Matthew 27:32-56

International Children’s Bible

Jesus Is Killed on a Cross

³² The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They forced another man to carry the cross to be used for Jesus. This man was Simon, from Cyrene. ³³ They all came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) ³⁴ At Golgotha, the soldiers gave Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with gall.^[a] He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. ³⁵ The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. They threw lots to decide who would get his clothes.^{[b] 36} The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. ³⁷ They put a sign above Jesus’ head with the charge against him written on it. The sign read: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ³⁸ Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. ³⁹ People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, ⁴⁰ saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross, if you are really the Son of God!”

⁴¹ The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also there. These men made fun of Jesus ⁴² and said, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself! People say he is the King of Israel! If he is the King, then let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ And in the same way, the robbers who were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies

⁴⁵ At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. ⁴⁶ About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”

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

⁴⁸ Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with vinegar and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to 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 in a loud voice. Then he died.

⁵¹ Then the curtain in the Temple^[c] split into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way down to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. ⁵² The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. ⁵³ They came out of the graves 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 else that happened. They were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. These were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. ⁵⁶ Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.