4-18-14 Witnessed signs

Good Friday

Matt 27:50-56      And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"  55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

 

After Jesus dies the oppressive darkness over the earth is lifted. Everyone knew something significant had happened. The substitutionary death of Jesus brings light (salvation) to a world lost in sin and darkness, that is, to all those who accept Him by faith. There are other signs that occur also. At the moment of Jesus’ death, God provided three miraculous signs as recorded by Matthew. The three signs are found in verses 51-53. Verses 54-56 tell us some of the people who witnessed the event and how they were affected.

I. THE SIGNS OF THE CROSS, 51-53.

Verse 51 begins with “at that moment” indicating at the Messiah's death, God provided miraculous signs. At that moment the first sign that occurs is The Torn Curtain. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

In the temple, behind the veil was the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary, the place where the ark of the covenant rested. Covering the Ark was the mercy seat, and filling the Holy of Holies was the Shekinah glory of God—the tangible presence of the Lord.

This place was so sacred that only once a year (on the Day of Atonement) only one man (the high priest) was allowed to enter. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Good Friday of the Old Covenant, the high priest would take the blood of the bulls, goats, and lambs that had been sacrificed on the altar in the courtyard and would walk into the Holy Place, the area of the temple where all priests were allowed. He, and he alone then entered beyond the veil separating the Holy place from the Most Holy Place and offered the blood of the substitutionary sacrifice on the Mercy Seat. This sacrificial blood was to atone for the sins of all Israel. For without the shedding of blood there is no redemption or atonement or forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22).

This veil that separated man from the Presence of God in the Holy of Holies was massive. It was sixty feet high, thirty feet wide, and four inches thick.

So the room outside the Holy of Holies was called the Holy Place. Between the two rooms hung this thick curtain, separating all of humanity from the presence of holy God-except the high priest one day, each and every year and never without blood.
At the moment of Jesus’ death, this curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. That massive veil was ripped as if it were a piece of paper. Matthew recorded the direction, from top to bottom, to show that it was torn at God's initiative. The tearing of the temple veil to the Holy of Holies is a sign that the way is now opened for any and everyone to enter into the presence of God, through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Messiah.

During the centuries of Israel's existence, it was unheard of for common people to consider approaching God. The penalty for such arrogance was death. However, provision had been made for God to accept sinful humans as forgiven, having been made righteous through the sacrifice of his Son. Therefore, to you who have been cleansed by the blood Hebrews says, come boldly into the presence of God.

Through the death of Jesus, symbolized by the tearing of the curtain, the way into the Holy of Holies, that is, heaven, is open to all those who come to Him. Every person who simply believes Jesus Christ died for his or her sin can come boldly into the presence of God. That’s revolutionary!

God the Father stated this to the countless priest and worshipers who were celebrating Passover in the Temple when He dramatically tore the veil for them to witness His invitation to come to Him. The Son opened the way for them, and for you. The old Covenant is torn apart and a New Covenant has been inaugurated in Jesus’ blood.

Concerning the proper place of worship Jesus said, “The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). He has torn the veil from top to bottom. And we can enter into His presence—anyone, any place, any time. The veil was torn. The way is open. God’s invitation to you is - Come in!

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The second sign accompanying Jesus’ death was an earthquake and the splitting of rocks. God was making another statement about His Son to the world and His chosen people in the earthquake that devastated Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Perhaps it reflected the "earth-shaking" revelation that had just taken place with the tearing of the curtain. When God gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, the earth shook (Exodus 19:18) because the Law was meant to shake people up. “You think you’re righteous?” the law asked. “You think you’re okay? Measure yourself according to My Law and see how you match up.” Paul wrote in Galatians that the law was given as a schoolmaster to make us see that we’re sinners in need of a Savior (Gal. 3:24). Here, the earth is shaking again—this time not to shake man up, but to shake him loose. To get him to wake up from his sin.

Because of the earthquake the tombs were opened. The death of the Savior had an impact on those who were dead, and still does on those who are dead in their sins.

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52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

The third sign served as a testimony to many people in Jerusalem concerning what had just happened. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. These were holy people, those set apart who served a special purpose. The earthquake happened at the time of Jesus' death. But the dead saints were not seen until after the Lord’s resurrection.

These saints appeared to many as confirming witnesses to the reality of Jesus' resurrection. It is assumed that after their appearing they were taken to heaven. Their appearance in bodily form testified to Christ resurrection and to God’s promise to raise all those who put their trust in.

These chosen saints who were resurrected after Jesus arose on Easter Sunday began to walk around the Holy City. Can you imagine what it would have been like to see people who were dead for years walking around the city?! New TV show resurrection.

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II. THE WITNESSES AT THE CROSS

The next verses present two responses to the death of Christ. The first is by the Centurion and his soldiers who stood at the foot of the cross. The second is by women standing some distance away.

Let’s look at the reaction of the Centurion in verse 54. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

A centurion (from the Latin word for 100) was a military officer in charge of 100 men and was therefore of significant rank. This particular officer had been given the responsibility of supervising the three crucifixions. It is likely that he and the other soldiers “who were with him keeping guard over Jesus” had been in the Praetorium when Jesus was first brought there by the Jewish leaders. They may have been the Roman soldiers who accompanied the chief priests to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. They may have heard the charges brought against Him as well as Pilate's declaration of Jesus' innocence of any crime against Rome. They could have heard the screams of "Crucify, crucify," and his claim to be the Son of God seemed just as ludicrous and harmless as His claim to be a king.

>>>But as the fourth hour of His crucifixion began, several things happened to change the soldiers' attitude, and when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they became frightened.

They would have been suddenly being plunged into darkness three hours before Jesus’ death. They would not have been aware of the tearing of the Temple veil and probably not the opening of the graves. But they were shaken by the earthquake with its violent splitting of rocks. The Greek word for frightened here is phobeo = very frightened; the term from which we get phobia and refers to sheer terror, the absolute panic that causes rapid heartbeat, profuse sweating, and extreme anxiety. [It is the verb form of the word used by Matthew to describe the disciples' response to seeing Jesus walk on the water, thinking He was a ghost (14:26). The context and circumstances of the passage clearly indicate, that the centurion and his men were frightened of much more than the darkness and earthquake. They sensed that those awesome natural phenomena had a supernatural origin, and their primary fear was not of those events themselves but of the divine power behind them. Their emotional fright soon turned to spiritual, reverential awe, as testified by the fact that they did not run for their lives or try to find a place of safety but rather declared, "Truly this was the Son of God!” The Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus were transformed into believers of a sort when they witnessed the manner of Jesus’ death and its results.  They had heard Jesus’ words from the Cross. They watched Him slowly die and experienced the phenomena that accompanied Jesus’ death and came to the conclusion that Jesus was supernatural, that He was who He had claim to be, the Son of God.

In verses 55 and 56 we see the Women who Ministered to Jesus. “And many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, among whom was Mary Magdalene, along with Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

The reaction of the second group was tender not fearful. These women were given the honor of being mentioned among those who stood by Jesus through His crucifixion. From John's account we know that some of the women, as well as John, had earlier been at the foot of the cross (John 19:25-27). But they couldn’t bear to observe the suffering of their Lord so closely, those women were now looking on from a distance. They were not afraid of the soldiers or the Jewish leaders and had no concern for their own safety or welfare. They were not ashamed of being identified with Jesus. They withdrew because they were devastated at the suffering and death of the One they had loved so much. Their grief was deep and their hopes seemed shattered, but their courage was undaunted.
Except for John, the rest of the disciples had fled in fear.

Among the women were Mary Magdalene, [from whom Jesus cast seven demons] along with Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. The ministry of Godly women has always been of great significance in the church. Often men are conspicuously absent from the scene, just as the twelve, except for John were this day during their Lord’s great need. Is the depth of your devotion such that you are willing to be identified with a crucified Messiah?

CONCLUSION

Everyone in that region knew something immensely significant, something earth-shaking had taken place. Through these miracles the Father was bearing witness that the cross of His Son is the only hope for sinful man, the only way to receive eternal life. As the centurion declared, "Truly this was the Son of God!”

Hebrews 4:16 says Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in the time of need.

Jerome was an early church father, Bible scholar and translator. His Latin version of the Bible -- known as the Vulgate -- became the standard version of the Scriptures for the next thousand years. Jerome had a dream one night in which Jesus visited him. In the dream, Jerome collected all his money and offered it to Jesus as a gift. Jesus said, "I don't want your money." So Jerome rounded up all his possessions and tried to give them to Jesus. Jesus responded, "I don't want your possessions." Jerome then turned to Christ and asked, "What can I give you? What do you want?" Jesus simply replied, "Give me your sins. That's what I came for; I came to take away your sins."

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