Matthew 28

Matthew 28:1

The Crucifixion

That the Lord is perfect Man is shown by the fact that He almost collapses under the weight of the cross He has to carry to Calvary. His strength is dried up like a potsherd (Psalms 22:15). He is so weak, that He can hardly do it. The soldiers see that and want to prevent that He succumbs along the way. Simon of Cyrene has the honor – although he did not see it that way at the time, for he must be pressed to do so – to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus on his back.

When they have passed through the streets of Jerusalem and left the city, they arrive with their Prisoner at the place called Golgotha. This is the place of execution. Because of its shape or perhaps also because of the many executions that have taken place, it has been given the name “Place of a Skull”. A gruesome place, conceived by man to allow criminals to die a horrible death. But what a tremendous blessing has proceeded out of this terrible place through the death of the Savior.

Crucifixion causes indescribable pain. It is a torturing death. To alleviate the suffering to some extent, a kind of anesthetic, wine, mixed with gall, was given to drink. It is also given to the Lord to drink. After having tasted this medicine momentarily, He does not want to drink it, for He wants to taste death in all its fullness.

Matthew says nothing about the crucifixion itself. It must have been awful for the Lord to be laid on the wood and to be attached to the cross with nails through His hands and feet. Then the cross is erected and placed in a hole that has been dug for it. The soldiers who do that work would not have done it gently. The suffering of people in general and of this Man in particular does nothing to them.

After this terrible treatment they sit under the cross casting lots for His garments. Who would have worn His garments later? What they do to have fun is a fulfilment of the Scriptures (Psalms 22:18). God fulfils His Word to the letter, also in the evil of man. The soldiers guard Him to prevent His disciples from taking Him off the cross before He dies. Again such a foolish act in the light of God’s plan.

An inscription hangs above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The inscription is meant as a mockery and an accusation, but how true it is. He hangs on the cross because He is. Two more criminals are crucified with Him. Matthew expressly mentions that they are crucified to the right and left of Him, so that He hangs in the middle, as if He were the greatest criminal.

Matthew 28:2

The Crucifixion

That the Lord is perfect Man is shown by the fact that He almost collapses under the weight of the cross He has to carry to Calvary. His strength is dried up like a potsherd (Psalms 22:15). He is so weak, that He can hardly do it. The soldiers see that and want to prevent that He succumbs along the way. Simon of Cyrene has the honor – although he did not see it that way at the time, for he must be pressed to do so – to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus on his back.

When they have passed through the streets of Jerusalem and left the city, they arrive with their Prisoner at the place called Golgotha. This is the place of execution. Because of its shape or perhaps also because of the many executions that have taken place, it has been given the name “Place of a Skull”. A gruesome place, conceived by man to allow criminals to die a horrible death. But what a tremendous blessing has proceeded out of this terrible place through the death of the Savior.

Crucifixion causes indescribable pain. It is a torturing death. To alleviate the suffering to some extent, a kind of anesthetic, wine, mixed with gall, was given to drink. It is also given to the Lord to drink. After having tasted this medicine momentarily, He does not want to drink it, for He wants to taste death in all its fullness.

Matthew says nothing about the crucifixion itself. It must have been awful for the Lord to be laid on the wood and to be attached to the cross with nails through His hands and feet. Then the cross is erected and placed in a hole that has been dug for it. The soldiers who do that work would not have done it gently. The suffering of people in general and of this Man in particular does nothing to them.

After this terrible treatment they sit under the cross casting lots for His garments. Who would have worn His garments later? What they do to have fun is a fulfilment of the Scriptures (Psalms 22:18). God fulfils His Word to the letter, also in the evil of man. The soldiers guard Him to prevent His disciples from taking Him off the cross before He dies. Again such a foolish act in the light of God’s plan.

An inscription hangs above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” The inscription is meant as a mockery and an accusation, but how true it is. He hangs on the cross because He is. Two more criminals are crucified with Him. Matthew expressly mentions that they are crucified to the right and left of Him, so that He hangs in the middle, as if He were the greatest criminal.

Matthew 28:3

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:4

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:5

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:6

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:7

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:8

On the Cross

Even when He hangs on the cross, the slander continues. People, His people, despised Him. They pass Him by shaking their heads and slandering, underlining, as it were, the verdict being carried out upon Him. This is how they mocked Him Who had been such a blessing among them.

The content of their slander is a corruption of what He said about the temple of His body (John 2:19). How much dishonor the Lord is done today by changing His words, by interpreting them differently than He intended. It is my prayer that He will keep me from doing so.

The religious leaders of God’s people cannot stop with their mockery. In the euphoria of victory they call out to the Lord with fresh slander, while He hangs there in great pains and deep humiliation. In their mockery they pronounce a great truth. He has indeed saved others and He cannot save Himself. He can’t save Himself because His love for the lost doesn’t allow Him to do so. His obedience to His Father also commands Him to stay there. In their great hypocrisy, they add that they will believe when He comes down from the cross. As if they haven’t seen enough miracles to believe.

It is also true that He has trusted in God and still does and that He is God’s Son. They also challenge God to show that He is with Christ. But God is also silent and does not answer by killing all the murderers and opponents of His Son with lightning from heaven. However much appearances may contradict, God has the greatest pleasure in His Son, Who is there to carry out His will completely.

Even the murderers who have been crucified to the right and left of Christ and are also in agony, turn against Him.

Matthew 28:9

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:10

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:11

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:12

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:13

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:14

Forsaken by God

Everyone has turned against the Lord. Now the creation follows. There is three hours of darkness coming. Every outlook is taken away from Him. He hangs indescribable lonely between heaven and earth. The earth does not want Him and lifts Him up. Heaven now closes itself above Him as well.

The darkness is not just an abnormal natural phenomenon, because it is in the middle of the day. This particular darkness is also a sign of what happens in those three hours of darkness. In these hours there is also darkness in the soul of the Lord Jesus. He is burdened with the sins of all who have believed in Him since Adam and of those who will believe in Him until He has established the new heaven and the new earth. He is made sin, the source from which all sins have come forth (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus the holy God judges everything that has come into creation against His will in His only beloved Son. He did not spare Him (Romans 8:32).

At the end of those hours that are inscrutable for us, the cry sounds: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. We cannot fathom the profundity of this exclamation. Christ was always in perfect fellowship with His God. There has never been anything between Him and God. He was God’s Associate (Zechariah 13:7) and walked with Him in perfection. The Father has once and again testified of the pleasure He has in His Son (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

All the time the Lord Jesus has been on earth, He has given God full joy. He, the Son of God, has been the only Man Who has perfectly obeyed all commandments. And He has done so much more. The Son has also been obedient in everything the law does not require. At the same time, the Son not only does what God has asked for obediently, but He also does it out of complete love for the Father. It is His food to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34).

And this Son, Who has honored God in all things, is made sin by God. God repels Him from Himself as the most horrible object on earth. The sword of His righteousness awakens and strikes Him (Zechariah 13:7). After the three hours of darkness in which He was made sin and received God’s judgment on it, He expresses the magnitude and depth of His grief in the most striking way in His question: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

It is one of the few times that the Holy Spirit has rendered a statement of the Lord Jesus untranslated. He adds the translation for us. The fact that the Lord’s lamentation is reflected in the language in which He spoke deepens the feeling of His suffering. In the language of familiarity He expresses His deepest feelings about the rejection He is now undergoing. Everything that people have done to Him, He has tolerated quietly and silently. But now His God has forsaken Him. This is intolerable. God was always with Him. He feels to the depths of His soul that God has turned against Him.

He turns to God as His God. God has always been ‘My God’ for Him. The Lord says twice: “My God, My God”. It strengthens the lack of contact with His God. Then he asks why God forsook Him. This also results from His perfection. He also did the will of God in carrying our sins. At the same time God could not have any contact with Him. Sin always brings separation between man and God. That was true in the hours of darkness in full intensity for Christ. We know why God had to leave Him: it is because of our sins that separated us from God. He destroyed that separation by experiencing that separation for Himself. What grace!

Bystanders deliberately misinterpret His words. What He calls to God in His greatest need is mockingly interpreted as a call for Elijah. Then there is someone who does feel sorry for Him. Touched by what he sees and hears, this bystander wants to give him a drink to soothe his suffering. At the same time he thus fulfils the word from Psalms 69 (Psalms 69:21). God fulfils His Word in every detail and the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of it.

But His haters know no mercy. They stop the man who wants to give the Lord a drink and continue their mockery. They want to see if Elijah comes to save Him. They have gone through the darkness, but the frightening impressions of it have immediately disappeared when the darkness is gone. This is how many people react to situations of fear. It does not bring them to God, but they go forth in the same ungodliness because for them the situation has changed for the better.

Then the Lord calls again and for the last time with “a loud voice”. His ‘loud voice’ indicates that the strength of His spirit is unbroken. Then He yields up His spirit, which indicates that it is a conscious action, wanted by Him Himself. It completes His obedience. Until His death He does everything that is written about Him in the Scriptures. His death is supernatural and is accompanied by the supernatural signs described in the following verses.

Matthew 28:15

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).

Matthew 28:16

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).

Matthew 28:17

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).

Matthew 28:18

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).

Matthew 28:19

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).

Matthew 28:20

Effects of the Lord’s Death

The first consequence of Christ’s death is that the veil of the temple tears in two. The way to the sanctuary is now open (Hebrews 9:8). His death is the basis for approaching God. God, Who has always been hidden behind the veil, reveals Himself completely through the death of His Son. The whole Jewish system, the connections with God under this system, the priesthood, everything falls away with the tearing of the veil. The believer is in the presence of God, without a veil in between. The holy God and the believer who has been cleansed of his sins, have been brought together through the death of Christ. What took place in the temple as a symbol of what took place in heaven was not perceived by anyone. Faith may know this wonderful result.

The death of Christ also has consequences for material creation. The whole of creation comes into motion. His death there too will bring a great change (Hebrews 12:26-28). These signs are a forerunner of that.

There is a third consequence, a third sign. This concerns the fallen asleep saints. The work is completely finished and accepted by God. His resurrection has yet to take place, but the omens of it we see in the opening of the tombs and the revival of the bodies of many saints. It is the first proof that death has been conquered. For man, death has the last word. Through the death of Christ the power of death is broken and “life and immortality” is brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10).

The saints who have been raised by the death of Christ only come out of the tombs when He is risen. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). They are the first fruits of His victory and follow Him. As He appears to many (1 Corinthians 15:5-8), they appear to many.

A pagan centurion with those keeping guard over the Lord Jesus acknowledge, through what they have seen in Christ, that He is the Son of God. They confess their faith in Him (1 John 4:15).

Where men lack courage and dedication, we often see it in women, as here. The disciples have disappeared; the women are standing, even though from a distance, at the cross to see what is happening to their beloved Master. Three women are described in more detail. Two of them are called Mary. Two of them are reported to be mothers. With one, the name of the person to whom she is married is mentioned. These are all details that have to do with life on earth. The death of the Lord does not change the earthly circumstances. The relationships remain as they were. Mary Magdalene is the woman who loves Him dearly because He has freed her from seven demons (Luke 8:2).

Mary of Bethany is missing. She doesn’t have to be here. Just as she waited at home for the Lord when her brother Lazarus had died (John 11:20) because she knew Him, so she is at home now because she knows Him. She has already said goodbye to the Lord and she knows He will rise again (Matthew 26:6-7; 12). She knows Him through her relationship with Him, by sitting at His feet to listen to His word (Luke 10:39).