55: We do not know exactly how many women were there. The group of them, together or separately, had followed Christ for a while. They were all Galileans and they, likely sensing by his words that he would be leaving them shortly, wanted to minister to him until then. The substance of this ministry was likely the…
1: The angels of the individual churches were likely the ministers of each church. God does hold his leaders responsible for communicating his word to the congregation. All who have been entrusted with the word are responsible to spread it. He has written to us. This is for more purpose than just information. He has…
54: The events surrounding Jesus’ death had a great influence in the superstitious minds of the soldiers. Like Pilate, they came to the realization that this man was completely innocent. This is likely all that is meant by their exclamation. Being Romans, they likely thought he was a son of the Jewish God. The full significance of…
52-53: Only Matthew records this event. Matthew was very Jewish in his presentation of the gospel, which explains why he would report this incident. Such a resurrection would be a token of the coming harvest, which was required for the Feast of First-fruits. Jesus was of course, the First-fruits. But, this small group would be a…
51: The rending of the veil in the temple has obvious significance. Only God could have ripped this gigantic curtain, especially from top to bottom. It, as well as the attendant earthquake, shows us that the law had been fulfilled, and that the age of grace had begun. No more would people be asked to meet God…
47: Some of those who were observing at this point were apparently easily confused. Not hearing Jesus correctly, they assumed that ‘Eli’ was a reference to Elijah. The Jews thought that Elijah never died, and that he came to earth sometimes to help rabbis that were in trouble. They may have thought that this was what Jesus…
46: Three in the afternoon would have been the approximate time of the offering of the Passover sacrifice. Jesus words, following three hours of silence, come straight from the first verse of Psalm 22. Jesus responded to the judgement of God with scripture.It was during these three hours of darkness and silence that he seems to have suffered the…
45: From noon to 3 in the afternoon that entire region was covered in darkness. It is not clear how large of a region was darkened. However, two things must be noted about this darkness. First, the time of year at which it happened cannot have been the time for an eclipse of the sun by…
43: The parallel between this statement of the Jewish leaders and Psalm 22:8 is uncanny. It only makes sense that the self-righteous Jews would say something like this. They would have no trouble saying something so close to what was found in Psalm 22, even if they realized the similarities. Orthodox Jews even today will do…
39: Apparently there was some easily accessible roadway near the crucifixion site. Some may have simply passed by, while others came specifically for the purpose of seeing him. The reviling was blasphemy. They were mocking his claims to be the Messiah. Wagging the head here refers to mocking someone.40: This verse records the words of the common…