THE DEATH OF JESUS

Passage: Matthew 27:45-66

Key verse: 46

NIV

The Death of Jesus(A)

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness(B) came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b](C)

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,(D) put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.(E)

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple(F) was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split(G) 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[c] went into the holy city(H) and appeared to many people.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding(I) Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”(J)

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.(K) 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,[d] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.(L)

The Burial of Jesus(M)

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb(N) that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’(O) 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body(P) and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 “Take a guard,”(Q) Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal(R) on the stone(S) and posting the guard.(T)

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 27:46 Some manuscripts Eloi, Eloi
  2. Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:1
  3. Matthew 27:53 Or tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they
  4. Matthew 27:56 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour[a] there was darkness over all the land[b] until the ninth hour.[c] 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus (A)cried out with a loud voice, saying, (B)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with (C)sour wine, and put it on a reed and (D)gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus (E)cried out again with a loud voice and (F)yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, (G)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And (H)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of (I)the saints (J)who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into (K)the holy city and appeared to many. 54 (L)When the centurion and those who were with him, (M)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, (N)“Truly this was the Son[d] of God!”

55 There were also (O)many women there, looking on (P)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, (Q)ministering to him, 56 among whom were (R)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and (S)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 (T)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and (U)laid it in his own new tomb, (V)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled (W)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and (X)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of (Y)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how (Z)that impostor said, while he was still alive, (AA)‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, (AB)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have (AC)a guard[e] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by (AD)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 27:45 That is, noon
  2. Matthew 27:45 Or earth
  3. Matthew 27:45 That is, 3 p.m.
  4. Matthew 27:54 Or a son
  5. Matthew 27:65 Or Take a guard
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Darkness came over the land for three hours before Jesus gave up his spirit. This signified God’s forsaking of his Son on the cross. God hid his face from his Son. Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Then Jesus cried out again and then gave up his spirit. The Jewish leadership and the Romans thought they had defeated Jesus. But this wasn’t the case! This was a momentous, global event. The whole earth shook, rocks split, tombs broke open, and many holy people were raised from the dead. All of this led one Roman solider to proclaim, “Surely this was the Son of God!” When we hear the story of Jesus’ death, this should also be our response.

A disciple of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, bravely went to Pilate and asked for his body in order to bury it. He prepared the body and put it into a new tomb. Two Marys were sitting across from the tomb, waiting and praying. Pilate put a seal over the tomb in case someone stole the body in order to claim he had been raised.

Prayer: Father, thank you so much for Jesus, who died on the cross for us.

One Word: Jesus died for us