The Crucifixion

Savior and Teacher: A Study of Matthew - PART 8
Rev. John Lin
01 April 2012

Matthew 27: 45-56
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

47when some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."  48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge.  He filled it with wine and vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  49The rest said, "Now leave him alone.  Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split.  52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were gurading Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

55Many women were there, watching from a distance.  They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.  56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

REALITY OF JESUS'S DEATH
--Women were not held in high regard back then, yet they were the witnesses of his death, burial, and resurrection.
--They may have been still alive when the story started spreading in the gospels--living witnesses.

PASSION
--True passion involves suffering.
--Jesus screamed for God as he was forsaken by Him.
--Spiritual collapse.
--Temple was torn, so that the presence of God becomes availabale to us all through Jesus
--Jesus gave up his spirit to give us all a new life.
--Jesus was forsaken so we don't have to be.