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 darkness came over all the land . 46 About three in the af ter noon Jesus cried out in a loud voice , “ Eli , Eli , a lema sa bach tha ni ?” ( which means “ My God , my God , why have you for sak en me ?”). b
47
When some of those stand ing there heard this , they said , “ He ’ s call ing Eli jah .”
48
Im me di ate ly one of them ran and got a sponge . He filled it with wine vin egar , 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 spir it .
51
At that mo ment the cur tain of the tem ple was torn in two from top to bot tom . The earth shook , the rocks split 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 and ap peared to many peo ple .
54
When the cen tu ri on and those with him who were guard ing Jesus saw the earth quake and all that had hap pened , they were ter ri fied , and exclaimed , “ Sure ly he was the Son of God !”
55
Many wom en were there , watch ing from a dis tance . They had fol lowed Jesus from Gal i lee to care for his needs . 56 Among them were Mary Mag da lene , Mary the moth er of James and Joseph , d and the moth er of Zeb e dee ’ s sons .
MattheW 27:66 | 1591
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 Pilate , he asked for Jesus ’ body , and Pi late or dered that it be giv en to him . 59 Jo seph took the body , wrapped it in a clean lin en cloth , 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock . He rolled a big stone in front of the en trance to the tomb and went away . 61 Mary Mag da lene and the oth er Mary were sit ting there op po site the tomb .
The Guard at the Tomb
62
The next day , the one af ter Prep a ra tion Day , the chief priests and the Phar i sees went to Pi late .
63
“ Sir ,” they said , “ we re mem ber that while he was still alive that de ceiv er said , ‘ Af ter three days I will rise again .’ 64 So give the or der for the tomb to be made se cure un til the third day . Oth er wise , his dis ci ples may come and steal the body and tell the peo ple that he has been raised from the dead . This last de cep tion will be worse than the first .”
65
“ Take a guard ,” Pi late an swered . “ Go , make the tomb as se cure as you know how .” 66 So they went and made the tomb se cure by put ting a seal on the stone and post ing the guard .
a
46 Some manuscripts Eloi , Eloi b
46 Psalm 22:1 c
53 Or tombs , and after Jesus ’ resurrection they d
56 Greek
Joses , a variant of Joseph
27:45 darkness came over all the land Likely represents divine disfavor over the imminent death of the Messiah . The Greek text says the darkness lasted from the sixth hour to the ninth hour . The first hour of the day was 6 a . m ., so the period of darkness was noon to 3 p . m . Isaiah and Joel speak of the sun being darkened , often in connection with the day of Yahweh — an association made by Jesus in his teaching about apocalyptic signs ( see Mt 24:29 and note ; Isa 13:10 ; 34:4 ; Joel 2:10 ). 27:46 My God , my God , why have you forsaken me Jesus quotes the opening line of Ps 22 , which closely parallels the events of Jesus ’ suffering and death ( see note on 22:1 ). 27:47 He ’ s calling Elijah Jesus ’ cry ( in Aramaic ) sounds like the name of the prophet . 27:48 filled it with wine vinegar To dull the pain or quench the thirst ( Ps 69:21 ). 27:50 gave up his spirit An idiom meaning “ died .” 27:51 curtain of the temple was torn Perhaps symbolizing unrestricted access to God — no longer mediated by the temple and its sacred space ( see note on Mk 15:38 ; compare Ex 26:31 – 35 ; Heb 6:19 – 20 ; 10:20 ). from top to bottom The direction of the tear — along with the passive verb — implies an act of God . 27:52 the tombs broke open This detail is unique to Matthew . Although the tombs open at Jesus ’ death , the raised saints do not emerge until his resurrection ( Mt 27:53 ). Matthew appears to be emphasizing the significance of Jesus ’ death and resurrection as the dawn of the final era of humanity , which is marked by resurrection — God ’ s power over death itself ( see Rev 20:4 – 6 ; compare 20:11 – 14 ). 27:56 Mary Magdalene According to Luke , Mary was a follower of Jesus from whom he had cast out seven demons ( Lk 8:2 ). Mary the mother of James and Joseph This could be Jesus ’ mother , his aunt or another Mary not mentioned elsewhere in the gospels ( compare Mk 6:3 ; 15:40 ; Jn 19:25 ). mother of Zebedee ’ s sons The mother of James and John , Jesus ’ disciples .
27:57 – 61 Joseph of Arimathea receives Jesus ’ body and provides a proper burial . The religious leaders place guards at the tomb to prevent Jesus ’ disciples from stealing his body .
27:57 rich man from Arimathea , named Joseph Arimathea was about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem . Compare Isa 53:9 and note . who had himself become a disciple of Jesus The other Gospels identify Joseph as a member of the Jewish ruling council , the Sanhedrin ( Mk 15:43 ; Lk 23:50 ; Jn 19:38 ). 27:58 asked for Jesus ’ body Without Joseph ’ s intervention , Jesus likely would have been buried with executed criminals or discarded on a trash heap . Under Jewish law , the corpse needed to be buried the same day or the land would be defiled ( Dt 21:22 – 23 ). 27:62 chief priests Prominent priests who were involved in Jewish religious government . Pharisees See note on Jn 1:24 . 27:63 After three days I will rise See Mt 16:21 ; 17:23 ; 20:19 . 27:66 by putting a seal on the stone Refers to pressing