Likewise,
also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.” Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.
Mark 15:31-32
Mark 15 [29.] Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”
Mark 15 [31.] Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.” Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.
Mark 15 [33.] When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Meaning:
The passers-by have shaken their heads and dared Jesus to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-30). Now the religious leaders join in, and even the two men dying beside him add their insults. The mockery comes from every side: the public, the leaders and the condemned. Yet the words of the chief priests contain a truth deeper than they knew.
- “Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes”
These were the men who had plotted Jesus’ death and handed him to Pilate (Mark 15:1-2). They do not speak to Jesus but about him, “among themselves”, enjoying what they see as their victory. Their presence at the cross shows how deeply they hated him. The psalm had foretold such scorn: “All those who see me mock me” (Psalm 22:7-8).
- “He saved others. He can’t save himself.”
The leaders admit what they could not deny: Jesus had saved others. He had healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons. The same Greek word for “save” is used in Mark for healing, as when Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well” (Mark 5:34).
Their conclusion, “He can’t save himself”, was meant as proof that he was a fraud. In fact it is the gospel. He could not save himself if he was to save others. He had come “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), and a ransom must be paid. The mockers spoke a profound truth while intending an insult.
- “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.”
They use the titles “Christ” and “King of Israel” with scorn, recalling the high priest’s question at the trial (Mark 14:61-62). They demand a sign as the condition for faith, as the Pharisees had done before, when Jesus said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Most certainly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation” (Mark 8:12). Their claim that they would then believe was empty. They would soon reject an even greater sign, his resurrection from the dead.
- “Those who were crucified with him also insulted him”
Even men suffering the same death joined in the scorn. Luke records that one of them later changed his mind. He rebuked the other, saying, “this man has done nothing wrong”, and asked Jesus to remember him (Luke 23:39-43). Mark presents the scene at its darkest: Jesus is utterly alone, rejected by all.
The Significance of Mark 15:31-32
- Saving others by not saving himself
The heart of the cross is that Jesus stayed there for us. “But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The very thing the leaders mocked is the reason we can be saved.
- Faith on our own terms
The leaders said they would believe if Jesus did what they demanded. Faith that sets conditions for God is not faith at all. God calls us to trust him as he has revealed himself, in a crucified and risen Savior.
- Grace for the scoffer
One of the criminals who insulted Jesus later found mercy. No one is beyond the reach of grace while they still have breath to call on him.
Cross-References:
Psalm 22:7-8: "He trusts in Yahweh; let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him." The psalm foresaw this mockery.
Mark 10:45: "For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Why he would not save himself.
Luke 23:40: "Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?" One criminal rebuked the other.
Romans 5:8: "But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Love shown at the cross.
Conclusion: The chief priests and scribes mocked Jesus on the cross, saying that he saved others but could not save himself, and demanding that the Christ, the King of Israel, come down so they could believe. Even the criminals beside him joined in. Their scorn spoke a deep truth: Jesus would not save himself because he was saving others, giving his life as a ransom for many. Faith does not dictate terms to God but trusts the crucified Savior.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible