Truly this was the Son of God!

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." And Jesus cried out yet again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

- Matthew 27:45-54

In yesterday's reading, we first read of Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to help Jesus carry His cross. They came to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull, and gave Jesus sour wine mixed with gall, which He refused to drink after tasting it. They crucified Him, and cast lots for His clothing, which fulfilled the prophecy: "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." The accusation was placed above Him: THIS IS JESUS - THE KING OF THE JEWS. He was crucified between two robbers. People came near the cross, mocking Him: "You who destroy the temple and built it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. My study bible quotes from the Old Testament: "It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the LORD -- neither day or night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light" (Zech. 14:6-7; see also Amos 8:9). The sixth hour is noon; the ninth is three o'clock in the afternoon.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" My study bible says here: "Jesus repeats a passage from Psalm 22, which corresponds exactly to the Crucifixion. Taken by itself, without any consideration of what follows, His cry of My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? could be interpreted as an expression of despair. Since He appropriated our nature, Jesus experiences true separation from God in His humanity, knowing suffering and distress, and yet He does not despair. He speaks these words in the name of humanity, to put an end to the alienation of man from God. For as God He is never forsaken by the Father. With this cry humanity is accepted and saved." I believe it's important to take the whole Psalm in context; it's worthwhile reading to understand the frame of reference from which Jesus prays.

Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." And Jesus cried out yet again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Again there is more mockery from the cross, and something more which we've already seen repeated at His trial: the confusion of Jesus' words. His words are interpreted according their own understanding, their malicious thinking. We need the full picture to understand what is happening here; and yet there will be those who did not know, but do understand. My study bible notes that "Yielded up His spirit shows His death was a voluntary separation of the soul from the body, yet both remain in a binding relationship with His divine nature."

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. My study bible has some important notes on this passage. It says, "The veil or curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man. Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people. Because His flesh, the true veil (Heb. 10:20), is dishonored, the figurative veil of the temple is torn in two. The rocks were split, because He is the 'spiritual Rock' (1 Cor. 10:4)." It adds: "The completeness and scope of the salvation won by Christ are signified in the resurrection of the saints, the righteous of the Old Testament. Considering this, no one ever need wonder whether the Old Testament saints are also saved. The holy city where the saints appeared is an icon of the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10; 12:22-23; 13:14; Rev. 3:12; 21:2-22:5)."

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" Again, it's worth quoting from my study bible: "The centurion, a Gentile, realizes Jesus has dominion over nature, and therefore acknowledges He is the Son of God -- something the Jews were unwilling to do. Tradition knows this soldier as St. Longinos."

In today's reading we have the odd contrast of those who do know -- that is, the ones who mock Jesus suggesting He's calling for Elijah, with those who don't know (the centurion and his soldiers). The ones who mock Jesus don't realize He's praying Psalm 22, and yet they know of the prophecy that Elijah would return. But life here is upside down and inside out, as we noted in yesterday's reading. The ones who know don't know, they proclaim Jesus blasphemer while they blaspheme and fail to recognize what is there, even the words from the Psalm. And yet, and yet, those who don't know recognize what is happening. It's a testament once again to the natural understanding born in human beings, waiting to receive the Christ, the Logos. The ones who crucified Him, knowing not what they do, now recognize something genuine about Him. In some sense, we see here reflected the idea of coming to God as a little child, with eyes open and ready to receive. It's not what they know: the Scriptures and the prophecies, but how they use what they know, the inner desires that reject the One who is sent. Jesus has preached over and over again against hypocrisy, a twisting of the inner life, being one thing on the outside and another within. Here, we see a twisting of what has been given by God. Without a purity of heart, all the Scriptures in the world, and all the knowledge we can retain, are only going to dig us in deeper, to reflect the inner life we don't "clean up." Jesus has said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Let us remember Jesus' words from the Beatitudes, and apply it to today's scene. Our Creator is on a Cross, He has been persecuted, mocked, blasphemed, tortured, and killed as a criminal. But what do we see here? How can we see what is truly here?