Mark 15:32

15:32 Let the Christ, ¹  the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ² 

Mark 15:36

15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, ³  put it on a stick, ⁴  and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!”

¹ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

² sn Mark’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).

³ sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

⁴ tn Grk “a reed.”