Lived-out Parables of Jesus
Part 7
(Matthew 27:41-60)
By Jonathan Mitchell
41. In like manner also, the chief (or: ranking) priests with the scribes (scholars; theologians) and elders - repeatedly ridiculing and making fun - kept on saying,
42. "He saved (rescued; delivered; kept safe) other folks - he continues unable (he has no power) to save himself! He is a king (or: [the] king) of Israel! - let him climb down (descend) now from the execution stake (or: off the cross; away from the pole used for suspending corpses), and then we will proceed putting our trust upon him (or: shall be believing on him).
43. "'He has put his trust upon God! Let Him now guard him and drag (pull) him out of danger - if He wants him!' [Ps. 22:8a] You know he said, 'I am God's son.'"
44. So in the same way and about the same thing, the rebels (insurrectionists; or: robbers) - those being crucified on execution stakes together with Him - also began and kept on bringing verbal abuse and unjustifiable reproach.
Lu. 23:39-43 fills in more of this lived-out parable:
40. So the other [one], making a discerning reply proceeds adding a value judgment to him, affirming, "You yourself are not even now fearing God! For you are presently in the same result of judgment (effect of a decision)!
41. "... and we, indeed, rightly so (or: justly; fairly), for we are presently receiving back things that balance the scales corresponding to the things which we committed... yet this man committed nothing out of place (= improper)."
42. And then (D adds: turning to the Lord) he went on to say, "Jesus... remember me (other MSS add: O Lord,) whenever you may come into Your kingdom (other MSS: within Your reign; [D reads: in the day of Your coming and going])."
43. And so Jesus said to him, "Truly it is so (or: Count on it!)... I am now saying to you (or: laying it out for you; [D adds: Take courage])... Today (This very day) you will continue being (or: keep on existing) with Me... within the midst of (or: centered in; in the sphere of; in union with) Paradise (= in the Garden"
[note: used in the LXX for the Garden of Eden in Gen. 2:8])!
So, now what was the first speaker thinking, when he heard what Jesus said to the second speaker? Well, the first speaker would have also heard what Jesus had said in Lu. 23:34,
"O Father, let it flow away in them (or: send it away for them; forgive them), for they have not seen, so they do not know or perceive, what they are now doing" - or now, "saying" (vs. 39).
This calls to mind what Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery:
"You men at one point took counsel and had intended-determination down-against me, with a view to, and [leading] into the midst of misery-gushed, painful and laborious things
(or: disadvantageous situations; malicious circumstances).
However, God had taken counsel, and had intended determination, concerning me (around and encircling me) with a view to, and [leading] into the midst of GOOD things (situations which embody virtue and circumstances consisting of nobleness), in order that it would come to be (be birthed; be brought into existence) as today, and a numerous people would be fed, nourished, sustained, maintained, supported, reared, and would be caused to grow [Heb. text reads: to save alive (or: cause to live) much people]" (Gen. 50:20, LXX, JM).
45. Now from [the] sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (three in the afternoon) darkness (shadowy gloom; dimness) came to be (birthed itself) upon the entire Land (all the territory).
The scene, on this world stage, has changed; the sky has returned to how it was in Gen. 1:2. A new creation is approaching, where all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5; 2 Cor. 5:17). The Light of their world (Jn. 8:12) was about to go out, for three days.
In Isa. 50:1, Yahweh said of Israel,
"Behold, for your depravities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away."
Those were words of Yahweh's judgment upon His people. But then, in vs. 2, He said,
"Is My hand too short to ransom or redeem, or is there no vigor or power in Me to rescue and deliver?"
Next, vs. 3 proclaims,
"I shall clothe the heavens with blackness, and I will make sackcloth their covering."
Once again, dark times and mourning would soon be in Judea's history, but then, once again, He would call the Light from out of the midst of the darkness of Israel's grave. Day always follows night (Gen. 8:22b).
46. But about the ninth hour Jesus loudly called out (exclaimed; shouted) at the top of [His] voice (or: in a great voice), saying, "Eli! Eli! [other MSS: Eloi, Eloi!] Lema sabachthani! [note: George Lamsa translates the Peshitta (Aramaic Version) of these two words as: for this was I spared; or: this was my destiny] - This is it! O My God, My God, for this certain purpose You have left Me as a remnant, down within the midst!" [cf Ps. 22:1, LXX]
(or: "My God - O God - this exists being for a specific end and destiny that You leave Me fully in union with!"
or: "My God. O God, do You leave from down within the midst of Me so that this certain end exists?"
or: that is, "O My God, My God, to what end and for what purpose do You at once completely abandon Me centered in [this situation]?")
[note: Scholars consider this a quote of Ps. 22:1, where the last phrase is the identical Greek in the LXX. However, in the Hebrew, the word often translated "forsake" (azab) has these three meanings:
(1) to loose bands; to let go {a beast} from its bonds;
(2) to leave {a person; a place}; to leave {anyone; or: a place}; to desert;
(3) to leave off; to cease from {anything}]
Where there is ambiguity or lack of clarity in Scripture, it is best to just meditate, and listen. I have given four renderings of the Greek statement that Jesus is recorded as saying, each of which give Him as making a statement regarding God's purpose. Two I rendered as proclamations regarding His perception of His destiny; two I rendered as questions. The verb has a root meaning of "leave," but it is prefixed with two prepositions: en (within the midst; in union with; centered in), and kata (down; or, as an intensifier: fully; completely). These prepositions color and mold, or modify, the meaning of the root idea of the verb.
The first rendering speaks of Jesus as representing "the Remnant" of Israel, which had the purpose of saving Israel as a People. The second rendering Jesus' full realization that His destiny was for Him to be left to die "in union with" humanity.
The third reading,
"do You leave from down within the midst of Me,"
can show His realization of what He would do in vs. 50, below: dismiss the Spirit from within Him, and thus, die.
The fourth rendering may show Jesus as fully human, functioning as Israel, and as Adam, questioning God:
"to what end and for what purpose do You at once completely abandon Me centered in [this situation]?"
This is one of the deepest questions that humans have, when facing a hard situation, or the end of their life. Remember, we have the witness that Jesus was,
"put to the proof - in accord with all things (or: down with all humanity; corresponding to all people) [and] in corresponding likeness [to us] - apart from failure (mistake; error; sin; deviation; failing to hit the target)" (Heb. 4:15b).
47. Now certain (or: some) folks standing there, upon hearing [this], began saying, "This fellow is now summoning (or: calling out to, or for) Elijah!"
Thus, it is obvious that there was confusion among the folks standing by the cross, about what Jesus said.
48. So, set for success, immediately one of them, upon running and getting a sponge - and after filling it with "vinegar (or: sour wine)" and attaching [it] around a reed - "offered" Him "a drink." [Ps. 69:21]
49. But the rest of them said, "Hold off! We should see if Elijah is presently coming [and] will proceed to be saving (rescuing) him!"
This statement is a window into the worldview of at least some of the first century AD Judeans. Matthew has included this comment by the bystanders in order to color-in the background of this scene. Those who said this must have had at least some thought, or unconscious belief, that Jesus may actually be God's Son. These Judeans held a worldview that included "signs," and thus does the Gospel of John present quite a few that Jesus had shown to the people.
- Now later, another person, at one point taking a spear head, stabbed His side, so then water and blood came out -
[note: this last sentence is included in Aleph, B, C & others MSS, but omitted by A & other MSS, along with the Majority Text, Nestle-Aland, Tasker, Panin, Griesbach, & bracketed by WH]
We find another witness for this statement, in Jn. 19:34,
"but rather, one of the soldiers pierced (jabbed; punctured) His side through the rib cage with the head of a javelin (or: spear), and at once (straightway; immediately) blood and water came out (or: went straight out)."
50. Now Jesus, again at one point loudly crying out with a loud (or: great) voice (or: sound), dismissed the Spirit (or: lets the breath-effect flow away; divorced [His] spirit; lets [His] breath go; abandoned the Spirit; or: set aside and rejected this attitude).
Luke's version puts the splitting of the temple curtain (vs. 51, below) just before Jesus cried out, and in 23:46, he offers this as what Jesus said:
"Then Jesus, shouting with a loud voice, said, "O Father... into Your hands I am now setting aside My spirit (or: I proceed committing and depositing My Breath-effect and life-force)!" Now upon saying this, He out-spirited (or: breathed out; expired)."
Jesus may have been quoting Ps. 31:5,
"Into Your hand am I committing My spirit; You have ransomed (or: redeemed) Me, O Yahweh, God of faithfulness [LXX reads: God of the Truth and Reality]."
51. And then - look and consider! - the curtain of the inner sanctuary of the Temple [veil of the holy of holies] was torn and split from above unto below (= from top to bottom): into two - and the ground was caused to shake (or: the earth quaked) and rock masses were split.
Dan Kaplan has observed the detail that Matthew reports, concerning the direction of the tearing of the curtain:
"from above unto below."
This was the work of God, in the atmosphere above that temple. The idea that it was
"from top to bottom"
suggests that it started with the Head (Jesus) and moved down through His body (to us, the feet of His body). Recall Heb. 10:20, where it speaks of
"the veil that is His flesh."
We are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.
From the witness which we have in the Gospels, it is uncertain concerning the timing of the temple curtain being torn, and neither Mark nor Luke nor John mention the earthquake nor what Matthew gives in vss. 52-53...
52. Later, the memorial tombs (graves) were opened up, and many of the bodies of the set-apart (holy; sacred) People - of the folks who had fallen asleep and continued sleeping - were aroused (awakened) and raised up!
53. Then, upon going forth out of the memorial tombs - after His arousal and resurrection - they entered into the set-apart (holy) city and they were made visible in the midst of many people (or: were made to inwardly shine to many folks; or: were made to appear in association with many).
The tearing and the opening up (vss. 51-53) were signs. The Messiah, the Son of God, was being planted. Jesus' parable, in Jn. 12, was being fulfilled:
24. "Most assuredly (It is certainly true; Yes, indeed; Count on it; Amen, amen), I am saying to you folks [that] unless the grain of wheat (or: kernel of corn; = seed of an agricultural crop), upon falling into the earth (the ground; the field), should die, it by itself continues remaining alone. Yet if it should die, it proceeds to bear much fruit (= it produces a harvest of many grains, or, seeds)."
54. Now the centurion (a Roman commander who normally is in charge of one hundred soldiers) and those with him [who were] guarding and watching over Jesus, upon seeing the shaking (= earthquake) and the things occurring (happening; being birthed), were made extremely afraid, one to another saying, "Truly (or: Really; Certainly) this man was God's son." Cf Mk. 15:39
Luke records this concerning this centurion:
"upon seeing what was occurring, he began (or: kept on) glorifying God (continued giving a good opinion of God; began to enhance God's reputation; kept on experiencing impressions and observing imaginations about God) in saying, 'In reality and essential being, this man was innocent (or: just; righteous; in right relationship; fair; exemplary of the way pointed out; practiced equitable dealings; = upright)!'" (Lu. 23:47).
55. But in addition, many women were there, continuing in viewing and watching from a distance - those who followed Jesus from the Galilee [district], constantly giving attending service to, and materially providing for, Him -
56. among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jacob (or: James) and Joseph [other MSS: Joses] - as well as the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Mk. 15:40 adds the name, "Salome," and, in vs. 41 continues with this information:
"- those who had been following with (accompanying) Him and continued giving ministering service to Him when He was within the Galilee [district] - and many other women who had been walking up together with Him into Jerusalem."
This scene, at the end of the Passion Parable, has Jews and Gentiles, believers and non-believers, men and women, righteous and unrighteous - all gathered around, and present with, the death of Christ. Can you envision the setting of this closing Act of a lived-out play, and see what it is presenting to us?
Paul would later present this view of the Christ Event:
"Within [Him; us], there is not (there does not exist) Jew nor Greek (or: Hellenist); within, there is not (does not exist) slave nor freeman; within, there is not (does not exist) 'male and female'; for it follows that, you folks all exist being one within Christ Jesus (or: for you see, all you people are one person, centered in, and in union with, an Anointing from Jesus)" (Gal. 3:28).
57. Now with evening coming on, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself also was discipled (trained and instructed) by Jesus.
Mk. 15:43 says of this Joseph, describing him as:
"a prominent and reputable counselor (or: a member of the Council [the Sanhedrin]) who showed good form, who himself also was habitually focusing and progressively moving toward receiving God's reign (or: was constantly having a receptive, welcoming attitude toward the kingdom of God; was anticipating God's imperial rule) - demonstrating courage, entered within, [going] to Pilate..."
Lu. 23:51b adds:
"this man was not one having put [a vote] down together (= concurring; consenting) with their wish (will; intent; purpose) nor [was endorsing their] performance (= action; what they committed) - from Arimathea, a town (or: city) of the Judeans, who was habitually receiving, constantly embracing, and kept on giving welcomed admittance to God's reign, kingship, dominion, and sovereign influence-and-activities (or: the kingdom from God)."
58. This man, upon coming to Pilate, made a request for the body of Jesus. At that point Pilate gives orders for the body to be given over (transferred back; awarded) [to him].
59. And so, after taking the body, Joseph rolled and enwrapped it in clean fine linen,
60. then placed it within his new, unused memorial tomb which he had cut and quarried in the rock-mass. Next, after rolling a large stone to the door (entry) of the memorial tomb, he went away.
Kaplan points out the following: the "rock-mass" where Jesus was laid speaks to the stone tablets of the Law, which were given to Moses. Just as God said to Adam,
"Dust you are and unto dust you will return,"
in His death, Jesus was taking the Law (which, as the Anointed One, He represented) back to the rock-mass from which it was taken. Their Law had killed Jesus, and so it was buried with Him, within the "rock-mass." The "ark" of the covenant was a "coffin" (another meaning of the Hebrew word) into which the tablets of the Law were placed, and kept "buried" under the Mercy Seat. So Jesus was placed there, and He "rested" for three days and three nights. He had finished His work, and He rested - just as on the seventh day of creation God rested from all His work (Gen. 2:1-3).
Jn. 19 adds more, while identifying who it was that helped Joseph with Jesus' body:
36. for these things came to be (occurred; happened) so that the Scripture could be fulfilled,"A bone belonging to Him will not proceed in being worn down, crushed or broken," [Ps. 34:20; Ex. 12:46; Nu. 9:12]
37. and again, a different Scripture says, "They will proceed seeing, catching sight, and perceiving into Whom they deeply pierce forth (or: lance from out of a stabbing)." [Zech. 12:10]
38. Now after these things, Joseph from Arimathea - being a disciple of Jesus, yet being one having been hidden because of the fear of the Judeans (= religious Judean authorities) - made petition of Pilate, to the end that he could lift up and carry away the body of Jesus. And so Pilate turned upon [him] and gave permission. Therefore they [other MSS: he] came (or: went) and carried away His body.
39. Moreover, Nicodemus also came - the one coming to Him by night, at the first - bringing a mixture [other MSS: roll, or, package] of myrrh and aloes, roughly 75 to 100 pounds [of it].
40. They then took the body of Jesus and bound (or: tied) it in (or: with) swaths of linen bandages, along with spices and aromatic oils - according as is the custom for (or: with; among) the Jews (or: Judeans) to normally prepare [one] for burial.
41. Now within the area where He was crucified (suspended from a pole/stake) there was a garden, and within the garden an unused memorial tomb within which, as yet, no one had been placed.
42. Therefore, on account of the Preparation pertaining to the Jews' [Feast; festival; high sabbath], they placed Jesus there, because the memorial tomb was nearby.
We suggest that giving the identity of these folks, in this Epilogue of Jesus' Passion, has purpose. Not only are they given as being material witnesses of Jesus' death and burial (for historical purposes), but also, the name Joseph brings us all the way back to Gen. 50:24-26 where he told his brothers to take his bones with them, at the time of their Exodus from slavery in Egypt.
When he died, they embalmed him (correlating to Jn. 19:40, above), and put him in a burial chest. They "prepared" Jesus for burial, in correspondence to the Day of Preparation (Mk. 15:2). We learn from Jn. 19:31, that this Day was the time of Preparation for a Jewish Feast, not just for a weekly sabbath:
"so that the bodies would not remain upon the cross (torture stake; upright suspension pole) on (or: within) the sabbath, for the day of THAT sabbath was a great one."
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