(50) When he had cried again with a loud voice.—It is well that we should remember what the words were which immediately preceded the last death cry; the “It is finished” of John 19:30, the “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” of Luke 23:46, expressing as they did, the fulness of peace and trust, the sense of a completed work.

It was seldom that crucifixion, as a punishment, ended so rapidly as it did here, and those who have discussed, what is hardly perhaps a fit subject for discussion, the physical causes of our Lord’s death, have ascribed it accordingly, especially in connection with the fact recorded in John 19:34, and with the “loud cry,” indicating the pangs of an intolerable anguish, to a rupture of the vessels of the heart. Simple exhaustion as the consequence of the long vigil, the agony in the garden, the mocking and the scourging, would be, perhaps, almost as natural an explanation.

Yielded up the ghost.—Better, yielded up His spirit. All four Evangelists agree in using this or some like expression, instead of the simpler form, “He died.” It is as though they dwelt on the act as, in some sense, voluntary, and connected it with the words in which He had commended His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46).

Matthew 27:50. And Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice — According to John 19:30, when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished, meaning that the predictions of the prophets, respecting his sufferings and ministry on earth, were all fulfilled, and that the redemption of the world was on the point of being accomplished; and probably these were the words which he uttered with a loud voice, showing thereby, that his strength was not exhausted, but that he was about to give up his life of his own accord. And when he had thus cried, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23:46. And yielded up the ghost — Or rather, dismissed his spirit, as the original words, αφηκε το πνευμα, properly signify: an expression admirably suited to our Lord’s own words, John 10:18, No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. He died by a voluntary act of his own, and in a way peculiar to himself. He alone, of all men that ever were, could have continued alive, even in the greatest tortures, as long as he pleased, or have retired from the body whenever he thought fit. And how does it illustrate that love which he manifested in his death! Inasmuch as he did not use his power to quit the body, as soon as it was fastened to the cross, leaving only an insensible corpse to the cruelty of his murderers: but continued his abode in it, with a steady resolution, as long as it was proper. He then retired from it with a majesty and dignity never known, or to be known in any other death: dying, if one may so express it, like the Prince of life.

27:45-50 During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's displeasure against the sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an offering. Never were there three such hours since the day God created man upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene; it was the turning point of that great affair, man's redemption and salvation. Jesus uttered a complaint from Ps 22:1. Hereby he teaches of what use the word of God is to direct us in prayer, and recommends the use of Scripture expressions in prayer. The believer may have tasted some drops of bitterness, but he can only form a very feeble idea of the greatness of Christ's sufferings. Yet, hence he learns something of the Saviour's love to sinners; hence he gets deeper conviction of the vileness and evil of sin, and of what he owes to Christ, who delivers him from the wrath to come. His enemies wickedly ridiculed his complaint. Many of the reproaches cast upon the word of God and the people of God, arise, as here, from gross mistakes. Christ, just before he expired, spake in his full strength, to show that his life was not forced from him, but was freely delivered into his Father's hands. He had strength to bid defiance to the powers of death: and to show that by the eternal Spirit he offered himself, being the Priest as well as the Sacrifice, he cried with a loud voice. Then he yielded up the ghost. The Son of God upon the cross, did die by the violence of the pain he was put to. His soul was separated from his body, and so his body was left really and truly dead. It was certain that Christ did die, for it was needful that he should die. He had undertaken to make himself an offering for sin, and he did it when he willingly gave up his life.Cried again with a loud voice - He cried, "It is finished," John 19:30. It was in the height of his agony, probably attended with deep groaning, and uttered amid sorrows which were never else experienced in our world. It finished the work of atonement, made the way of salvation possible, rolled away the curse from guilty people, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all true believers.

Yielded up the ghost - This, though a literal translation, is unhappy. It means resigned his spirit, or "expired." The same phrase is used by the Septuagint in describing the death of Rachel. Genesis 35:18.

Mt 27:34-50. Crucifixion and Death of the Lord Jesus. ( = Mr 15:25-37; Lu 23:33-46; Joh 19:18-30).

For the exposition, see on [1375]Joh 19:18-30.

Ver. 45-50. Mark hath the same, Mark 15:33-38. Luke saith, Luke 23:44, that it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. John saith no more, John 19:30, but that—he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. It is said, John 19:14, it was about the sixth hour when Pilate brought forth Christ to the Jews; how then could he be crucified at the third hour, and the darkness begin at the sixth? The different ways the Jews and the Romans had of counting hours, make us to be at a loss sometimes as to circumstances of time to reconcile some scriptures. But as to the present difficulty, it is said that the Jews, as they divided the night into four watches, so they also divided the day into four parts, each part having its denomination from the succeeding part, by which name all the intermediate time was called. Thus when the third hour (which with us is nine of the clock) was past, they called all the sixth hour till past twelve. Thus Pilate condemned Christ in the beginning of the sixth hour, and the darkness began at the end of it, that is, after twelve, for dividing the day into quadrants, the hours had their denomination from them. John also saith no more than about the sixth hour, which is true if it were some small time after.

There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. That this darkness was caused by the eclipse of the sun at that time of the day is plain enough, but that this was no eclipse in the ordinary course of nature is evident; for;

1. Whereas all eclipses use to be in the time of the new moon, this was when the moon was at the full, the fifteenth day of the month Nisan.

2. This eclipse was not seen in one part or in another, but over all the earth that was under the same hemisphere.

3. No eclipse in a natural course can last three hours.

So that plainly this was a miraculous eclipse, not caused by the interposition of the moon, (as other eclipses), but by the mighty and extraordinary power of God, which made a heathen philosopher at a great distance cry out, Either the Divine Being now suffereth, or sympathizes with one that suffereth: he is said to have seen this eclipse in Egypt.

And about the ninth hour (that is, about three of the clock, as we reckon the hours) Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, or Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? The words are Hebrew, though Mark reports them according to the Syriac corruption of the dialect. They are David’s words, Psalm 22:1. David was a type of Christ. He that was the Son of David useth David’s words, possibly spoken by David in the person of Christ. God’s forsaking any person or place, must be understood with reference not to his essential presence, for so he filleth all places, and is present with all persons; but with reference to the manifestations of his providence for our good: thus when God withholds his good providence to us, either with respect to our outward or inward man, he is said to forsake us. A total forsaking either of our bodies, or of our souls, is not consistent with the being of our outward man, or the spiritual being or life of our inward man. All forsakings therefore in this life are gradual and partial. The forsaking which Christ therefore here complains of, was not the total withdrawing of Divine favour and assistance from him; that was impossible, and incompetent with the first words testifying his relation to God, and assistance in him; but it must be understood with respect to God’s consolatory manifestations, and that is testified by his other words, related by Luke, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Which words having said, he gave up the ghost, say Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John addeth, that he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost: words added, to confirm what he elsewhere said, that he laid down his life, none took it from him. His crying twice at this instant with a loud voice, argued his spirits not so spent, but he might have lived a few minutes longer, but he freely laid down his life. The people saying, He calleth for Elias, when he said Eli, Eli, spake them to be Jews, who to this day dream of an Elias to come and restore all things. That they no better distinguished between Eli and Elias, must be attributed either to the corruption of their dialect, he saying Eloi, Eloi, (according to the Syriac corruption of the term), or their too great distance from him. Their mocking him upon it was but consonant to their former behaviour toward him, while he was upon the cross. Their giving him the spunge with vinegar and hyssop we before gave an account of.

Jesus, when he had cried again,.... "A second time", as the Persic version; for he had cried once before, and expressed the words he did, as in Matthew 27:46, what he now delivered were, "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit", Luke 23:46, and "it is finished", John 19:30, which he said

with a loud voice; which showed the vehemency of his affection, his strong confidence in God, and his being fearless of death; as also he thus spoke, that he might be heard, and his words attended to, since they contained things of the greatest importance and consequence: moreover, being able to express himself in such a manner, this declared him to be more than a mere man; for after such agonies in the garden, and so much fatigue in being hurried from place to place, and such loss of blood by being buffeted, scourged, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the accursed tree, where, being stretched, he had hung for some hours; to speak with so loud a voice was more than human, and was a conviction to the centurion, that he was a divine person: for when he saw that he so cried out, and "gave up the ghost", he said, "truly this man was the Son of God",

Mark 15:39, and likewise it shows, that he died freely and voluntarily, and not through force and necessity: it was not all that men had done, or could do to him, that could have forced his life from him: he died willingly, and when nature was in its full strength; and which is signified in the next phrase,

yielded up the ghost, or "dismissed the Spirit", as the Syriac version truly renders it; he sent it away. It was not taken from him, he laid down his life of himself, as the Lord of it, and gave himself freely to be an offering and sacrifice in the room of his people; which is a proof of his great love, and amazing grace unto them.

{13} Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

(13) Christ, after he had overcome other enemies, at length provokes and attacks death itself.