EXPLORE Week 6: The Death of Jesus – Matthew Chapter 27: 32-56

Questions and thoughts
- Exclusivity: Why do you exclude other religions and only embrace Christianity?
- Why do Christians celebrate the death of the founder?
- (27: 48) There was only one who believed in Jesus because he gave Jesus Vinegar?
- (27: 50) What is the meaning of ‘he gave up his spirit’?
- What is inside the Holy of Holies?
- My question: (27: 52) This raised of the holy people from death was not appearing in other books of Gospel. I don’t understand and this was the first time I took note on this passage.

- Empirical evidences of other religious texts and true personal experiences from other religions vs Bible
- Believe in this passage, so what? What happen next? What’s the next step? What changes could occur? What the difference between the non-Christian of yesterday and the Christian of today?
- Other religions do provide changes to its believers as well.
- Inner or self-control vs other forces from outside. We need to solve our own problems by ourselves. For example when you have hatred in your heart that could lead you to kill someone, you are the one who is in control to remove the hatred in you and not to kill a person. You are responsible for your own actions.

Insights
- The Jewish day starts at 6 a.m. Therefore, I assume sixth hour is 12 noon, and ninth hour is 3 p.m.
- (27: 48) The Greek word is oxos, which was a cheap, sour wine containing a high percentage of water and a low percentage of alcohol. It was a common drink laborers and soldiers used to quench their thirst. (source: http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg2397.htm)
- Longest eclipse was about 7.5 minutes (27: 45)
- ‘…from top to bottom’ (27: 51) shows that this was not the act of man.
- The change that happens to a Christian is God is the relationship with God. Christians are now having the father-and-son relationship with God. That’s why we could call God our heavenly father. Christians are the children of God. Furthermore, God will also remove our inner guiltiness resulted from our sins and help us to resist sinful life as before.