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1760 | Matthew 27:38

38 Two rebels were crucified with him , b one on his right and one on his left . 39 Those who passed by hurled in sults at him , shak ing their heads c 40 and say ing , “ You who are go ing to de stroy the tem ple and build it in three days , d save yourself ! e

Come down from the cross , if you are the Son of God !” f 41 In the same way the chief priests , the teach ers of the law and the el ders mocked him . 42 “ He saved oth ers ,” they said , “ but he can ’ t save him self ! He ’ s the king of Is rael ! g Let him come down now from the cross , and we will be lieve h in him . 43 He trusts in God . Let God res cue him i now if he wants him , for he said , ‘ I am the Son of God .’ ” 44 In the same way the reb els who were cru ci fied with him also heaped in sults on him .

The Death of Jesus

27:45-56pp — ​ Mk 15:33-41 ; Lk 23:44-49 ; Jn 19:29-30

45 From noon un til three in the af ter noon dark ness j came over all the land . 46 About three in the af ter noon Jesus cried out in a loud voice , “ Eli , Eli , a lema sabachthani ?” ( which means “ My God , my God , why have you for saken me ?”). b k 47 When some of those stand ing there heard this , they said , “ He ’ s call ing Eli jah .” 48 Im me di ately one of them ran and got a sponge . He filled it with wine vin egar , l put it on a staff , and of fered it to Jesus to drink . 49 The rest said , “ Now leave him alone . Let ’ s see if Eli jah comes to save him .” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice , he gave up his spirit . m 51 At that mo ment the cur tain of the tem ple n was torn in two from top to bot tom . The earth shook , the rocks split o

52 and the tombs broke open . The bod ies of many holy peo ple who had died were raised to life . 53 They came out of the tombs af ter Jesus ’ res ur rec tion and c went into the holy city p and ap peared to many peo ple .

54 When the cen tu rion and those with him who were guard ing q Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had hap pened , they were ter ri fied , and ex claimed , “ Surely he was the Son of God !” r

55 Many women were there , watch ing from a dis tance . They had fol lowed Jesus from Gal i lee to care for his needs . s 56 Among them were Mary Mag da lene , Mary the mother of James and Joseph , d and the mother of Zeb e dee ’ s sons . t

27:38 b Isa 53:12

27:39 c Ps 22:7 ; 109:25 ; La 2:15

27:40 d Mt 26:61 ; Jn 2:19 e ver 42 f Mt 4:3 , ​6

27:42 g Jn 1:49 ; 12:13 h Jn 3:15

27:43 i Ps 22:8 27:45 j Am 8:9 27:46 k Ps 22:1

27:48 l ver 34 ; Ps 69:21

27:50 m Jn 19:30

27:51 n Ex 26:31-33 ; Heb 9:3 , ​8 o ver 54

27:53 p Mt 4:5

27:54 q ver 36 r Mt 4:3 ; 17:5

27:55 s Lk 8:2 , ​3

27:56 t Mk 15:47 ; Lk 24:10 ; Jn 19:25

The Burial of Jesus

27:57-61pp — ​ Mk 15:42-47 ; Lk 23:50-56 ; Jn 19:38-42

57 As eve ning ap proached , there came a rich man from Ar i ma thea , named Jo seph , who had him self be come a dis ci ple of Jesus . 58 Go ing to Pi late , he asked for Jesus ’ body , and

because it resonated with his emphasis on Jesus as Son of David . 27:40 – 44 Despite the mockery , only by not saving himself can Jesus make salvation possible for anyone else , including his enemies . 27:40 destroy the temple and build it in three days . See 26:61 . 27:43 He trusts in God . Let God rescue him now if he wants . An allusion to Ps 22:8 . Jesus experiences the same treatment his ancestor David experienced . 27:45 – 56 Jesus ’ final words , the reaction of nature , and the responses of the onlookers all testify that he was no mere mortal . 27:45 afternoon darkness . Some have linked this with a solar eclipse in AD 33 . But nothing prevents it from being considered a more supernatural event in 30 , the more likely year for Jesus ’ death . 27:46 Eli , Eli , lema sabachthani ? The preservation of these Hebrew words shows how memorable Jesus ’ cry was . This is the moment Jesus shoulders the sins of humanity and recognizes the rupture of his previously unbroken communion with his heavenly Father — agony worse than his physical suffering . Jesus , as son of David , reuses David ’ s language from Ps 22:1 . He too is experiencing abandonment , but the psalm goes on to envision future hope beyond the immediate despair . Eli . “ My God ” in Aramaic . It sounds like

“ Elijah ” ( v . 47 ). If Jesus ’ speech was slurred or unclear or if some of the listeners were unfamiliar with Aramaic , they would not have understood the rest of his words . 27:48 It is uncertain whether this second offer of a drink was meant to assuage his thirst and keep him alive a little longer or dull his senses and hasten his death . 27:50 he gave up his spirit . He died . The phrase may also suggest his voluntary submission to his destiny . 27:51 curtain of the temple was torn . A small , localized earthquake ( v . 54 ) ensues , but it is strong enough to rip the curtain of the temple completely in two . God is preparing the way for the period of time in which he will relate to people without the various barriers in the temple that symbolized degrees of access to God . See Heb 10:19 – 22 . 27:52 – 53 The grammar in the Greek here does not suggest that anyone was raised before Jesus was ; the sentence spanning both verses includes both “ were raised to life ” ( v . 52 ) and “ came out of the tombs after Jesus ’ resurrection ” ( v . 53 ). Many mysteries remain : Who were these people ? Why did God select them to be raised along with Jesus ? To whom did they appear ? How long did they stay in “ the holy city ” ( i . e ., Jerusalem )? The text answers none of these questions . But it parallels Paul ’ s point that Jesus is the “ firstfruits ” of the resurrection of all people ( 1 Cor 15:20 ) and fulfills OT expectations that many people would be resurrected at the time of the day of the Lord ( Dan 12:2 ). 27:54 Son of God ! For a Roman centurion to call someone “ the Son of God ” may have meant Jesus was unjustly condemned and now deified upon his death . Matthew , however , recognizes testimony to the eternal and exclusive deity of Jesus . 27:55 Many women . Women played a significant role in the ministry of Jesus , in caring for his needs and those of his disciples ( see also Luke 8:1 – 3 ). 27:56 Mary Magdalene . See Luke 8:2 . James . “ James the younger ” ( Mark 15:40 ), probably the same as the apostle James son of Alphaeus ( see Matt 10:3 and note ), in which case his mother “ Mary ” is otherwise unknown . the mother of Zebedee ’ s sons . Salome , mother of the other apostle James and the apostle John . 27:57 – 61 Romans typically left the corpses of crucified people unburied for wild animals or birds to scavenge . Jews believed in burying everyone , however modestly . The new , rockhewn tomb and the devotion Joseph lavishes on the body give Jesus a very honorable burial ( vv . 59 – 60 ). 27:57 Joseph . From Arimathea and a prominent member of the Sanhedrin ( Mark 15:43 ),