Jesus Dies^(A)

⁴⁵ At noon the whole country became dark. The darkness continued for three hours. ⁴⁶ About three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”^[a]

⁴⁷ Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.”^[b]

⁴⁸ Quickly, one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied the sponge to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰ Again Jesus cried out loudly and then died.^[c]

⁵¹ When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks were broken. ⁵² The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. ⁵³ They came out of the graves. And after Jesus was raised from death, they went into the holy city, and many people saw them.

⁵⁴ The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything that happened. They were very afraid and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were standing away from the cross, watching. These were the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. ⁵⁶ Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John^[d] were there.

Jesus Dies^(A)

³³ At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness continued until three o’clock. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”^[a]

³⁵ Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”^[b]

³⁶ One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried out loudly and died.

³⁸ When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. ³⁹ The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died. The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were standing away from the cross, watching. Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joses. (James was her youngest son.) ⁴¹ These were the women who had followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem were also there.

Jesus Dies^(A)

⁴⁴ It was about noon, but it turned dark throughout the land until three o’clock in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ because the sun stopped shining. The curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. ⁴⁶ Jesus shouted, “Father, I put my life in your hands!”^[a] After Jesus said this, he died.

⁴⁷ The army officer there saw what happened. He praised God, saying, “I know this man was a good man!”

⁴⁸ Many people had come out of the city to see all this. When they saw it, they felt very sorry and left. ⁴⁹ The people who were close friends of Jesus were there. Also, there were some women who had followed Jesus from Galilee. They all stood far away from the cross and watched these things.