47. Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.”
48. Quickly, one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied the sponge to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it.
49. But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50. Again Jesus cried out loudly and then died.
51. When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks were broken.
52. The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death.
53. They came out of the graves. And after Jesus was raised from death, they went into the holy city, and many people saw them.
54. The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything that happened. They were very afraid and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55. Many women were standing away from the cross, watching. These were the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him.
56. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.
57. That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. He was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea.
58. He went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give Jesus’ body to him.