Matthew 27:32-50

The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They saw a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. They came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) There the soldiers gave Jesus some wine mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they threw dice to divide his clothes between them. The soldiers stayed there to guard him. They put a sign above his head with the charge against him written on it: “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Two criminals were nailed to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left. People walked by and shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you really are the Son of God!” The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! People say he is the king of Israel. If he is the king, he should come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. He trusted God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And in the same way, the criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also insulted him. At noon the whole country became dark. The darkness continued for three hours. About three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?” Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.” Quickly, one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied the sponge to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.” Again Jesus cried out loudly and then died.