35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying , "Behold , He is calling for Elijah ." 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine , put it on a reed , and gave Him a drink , saying , "Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down ." 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry , and breathed His last . 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom . 39 When the centurion , who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last , he said , "Truly this man was the Son of God !" 40 There were also some women looking on from a distance , among whom were Mary Magdalene , and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses , and Salome . 41 When He was in Galilee , they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem .
42 When evening had already come , because it was the preparation day , that is, the day before the Sabbath , 43 Joseph of Arimathea came , a prominent member of the Council , who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God ; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate , and asked for the body of Jesus . 44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time , and summoning the centurion , he questioned him as to whether He was already dead .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 15:35-44
Commentary on Mark 15:33-41
(Read Mark 15:33-41)
There was a thick darkness over the land, from noon until three in the afternoon. The Jews were doing their utmost to extinguish the Sun of Righteousness. The darkness signified the cloud which the human soul of Christ was under, when he was making it an offering for sin. He did not complain that his disciples forsook him, but that his Father forsook him. In this especially he was made sin for us. When Paul was to be offered as a sacrifice for the service saints, he could joy and rejoice, Philippians 2:17; but it is another thing to be offered as a sacrifice for the sin of sinners. At the same instant that Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. This spake terror to the unbelieving Jews, and was a sign of the destruction of their church and nation. It speaks comfort to all believing Christians, for it signified the laying open a new and living way into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. The confidence with which Christ had openly addressed God as his Father, and committed his soul into his hands, seems greatly to have affected the centurion. Right views of Christ crucified will reconcile the believer to the thought of death; he longs to behold, love, and praise, as he ought, that Saviour who was wounded and pierced to save him from the wrath to come.
Commentary on Mark 15:42-47
(Read Mark 15:42-47)
We are here attending the burial of our Lord Jesus. Oh that we may by grace be planted in the likeness of it! Joseph of Arimathea was one who waited for the kingdom of God. Those who hope for a share in its privileges, must own Christ's cause, when it seems to be crushed. This man God raised up for his service. There was a special providence, that Pilate should be so strict in his inquiry, that there might be no pretence to say Jesus was alive. Pilate gave Joseph leave to take down the body, and do what he pleased with it. Some of the women beheld where Jesus was laid, that they might come after the sabbath to anoint the dead body, because they had not time to do it before. Special notice was taken of Christ's sepulchre, because he was to rise again. And he will not forsake those who trust in him, and call upon him. Death, deprived of its sting, will soon end the believer's sorrows, as it ended those of the Saviour.