The last sections of Matthew 27 link up with Matthew 28 to form a chiastic closure to the gospel: A. Jesus’ burial, 27:55-61 (itself a chiasm, as I showed in a post last week) B. Jews request a guard on the tomb to avoid deception, 27:62-66 C. Jesus rises from the dead, 28:1-10 B’. Jews . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Along with Paul (1 Corinthians 15:4), we confess Jesus’ burial as an essential part of the gospel. What does the burial of Jesus add to His death and resurrection? THE TEXT “And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from . . . . Continue Reading »
Ezekiel stands in a valley of bones and prophesies. There’s a great noise, and a rattling of bones (called a seismos by the LXX, an “earthquake”). Soon an army is before him, but without breath ( pneuma ). So Ezekiel prophesies again and the wind ( pneuma ) stirs . . . . Continue Reading »
The Jews mock Jesus for saying that He could destroy the temple in three days. In fact, it hardly takes Him that long. Three hours is enough. Darkness falls, and three hours later Jesus speaks twice in a thunderous voice, and the veil of the temple tears. That’s the end of . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s a stretch, but: Matthew uses the word pneuma 19 times, and uses the word with reference to the Holy Spirit 12 times (1:18, 20; 3:11, 16; 4:1; 10:20; 12:18, 28, 31, 32; 22:43; 28:19). That’s neat: A twelvefold Spirit for the twelve tribes of Israel. But then there’s the . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus cries out with a loud voice, and some say He calls for Elijah. He cries out again with a loud voice (Matthew 27:50, and then Jesus gives up, or sends away, His spirit (Greek apheken to pneuma ). So too Elijah: At his sacrificial ascent in fire, he gives up his spirit to Elisha, as the Spirit . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus cries out using the words of Psalm 22, and the people standing at the foot of the cross say He’s calling for Elijah. Why? They must be Jews, since they immediately associate “Eli” with “Elijah.” But if they are Jews, why don’t they . . . . Continue Reading »
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” Jesus cries on the cross. He’s crying out for Elijah, someone says. But the Greek eli is exactly the name of another Old Testament figure, the High Priest Eli, priest during the childhood of Samuel (1 Samuel 1-4). That allusion works: Eli . . . . Continue Reading »
A couple of disconnected notes on Matthew 27. First, the death of Jesus responds to the mockery of passers-by and Jewish leaders. The passers-by mock Jesus for His claim to be able to destroy and rebuild the temple (v. 40), but at the death of Jesus the temple is essentially immobilized when . . . . Continue Reading »
Further thoughts on the structures of Matthew 27, focusing on verses 45-66. Verses 45-54 can be seen either as a panel structure or as two chiasms. In the panel structure, each panel begins with Jesus crying out in a loud voice: A. Jesus’ “cry of dereliction,” v 46 B. Reaction of . . . . Continue Reading »
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