Jesus Dies^(A)

²⁸ After this, Jesus knew that everything had been ·done [finished; completed]. So that the Scripture would ·come true [be fulfilled], he said, “I ·am thirsty [^Tthirst; Ps. 22:15; 69:21].” ²⁹ There was a jar full of ·vinegar [sour wine] there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a ·branch [stalk] of a hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. ³⁰ When Jesus ·tasted [^Lreceived] the ·vinegar [sour wine], he said, “It is ·finished [completed; accomplished].” Then he bowed his head and ·died [^Lgave up/yielded his spirit].

³¹ This day was Preparation Day [^Cfor the celebration of Passover; 12:12], and the next day was a ·special [high; ^Lgreat] Sabbath day [^Cspecial because it occurred during Passover]. Since the ·religious leaders [^LJews] did not want the bodies to stay on the cross on the Sabbath day, they asked Pilate to order that the legs of the men be broken [^Cso they would die quicker] and the bodies be taken away [Deut. 21:22–23]. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man on the cross beside Jesus. Then they broke the legs of the man on the other cross beside Jesus. ³³ But when the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers ·stuck [pierced] his ·spear [lance; javelin] into Jesus’ side, and at once blood and water came out [^Cindicating his death as a human being]. ³⁵ (The one who saw this happen is the one who ·told us this [witnesses; testifies; ^Cagain probably an allusion to the disciple John], and ·whatever he says [his witness/testimony] is true. And he knows that he tells the truth, and he tells it so that you might believe [see 21:24].) ³⁶ [^LFor] These things happened to ·make the Scripture come true [fulfill the Scripture]: “Not one of his bones will be broken [Ps. 34:20; see Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12].” ³⁷ And [^Lagain] another Scripture says, “They will look at the one they ·stabbed [pierced; Zech. 12:10].”

Jesus Dies^(A)

⁴⁵ At ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [^Luntil the ninth hour]. ⁴⁶ About ·three o’clock [^Lthe ninth hour] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you ·abandoned [forsaken] me [Ps. 22:1; ^Cthese words are a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic]?”

⁴⁷ Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.” [^CThe prophet Elijah, associated with the end times (Mal. 4:5), was also viewed as a helper in time of need.]

⁴⁸ ·Quickly [At once] one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with ·vinegar [or sour wine; ^Can inexpensive drink used by soldiers and slaves] and tied it to a ·stick [reed] and gave it to Jesus to drink [Ps. 69:21]. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “·Don’t bother him [Wait; Leave him alone]. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰ But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and ·died [^Lreleased his spirit].

⁵¹ ·Then [^TAnd behold] the curtain in the Temple [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [^Crepresenting new access to the presence of God, and perhaps God’s judgment against the Temple leadership]. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. ⁵² The graves opened, and many [^Lof the bodies] of ·God’s people [the saints] who had ·died [^Lfallen asleep] were raised from the dead. ⁵³ They came out of the graves after ·Jesus was raised from the dead [^Lhis resurrection] and went into the holy city [^CJerusalem], where they appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the ·army officer [centurion] and ·the soldiers [^Lthose with him] guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were ·very frightened [filled with awe] and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

Jesus Dies^(A)

³³ At ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [^Luntil the ninth hour]. ³⁴ At ·three o’clock [^Lthe ninth hour] Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means [^Cin Aramaic], “My God, my God, why have you ·abandoned [forsaken] me?” [Ps. 22:1]

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” [^CThe prophet Elijah was associated with the end times (Mal. 4:5) and was also viewed as a helper in time of need.]

³⁶ Someone there ran and got a sponge, filled it with ·vinegar [or sour wine; ^Can inexpensive drink used by soldiers and slaves], tied it to a ·stick [reed], and gave it to Jesus to drink [Ps. 69:21]. He said, “[Leave him be; Wait!] We want to see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and ·died [breathed his last; ^Lexpired].

³⁸ The curtain [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple] in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [^Crepresenting new access to the presence of God, and perhaps God’s judgment against the Temple leadership]. ³⁹ When the ·army officer [centurion] who was standing in front of the cross saw ·what happened when [or how] Jesus died,^[a] he said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

Jesus Dies

⁴⁴ It was about ·noon [^Lthe sixth hour; ^Chours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM], and the whole land became dark until ·three o’clock in the afternoon [^Lthe ninth hour], ⁴⁵ because the sun did not shine. The curtain in the Temple [^Cdividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn ·in two [down the middle]. ⁴⁶ Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, ·I give you my life [^Linto your hands I entrust/commit my spirit; Ps. 31:5].” After Jesus said this, he ·died [expired; ^Tbreathed his last].

⁴⁷ When the ·army officer [^Lcenturion] there saw what happened, he ·praised [glorified] God, saying, “Surely this was a ·good [righteous; or innocent] man!”

⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered there to watch saw what happened, they returned home, beating their chests [^Ca sign of sorrow and remorse].