Matthew 27:45-66

For three hours, beginning at noon, a sudden and unexpected darkness came over the earth. And at three o’clock Jesus shouted with a mighty voice in Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, My God, why have you deserted me?” Some who were standing near the cross misunderstood and said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” One bystander ran and got a sponge, soaked it with sour wine, then put it on a stick and held it up for Jesus to drink. But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to rescue him.” Jesus passionately cried out, took his last breath, and gave up his spirit. At that moment the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth shook violently, rocks were violently split apart, and graves were opened. Then many of the holy ones who had died were brought back to life and came out of their graves. And after Jesus’ resurrection, they were seen by many people walking in Jerusalem. Now, when the Roman military officer and his soldiers witnessed what was happening and felt the powerful earthquake, they were extremely terrified. They said, “There is no doubt, this man was the Son of God!” Watching from a distance were many of the women who had followed him from Galilee and given him support. Among them were Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of Jacob and Joseph; and the mother of Jacob and John. At the end of the day, a wealthy man named Joseph, a follower of Jesus from the village of Ramah, approached Pilate and asked if he could take custody of the body of Jesus. So Pilate consented and ordered that the body be given to him. Then Joseph wrapped the body in a shroud of fine linen and placed it in his own unused tomb, which had only recently been cut into the rock. They rolled a large stone to seal the entrance of the tomb and left. Sitting across from the tomb were Mary Magdalene and the other Marys, watching all that took place. The next day, the day after Preparation Day for Passover, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. They said to him, “Our master, we remember that this imposter claimed that he would rise from the dead after three days. So please, order the tomb to be sealed until after the third day. Seal it so that his disciples can’t come and steal the corpse and tell people he rose from the dead. Then the last deception would be worse than the first!” “I will send soldiers to guard the tomb,” Pilate replied. “Go with them and make the tomb as secure as possible.” So they left and sealed the stone, and Pilate’s soldiers secured the tomb.