Calling for Elias - Matthew 27:47

Matthew the apostle wrote, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse forty-seven of his book, Matthew wrote, “some of them who stood there … said, This man calls for Elias” where we read:

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calls for Elias.

The verse reads, “Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, ...” Matthew began words, “some of them” which means “a number of the people who were in attendance where Jesus was crucified” “that stood there” or “who stood upon their feet in that place”, “when they heard that” which means “at the time and moment they heard Jesus cry out to God”, “said” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed”. Matthew shared how a “number of the people” who were standing before Jesus' cross began to exclaim the following.

The verse goes on to say, “... This man calls for Elias.” Matthew continued with the words, “this man” or “this certain male human being which means Jesus” “calls for Elias” which means “summons, bids and invites Elijah whose name means my God is Jehovah and was a prophet born at Thisbe, the unflinching champion of the theocracy in the reigns of the idolatrous kings Ahab and Ahaziah. He was taken up to heaven without dying, whence the Jews expected he would return just before the advent of the Messiah, whom he would prepare the minds of the Israelites to receive”. Matthew shared how this group of people thought Jesus was “inviting and calling out to” Elijah the prophet.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how this group of people heard what Jesus said, however, they had no idea what Jesus was actually doing. They concluded that He was “calling out” to “Elijah” for help, and they must have wondered if Elijah the prophet would answer His call. Being able to hear Jesus and His truth about “salvation” is not enjoyed by everyone. Some hear or read of Jesus and believe He was just a “good man” or a “notable teacher” in history, however, Jesus is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”, and His crucifixion gave every person an opportunity to receive forgiveness for their sins and a personal relationship with God. Those who are wise will pray for God's Spirit to help them understand what Jesus says and yield their lives to Him.

Next time Matthew wrote, “one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.