The Details Surrounding the Cross

And a prayer for our adoption.

The seven last words of Christ are mostly composed from Luke and John. Only one statement comes from Matthew & Mark and it’s in today’s passage - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But Matthew also tells us Jesus cried out with a loud shout before he died. Whether that shout contained discernible words or not, he doesn’t say.

It seems to emphasize the humanity of Christ in the moment. He was in pain. He died. He wasn’t faking.

There are other notable details here in Matthew:

• Some of the same soldiers who mocked him and crucified him - including the leader - the centurion - ended up calling Jesus the son of God. Remarkable - what made the turnaround?

• Other “holy” people were resurrected at the moment of his death?

• Matthew points out the women present, including the mother of James & John who was the one bold enough to ask Jesus that her sons would be his right and left hand leaders.

The details surrounding Jesus’ death throughout the gospels are numerous and not always coinciding. But they are generally momentous and rightfully so for such a powerful and earth-altering event.

Matthew 27:45-56

From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”

After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink.

But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”

Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died.

Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection they came out of their graves and went into the holy city where they appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.”

Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Prayer

God,

Today my family adopts a child of yours that has no biological origins anywhere close to us. I can think of little else today.

Weirdly, I’m firstly mindful of her mother at the moment. I wonder where she is. Is she safe? Is she even alive? Why was she stricken with such difficult mental unhealth? I pray for her, Lord. I confess that a significant part of me feels responsible for her despite our total lack of relationship and significantly different lives.

But I am so grateful for this opportunity and responsibility. What a beautiful human being this child is. Watching her grow for these first twenty months of her life has been a joy.

I pray for her future. Despite our differences in background, skin color, and several more things, help my wife and I do all that we can and should to raise her right. Help us learn from her, even as we teach her. Protect her and help us know the right things to do for her, which I presume will be quite different than the six biological children we’ve raised.

Continue to teach us about what adoption even is in light of the human family.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.

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Today, we welcome a little 20 month old into our family. Well, officially, at least. She’s been with us since she was ten days old and we’ve fostered her since. We are so thankful and covet your prayer as we do so.