New Testament · Gospel

Mark 15:42

The Crucifixion

Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Mark 15:42 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Mark 15:42, in plain English

It was already evening on the day before the Sabbath, which was the Preparation Day.

Why it's here

There wasn't much time. The Sabbath would start at sunset, and Jewish law said the body needed to be buried before then. Everything had to happen fast.

Who's speaking

Mark notes the time pressure.

Where it sits in the story

The sun is going down and the clock is ticking. Someone needs to act quickly to give Jesus a proper burial before the Sabbath begins.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Mark establishes the temporal setting: it is already opsias (evening) on Paraskeue (Preparation Day), the day before the Sabbath, creating urgency for burial.

Language and setting

Jewish law required burial before sunset, especially before Sabbath. The Preparation Day (Friday) context explains the haste in the burial proceedings that follow.

Voice

The narrator establishes the time pressure for proper burial.

Significance

The clock is ticking. Sabbath begins at sunset, and Jewish law requires burial before then. What follows must happen quickly.

In context

Mark 15:40–44

40And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

42Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath),

43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.

Read all of Mark 15 — Pilate washes his hands, soldiers mock the King of Kings, and darkness covers the land. The curtain in the temple tears from top to bottom.

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