Jesus Christ Our
Passover
THE FOURTEENTH OF NISAN:
Part
Two
[Be sure to read Part One before proceeding.]
Luke 23: 43 should
read: ". . . Verily I say unto thee today, thou
shalt be with me in paradise." The placement of the comma AFTER today
makes all the difference between truth and error. That is the accuracy of God's
Word.
Now let's consider the
events that happened soon after this exchange of words between Jesus Christ and
the two malefactors.
Matthew
27: 38 -- Then [not
before then] were there two thieves [Greek:
duo lestai, two robbers] crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another [the
word another is "one"] on the left.
Mark 15:
27 and 28 -- And with him they crucify two thieves [duo lestai, two robbers];
the one on his right hand, and the other ["other" is
"one"] on his left.
And the
scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the
transgressors.
The King James Version
calls these two wrongdoers "thieves." Actually the Greek word lestai means "robber" as does the
Aramaic lstya. A robber was a
blatant criminal who might use violence. In contrast, a thief was one who used
stealth and who was not considered such a dangerous criminal. In Luke 23 we
read of "two malefactors" or evildoers. Here in Matthew 27 and Mark
15 we read of "two robbers." While every robber is a malefactor, an
evildoer, there are many malefactors who are not robbers. Now, the question we
must ask is: are the malefactors of Luke 23 identical with the robbers of
Matthew 27 and Mark 15? The answer is clearly no.
Luke 23: 32 explicitly
declared that the two malefactors were led out with Jesus and were crucified at
the same time as he. Also in Luke 23: 32 to 43 we saw that Jesus and the two
malefactors were led to Calvary and crucified before any of the following incidents occurred:
Jesus' garments were parted, he was reviled by the people, the superscription
was placed above his head, and he was jeered at by one of the malefactors.
In Matthew 27: 35 to 38
and Mark 15: 24 to 27, the two robbers are shown to have been brought after
Jesus was put up on the cross, after the parting of the garments, after the
guards sat to watch him, and after the placement of the superscription. Clearly
the two malefactors and the two robbers were not identical. Thus, in total,
four men were crucified with Jesus.
Matthew
27: 39 to 44 -- And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
And
saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Likewise
also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
He saved
others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe him.
He trusted
in God; let him [God] deliver him now, if he [God] will have him: for he [Jesus] said, I am the Son of God.
The
thieves [robbers] also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his
teeth [notice that both robbers reviled Jesus].
Mark 15: 29
to 32 -- And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and
saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
Save
thyself, and come down from the cross.
Likewise
also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved
others; himself he cannot save.
Let Christ
the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And
they ["they"
refers to the "robbers" of verse 27]
that were crucified with him reviled him.
In the Gospel of Luke
we learned that only one of the malefactors reviled Jesus; the other one became
a believer. Here in Matthew 27 and Mark 15 both robbers reviled Jesus. This is
more evidence that the two robbers were different from the two malefactors.
Concluding evidence is found in John 19: 18.
John 19:
18 -- Where [at
Golgotha] they crucified him [Jesus], and two other with
him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
This verse is not set
chronologically. The context emphasizes the place of the crucifixion. The word
"one" in John 19: 18 is omitted in every critical Greek text. It was added by translators simply
because they assumed only two were crucified with Christ. In adding the word
"one," they manufactured a discrepancy in God's Word. The phrase
"on either side" is, in the Greek, enteuthen kai enteuthen. It means "on this side and on that
side." In Revelation 22: 2, these same words are translated in the phrase
"on either side of the river." But here in John 19, the word duo,
two, tells how many were on each
side. Literally, from the Greek, John 19:18 reads, "Where him they
crucified, and with him others, two on this side and on that side, and Jesus in
the midst." This is a tremendous truth from God's Word.
To seal the accuracy of
John 19: 18, we should note the word "midst." Grammatically, one
person would be crucified "between" two; when more than two surround
a person, he is in the "midst" of them.
*** [At Ploubezere near
Lannion, in the Cotes-du-Nord, Brittany, there is a representation at an early
Christian shrine of Calvary with five crosses. Why would this old
shrine have been built this way if there had only been two crucified with
Jesus? The altar slab when consecrated in a Roman Catholic Church has five
crosses cut into it: one cross is in the center and one cross is in each of the
four corners. This has become a popular symbol known as "the Jerusalem
cross." Perhaps its origin may be traced to the four others
crucified with Jesus. See The Companion Bible, Appendix 164, pp. 187 to
188; Donald T. Kauffman, The Dictionary of Religious Terms (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott,
1967), p. 262; and Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1954, s.v. "Altar."]
While these five men
hung suspended on their crosses, observe how the religious leaders and those passing
by mocked Jesus as recorded in Matthew 27. Even when their enemy Jesus was a
beaten, dying man, they would not relent in their verbal pummeling of him. They
jeered at him, saying he should walk right off the cross if he were God's Son.
Little did they understand that it was Jesus' obedience to God that kept him
from doing just that.
Matthew
27: 45 -- Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the
ninth hour.
Mark 15:
33 -- And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land
until the ninth hour.
Luke 23:
44 and 45 -- And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all
the earth until the ninth hour.
And the
sun was darkened. . . .
As we reckon time, the
earth was dark from about noon to 3 PM.
Around the time of the ninth hour, about 3 PM, several things happened
that are very intriguing and spiritually significant. To see this we must look
at one of the least understood records in God's Word.
Matthew
27: 46 -- And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to
say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Mark 15:
34 -- And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi,
Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is,
being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
These two verses from
Matthew 27 and Mark 15, as translated in the King James Version, indicate a cry
of defeat and as such have misled well-meaning people for hundreds of years. By
this time Jesus had gone through nearly forty hours of interrogation, mockery,
beatings, and suffering, all without so much as murmuring one complaint. Yet
now it would appear that he, in a loud voice, accused God of deserting him.
That God forsook Jesus
has been explained by the rationale that Jesus became sin and God could not
tolerate sin; consequently, God left Jesus to die alone. This idea contradicts
every other pertinent scripture in the Word of God.
Matthew 27: 46, as well
as the same record in Mark 15: 34, should have caught our attention from the
beginning. Why did the translators leave those foreign words in the verse? This
deviation from normal translation procedures should have caused us to wonder
and question.
To see exactly what
God's Word does say, we need to do some background study. Look at the Gospel of
John where Jesus had spoken earlier to his apostles.
John 16:
32 -- Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because
the Father is with me.
In this statement,
Jesus was referring to the time of his crucifixion and of his death. Of that
time of suffering, Jesus said, "The Father is with me." Yet Matthew
27: 46 says, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
John 10: 30 testifies,
"I and my Father are
one." II Corinthians 5: 19 says, "To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself . . . . . ".
In purpose, God and Jesus Christ were totally united. John 8: 29 says Jesus
Christ always did those things that pleased God. Would a loving father forsake
an obedient son in an hour of need? God indeed was with Jesus Christ while he
was dying on the cross.
We read previously in
Matthew 26 what Jesus said at the time he was taken captive.
Matthew
26: 53 -- Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall
presently give me more than twelve legions [twelve legions equals 72,000] of angels?
A person has to be in
good standing with God to get that kind of assistance. Jesus' Father would have
given him over 72,000 angels. Jesus could have walked right out of the
situation should he have so desired. Why? Because "I and my Father are one," "the Father
is with me," "I do always the things that please him." If Jesus Christ
was always doing the Father's will, he must have been doing his Father's will
when he was dying upon the cross. Yet Matthew 27: 46 says, "Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?" This verse clearly contradicts the rest of God's Word.
So how do we make sense
of all this? First of all, the foreign words in verse 46 of Matthew 27 are not
Greek words, they are Aramaic. Jesus spoke Aramaic. These Aramaic words show up
in this particular scripture because the translators were not absolutely
certain about their meaning. When Jesus' words were translated into Greek, the
translators let the Aramaic words remain and then added what they thought the
Greek translation might be. Later the King James translators, when translating
from the Greek manuscripts, simply translated the Greek and left the Aramaic
words in the text.
Let's carefully study
Matthew 27: 46 to learn exactly what it says. According to all Aramaic sources,
the word lama is actually lmna. Lmna
is used as a declaration of "for this purpose" or
"for this reason." The root of sabachthani (or shbqthni ) is shbq. Shbq
means "to spare, to leave, to reserve, or to keep." The
word "reserved" found in Romans 11: 4 is, in the Aramaic, from the
root word shbq. Since this is a
quote from I Kings 19: 18, the word shaar in the Old Testament text is the Hebrew counterpart of the
Aramaic shbq in this case.
Romans 11:
4 -- But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved [shbq] to myself seven
thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
I Kings
19: 18 -- Yet I have left [Hebrew: shaar] me seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him.
Romans 11: 4 is a
quotation of I Kings 19: 18. The word "left" in I Kings 19: 18 is the
word "reserved" in Romans 11: 4, where it is taken from the Aramaic
word shbq. Shbq is translated "remaining" in
the following three scriptures.
II Kings
10: 11 -- So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in
Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he
left him none remaining [shbq].
Deuteronomy
3: 3 -- So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of
Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him
remaining [shbq].
Joshua 10:
33 -- Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him
and his people, until he had left him none remaining [shbq].
This, along with the
other scriptures revealing that God remained with Jesus, shows that shbq does not mean "to forsake" in
Matthew 27: 46. Rather it means "to reserve," "to spare,"
or "to leave remaining." Going back to Matthew 27, the time was
approaching the ninth hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, when Jesus spoke
from the cross. Hanging on the cross at that critical hour, Jesus came forth
with this utterance from the depth of his soul, "Eli, Eli, lmna
shbqthni? that is to say, My God, my
God, for this purpose I was spared" or "My God, my God, for this
purpose was I reserved. "
Soon after this, Jesus
uttered the words, "It is finished." What was finished? The work God
had laid before His Son. Jesus Christ had given his own life and paid the
price, he had borne his spiritual cross. He who knew no sin had become sin so
that you and I might become the righteousness of God in him.
II
Corinthians 5: 21 -- For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.
His sacrifice for us as
the Passover lamb was finished. The soldiers and accusers did not take his
life. It was not the nails driven through his hands that held him to the cross,
not the nails driven through his feet. He could have come off that cross at any
moment for he had over twelve legions of angels at his command. Do you know why
Jesus kept hanging on that cross? Jesus stayed on the cross for he so loved
that he gave his own life for man's redemption. Under these circumstances do
you think God would desert His only-begotten Son?
Suppose you had an only
son and right now your son was dying. Would you be reading this book on Jesus'
life or would you be with your son? The answer is obvious. You would be with
your son. And yet, your son has sinned; he has done things contrary to your
will. Still you would want to be with him. Do you think that God Almighty is
less caring for His Son than you are? Jesus Christ was God's only-begotten Son;
Jesus always did the Father's will. When he was dying upon the cross, whose
will was he doing? The Father's. Where do you think the Father was? With him.
When Jesus was dying
upon the cross, he did not cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
. . . but rather, "My God, my God, for this purpose was I spared, for this
purpose was I kept, for this purpose came I into the world, for this purpose
was I reserved."
Now we have an accurate
translation of Matthew 27: 46, one of the most commonly mistranslated verses of
scripture in the King James Version. Now, accurately translated, this verse
harmonizes with the other passages in the Word of God.
God stayed with His
Son. This was not only their triumphant
hour, but ours also, for it was at this point that Jesus Christ, the second
Adam, fulfilled the legal requirements for our redemption and salvation. This
was Jesus Christ's purpose for coming into the world. This was his cry of
triumph.
Evidently, this cry
caused as much confusion to the listeners there at the cross that day as it has
to readers since then.
Matthew
27: 47 -- Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said,
This man calleth for Elias.
Mark 15:
35 -- And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
These are very
informative verses if looked at with spiritual understanding. "Elias"
is the Greek rendering of "Elijah", one of the great prophets of the
Old Testament. In Malachi 4: 5, one of the last verses of the Old Testament,
God declared that He would send Elijah before "the great and dreadful day
of the Lord." God was here figuratively speaking of John the Baptist, as
Jesus so plainly showed his disciples.
Matthew
17: 10 to 13 -- And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes
that Elias must first come?
And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all
things.
But I say
unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto
him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Then the
disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
However, during the
four hundred or so years from the Prophet Malachi to Jesus Christ, many pagan
beliefs influenced Judaism. One of these beliefs was reincarnation. Thus, the
meaning of Malachi's prophecy had become corrupted and people began believing
that Elijah would be reincarnated and literally return. This concept is totally
contrary to God's Word which declares that the dead will remain dead until
Christ returns to resurrect them. Reincarnation is totally contradictory to
God's Truth. If you remember, some people even believed that Jesus Christ was
either Elijah or John the Baptist or another of the prophets reincarnated. That
is how doctrinally corrupt Judaism had become by the time of Jesus Christ.
Matthew
16: 13 and 14 -- When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked
his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they
said, Some say that thou art John
the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
In looking at Matthew
27: 46 and 47, we can now understand the confusion. When Jesus said,
"Eli," the onlookers thought he said the Aramaic word for Elijah.
They thought Jesus was calling for a reincarnated Elijah to come and rescue him
from the cross. Because of their corrupt religion, they misunderstood his words
and missed out on one of the greatest cries of all times.
Matthew
27: 48 and 49 -- And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge [Greek: spongos] , and filled it with
vinegar [cheap, sour wine in both Greek and Aramaic], and put it on
a reed, and gave him to drink.
The rest
said, Let be, let us see whether Elias [Elijah] will come to save
him.
Mark 15:
36 -- And one ran and filled a spunge [spongos]
full of vinegar [cheap, sour wine in
both Greek and Aramaic], and put it on
a reed, and gave him to drink, saying [Aramaic reads,
"they said"], Let alone; let us see whether Elias [Elijah]
will come to take him down.
This was the fourth
drink offered to Jesus Christ. The wine was a cheap, sour wine offered on a
sponge and stuck on the end of a reed. This was held up to Jesus. There is,
again, no indication that he accepted it. With the offering of this drink came
the comment, "Leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah will come and save
him." The jeering beholders were sure Jesus had called for Elijah.
Included among the
events occurring while Jesus was hanging on the cross, at a time not exactly
specified, are instructions Jesus gave to some people he dearly loved. This
information is given in John 19.
John 19:
25 to 27 -- Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus
therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith
unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith
he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took
her unto his own home [the word "home" is
incorrectly supplied].
Sometime during the
agonizing hours on the cross, Jesus looked and saw his mother standing close
by. Also standing by was the disciple whom he loved, perhaps Lazarus of
Bethany. Referring to this disciple, Jesus told his mother Mary, "Behold
thy son." Jesus was telling her, "I'm dying. From now on he will be
to you as a son." Then Jesus looked at the disciple whom he dearly loved
and said, "Behold thy mother." In other words, "You treat her as
your mother; see that she is well provided for." What a tender, loving
gesture by Jesus Christ at a time of intense pain. He was still concerned about
others and wanted to meet their needs.
Sometime after this,
very near his death, Jesus Christ expressed his desire for a drink with the
simple statement, "I thirst."
John 19:
28 to 30 -- After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,
that [so that] the scripture might be [was] fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Now there
was set a vessel full of vinegar [cheap,
wine]: and they filled a spunge [spongos]
with vinegar [cheap, sour wine], and put it [the wine] upon hyssop, and
put it to his mouth.
When Jesus
therefore had received [lambano]
the vinegar [cheap, sour wine]. . .
Psalms 69: 21 says,
". . . and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." He had already
been offered and refused four drinks. Now finally he requested a drink. The
context indicates that this request was made to his family and close friends
standing nearby. One of them responded and utilized hyssop to offer this fifth
drink to him. This use of hyssop is a throwback to the first Passover when the
children of Israel were to dip hyssop in the sacrificial blood and then use it
to sprinkle the blood across the doorposts and lintels of their houses.
According to Exodus 12: 3 and 4, that first Passover was to be observed by
individual families and close friends. Here at the sacrifice of the true and
final Passover lamb, hyssop, family, and friends are again involved.
Verse 29 of John 19 has
been misread to say the sponge was attached to the hyssop. That is very
doubtful because hyssop is not a firm stick that could support a sponge. They
filled the sponge with the wine and then used the sponge to squeeze the wine
onto the hyssop. The hyssop's thick, hairy leaves and branches can be made into
a bunch that holds moisture very well. Hyssop tied with a scarlet cord to a
cedar handle was used in purification ceremonies of the Old Testament.
Hyssop has long been
known for its value in healing and purifying. Besides Passover, hyssop was also
used in the Old Testament in the cleansing of a healed leper and of a house
delivered from plague and was to be used in the cleansing of anyone who had
been in contact with a dead body. Psalms 51: 7 says, "Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean . . . ." It was used by Moses in sprinkling
blood on the book of the covenant before all the people. Only this fifth drink
did Jesus request and accept.
It is interesting that,
Biblically speaking, the number five signifies grace. All of these details are
meaningful when we consider the words of John 19: 28.
John 19:
28 -- After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Immediately after
drinking, Jesus said, "It is finished."
Matthew
27: 50 -- Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice. . .
Mark 15:
37 -- And Jesus cried with a loud voice. . . .
Luke 23 :
46 -- And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice. . .
John 19:
30 -- . . . he said, It is finished. . . .
Of all the words from
the cross that are recorded, the words "It is finished" are the only
ones that could be the loud cry referred to above. Matthew, Mark, and Luke do
not say what the words were that he cried with a loud voice. But in all three
Gospels this cry is placed very close to his death. Knowing this, it is clear
that, if the words of this cry are recorded, they must be the words found in
John 19 at a time very close to his death. The only words that fit this timing
are the words, "It is finished." What was finished? The complete Passover
- once and for all. The perfect lamb of God known and prepared for since the
foundation of the world. He had come and finished the work he came to do.
Jesus Christ's first
recorded words as he was growing up included, "Know ye not that I must be
about my Father's business?" From the beginning to the end, his life was
committed to the work to which God had called him. This sense of calling is
demonstrated shortly before he took his disciples to the garden where he was
apprehended. Jesus Christ prayed to his heavenly Father, as recorded in the
seventeenth chapter of John.
John 17: 4
-- I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.
Finally, just before dying
on the cross, he declared with a loud cry that it was finished. He had
accomplished the business that God his Father had sent him to do. But these
words "It is finished" were not his final words.
Luke 23:
46 -- And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy
hands I commend
[give] my spirit. . . .
With these great words
Jesus Christ gave his spirit back to God and entrusted all to Him.
Luke 23:
46 -- . . . and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Matthew
27: 50 -- . . . yielded up the ghost.
Mark 15:
37 -- . . . and gave up the ghost.
John 19:
30 -- . . . and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The Son of God was
dead. The phrase "gave up the ghost" indicates that he willingly gave
up his life. No one took it from him; he laid it down. He did not die until the
time when all was fulfilled. But when all his work for the complete fulfillment
of God's righteous redemption of mankind was finished, he bowed his head and
died. He breathed his last breath of soul life and the spirit that God had put
upon him returned to God who had given it.
About forty hours after
his arrest, including prolonged periods of unspeakable physical and mental
torture, including six excruciating hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus Christ
gave up his life for you and for me. He died about the ninth hour, 3 PM, the
hour the Passover lamb was to be slain.
Matthew
27: 51 -- And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to
the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
Mark 15:
38 -- And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
Luke 23:
45 -- . . . and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. ***
***[Luke places the
rending of the veil just before Jesus' death. The others place it just
afterwards. The two events were virtually simultaneous. However, only one
detail can be recorded at a time, hence we have the variation in order.]
At the time of Jesus'
death, even the physical environment reverberated with the effects of that
death. The veil in the Temple, a very heavy linen curtain embroidered with spun
gold, was torn from top to bottom. This veil formed the entrance to the Holy of
Holies, the most sacred and the innermost part of the Temple. The Holy of
Holies represented the presence of God with Israel. Only once a year could
anyone enter it, and that was on the Day of Atonement when the high priest
alone, after a period of cleansing, would enter into it through the veil. Only
he could enter into God's presence. There he, as the representative of Israel,
would intercede with God for Israel. For this reason the veil represented the
separation between God and Israel. At the moment of Jesus Christ's death, this
separation was done away with. Ephesians teaches us that his death also
abolished the separation between the Gentiles and God.
Ephesians
2: 12 -- That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:
14 --For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us.
The tearing of the
Temple veil from top to bottom demonstrated that it was God's work in Christ
which abolished this separation between Israel and God. God had been in Jesus
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. Man could not work his way into
God's presence. So God was reaching down to man, giving free access of Himself
to man. Since the death of Jesus and the tearing of the Temple veil, every
believer has access to the presence of God.
Matthew
27: 54 -- Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus,
saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly,
saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Mark 15:
39 -- And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so
cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Luke 23:
47 and 48 -- Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God,
saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
And all
the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were
done, smote their breasts, and returned.
The earthquake was so
astounding that the Roman centurion in charge of the soldiers guarding the
crosses at Calvary was convinced by this that Jesus was in truth the Son of
God. There were four other men on crosses, yet the centurion said nothing of
them. Others nearby began beating their breasts, expressing great awe and
concern at Jesus’ death and the subsequent events.
End Of Part Two