Daily Devotional For Saturday, March 21, 2026
Good day Southside! Our daily devotional for day comes from Matthew 27:45-56:
“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.’ (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. (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!’ (55) And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for Him were watching from a distance. (56) Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.” (NLT).
It seems that Jesus was crucified sometime mid-morning on Good Friday. From noon to around 3:00 PM., darkness fell upon the earth. So do not miss this. Even nature was grieved in the death of Jesus on the cross. This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Luke 19:40. Darkness here symbolizes the great evil accomplished and the demonic powers at hand. This brings to us the prophecy of Joel in Joel 2:10, Exodus 10:2, and Amos 8:9. Astronomers who have studied this state said there was a solar eclipse in 33 AD, but this would not have caused complete and total darkness. In verse 46, Jesus cries out with what scholars call one of the last seven words by Jesus from the cross. You can read the other ones in Luke 23:34, Luke 23:42-43, John 19:26-28, John 19:30 and Luke 23:46.
To Matthew, of all these 7 last words, it seems the one in verse 46 was the most important to him because he shares it to us in the Aramaic Jesus used and gives the translation of it in Greek for those who do not Aramaic. This last word by Jesus is a quote from Psalm 22:1. This statement by Jesus raises all kinds of theological questions pertaining to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. New Testament scholar Craig Bloombert writes this:
“Yet shortly before he dies, he apparently senses an abrupt loss of the communion with the Father which had proved so intimate and significant throughout his life. Not surprisingly, then, Christian theology developed the belief that at this moment Christ bore the sins of all humanity, spiritually separating him from his Heavenly Father” (Source: Craig Bloomberg, Broadman and Holman, “Matthew,” Vol. 22, p. 419).
We are not told why but some standing by or passing by assumed Jesus was calling out to the prophet Elijah. Sensing Jesus is not delusional due to pain even though He is offered a narcotic to ease His pain. But the crowd, wanting Jesus to suffer, told this person to stop for them all to see if Elijah would appear. Then Jesus chose at that moment for His physical body to die. Again this proves that even in His death, Jesus was in control – not Rome, not Pilate, not the Jewish religious leaders and not the Jewish people.
Once Jesus physically dies, nature screams. An earthquake occurred splitting rocks and shifting tectonic plates. The curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This was no easy task. This curtain was about 60 feet in length and 3-4 inches thick. This symbolized that no longer did people need a priest as an intermediary to come to God. Then something shocking happened. As the earth shook, bodies of godly dead people came out fully alive and fully restored physically. Matthew is the only one of the four Gospels that tells this story.
These acts would reflect that God’s judgment had come and a new era of salvation had begun. The Apostle Paul seems to refer to the tearing of the curtain in Ephesians 2:14. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, refers to this happening as well (see Josephus, The Works of Flavius Josephus, “Wars VI,” vs. 3-4). In verse 54, some scholars have tried to explain the significance of the Roman Centurion and other Roman soldiers’ confession. New Testament scholar Leon Morris states that literally the text states, “He was a good man, and quite right in calling God his Father” (Source: Leon Morris, The Gospel According To St. Luke, p. 539). Yet, Matthew adds fear and terror to the voices and comments by these Roman soldiers, indicating an affirmation of the deity of Jesus as the Son of God.
With all the disciples having fled, Matthew lists who was at the cross. In addition to the physical pain of crucifixion on the cross, Jesus for the first time experienced all the sins of all humanity past, present and future. This was the worst torture – “He who knew no sin became sin for us.” Of all who have lived, Jesus is the only one who deserved rescue, not torture. Instead of fellowship, He experienced isolation from God the Father.
It seems in the crowd, some saw Him as a liar who deserved what He was getting. Others saw Him as delusional and worthy of some pity (the narcotic). Most stood there and scoffed and mocked Him. In the first century, graves were mostly in hillsides. When someone died, their body was placed in a tomb and prepared for decomposition. Once totally decomposed, their bones were collected and placed in an ossuary with the bones of family members.
With these godly dead Jews being brought back to life, we are left with several unanswered questions. Who were they? Why were they raised from the dead? What did they do afterwards? Who knew them and saw them? Did this create panic in Jerusalem with so many dead people walking around fully restored? We do not know. The Bible does not answer these questions. The reason I believe Matthew is that their “resurrection” is mentioned in the same sentence with Jesus’ Resurrection. If we take Matthew’s account as myth, then we have to take as myth the Resurrection of Jesus. Some scholars think these were some of the prophets from the Old Testament who had died, who were brought back. Some scholars think these people were those who had been impacted by Jesus during His ministry. But like Lazarus, they would have to die again. In the end, Jesus’ disciples fled from Jesus and the women fled to Jesus in His death.
Reflection Assignment: This passage is a sad commentary because of who fled from Jesus – His disciples, except for John. Ten of His closest friends left Him to die alone. One committed suicide. When are you most vulnerable and tempted to forsake the Lord? If your closest friends abandon you in your worst moment, how would you feel? If one of your friends committed some sin or crime, would you be there for them or distance yourself from them? Why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Hebrews 4:16, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, thank You that You will never abandon me nor forsake me. I pray, Lord that I will never forsake You. I pray that I will never forsake my closest friends nor them me. Thank You for bearing all the sins of the world past, present and future – especially mine. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly