The Meaning of Mark 15:29 Explained

Mark 15:29

KJV: And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

YLT: And those passing by were speaking evil of him, shaking their heads, and saying, 'Ah, the thrower down of the sanctuary, and in three days the builder!

Darby: And they that passed by reviled him, shaking their heads, and saying, Aha, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days,

ASV: And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  they that passed by  railed  on him,  wagging  their  heads,  and  saying,  Ah,  thou that destroyest  the temple,  and  buildest  [it] in  three  days, 

What does Mark 15:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Mark 15:22-47 - A King Upon His Cross
Our Lord refused to drink the potion prepared by the women of Jerusalem, in order to stupefy those who were crucified and so deaden the sense of pain, because He would drain the cup to its dregs. It was nine o'clock in the morning when He was nailed to the cross. His persecutors were, as they thought, destroying the Temple of which He had spoken in John 2:19, and making its restoration impossible. In fact, however, they were giving Him the opportunity of fulfilling His great prediction. He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Nature veiled her face from that awful spectacle. Christ was not really forsaken, but as our Redeemer he passed under the dark shadow of human sin. The access to the Holy of Holies is now forever free through the entry of our great High Priest. See Hebrews 9:7-8. What love inspired the women, Mark 15:40, to brave the horrors of the scene! And how good to see that God cares for the body as well as for the spirit of His beloved! For Joseph, see Matthew 27:57 and Luke 23:50-51. Born of the Virgin's womb our Lord was buried in a virgin tomb. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 15

1  Jesus brought bound, and accused before Pilate
6  Upon the clamor of the people, the murderer Barabbas is released,
12  and Jesus delivered up to be crucified
16  He is crowned with thorns, spit on, and mocked;
21  faints in bearing his cross;
27  hangs between two thieves;
29  suffers the triumphing reproaches of the crowd;
39  but is confessed by the centurion to be the Son of God;
42  and is honorably buried by Joseph

Greek Commentary for Mark 15:29

Ah! [οὐὰ]
The Latin vah! [source]
Destroyest []
The same word as at Mark 13:2. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 15:29 mean?

And those passing by were railing at Him shaking the heads of them saying Aha The [One] destroying the temple building [it] in three days
Καὶ οἱ παραπορευόμενοι ἐβλασφήμουν αὐτὸν κινοῦντες τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν λέγοντες Οὐὰ καταλύων τὸν ναὸν οἰκοδομῶν ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις

οἱ  those 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
παραπορευόμενοι  passing  by 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: παραπορεύομαι  
Sense: to proceed at the side, go past, pass by.
ἐβλασφήμουν  were  railing  at 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: βλασφημέω 
Sense: to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme.
κινοῦντες  shaking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: κινέω  
Sense: to cause to go, i.e. to move, set in motion.
κεφαλὰς  heads 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: κεφαλή  
Sense: the head, both of men and often of animals.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
λέγοντες  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Οὐὰ  Aha 
Parse: Interjection
Root: οὐά  
Sense: ah! ha! an interjection of wonder and amazement.
  The  [One] 
Parse: Article, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
καταλύων  destroying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: καταλύω  
Sense: to dissolve, disunite.
ναὸν  temple 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ναός  
Sense: used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was placed which is distinguished from the whole enclosure).
οἰκοδομῶν  building  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: οἰκοδομέω 
Sense: to build a house, erect a building.
τρισὶν  three 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: τρεῖς 
Sense: three.
ἡμέραις  days 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.