Charles Ellicott Commentary Mark 15:42

"And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath," — Mark 15:42 (ASV)

The preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath.—The explanation, like that in Mark 7:2-3, is characteristic of St. Mark, as writing for Gentile readers. It fixes, with hardly the shadow of a doubt, the meaning of the word “preparation,” as given in the Note on Matthew 27:62.