One of the voyages taken by the Dawn Treader, a sailing ship in the third tale of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia children’s series, takes its crew to a Dark Island. Initially those on board thought that the island was “a great dark mountain rising out of the sea.” But listen to the description of the ship’s approach to the “dark mass” towards which the Dawn Treader steered:
About nine that morning, very suddenly, it was so close that they could see that it was not land at all, nor even, in an ordinary sense, a mist. It was a Darkness…. For a few feet in front of their bows they could see the swell of the bright greenish-blue water. Beyond that, you could see the water looking pale and grey as it would look late in the evening. But beyond that again, utter blackness as if they had come to the edge of moonless and starless night.[1]
Such an “utter blackness” like a “moonless and starless night” is an apt description of the next plague that Pharaoh and the Egyptians over whom he ruled were subjected after Pharaoh once again neglected to allow the people of the Israelites go and worship their LORD.
As stated in verse 21 of Exodus 10, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’” As some of the previous plagues displayed how much greater the LORD is than the gods revered by the Egyptians,[2] such a connection may also be present here. As one commentator observes, “The Egyptians typically celebrated the morning light when the sun god Ra was thought to overcome the dreaded serpent of hostile chaos and darkness. This supernatural darkness was further demonstration of the Lord’s superiority over the Egyptian pantheon.”[3] Now when compared with the first eight plagues—The Nile River turning into blood;[4] a plague of frogs;[5] a plague of gnats;[6] a swarm of flies;[7] the death of livestock;[8] festering boils;[9] a horrific hailstorm;[10] and a plague of locusts[11]—this ninth plague of darkness might not seem so bad. After all, most of us prefer to sleep in the dark; nighttime can provide a peaceful escape from the events of the day. But what if, after sleeping all night, you woke up and there was no sun to be seen? What if you had no electricity and, even upon lighting a candle or a lantern, you still were unable to see beyond its light given the depth of the suffocating darkness surrounding you? And what if this darkness lasted not only for that night and day—but also the next—and then again the next? What if, as one scholar notes, you were forced to undergo “an unnatural darkness, like that associated with the day of the Lord,”[12] that day of judgment when the LORD finally returns to make all things right?
Well, three days was the amount of time that the LORD caused this darkness to fall upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. For those three days and nights, the Egyptian sun god, Ra—who was no god—was impotent having failed at his job of overcoming “the dreaded serpent of hostile chaos and darkness.” For, as stated beginning with verse 22, when “22 …Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky,…total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days.” Three days of darkness. Three days of stillness. Three days of motionlessness. Three days during which you couldn’t see even your own hand in front of your face. Three days during which you weren’t able to do anything but sit. And wait. And ponder. And fear. Essentially, the Egyptians were afflicted with three days of blindness for their eyes were of no use to them in the depths of this seemingly never-ending darkness. One scholar suggests that these three days of darkness were “a foreboding warning of the death that waits in the final plague”[13] in that such an extended night “prefigures the death to come, both in the way that darkness was often associated with the realm of death and for how the final plague will come at midnight.”[14] If so, then once the darkness was lifted, it wouldn’t give way to morning—m-o-r-n-i-n-g—but to mourning—m-o-u-r-n-i-n-g. For this physical darkness would give way to an even greater emotional darkness, at least among the Egyptians for the Israelites, as noted at the end of verse 23, “had light in the places where they lived.” It would appear that beginning with the fourth plague, the swarm of flies, Israel was no longer subjected to any further plagues.[15] As the LORD had delivered Adam and Eve—and Noah[16]—and Abraham and his nephew Lot from evil,[17] so would he, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, deliver his people, the people of Israel, from these devastating plagues that fell upon Egypt as signs, warnings, and judgments that occurred due to Pharaoh’s stubborn disobedience to the LORD.
The darkness of the ninth plague was sufficiently oppressive that, as occurred with the previous two plagues of hailstorm[18] and locusts,[19] Pharaoh initially seemed to succumb to the LORD’s demand. As recorded in verse 24, “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you.” Unfortunately, once again he added a stipulation, “only leave your flocks and herds behind.” As in the plague of locusts he had told Moses that only the men could go worship the LORD—but not the women and children,[20] now he conceded to allowing men, women, and children go—but not the flocks and herds. In this response we continue to see that, for whatever reason, Pharaoh couldn’t seem to let go of his power. Instead, he grasped at retaining, against all reasoning, some modicum of power by requiring that the flocks and herds be left behind. As one commentator proposes, the reason for this may have been “in order to have some way of still tethering Israel to Egypt as his labor force.”[21] Yet Moses again made clear to Pharaoh that his counter-proposal was rejected. As stated beginning with verse 25, Moses told Pharaoh, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.” In other words, case closed.
Subsequently, as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened after the plague of locusts, so it was hardened now. As stated in verses 27–28, “27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, ‘Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.’” Given that the nature of this plague is darkness, there may be some irony in Pharaoh declaring that he’d never again grant Moses an audience by using the language of “seeing” his face. To this declaration Moses replied, verse 29, “Just as you say…. I will never appear before you again.” Although the three days of darkness had initially caused Pharaoh to summon Moses, Pharaoh then recanted; as had occurred with every previous plague, his heart remained hard as displayed by his disobedience towards and lack of belief in God and his power.
Chapter 11 of Exodus opens by presenting a brief interlude stating what “the LORD had said to Moses” concerning the final plague as well as what he ought to tell the people of Israel. As stated beginning with verse 1, the LORD had told Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.” Unlike with previous plagues, the LORD made clear that this would be the final plague. Yet before leaving Egypt, God had Moses “Tell the people,” verse 2, “that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” This outcome had been foretold by the LORD when he first appeared to Moses at the burning bush. If you’ll recall, at that time the LORD had said to him, “21 And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”[22] Next, a parenthetical note in verse 3 further notes that, “The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.” As previously during the hailstorm plague, some of the Egyptians officials feared the LORD and acted according to his instructions in order that they might be spared its devastating effects,[23] here we learn that though Pharaoh may not have been favorably disposed toward the Israelites, the people of Egypt were. As to Moses, both the Egyptian people and Pharaoh’s officials regarded him highly. And, as noted by one commentator, all four references to this “plundering of the Egyptians” event in Scripture “emphasize that Egypt gave gladly because of the Lord’s intervention.”[24] God is able to change the hearts even of those who don’t necessarily believe in him.
Verse 4 then picks up where Exodus 10:29 left off. When, after the ninth plague of darkness, Moses confirmed Pharaoh’s declaration that he would never again appear before him, he then went on to pronounce to Pharaoh the judgment of the tenth and final plague. Beginning with 4 we read, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.’” Notice, again, the statement concerning the plague’s timing—“about midnight.” And as the LORD had previously disclosed to Moses the plundering of the Egyptians, so had he foretold this final plague when he first called upon Moses to speak on his behalf before Pharaoh. As recorded back in Exodus 4:21–23, The LORD had said to Moses, “21 When you return to Egypt,”—he was in Midian at the time[25]—“see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Pharaoh’s obstinate unwillingness to allow the Israelites worship their LORD would result in this devastating judgment as:
the firstborn son of Pharaoh would die;
the firstborn son of the female slave would die;
the firstborn of the cattle would die.
It’s no wonder that such widespread death of firstborn children and animals would result in “loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.” Yet once again, the people of the LORD would be spared this final plague. As stated in verse 7, “But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”
Moses went on to tell Pharaoh that, as a result of this final plague, verse 8, “All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Having delivered this final warning from the LORD concerning the events that were about to unfold, the end of verse 8 notes, “Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.” Concerning the cause of Moses’ “hot anger” it may be, as suggested by one commentator, “that Moses found Pharaoh’s persistent pride infuriating because of the devastating effect it would have on the people of Egypt.”[26] Indeed, as the representative of his people, we’ve seen how Pharaoh’s actions affected not only him and his household, but also the entirety of the people of Egypt over whom he governed and for whom he was responsible. His indifference to their suffering certainly merited such anger.
Verse 9 then circles back to what “The Lord had said to Moses” throughout the previous nine plagues, namely, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” Each plague was a judgment, yes; but what Pharaoh failed to recognize and acknowledge was that each plague was also a divine wonder testifying to the all-encompassing greatness and might of the LORD, Yahweh. As stated in verse 10, concerning the first nine plagues, “Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.”
Well, the ninth plague, three days of darkness upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians followed by the death of the firstborn in the tenth plague brought to mind the three hours of darkness that occurred as Christ Jesus hung crucified on the cross which was followed by his death, the death of God’s one and only Son.[27] Here, too, death followed darkness. Here, too, as we noted last week, the severe mercy of the LORD was displayed. Let’s now turn to Mark’s account of this event.[28]
As stated in verse 33 of Mark 15, “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.” Long after the sun had already risen, darkness suddenly again descended upon the land. For three hours, at the start of the afternoon, day turned into night. As one commentator notes, “This was not a solar eclipse…. Darkness represents lament…and divine judgment.”[29] Indeed, as stated in the eighth chapter of Amos concerning the Day of the LORD “‘9 In that day,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight…. 10 I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.” Thus do we see that the Son of God hanging on a cross signified the inauguration of the day of the LORD. The consequent darkness that fell upon the world was indeed an expression of our heavenly Father’s lament and judgment. Commenting on Luke’s version of this event, another scholar similarly suggests that the darkness that fell was both literal and figurative, “probably signifying that Jesus was bearing God’s wrath for his people,… and also expressive of God’s displeasure and judgment upon humanity for crucifying his Son.”[30]
At the end of the three hours of darkness, Jesus “cried out in a loud voice” the heart-wrenching words recorded in verse 34, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).” This repetition in calling out for God is an expression of Jesus’ intimate relationship with his heavenly Father. And he—ever a student of Scripture, of the Word God has given his people—cried out the opening words of Psalm 22, a song that acknowledges God’s sovereignty and power. As one commentator observes, “Even in the jaws of death, Jesus’ life is determined by what is written in Scripture.”[31] Concerning his crying out in “a loud voice,” one scholar suggests that in doing so he was expressing “not bewilderment at his plight, but witness to the bystanders, and through them to the world, that he was experiencing God-forsakenness not for anything in himself but for the salvation of others.” What is more, “In some sense Jesus had to be cut off from the favor of and fellowship with the Father that had been his eternally, because he was bearing the sins of his people and therefore enduring God’s wrath.”[32] Is it any wonder that he cried out?
As noted in verses 35–36, some standing nearby mistakenly assumed Jesus was calling out to Elijah as they ran and “filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink” and waited to see if Elijah—whom some believed would return[33] and whose name in Hebrew sounds similar to the words Jesus cried out[34]—would come and take him down.[35] But Elijah didn’t come. What happened instead, as recorded in verse 37, was that “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” The loud cry may have been “It is finished” as recorded in John’s Gospel[36] or “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” as recorded by Luke.[37]
Now by the time that Jesus died, he had been hanging on the cross for six hours for it was “nine in the morning when they crucified him”[38]—that is, when they first hung him on the cross—and, as stated in verse 34 of our passage, it was “three in the afternoon” when he cried out from the cross.[39] So it came to be that after six hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus who declared that he is the way, the truth, and the life; who declared that he is the only way to the Father,[40] gave a loud cry, breathed his last—and died.
And at the moment he died, as recorded in verse 38, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” The curtain of the temple was what separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies, the most holy place in the temple where God’s presence appeared. Yet this curtain of separation would no longer be needed for, as noted by one commentator, “Access to God is now provided by the unique sacrifice of Jesus, rendering the temple sacrifices obsolete.”[41] Even the centurion “who stood there in front of Jesus” and “saw how he died,” as stated in verse 39, recognized the implication of this as he declared, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Dear sisters and brothers, by Jesus’ death and resurrection from death, this curtain separating sinful humanity from our Holy God is no longer necessary for he was, is, and ever will be the only way to the Father. For Jesus made access to our heavenly Father possible by taking upon himself our sins and granting us, in their place, his righteousness.[42] He who has been sent by the Father[43] willingly took upon himself God’s wrath against sin, the eternal death that we deserve for our sins, to grant us, instead, God’s joy and the eternal life that only he can give and which he freely and graciously bestows by the Holy Spirit he in turn sends.[44]
The unnatural darkness that fell upon the earth as Jesus hung on the cross bore witness to the arrival of the promised Day of the LORD. For in Christ, in Messiah, God arrived on earth to make right everything that the Fall had made wrong. By his death and resurrection from death Christ Jesus has conquered Satan, sin, and the death that follows.
Therefore, let us not be like Pharaoh who refused to see and embrace the significance of the wondrous events God displayed before him. But let us instead embrace the severe mercy of God-forsakenness that Jesus underwent in order that we might live and enjoy him not only now but forever. To him be all glory, honor, and praise now and forevermore!
Let us pray.
Benediction: Hebrews 13:20–21 20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
[1] Lewis, C.S., The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader.” Collier Books:New York, 1952, pp. 150, 151.
[2] Regarding the River god, the Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 7:19: “All the natural waters of Egypt were involved, including the arms of the Nile, the irrigation canals, and the pools formed by river flooding. The Nile River, the source of Egypt’s agricultural life, was revered as a god. Beginning with this plague the Lord’s superiority over the Egyptian pantheon of gods is demonstrated.” The Zondervan NIV Study Bible note on Exodus 7:20 similarly observes, “Egypt’s dependence on the life-sustaining waters of the Nile led to its deification as the god Hapi.” Regarding the frog god, the Zondervan NIV Study Bible note on Exodus 8:2: “The frog (or toad) was deified in the goddess Heqt, who assisted women in childbirth.” Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 8:3 similarly states, “Frogs represented the primoridial goddess Heket in Egyptian religious life.”
[3] Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 10:22.
[4] Exodus 7:14–24.
[5] Exodus 8:1–15.
[6] Exodus 8:16–19.
[7] Exodus 8:20–32.
[8] Exodus 9:1–7
[9] Exodus 9:8–12.
[10] Exodus 9:13–35.
[11] Exodus 10:1–20.
[12] Again, from the Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 10:22. Concerning the Day of the Lord, the note references Isaiah 8:22: Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.; Isaiah 58:10: and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness,; Joel 2:2: a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.; Amos 5:20: Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?; Zephaniah 1:15: That day will be a day of wrath—a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness—; cf. Deuteronomy 28:29: At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
[13] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 10:21–29.
[14] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 10:23. It cross-references Exodus 11:4 (So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt ) and Exodus 12:29: At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
[15] Flies—Exodus 8:22–23: 22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance] between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”; Livestock—Exodus 9:4: But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.; Blistering boils—The Israelites aren’t explicitly mentioned as being excluded but since they are spared the next plague, it’s reasonable to assume they didn’t undergo this one; Hailstorm—Exodus 9:26: The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.; Locusts—Again, the Israelites aren’t explicitly mentioned as being excluded but, again, since they are spared the plague of darkness that followed, it’s reasonable to assume they didn’t undergo this one.
[16] See sermon preached on February 23, 202, Deliver Us from Evil, on Genesis 6.
[17] See sermon preached on August 23, 2020, Deliver Us from Evil—Part II, on Genesis 19:1–29.
[18] Exodus 9:27–28: 27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
[19] Exodus 10:8: Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
[20] Exodus 10:10–11: 10 Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.”
[21] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 10:24.
[22] Exodus 3:21–22.
[23] Exodus 9:20–21: 20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
[24] Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 11:3. Emphasis added. The four references provided are Exodus 3:21–22: 21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”; Exodus 11:2–3: 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3 (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.); Exodus 12:35–36: 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.; (less clear, in my view, is Psalm 105:36–38: 36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood. 37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
[25] Exodus 2:1–2: 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
[26] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Exodus 11:8.
[27] See John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
[28] Parallels to this account may be found in Matthew 27:45–54: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” See also Luke 23:44–47: 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
[29] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Mark 15:33. Concerning darkness representing lament, it notes Amos 8:9–10 8 “Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. 9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.; Concerning darkness representing divine judgment, it notes Exodus 10:21–23 in our current passage.
[30] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Luke 23:44–45.
[31] Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Mark 15:34.
[32] Crossway ESV Bible study note on Matthew 27:46.
[33] Reformation ESV Study Bible note on Mark 15:35.
[34] Crossway ESV Bible study note on Matthew 27:47: “Jesus’ call to God in Aramaic (‘Eli, ‘Eli) sounds similar to the Hebrew name for Elijah (Eliyahu), which bystanders misunderstand as a summons to the prophet.”
[35] Mark 15:35–36: 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
[36] John 19:30: When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
[37] Referencing Psalm 31:5, Luke 23:46 states, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
[38] Mark 15:25: It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.
[39] Mark 15:34 (And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
[40] John 14:6: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
[41] Crossway ESV Study Bible note on Mark 15:38.
[42] 2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.; Romans 3:22: This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe
[43] John 7: 16, 28–29, 33–34: 16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me…. 28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me….” 33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
[44] John 15:26: When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.; Galatians 4:6: Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”