Matthew 27:45-56
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Reflection
In the final moments of his life, Jesus cries out in anguish because God the Father turns away from his Son and forsakes him on the cross (Matt. 27:46). Christ is separated from his Father as he takes our sin upon himself and faces the fury of the wrath that we deserve (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:23).
The immediate result of Christ’s substitution on the cross was that the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Matt. 27:51), indicating that he had provided God’s people access to the very presence of God. The earthquake and other events surrounding Christ’s death were so dramatic that even the Roman centurion and his company confessed openly what the Jewish leadership had passionately denied: “Truly this was the Son of God” (v. 54).
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
12: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Reflection
We have already seen that the Corinthians are infatuated with attractive gifts and talents (1 Cor. 1:10–2:5), that they are out of touch with the Holy Spirit’s influence (2:6–3:4), and that they have a distorted view of what it means to be spiritually mature (6:12–7:5). The next three chapters reveal that their misunderstanding of spiritual matters also includes the topic of “spiritual gifts” (chs. 12–13).
Paul sets the tone for the discussion by explaining that the most fundamental work of the Holy Spirit is the heart-transformation that enables us to confess Jesus as Lord (12:3). The true mark of spiritually mature persons is that they see Christ as the glorious Lord and Savior of the world (cf. 2:6–13). In addition to the miracle of changing our hearts, the Holy Spirit gives gifts to Christ’s people to help the church grow into greater maturity. God has given a variety of gifts to the church, not for the sake of proving our spiritual status to others but for the sake of serving the common good of the church community (12:7). Paul will continue to explain how these gifts should be used throughout the next three chapters.
Psalm 22:1
22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Read the verse below (Psalm 22:1) and prayerfully consider the abandonment Jesus endured for you on the cross. Realize that your Savior spoke these words so that you will never have to say them. He suffered the rejection we deserve in order to secure the eternal embrace of our heavenly Father.