What is the meaning of Mark 15:25? It was - Mark records, “It was the third hour when they crucified Him” (Mark 15:25). Those opening words, “It was,” anchor us in concrete reality—this happened on a specific day at a specific moment. - Scripture treats time markers as historical facts. Luke does the same when he says, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus” (Luke 2:1). These simple verbs remind us the gospel is not myth; it’s history unfolding in real space and time. - By noting the moment, the Spirit through Mark invites us to trust every detail, just as Numbers 23:19 affirms that God “does not lie or change His mind.” the third hour - Jewish daytime hours began at sunrise. The “third hour” places Jesus on the cross around 9 a.m. • That aligns with the morning sacrifice in the temple (Exodus 29:38-41), pointing to Jesus as the true Lamb offered “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). • Earlier, Jesus had been condemned at daybreak (Luke 22:66-71). Within hours the verdict turns into execution—underscoring the haste, injustice, and yet sovereign timing of God. • Psalm 22 opens with “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (v. 1) and then describes pierced hands and feet (v. 16). Mark’s timestamp moves us steadily toward those very words, spoken three hours later at noon darkness (Mark 15:33-34). when they crucified - Crucifixion was Rome’s most brutal punishment, reserved for rebels and slaves. Yet Acts 2:23 reminds us Jesus was “delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge.” - Notice the plural “they.” • Romans drove the nails (John 19:23-24). • Religious leaders demanded the sentence (Mark 15:11). • The crowd shouted, “Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:13). • Ultimately, our sin placed Him there (Isaiah 53:5). - Colossians 2:14 declares that at the cross He “canceled the record of debt… nailing it to the cross.” The cruelty of men became the instrument of God’s mercy. Him - “Him” points to the central figure of all Scripture—Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1). • Pilate confessed, “I find no basis for a charge” (John 19:6), yet the spotless One was condemned. • John 1:29 calls Him “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” • 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains the exchange: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” - Every pronoun in Mark 15 stresses His willing substitution. He is not a victim swept along by events; He is the Savior fulfilling John 10:18—“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.” summary Mark 15:25 grounds the crucifixion in real time (“It was”), a specific hour (“the third hour”), a grim method (“they crucified”), and a glorious Person (“Him”). Each phrase testifies that God’s redemptive plan unfolded precisely as foretold, affirming both the accuracy of Scripture and the sacrificial love of Christ for sinners. |
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