Who Is This King of Glory?

²¹ Simon, a man from Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus’ father, was coming in from the countryside. They forced him to carry his cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. ²³ They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he didn’t take it. ²⁴ They crucified him. They divided up his clothes, drawing lots for them to determine who would take what. ²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The notice of the formal charge against him was written, “The king of the Jews.” ²⁷ They crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹ People walking by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? ³⁰ Save yourself and come down from that cross!” ³¹ In the same way, the chief priests were making fun of him among themselves, together with the legal experts. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself. ³² Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross. Then we’ll see and believe.” Even those who had been crucified with Jesus insulted him. ³³ From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. ³⁴ At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?” ³⁵ After hearing him, some standing there said, “Look! He’s calling Elijah!” ³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ But Jesus let out a loud cry and died. ³⁸ The curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.” ⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the younger one) and Joses, and Salome.