Jesus Dies on the Cross(A)

45 (B)Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour (C)Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, (D)“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, (E)filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

50 And Jesus (F)cried out again with a loud voice, and (G)yielded up His spirit.

51 Then, behold, (H)the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

54 (I)So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, (J)“Truly this was the Son of God!”

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45 Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).(A) 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud [agonized] voice, [a]Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”(B) 47 When some of the bystanders there heard it, they began saying, “This man is calling for [b]Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, soaked it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.(C) 49 But the rest said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him [from death].” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan].(D) 51 And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was [c]torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.(E) 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints (God’s people) who had fallen asleep [in death] were raised [to life]; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:46 See note John 19:30.
  2. Matthew 27:47 The Jews believed that the prophet Elijah would return before the Messiah appeared.
  3. Matthew 27:51 God tearing the veil of the Holy of Holies is significant in that it symbolizes that God’s presence was now open to all people and not just the High Priest.

The Death of Jesus(A)

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness(B) came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b](C)

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,(D) put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.(E)

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple(F) was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split(G) 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[c] went into the holy city(H) and appeared to many people.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding(I) Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 27:46 Some manuscripts Eloi, Eloi
  2. Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:1
  3. Matthew 27:53 Or tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they

45-46 From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

47-49 Some bystanders who heard him said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him.”

50 But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.

51-53 At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

54 The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, “This has to be the Son of God!”

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