As Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we revisit the events of the day as recorded in Matthew 27:45-56.
For about three hours, there was darkness beginning at about noon and ending at around three o’clock.
Matthew also records Jesus calling out with a loud voice, ‘“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” which the people around misunderstood to mean that he was crying to Prophet Elijah for help.
It was at this point that someone filled a sponge with sour wine and held it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink it.
45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”
Later, Jesus breathed his last. When he did so, surprising things happened:
When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple split in two, beginning from the top to the bottom.
There was an earthquake which split rocks
The same earthquake caused the tombs to open
The bodies of godly people that had been buried resurrected
Some of the resurrected people were seen walking in the city of Jerusalem.
The resurrection of the dead signifies the power that Jesus has over death, and also means that death is not the end, further cementing the reality of eternal life.
“50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.”
When these events happened, even the Roman officer and the other soldiers could made a confession, thus:
“54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
You can read the handwritten Easter message of jailed Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and that of the Archbishop Here and There.
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