saying, “We heard you boast that you could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Why don’t you save yourself now? If you’re really God’s Son, come down from the cross!”
“Don’t let this God in whom you trust mislead you into thinking that Jerusalem will not fall and be delivered into the hand of the mighty king of Assyria.
Don’t be deceived by Hezekiah’s empty words when he says to you, “Yahweh will save us.” Has any god ever saved a nation from the mighty hand of the king of Assyria?
Don’t be deceived when he tries to persuade you to trust in Yahweh, saying to you, “Yahweh will come to our rescue and our city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”
Now, when the Roman military officer and his soldiers witnessed what was happening and felt the powerful earthquake, they were extremely terrified. They said, “There is no doubt, this man was the Son of God!”
A great crowd gathered to watch what was happening. The religious leaders sneered at Jesus and mocked him, saying, “Look at this man! What kind of ‘chosen Messiah’ is this? He pretended to save others, but he can’t even save himself!”
Over Jesus’ head on the cross was written an inscription in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic: “This man is the king of all the Jews.” And all the soldiers laughed and scoffed at him, saying, “Hey! If you’re the king of Jews, why don’t you save yourself?”