Matthew 27:45-56
Expanded Bible
Jesus Dies(A)
45 At ·noon [L the sixth hour] the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted ·for three hours [L until the ninth hour]. 46 About ·three o’clock [L the 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; C these words are a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic]?”
47 Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.” [C The 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; C an 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 [L released his spirit].
51 ·Then [T And behold] the curtain in the Temple [C dividing the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom [C representing 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 [L of the bodies] of ·God’s people [the saints] who had ·died [L fallen asleep] were raised from the dead. 53 They came out of the graves after ·Jesus was raised from the dead [L his resurrection] and went into the holy city [C Jerusalem], where they appeared to many people.
54 When the ·army officer [centurion] and ·the soldiers [L those 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!”
55 Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to ·help [provide support for; minister to] him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. 56 Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were ·there [among them].
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