Matthew 27:33–56

³³They all came to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. ³⁴The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with gall ⁿ to drink. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. ³⁵When the soldiers had crucified him, they threw lots to decide who would get his clothes. ^{n 36}The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. ³⁷They put a sign above Jesus’ head with a charge against him. It said: this is jesus, the king of the jews. ³⁸Two robbers were crucified beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. ³⁹People walked by and insulted Jesus and shook their heads, ⁴⁰saying, “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!”

⁴¹The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also making fun of Jesus. ⁴²They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He says he is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God, so let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴And in the same way, the robbers who were being crucified beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies

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

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

⁴⁸Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with vinegar and tied it to a stick and gave it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and died.

⁵¹Then the curtain in the Temple ⁿ was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. ⁵²The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from the dead. ⁵³They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from the dead and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When 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!”

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