“Truly This Was The Son Of God” (Mark 15:22–16:20)
Mark 15:22–16:20
This is a recap of our Bible Caller Club meeting on April 30th, 2026 over this passage. If you want to join the club and attend future meetings and study with us via phone, click here.
1. What’s happening in this passage?
Jesus is crucified, showing that His Kingdom is coming in just as He had said it would. He had been predicting since chapter 8 that He would be betrayed and killed and rise again. God’s Kingdom is coming in, not with a sword, but with a cross, just as He said in 10:31, “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
In 15:22-41, Jesus is crucified, and we see several different responses. We see the religious leaders scoffing. We see the centurion recognizing that this was God’s Son. We see the women, who had not abandoned Jesus’ Kingdom, but followed Him all the way to the foot of the cross.
In 15:42-47, we see the burial of Jesus, and two more responses to the culmination of God’s Kingdom. We see Joseph of Arimathea, who had been waiting for God’s Kingdom (43), and therefore He cared about what happened to Jesus. He asks to take His body and bury it properly. On the other hand, we see Pilate, who couldn’t care less. He didn’t even know what was happening.
In chapter 16, we see Jesus risen from the dead, proving He truly is the Son of God, yet even here, the only people who initially believe are the women who meet Jesus face to face, while the apostles still doubt. Jesus then leaves them with a mission: faith in this Kingdom shouldn’t die with them, but they are to take it into the world. Now, it is our turn to answer the question Jesus had asked in 8:28, “who do YOU say that I am?” And if we say that He is the Son of God, what are we going to do about it? Will this faith stop with us, or will we pass it on?
2. What is God revealing about humanity?
We all come to different conclusions about who Jesus is based on our proximity to the cross. When we merely pass by the cross, like the Jewish leaders, we scoff and ridicule (15:29). When we stand at a distance from the cross, like the women, we remain silent (15:40). But when we stand right in front of the cross, like the centurion, truly seeing the sacrifice, service, and submission of the true King, we cannot help but come to the conclusion that “surely this was the Son of God” (15:39).
3. What is God revealing about Himself?
He truly is the Son of God, and through the coming of God’s Kingdom of sacrifice, service, and submission, He is the One who tears the veil in two, making a way for us into the most holy place (15:38). He is risen from the dead, proving His authority over death, and showing that true life comes through total sacrifice, service, and submission. He entrusts His followers with the mission to carry His Kingdom into the world, and empowers them to do so.
4. How should our lives change?
Through the book of Mark, we have been given a chance to also stand at the foot of the cross and realize that “truly this was the Son of God.” This realization about God’s Kingdom, which is “at hand” (1:15), and through our time face-to-face with the risen Christ should cause us to share Jesus’ Kingdom with others.
