-in this account we read of events that I can only describe as phenomenal…events that took place at the very moment Christ breathed his last breath on the cross…events so unusual and strange that they can only be understood as supernatural acts of God meant to impact us deeply and teach us profound spiritual truth…
Mt. 27:45-54
take a look at them with me as I read Mt. 27:45-50…
-even before we get to the strange phenomena we encounter some unusual moments…
• the profound darkness that came over the whole land for three hours in the middle of the day…it is widely believed that it was during this three hour period that Jesus was made sin on our behalf…that the perfect, sinless Son of God took upon Himself the weight of the entire sin of humanity…
…a concept so mysterious that we cannot even begin to understand…so vast that even the physical realm reacted by the sun refusing to shine…
• the cry of abandonment by Jesus, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
-this is what Jesus was experiencing as He was made sin on our behalf…for the first time in His eternal existence (not just His 33 years on earth)…He felt the separation of His Father’s presence as a result of sin…He was literally paying the price of sin, which is separation from God…and no doubt, this was an even greater pain than the physical anguish He was experiencing…
-among the seven things Jesus said from the cross, this is the most agonizing cry of all…He lost His eternal relationship with His heavenly Father for a few hours while the punishment for sin was being paid…
• a final loud cry and last breath…this was the last moment in His earthly life…when through the process of crucifixion it becomes impossible physically to lift yourself enough to take in a breath…so you literally suffocate…and your heart stops beating…
-for those of us that love Jesus it’s so hard for us to imagine Him having to endure this kind of physical torture…
-but He did this because He knew He had to…there was no other way for our sin problem to be solved…a perfect, sinless substitute had to die, even a cruel death…and Jesus willingly, lovingly did this for you and for me…
But then some very unusual things happened; at least three phenomena took place at the very moment of Christ’s death.
Phenomenon One – Temple Curtain Torn v.51a
-read v.51a…
This is the curtain in the Jewish temple that separated the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) from the other sections of the temple. The Most Holy Place was where the very presence of God dwelt. And access to this place was severely limited to the High Priest only and that only once a year.
Now no one knows exactly how big this curtain, temple veil was. Some believe, because of the size of the temple, that it was 60 ft. high. And some speculate it was 4 inches thick. Regardless, it was miraculous for a big, thick curtain to be ripped from top to bottom by an unseen power, by the power of God.
And by the temple curtain being torn at the time of Christ’s death, the Lord is saying that there is now access into the very presence of God through the death of Christ…access anytime and all the time…
God is no longer cut off, hidden, distant and unapproachable. He is accessible, welcoming and open to all who come to Him through the merits of Jesus Christ…
Heb. 10:19-22 “…since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God… “
But what it also means is that any veil which would try to cover our eyes and minds and hearts even today, can also be removed…and is removed by the death of Jesus Christ…
And we do have spiritual veils that try to do that today…
In referring to the OT people of Israel Paul says in
2 Cor. 3:14-16 “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
The death of Jesus on the cross has the power to remove our spiritual blindness…spiritual confusion…inability to comprehend the things of the Spirit, our human-centered reasoning…gives us the ability to discern spiritual things as opposed to human things…
The death of Christ tears open all the veils that separate us from God’s presence and His voice and His Spirit and His word…
Phenomenon Two – Earthquake and Split Rocks v.51b
-read v. 51b…
I believe the event of the earthquake at the time of Christ’s death was a case of the spiritual realm invading the physical realm; of spiritual power overruling the power of nature…
I believe that there was such an intense, spiritual struggle ensuing at the time of Jesus’ death…a spiritual war was being waged in the heavenly realms between the powers of God and the powers of evil…
and it was so intense, that the spiritual clash spilled over into the physical realm…the earth literally felt the effects of an unseen spiritual battle which was decisively won at the moment Jesus said, “It is finished” and breathed His last…
You see, the death of Christ on the cross means that the victorious spiritual power of Jesus can overrule any physical power on this earth…there are spiritual realities at work today that are greater than the physical realities that are at work today…
That’s why, a Christian can
• look into the coffin of a loved one who has died in Christ and KNOW they will see them again…
• receive an unfavorable diagnosis from a doctor and not lose all hope, but believe that God can raise them up, either through healing now or through bodily resurrection at the return of Christ…
• suffer a personal loss or setback and not become embittered…because they know there is a bigger purpose for this life than just what can be seen here…God has good plans..
• resist an evil value system of this world and not get pulled along by the current of ungodliness but be set free from bondage and pull to sin…even from past hurts and patterns…
All because of an earthquake…this physical life isn’t the final word…even when this physical life/world crumbles and falls apart, it’s not the end of the story…there’s a greater reality, an unseen spiritual reality which wins in the end and it’s found through the death of Jesus Christ…
Now this last one is really unusual…
Phenomenon Three – Dead Raised to Life vv.52-53
-read vv.52-53…
Just try to imagine this: people who were believers in God, dead for who knows how long…they actually were brought back to life, got out of their tombs and walked into Jerusalem and appeared to many people…now it appears that they didn’t actually walk around until Jesus’ resurrection three days later…
But still, they did.
Imagine a knock at your door and there’s your deceased loved one standing there…this is the kind of stuff Hollywood makes movies out of…
But it happened! And what I believe was happening, is that these believers experienced a bodily resurrection along with Christ as something of a preview of what was to come…which is the final resurrection at Christ’s second coming. I believe that there was such a strong release of spiritual resurrection power that it once again spilled over into the physical realm causing dead people to rise up from their tombs…
And for you and I today, this tells us that there is such power in Christ’s death and resurrection, that we too no longer need to live a defeated, dead life…that we too may walk in resurrection power, the same that was given to Christ…
Rm 6:4 “…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
So when Jesus commands that His friend Lazarus come out of the tomb in John 11…v. 43 “Lazarus, come out!”
…he comes out all wrapped up in his grave clothes…so Jesus says
(Jn. 11;44) “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Do you recognize God’s voice to you in that today? Some of you are wrapped up in grave clothes, in the old ways, in ways that bring spiritual bondage and smother your spiritual life…
-grave clothes of trying to live by the rules instead of by grace…
…trying to prove your goodness to God and others by working so hard…
…trying to get other people saved by your human efforts and manipulation…
…trying to live a holy Christian life but hanging on to a few pet sins which we love too much to give up…
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection God says, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go…” be set free…
Christ’s death and resurrection brings resurrection life, new life to us, so we can be set free indeed…
The Response of the Roman Soldier v.54
Look at the response of the Roman soldier in v.54…
“Surely he was the Son of God!”
Seeing Jesus on the cross calls for a response…not the response of mocking and jeering that the crowd gave Him that day…not the response of neutrality that those passing by at a distance gave Him, not caring either way, just disinterested…
…not even the response of intellectual acknowledgment that recognizes Jesus existed and did something significant but it doesn’t affect me…that it’s OK for someone else, but it’s not for me…
The response God is looking for is the one given by the centurion, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
And that’s what we want to say on this Good Friday, 2016
Jesus, You are the Son of God…You are our Savior…You are My King…
Song: You Are My King