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At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. At about three o'clock Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”. This means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The people thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah and waited to see if he would rescue Jesus.

Jesus then gave a loud cry and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, the graves broke open, and many of God's people who had died were raised to life.

When the soldiers saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and helped him.

Understanding the text

Jesus was on the cross from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. In Jesus’ day the first hour was 6am, so this means he was on the cross from 12 noon to 3pm.

Matthew records that during this time “darkness came over all the land”. This darkness may have had a natural cause, but it is most likely symbolic - the crucifixion of God’s son is one of the darkest times in history. In the Old Testament darkness was a sign of God’s judgement, and one of the ten plagues that God sent to Egypt was darkness that covered the land for three days. The prophet Amos also spoke of God’s judgement and that darkness would fall in the middle of the day.

As he was dying, Jesus cried out in his spoken language of Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This translates as “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was quoting from Psalm 22 and it sounds as if he is in despair and feeling totally abandoned, even by God. However, the psalm ends in triumph, acknowledging God as king. When Jesus cried out for a final time, he knew that he had done God’s will and that his life was ending in triumph.

Some people misheard Jesus and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. There was the belief that Elijah would come and help a person in trouble.

Matthew records that when Jesus died there were a number of strange events, which may have been symbolic:

1. “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” – The temple curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, where the Jews believed God dwelt. Only the high priest, once a year on the Day of Atonement, could ever go behind the curtain into God’s presence. On this day, the sins of the whole nation were forgiven, ready for the start of the new year. The destruction of the curtain symbolises that God is no longer to be thought of as living behind a curtain in the Jewish temple, accessible only through the high priest. With the death of Jesus, forgiveness of sins is now available to everyone. Ordinary men and women can now approach God directly.
2. “The earth shook and the rocks split” – This shows the power of God at work in the world (Matthew records that there was also an earthquake at the resurrection).
3. “The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life” – Jesus’ death is not the end because God has power over death and will raise Jesus to life. This eternal life is also promised to all people who have faith in Jesus.

Christians believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was no ordinary death. It can be compared to a sacrifice. Jesus was punished for all the things that sinful humanity has done wrong so they could receive forgiveness from God. In summary, Jesus died:

• to save humans from the consequences of sin
• because no-one else was willing or able to pay the price for the sin of the whole world
• to restore humans to a right relationship with God