But the others were saying, “Let us see whether Elijah is coming to save Him.”
This statement shows the mockery of those standing around the cross. Hearing Jesus’ cry, “Eli, Eli,” they thought that He was calling the prophet Elijah, and in ridicule they were waiting for Elijah to supposedly come and save Him. This attitude reveals the crowd’s spiritual blindness: they were seeing a divine fulfillment, yet they were interpreting it by human standards. Their words, “Let us see whether Elijah is coming,” became a sarcastic expectation that symbolizes the human condition when a person sees God’s saving work but looks at it as entertainment. Yet at that very moment the greatest salvation was being accomplished—not the saving of Jesus in His body, but the salvation of humanity.