. Mark

Aquarian Gospel

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter 167

1: And as soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate.

INTO the palace of the Roman governor the Jews would enter not lest they become defiled and be unworthy to attend the feast; but they led Jesus to the palace court, and Pilate met them there.

2) And Pilate said,
Why this commotion in the early day? What is your prayer?
3) The Jews replied,
We bring before you one, an evil and seditious man.
4) He has been tried before the highest council of the Jews and has been proven traitor to our laws, our state and to the government of Rome.
5) We pray that you will sentence him to death upon the cross.
6) And Pilate said, Why do you bring him unto me? Go to, and judge him yourselves.
7) You have a law, and by the sanction of the Roman law, you have a right to judge and right to execute.
8) The Jews replied, We have no right to execute a man upon the cross, and since this man is traitor to Tiberius, our counselors believe that he should meet the most humiliating death - the death upon the cross.
9) But Pilate said, No man can be found guilty of a crime by Roman law until the testimony all is in, and the accused has been permitted to defend himself;
10) So I will take your bill of charges, with the evidence you have, and judge by Roman law.
11) The Jews had made a copy of the accusations in the language of the Roman court, and they had added to the bill:
12) We charge that Jesus is an enemy of Rome; that he demands that men shall pay no tribute to Tiberius.
13) And Pilate took the bill; his guards led Jesus up the steps into the palace hall.

2: And Pilate asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he answered him, You have said so.

3: And the chief priests accused him of many things.

4: And Pilate again asked him, Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.

14) And Jesus stood before the Roman governor, and Pilate read to him the charges of the Jews, and said,
15) What is your answer to this bill? These charges, are they true or false?

16) And Jesus said,
Why should I plead before an earthly court? The charges have been verified by perjured men; what need I say?
17) Yes, I am king; but carnal men cannot behold the king, nor see the kingdom of the God; it is within.
18) If I had been king as carnal man is king, my servants would have stood in my defense, and I would not have willingly surrendered to the minions of the Jewish law.
19) I have no testimony from the sons of men. God is my witness, and my words and deeds bear witness to the truth;
20) And every man who comprehends the truth will hearken to my words, and in his soul give witness unto me.

21) And Pilate said, What is the truth?
22) And Jesus said,
Truth is the God who knows. It is the changeless one. The Holy Breath is truth; she changes not and cannot pass away.

23) And Pilate went again unto the Jews and said, This man is guilty of no crime; I cannot sentence him to death.
24) And then the Jews grew boisterous; they cried aloud and said, Our council surely knows. The wisest men of all the land have found him guilty of a score of crimes.
25) He would pervert the nation of the Jews; would overthrow the Roman rule and make himself the king. He is a culprit come from Galilee; he must be crucified.
26) And Pilate said, If Jesus is from Galilee he is a subject of the governor of Galilee, who should be judge.

27) Now, Herod had come down from Galilee and with his suite was in Jerusalem.
28) And Pilate sent to him the Lord in chains; he also sent a copy of the charges, and of the testimonies of the Jews and asked that he would pass in judgment on the case.
29) And Herod said, I have heard much about this man and I am pleased to see him in my court.
30) And then he asked the Lord about his claims, about his doctrines and his aims.

5: But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate wondered.

32) And then he called his guards and said,
Take you this man and torture him until he answers me.
33) The guards took Jesus and they smote him; mocked him; wrapped him in a royal robe; they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head; they put a broken reed into his hands;
34) And then they said deridingly, All hail, thou royal king! Where are your subjects and your friends?
35) But Jesus answered not a word. Then Herod sent him back to Pilate with this note of courtesy:
36) Most worthy counselor of Rome, I have examined all the charges and the testimonies that you sent to me regarding this seditious man from Galilee, and while I might adjudge him guilty of the crimes as charged,
37) I yield to you my rights as judge, because you are superior to me in power. I will approve of any judgment you may render in this case.
38) Now, Pilate and the tetrarch had been foes, but the experience of this hour destroyed their enmity and they were friends in after days.
39) When Jesus had been brought again to Pilate's court, the Roman Governor stood forth before the accusers of the Lord and said,
40) I cannot find this Nazarene to be a criminal as charged; there is no evidence that he should suffer death; so I will scourge him well and let him go.

41) The Jews cried angrily, It is not meet that such a dangerous man should live; he must be crucified.
42) Then Pilate said, I bid you wait a little time.
And then he went into an inner room and sat in silent thought.
43) And as he mused his wife, a godly woman, chosen from among the Gauls, came in and said,
44) I pray you, Pilate, hearken unto me: Beware of what you do this hour. Touch not this man from Galilee; he is a holy man.
45) If you should scourge this man you scourge the son of God. Last night I saw it all in vision far too vivid to be set aside as idle dream.
46) I saw this man walk on the waters of the sea; I heard him speak and calm an angry storm; I saw him flying with the wings of light;
47) I saw Jerusalem in blood; I saw the statues of the Caesars fall; I saw a veil before the sun, and day was dark as night.
48) The earth on which I stood was shaken like a reed before the wind. I tell you, Pilate, if you bathe your hands in this man's blood then you may dread the frowns of great Tiberius, and the curses of the senators of Rome.
49) And then she left, and Pilate wept.

Chapter 168

6: Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.

A SUPERSTITIOUS people are the Jews. They have a faith that they have borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands, that at the end of every year,
2) They may heap all their sins upon the head of some man set apart to bear their sins.
3) The man becomes a scapegoat for the multitudes; and they believe that when they drive him forth into the wilds, or into foreign lands, they are released from sin.
4) So every Spring before the feast they chose a prisoner from the prisons of the land, and by a form their own, they fain would make him bear their sins away.

7: And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barab'bas.

5) Among the Jewish prisoners in Jerusalem were three who were the leaders of a vile, seditious band, who had engaged in thefts and murders and rapine, and had been sentenced to be crucified.
6) Barabbas bar Jezia was among the men who were to die; but he was rich and he had bought of priests the boon to be the scapegoat for the people at the coming feast, and he was anxiously in waiting for his hour to come.

8: And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them.

9: And he answered them, Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?

7) Now, Pilate thought to turn this superstition to account to save the Lord, and so he went again before the Jews and said,
8) You men of Israel, according to my custom I will release to you today a prisoner who shall bear your sins away.
9) This man you drive into the wilds or into foreign lands, and you have asked me to release Barabbas, who has been proven guilty of the murder of a score of men.
10) Now, hear me men, Let Jesus be released and let Barabbas pay his debt upon the cross; then you can send this Jesus to the wilds and hear no more of him.

10: For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.

11: But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barab'bas instead.

12: And Pilate again said to them, Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?

11) At what the ruler said the people were enraged, and they began to plot to tear the Roman palace down and drive in exile Pilate, and his household and his guards.
12) When Pilate was assured that civil war would follow if he heeded not the wishes of the mob, he took a bowl of water, and in the presence of the multitude, he washed his hands and said,
13) This man whom you accuse is son of the most holy Gods, and I proclaim my innocence.
14) If you would shed his blood, his blood is on your hands and not on mine.
15) And then the Jews exclaimed, And let his blood be on our hands and on our children's hands.

15: So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barab'bas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

17) The Jews replied,
He is no king; we have no king but great Tiberius.
18) Now, Pilate would not give consent that Roman soldiers should imbue their hands in blood of innocence, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees took counsel what to do with Jesus, who was called the Christ.

19) Caiaphas said, We cannot crucify this man; he must be stoned to death and nothing more.
20) And then the rabble said, Make haste! let him be stoned.

16: And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the praetorium); and they called together the whole battalion.

17: And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him.

18: And they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

see 167:33 above

And then they led him forth toward the hill beyond the city's gates, where criminals were put to death.
21) The rabble could not wait until they reached the place of skulls. As soon as they had passed the city's gate, they rushed upon him, smote him with their hands, they spit upon him, stoned him, and he fell upon the ground.
22) And one, a man of God, stood forth and said,
Isaiah said, He shall be bruised for our transgressions and by his stripes we shall be healed.
23) As Jesus lay all bruised and mangled on the ground a Pharisee called out, Stay, stay you men! behold, the guards of Herod come and they will crucify this man.

20: And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

21: And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyre'ne, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

27) A man named Simon, a friend of Jesus, was a-near the scene, and since the bruised and wounded Jesus could not bear his cross, they laid it on the shoulders of this man, and made him bear it on to Calvary.

Chapter 170

22: And they brought him to the place called Gol'gotha (which means the place of a skull).

2) They wept aloud. When Jesus saw them weeping and lamenting thus he said,
3) Weep not for me, for though I go away, go through the gateway of the cross, yet on the next day of the sun, lift up your hearts, for I will meet you at the sepulcher.
4) The great procession came to Calvary. The Roman soldiers had already bound the two state prisoners to the cross.
5) (They were not nailed, but simply bound.)
6) Four soldiers of the Roman guard that Herod brought from Galilee were called to execute the orders of the court.
7) These were the men who had been set apart to torture Jesus and secure from him confession of his guilt.
8) These were the men who scourged him, put a crown of thorns upon his head, a broken reed into his hands, and wrapped him in a royal robe, and bowed in mockery, before him as a king.
9) These soldiers took the Lord and stripped him, laid him on the cross and would have bound him there with cords; but this would not suffice.
10) The cruel Jews were near with hammer and with nails; they cried, Not cords, but nails; drive fast the nails and hold him to the cross.
11) And then the soldiers took the nails and drove them through his feet and hands.

23: And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it.

12) They offered him a sedative to drink, a draught of vinegar and myrrh; but he refused to drink the draught.

24: And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.

36) According to a custom of the Jews, to those who were the executioners of law and took the lives of criminals, belonged the garments of the criminals.
37) So when the Lord was crucified, the Roman guards divided up among themselves the garments of the Lord.
38) But when they found his coat it was a seamless coat and highly prized.
39) For it the guards cast lots, and thus determined who should have the prize.
40) And thus the scripture was fulfilled, which said,
And they divided all my robes among themselves, and for my vesture they cast lots.

13) The soldiers had prepared a place in which to plant Barabbas' cross between the other criminals; and here they raised the cross of Jesus, who was called the Christ;
14) And then the soldiers and the mob sat down to watch him die.
15) And Jesus said, My Father-God, forgive these men; they know not what they do.

16) Now, Pilate had prepared a tablet to be placed upon the cross on which was written in the tongues of Hebrew, Latin and Greek these words of truth:
JESUS THE CHRIST, KING OF THE JEWS.
17) And this was placed upon the cross. The priests were angered when they read these words upon the tablet of the cross.
18) And then they prayed that Pilate would not say,
He is the Christ, king of the Jews; but say, He claims to be the Christ, king of the Jews.
19) But Pilate said,

What I have written, I have written; let it stand.

27: And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

28: And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

29: And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, and saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,
30: save yourself, and come down from the cross!

21) You who would tear the temple down and in three days would build it up again, why don't you save yourself?
22) If you are Christ, the son of God, come from the cross; then all men will believe.

31: So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself.

23) The priests and scribes and Pharisees looked on the scene and scoffed; they said, He rescued others from the grave; why doesn't he save himself?

32: Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.

24) The Jewish soldiers and the Roman guards who came from Galilee were loud in mocking and deriding him.

25) One of the other men upon the cross joined in the mockery; he said, If you are Christ, you have the power; just speak the Word, and save yourself and me.

26) The other man upon the cross rebuked the man; he said,
You wretch! have you no fear of God?
27) This man is innocent of any crime while you and I are guilty and are paying up the debts we owe.
28) And then he said to Jesus, Lord, I know thy kingdom comes, the kingdom that the world can never comprehend;
29) And when thou comest on the clouds of heaven, remember me.
30) And Jesus said,
Behold, for I will meet you in the realm of souls this day.
31) Now, standing near unto the cross were many women from Judea and from Galilee. Among them were the mother of the Lord and Miriam,
32) And Mary, mother of the two apostles, James and John, and Mary Magdalene, and Martha, Ruth and Mary, and Salome.
33) When Jesus saw his mother and the singer Miriam standing close beside the cross and John a-near, he said to John,
34) In your most tender care I leave my mother and my sister Miriam.
35) And John replied,

While they shall live my home shall be the home of your thrice blessed mother and your sister Miriam.

Chapter 171

33: And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

NOW, at the sixth hour of the day, although the sun was at its height, the day became as dark as night;
2) And men sought lanterns and they built fires upon the hills that they might see.

34: And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, E'lo-i, E'lo-i, la'ma sabach-tha'ni? which means, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

36: And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, Wait, let us see whether Eli'jah will come to take him down.

A Roman soldier dipped a sponge in vinegar and myrrh, and placed it to his lips.

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

7) Now, at the ninth hour of the day the earth began to quake, and in the darkness of that sunless day, a flood of golden light appeared above the cross;
8) And from the light a voice was heard which said,
Lo, it is done.
9) And Jesus said,

My Father-God, into thy hands I give my soul.
10) A Roman soldier in compassion said,
This agony is all too great; relief shall come.
And with a spear he pierced his heart and it was done; the son of man was dead.

38: And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

11) And then the earth was shocked again; the city of Jerusalem rocked to and fro; the hills were rent and tombs were opened up;
12) And people thought they saw the dead arise and walk the streets.
13) The temple quivered and the veil between the sanctuary and the Holy Place was rent in twain, and consternation reigned through all the place.

39: And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God!

14) The Roman guard who watched the body on the cross exclaimed, This surely was the son of God who died.

15) And then the people hurried down from Calvary. The priests, the Pharisees and scribes were filled with fear.
16) They sought the cover of their synagogues and homes and said, Behold, the wrath of God!

40: There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salo'me,

41: who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered to him; and also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

42: And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

17) The great day of the Jewish pasch was near, and Jews could not by law permit a criminal to hang upon the cross upon the Sabbath day.
18) And so they prayed that Pilate would remove the bodies of the men that had been crucified.

43: Joseph of Arimathe'a, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

19) And Pilate sent his guards to Calvary to note if all the men were dead.
20) And when the guards were gone, two aged Jews came to the palace door to see the governor, and they were members of the highest council of the Jews;
21) Yet they believed that Jesus was a prophet sent from God.
22) The one was Rabbi Joseph, the Arimathean counsellor, and he was just and loved the law of God.
23) And Nicodemus was the other one who came.
24) These men fell down at Pilate's feet and prayed that they might take the body of the Nazarene and lay it in a tomb.

44: And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.

25) And Pilate gave consent.
26) Now, Joseph had prepared a costly mixture to embalm the body of the Lord, about a hundred pounds of aloes and of myrrh, and this they took and hastened out to Calvary.
27) And when the guards returned they said,
The Nazarene is dead; the malefactors are alive.
28) And Pilate told the guards to go and smite the living men so they would die, and then to give their bodies to the flames; but give the body of the Nazarene to rabbis who would call for it.
29) The soldiers did as Pilate said.

45: And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph.

30) The rabbis came and took away the body of the Lord and when they had prepared it with the spices they had bought,

46: And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

31) They laid it in the new-made tomb that had been made for Joseph in a solid rock.
32) And then they rolled a stone up to the sepulcher.

33) The priests were fearful lest the friends of Jesus would go forth at night and take away the body of the Nazarene, and then report that he had risen from the dead, as he had said;
34) And they requested that the governor would send his soldiers to the tomb to guard the body of the dead.
35) But Pilate said, I will not send a Roman guard; but you have Jewish soldiers and may send a hundred men with a centurion to guard the tomb.
36) And then they sent a hundred soldiers out to guard the tomb.

47: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.