New TestamentBeginner II · Story 12Mark 15:22-39

The Place of the Skull

At a place called Golgotha, Jesus is offered wine with myrrh, and he does not take it. He is crucified, and people who pass by wag their heads. Darkness comes over the whole land, and Jesus cries out. Then he gives up the spirit, the curtain of the temple is torn in two, and the centurion speaks.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~40 min · free

A bare hill under a dark sky, with three crosses far away and a few people standing at a distance

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

head
the part of the body with the eyes and the mouth
noun
darkness
no light
noun
centurion
an officer in the army of Rome, in charge of a group of soldiers
noun
offer
to hold something out to a person so that he or she can take it
verb
part
to divide something and give a piece to each person
verb
build
to make a house, a temple or a city by putting its parts together
verb
whole
all of something; nothing is left out
adjective
forsake
to go away from a person or an animal that needs you, and not stay with them
verb
full
with no more room for anything else
adjective
tear
to pull something apart, or to come apart, so that it is in two or more pieces
verb

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

At Golgotha they offer Jesus wine with myrrh. He does not take it. They crucify him and part his clothes.
Darkness comes over the whole land until the ninth hour. Then Jesus cries out, and the text tells his words.
Some people say he is calling Elijah. One man gives him vinegar to drink and says, “Let’s see …”
The curtain is torn in two, and the centurion says, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Mark 15:34 · WEB

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?”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

The world of the story

What did the movement of the heads show? The Tyndale Open Study Notes on Mark 15:29-32 say that the people passing by were wagging their heads in contempt.

Source: Tyndale Open Study Notes · CC BY-SA 4.0

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 21 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Mark 15:22 to 39, in the World English Bible: from the place called Golgotha to the words of the centurion.

What do they offer Jesus at Golgotha?

Mark 15:23 says that they offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.

What does Jesus cry out at the ninth hour?

Mark 15:34 says that Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

What do some of the people near him say?

Mark 15:35 says that some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”

What happens to the curtain of the temple?

Mark 15:38 says that the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

What does the centurion say?

Mark 15:39 says that when the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Other questions:Do I need to know English?Does Biblup teach doctrine?