Verse by Verse

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.

⁴⁶ 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?”

⁴⁷ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!”

⁴⁸ 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.

⁴⁹ The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

sixth hour (v.45) = noon

ninth hour (v.45) = 3 p.m.

darkness (v.45) — supernatural

In Matthew, Jesus’ cry (v.46) is partly in Hebrew (Eli = “My God”) and the rest in Aramaic. The words are a quote from Psalm 22:1.

These words mark the climax of the suffering of Christ for a lost world. Here He drank to the dregs the cup of sorrow, grief, and pain on our behalf. In these hours when the sun refused to shine upon suffering deity, Jesus found fitting expression to His feeling of desolation in the words of the Psalmist. Isaiah had given a vivid portrayal of the suffering Servant who was to be “wounded for our transgressions.” John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as “the Lamb of God that taketh away the collective sin of a world of sinners.” Christ gave Himself a “ransom for many.” Him who knew no sin God “made sin” for us. On the cross Christ became a “curse for us” and so redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are “redeemed by the precious blood of Christ” shed on Calvary. He gave Himself a “ransom for all.” The writers of the Gospels make it plain that Jesus “had a baptism to be baptized with” and a “cup to drink.” Paul and other writers of the epistles lay out clearly the same plan of redemption. Jesus had to pay the price alone and tasted death — spiritual death — for every man. Spiritual death is broken communion. Jesus had a taste of such a broken communion, the first and last He ever experienced — in those desolate hours when darkness lay upon the earth and upon His soul. That is the reason He used the words of distressed astonishment: Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani (Hebrew) — “My God, My God, to what end or purpose hast Thou forsaken Me?”

Christ’s cry, “Why have you forsaken me?” testified to the fact that He had here entered into spiritual death — separation from God as the sinner’s Substitute. His physical death would soon follow as He fully tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9) — Pentecost, pages 485-486

35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.

37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.

39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads

40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,

42 “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.

43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

cast lots (v.35) — prophesied in Psalm 22:18

kept watch (v.36) — stood guard

A board on which the crime of the condemned was written was generally carried before the criminal, who was led forth to the place of execution through the crowded streets. This custom was most likely followed with our Lord. Pilate himself had the superscription drawn up and it was written in three languages: Latin, Greek and the Aramaean dialect of Hebrew. The one here in Matthew was undoubtedly the Latin inscription, while the fullest, as reported by John “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” was written in Arameaen and the one in Mark “The King of the Jews” is the Greek inscription. Pilate could not help himself, he had to write as he did, though he may have had the thought in mind to avenge himself and to mock the Jews. — Gaebelein, pages 597-598

two robbers (v.38) — prophesied in Isaiah 53:12

wagging their heads (v.39) — prophesied in Psalm 22:7-8

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.

28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.

31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.

33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull,

34 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

Praetorium (v.27) — the soldiers’ quarters

The scarlet robe, crown and reed (vs. 28-29) were to mock His claims to be a king.

struck Him (v.30) — So His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men (Isaiah 52:14).

Cyrene (v.32) — A Roman province in North Africa, home to many Jews

Golgotha (v.33) — Aramaic for “skull” — equivalent to the Latin calvaria, Calvary

It was probably about two-and-a-half hours from when Jesus first appeared before Pilate until He arrived at Golgotha (6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.).

sour wine mingled with gall (34) — prophesied in Psalm 69:21 — given to prisoners as an anesthetic to reduce suffering. Jesus refused it.

15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.

16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.

19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”

20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”

22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”

23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Barabbas (v.16) = son of Abba, son of the father — We know from Mark 15:7 and John 18:40 that Barabbas was a thief and a murderer who had been involved in a rebellion of some sort. A few manuscripts give him the name “Jesus Barabbas.” It’s possible he had portrayed himself as the messiah.

envy (v.18) — Pilate knew the priests were jealous of Jesus because of His popularity with the people, so he appealed to the people to have Him released. But the priests convinced the people to call for His crucifixion.

Although Pilate was, in a sense, a victim of circumstances because he knew his career would probably be over if he acted on his, and his wife’s conviction, he was also a coward who, in the end, not only gave Jesus over to die, but had him scourged (perhaps in a last-ditch effort to appease the crowd with a lesser punishment for Jesus than death).

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.

¹³ Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”

¹⁴ But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Jesus’ appearance before Pilate is also in Mark 15:1-2; Luke 23:1-5 and John 18:28-38.

The other gospels, in their description of the trial before Pilate, include some details not given by Matthew. Pilate, after a preliminary hearing of the case and on learning that Jesus was of Galilee, as a friendly gesture, sent Him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time. Herod, after encountering complete silence from Jesus, sent Him back to Pilate to be judge. Jesus had three Roman trials, first before Pilate, then before Herod, and then again before Pilate. Matthew, Mark and John combine the two trials before Pilate.

According to Luke 23:1-2, the trial began with various accusations being leveled against Jesus, including that He perverted the nation, forbade to give tribute to Caesar and claimed that He was a king. It is at this point that Matthew begins his record because of the special interest in the gospel of Matthew in Jesus Christ as King. — Walvoord, page 228.

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The Roman governor had absolute legal authority to deal with non-citizens, such as Christ, and to prescribe the death penalty, without fear of having his authority challenged. Several observations may be made concerning Pilate and the legality of the trial of Christ. First, since Pilate was governor of Judea, and this was to be a capital offense, he was the proper person to conduct the trial of Christ. Second, he was quite correct in initially declining to hear the case, since the first charge was so vague (see John 18:30). Third he acted in accordance with Roman law when there was an indictment for treason leveled against Christ (Luke 23:1), and he questioned Christ privately concerning this matter, deciding He was innocent. At this point Pilate had the legal authority to release Christ, but he did not. — Pentecost, page 467.

Pilate was in a tough spot. He apparently found Jesus to be guiltless and wanted nothing to do with the trial. But he had been in repeated difficulties with the Jews because of rulings he had made in the past, and his superiors in Rome weren’t happy with the state of unrest. If Pilate had acted on his inclination and foiled the plot of the Jews, things would have been upset again and he may well have been recalled to Rome. This doesn’t excuse his behavior, but it does help explain it.

1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.

2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.”

7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced,

10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

plotted (v.1) — Also found in Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1 and John 18:28.

Pontius Pilate (v.2) — The Roman procurator of Judea from A.D. 26-37 under the Prefect of Syria. He was based in Caesarea but was in Jerusalem at this time for the Passover festival in case of trouble.

repented (v.3) = regret, remorse — not the same word as the usual one meaning “change of mind”

temple (v.5) = sanctuary — the entrance to the holy place

The death of Judas (v.5) is also mentioned in Acts 1:18-19.

potter’s field (v.7) — a piece of waste land from which the clay has been removed for use by a potter.

Jeremiah (v.9) — Matthew seems to be referring to Zechariah 11:12-13. Jeremiah does mention a potter’s field in Jeremiah 32:6-9 and a potter in Jeremiah 18:1-4 and 19:1-3, but none of these passages come close to Matthew’s quote. So why did he attribute this to Jeremiah? I’m not sure. Some commentaries say Matthew was combining both prophecies and gave credit to the more prominent prophet. Others say the quote was in a scroll that began with the prophecies of Jeremiah and included Zechariah. One says that Matthew was referring to a prophecy by Jeremiah that wasn’t included in his written book. I don’t have an answer at this point.

The words “the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced” are to be understood as a parenthesis. A similar explanatory parenthesis, had the price been twenty pieces of silver instead of thirty, might have been thus interjected: “And they took the twenty pieces of silver (the price of him whom his brethren sold into Egypt) and they gave them” etc; Or, the verse might read: “They took the thirty pieces of silver (the price given in Israel for an injured servant”) and they gave them,” etc. — Williams, page 728

⁶⁹ Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷² But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

⁷³ And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”

⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

This account also appears in Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27.

courtyard (v.69) — in the palace courtyard. The trials before Annas and Caiaphas were in the buildings that surrounded it.

gateway (v.71) — the passageway from the courtyard into the street

The palace or court of the high priest no doubt was constructed in the usual way. A gated porch admitted to a central courtyard on one side of which was the palace of Annas, and on the other side the palace of Caiaphas. Opposite the porch a raised columned pavement formed an audience chamber. Here Christ would stand as a prisoner before the high priest, and thus Peter was enabled to see Him and He to see Peter (Luke 22:1). — Williams, page 727.

your speech betrays you (v.73) — his Galilean accent

curse and swear (v.74) — perhaps profanity, or maybe calling down death upon himself if he were lying

Peter remembered (v.75) — The Lord turned (from where He was on the balcony) and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61).

The Lord’s look was probably not one of judgment but of sadness and love. When He warned Peter of his denials, He told him:

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).

Peter failed, but his faith did not. He sinned, but his salvation was never in question.

⁵⁶ But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

⁵⁷ And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death,

⁶⁰ but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward

⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”

⁶² And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

⁶⁶ What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands,

⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

Matthew doesn’t give an account of everything that occurred. See also Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 18. Jesus was taken before Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23) before He was taken before Caiaphas.

disciples forsook Him (v.56) — fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 26:31.

The false witnesses (v.61) misstated what Jesus had said almost three years earlier (John 2:19-21).

It is as you said (v.64) — the legal way of saying “yes”

nevertheless (v.64) — probably in response to Caiaphas’ unbelief

Jesus’ response (v.64) is from Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13. His reference to “coming on the clouds of heaven” may be a reference to His ascension to heaven to the place of power (see Daniel 7:13) or to His return. Or perhaps both.

By the laws of the Hebrew people it was illegal for the Sanhedrin to meet in the night to try a case such as this, but they arraigned Him in the night. It was illegal for the Sanhedrin to pass sentence on the day that the prisoner was arrested, but they did it in this case in a few hours.

It was distinctly ordered (Leviticus 21:10) that the high priest shall not rend his garments in the hour of sorrow or anguish. — Morgan, page 308.

By the act of tearing his robe, Caiaphas was, in effect, ending the Levitical priesthood for all time.

The regular place for the meeting of the Sanhedrin was in the temple, but they led Jesus away to the house of the high priest Caiaphas, situated in a palace just outside the present wall of the city, where all the chief priests and elders and scribes had been summoned to meet. Nor was the legal hour of meeting for trials in the night. Other features of illegality practiced in the trials of Jesus were: undue haste, seeking or bribing witnesses, neglecting to warn the witnesses solemnly before they should give evidence, forcing the accused to testify against Himself, judicial use of the prisoner’s confession, and failure to release the prisoner when there was failure of agreement between witnesses.

In such a case as this, it was required that witnesses be found who could support the accusations made against the accused. The Sanhedrin had been quickly called together to conduct this trial and had had no opportunity to prepare witnesses. thus, though many false witnesses bore testimony, the testimony bore no weight for it was not supported by two witnesses (Mark 14:56). — Pentecost, page 463.

Jesus refused to respond to the false and illegal testimony of the witnesses. Caiaphas than put Him under oath, and under oath, Christ responded.

⁴⁵ Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸ Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”

⁴⁹ Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

⁵¹ And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

⁵² But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

⁵⁴ How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

⁵⁵ In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.

This account is also found in Mark 14:43-50; Luke 22:47-53 and John 18:3-11.

There was probably an interval of time between verses 45-46.

multitude (v.47) — Roman soldiers with swords, Jewish temple guards with staves and perhaps a crowd of onlookers. They were probably afraid of His power and of the reaction of the crowd who so recently had been following and worshiping Him.

The arrest of Jesus was effected by the Sanhedrists though the temple police, accompanied by a part of the cohort of Roman soldiers from the tower of Antonia. This cohort of some five hundred soldiers was kept in the tower to quell any tumult among the people and act as an emergency police force. It is possible that these soldiers were granted [to] the Sanhedrists by Pilate, in order to effect the arrest without a tumult among the people. The arrangement of this matter would account for the delay in the coming of Judas and the armed force to Gethsemane until after midnight. The temple police were under direct orders as servant-officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. — Pentecost, pages 457-458.

Greetings, Rabbi (v.49) — “Oh, the joy! Rabbi!” as if happy to see Him, perhaps hoping to hide the evil of what he was doing

kissed (v.49) = the original uses the tense for “kissed again and again” or “kissed warmly and fervently”

friend (v.50) = companion (Not the word the Lord used for the disciples in John 15:13, which indicated endearment.) Jesus knew Judas’ heart, but He may have been issuing a final appeal to Judas to believe.

Why have you come? (v.50) — probably meaning “Do what you came to do.”

one of those (v.51) — Peter (John 18:10 — written after Peter was dead. This verse also reveals that the servant’s name was Malchus.)

sword (v.51) — The disciples had informed Him that they had two swords (Luke 22:36-38). These swords were the small ceremonial daggers with which the disciples had prepared the Passover lamb. Peter was one of the two who carried this small weapon. He drew it and then struck a blow to deliver Christ from the large band of soldiers. The Romans carried broad swords into battle. These swords were approximately a yard long and had a handle that could be grasped with two hands. The sword was raised high and brought down on the head of an adversary in order to crush that one’s skull. Peter evidently tried to use the small dagger as a large broad sword and attempted to crush the head of the nearest adversary but succeeded in only cutting off his right ear (John 18:10). Without doubt Peter expected to lay down his life for Christ’s sake that night. — Pentecost, page 458.

twelve legions (v.53) — A Roman legion contained 6,000 soldiers, so, 72,000 angels—but Jesus likely wasn’t referring to an exact number of angels, just a huge group.

Scriptures (v.54) — During the last day before His death and the first day after His resurrection, Jesus quoted Scripture 30 times.

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”

37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?

41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

This account also appears in Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46 and John 18:1.

Gethsemane (v.36) = olive press — a garden east of Jerusalem near or on the slopes of the Mount of Olives

sons of Zebedee (v.37) — James and John

See Psalm 20:1 and Hebrews 5:7-8.

Asking eight of the disciples to sit down, Jesus took Peter, James and John, and they went farther into the garden. These three, who seem to form the inner circle, had been with Him on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), had seen the girl raised at the house of Jairus (Matthew 9:18-25), and were apparently the three from whom Jesus could most expect sympathy and understanding in this hour. — Walvoord, page 216.

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deeply distressed (v.37) — Most probably it has come from one word that means “away from home.” He began to be sorrowful and away from home. It means more than that, of course; but that is the root idea, that of desolating loneliness. He began to enter into that consciousness of His absolute isolation. — Morgan, page 302.

watch (v.41) = keep watching

Christ’s prayer in the garden to have the cup pass from Him while at the same time submitting totally to the Father’s will has to be one of the most difficult to comprehend passages of Scripture. It certainly displays His total humanity while demonstrating His complete unity with the Father in deity. I don’t think it’s possible for us get to the bottom of what it means, but here are two attempts.

That a sinless Being should have any contact with sin (John 8:46); and further, should be loaded with sin (1 Peter 2:24); and, most dreadful of all, should be constituted sin (John 3:14 and 2 Corinthians 5:21), must have been unspeakable agony. Hebrews 5:7, and several of the Psalms, support the belief that the horror of being forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1) and cast into hell was so great that He could not, as a man, have endured it but for added angelic strength (Luke 22:43-44); yet was there no antagonism between His independent will and the will of the Father. — Williams, page 726.

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Adam’s penalty for sin was death. This included both physical and spiritual death. Men are born into the world spiritually dead and therefore are subject to physical death. If Christ was to provide salvation for sinners, He had to partake of death on their behalf (Hebrews 2:9). When He went to the cross, He vicariously bore both aspects of death for sinners. He endured spiritual death on the cross, that is, the separation of His soul from the Father. The evidence that He bore spiritual death is seen in His cry, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:45). Christ also experienced physical death (Matthew 27:50; John 19:33). Thus we see that Christ died both spiritually and physically because He died as the sinners’ substitute. The penalty that God had intended for sinners fell on God’s own Son. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God. This eternal separation is called “the second death” (Revelation 20:14). God would have been just if He had demanded that Christ, who tasted death for every man, be eternally separated from Himself. Christ prayed that God might accept His death as a full payment of the sin of sinners and bring Him out of death and restore Him to life again. Thus the prayer should be understood the be a prayer for restoration to physical life by resurrection, and a restoration to full fellowship with His Father out of the spiritual death into which He would enter. The evidence that God answered Christ’s prayer is seen, first, in the fact that Christ was raised from the dead on the third day and given a glorified body. Second, it is seen in the fact that on the fortieth day He ascended to the Father to be seated at His right hand in glory.

If it be objected that restoration to life and to fellowship or deliverance from physical and spiritual death meant that God exacted less of Christ in payment for sin than God would exact from the sinner, let it be noted that the life that Christ offered to the father was His own eternal kind of life. Therefore Christ made an eternal offering for sins even though that offering was accomplished in a few moments of time. This explanation seems to meet the demands of Hebrews 5:7, which states that His prayer was answered.

It did involve physical death, being made sin, being separated from the Father, and entering into the fullness of death, both physical and spiritual, for us. While we cannot comprehend all that was entailed, we can take note of the unquestioned and implicit obedience of the Son, who said three times to His Father, “Not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Because of this, Paul could say He “became obedient to death — even death on a cross! — Pentecost, pages 455-456.

What we can be sure of is that Christ was not asking to be excused from the cross. That would be counter to His entire ministry. But that He was dreading His exposure to sin and His separation from the Father takes nothing away from His willingness to endure it.