Matthew 27:32-66

32Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

33And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, 34they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

35When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.1 36And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.

37Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:

THIS IS JESUS,

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38Two robbers2 were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left.

39And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

41In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, 42“He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him.3 For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

44In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour4 darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,5 lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”6

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.” 48One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine,7 put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.8

49But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”9

50When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. 51At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

55And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

62The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. 63“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

65“You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.