Introduction
This morning, I want to look at Jesus’ crucifixion.
You all know the story--especially since “The Passion”
came out. While Jesus’ crucifixion was terrifically gruesome,
it wasn’t very dramatic. By that, I mean that it went off
without a hitch. People who expected Jesus to prove he was the
Messiah by coming down from the cross were disappointed. He stayed
on the cross, and died even sooner than most crucifixion victims.
But there was
drama at Jesus’ crucifixion. Three uniquely dramatic events
occurred--and (understood in light of the Old Testament and Jesus’
own words from the cross) they help us to understand the meaning of
Jesus’ death. Matthew recorded all three of these events in
Matt. 27. He wrote his gospel (in part) to prove to his Jewish
countrymen that Jesus was the Messiah, and these dramatic events were
part of his proof.
Darkness at mid-day
Jesus’
crucifixion began around 9 am (Mk. 15:25). For the next three
hours, Jesus’ enemies mocked him (read Matt. 27:39-44).
And then at noon, something remarkable happened (read Mt. 27:45).
For three hours (noon to 3 pm), “darkness fell upon all the
land.”
What was this
mid-day darkness? It was evidently not a solar eclipse, because they
don't last more than a few minutes. Astronomical calculations also
rule out a solar eclipse for the 30 & 33 AD crucifixion dates.
Matthew says it fell “upon all the land”--evidently
referring to the area including and even beyond Palestine.
Strikingly, there
is abundant extra-biblical evidence for this event. The Christian
apologist Tertullian, writing in the second century, called it a
“cosmic” or “world event”--evidently visible
in Rome, Athens, and other Mediterranean cities,
and challenged his non-Christian adversaries with these words: “At
the moment of Christ's death, the light departed from the sun, and
the land was darkened at noonday, which wonder is related in your
own annals, and is preserved in your archives to this day.”
The Greek writer Phlegon, writing in 137 AD, reported that in the
fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (33 AD) there was “the
greatest eclipse of the sun . . . it became night in
the sixth hour of the day (noon) so that stars even appeared in the
heavens.”
So both the gospel
authors and other historical sources agree that this unprecedented
mid-day darkness occurred during Jesus’ crucifixion. What does
it mean? The answer is very clear if we read in context and in light
of the Old Testament--Jesus was under God’s judgment.
Darkness in the
Old Testament often signified God’s judgment (see Amos 5:18,20;
8:9,10; Zeph. 1:14-18). Furthermore, the Old Testament law
declared that “Anyone who is hung from a tree is under God’s
curse” (Deut. 21:23). Such a remarkable darkness during
Jesus’ death seemed to confirm the mocking verdict of the
passers-by, the chief priests, and the robbers--that he was lying
when he claimed to be Messiah, and was getting the judgment of God
that he deserved.
Even Jesus
confirms that he is under God’s judgment (read 27:46). But
this statement gives a stunning twist to what this means about Jesus.
It is the first verse of Ps. 22, which goes on to describe the
Messiah’s crucifixion in vivid detail (key details in
Ps. 22:1-18)--1000 years beforehand and several hundred years
before crucifixion was invented!
In other words,
Jesus is disagreeing with his mockers. He is indeed under God’s
judgment--but far from proving that he is violating God’s will
as a Messiah imposter, his crucifixion proves that he is the Messiah,
and that he is being crucified because he is obeying God’s
will.
But why would it be God’s will to execute
his own Messiah? To answer this question, we need to look at the
next dramatic event . . .
The torn temple curtain
Read Matt. 27:50,51a.
Immediately after Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was “torn
in two from top to bottom.”
The temple curtain
was no ordinary curtain (60 feet long, 30 feet high, and about 4
inches thick; composed of 72 squares sewn together; so heavy that it
required 300 men to lift it). For it to be torn suddenly from top to
bottom (rather than gradually fraying from bottom to top) would
indeed be a noteworthy event--especially for Jewish people.
There is
extra-biblical evidence for this event also. 3 non-Christian
1st-century sources make reference to some "great
catastrophe, betokening the impending destruction of the temple,
(that) had occurred in the Sanctuary about this very time."
So it
happened--but what does it mean? And why would the Jews conclude
that it meant that the temple would be destroyed? Once again, the
Old Testament is the context.
This curtain
denied access of Jewish worshippers to the innermost room of the
Temple--the “Holy of Holies,” where God’s Shekinah
dwelt over the “Ark of the Covenant.” But this wasn’t
in order to keep God’s living room clean. The curtain
symbolized the separation that exists between God and us because of
our sins. Because God is holy and we are sinful, we are disqualified
from coming into his presence to commune with him. Worshippers could
only commune with God indirectly through a ritual system
devised by God. Once each year, the High Priest came into the Holy
of Holies with the blood of an unblemished goat whose death
symbolically paid for their sins for that year.
Of course, God
doesn’t really dwell in a cubicle, sinful priests can’t
really act as our mediator, and animal blood doesn’t really pay
for human sin. The entire Temple system was only a prophetic picture
explaining our dilemma with God and providing a picture of God’s
ultimate solution to this dilemma. That’s why they had to keep
doing this ritual over and over again.
The Old Testament
prophet Isaiah predicted that one day God’s Servant would come
and fulfill this symbolism by laying his perfect life down for our
sins (Isa. 53).
Now we’re in
a position to understand the meaning of the temple curtain being
torn--and why Jesus was being judged by God (the darkness). Since it
was torn at the moment of Jesus’ death, it meant that Jesus was
the Servant, that his death paid for humanity’s sins, and that
everyone could now have personal access to God through faith in
Jesus. The old way of relating to God was out of business!
John’s
gospel records the content of Jesus’ shout just before he died
(Matt. 27:50)--read Jn. 19:28,20. Tetelestai means
“paid in full” or “it has been fulfilled.”
Jesus knew that his death paid in full for our sins and fulfilled the
Old Testament sacrificial system. God confirmed Jesus’ shout
by tearing the temple curtain.
SO WHAT? If you have put your faith in Jesus’
death, you can come confidently into God’s presence at any time
(read Heb. 10:19,20). Jesus’ death has forever removed
the barrier that separated you from God. His death took God’s
judgment so you wouldn’t ever have to face it. His death has
freed you forever from having to relate to God through priests and
rituals. His death means that you never have to be afraid of
relating to God because of your moral failures.
The earthquake & emptied tombs
But Jesus’ death
accomplished even more for us--and this is indicated by the final
dramatic event. Read Matthew 27:51b-53.
This earthquake
was no ordinary earthquake. It occurred immediately after Jesus'
death, and it opened certain rock tombs near Golgotha--the tombs of
believers (probably people came to faith in Jesus as the Messiah
during his public ministry). 36 hours later, after Jesus had been
resurrected, they emerged from the cemetery and appeared to people in
Jerusalem who had known them--not as zombies (“Night of the
Living Dead” & “Thriller”), but as people who
had been delivered from death!
Unlike the first
two events, there is no extra-biblical attestation of this event.
But since Matthew wrote when people who had witnessed these events
were still alive, he would never have included this report unless it
could be confirmed. Matthew was an eye-witness of these events, and
his gospel has been proven to be historically reliable.
What does this strange event mean?
Once again, the
Old Testament gives the answer. According to it, only the Messiah
had the authority to call people forth from their graves (read
Dan. 12:1,2a). Jesus announced that, as the Messiah, he would
one day do just this (Jn. 5:28,29a). This event was evidently
(like Lazarus’ resuscitation) a preview of the end of the age.
It powerfully demonstrated that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, and
that his death has broken the power of death. It is our sins that
bring us under death’s power. And since Jesus’ death has
paid for our sins, he delivers from death’s power all who
entrust themselves to him.
SO WHAT? So you can be freed from the crippling
fear of death, if you put your trust in Jesus. As you grow older and
feel your body wearing down and as loved ones die, you can live with
confidence that you also will come forth from the cemetery when Jesus
returns. I’ve seen this with believers who were facing their
deaths, and I’m experiencing it increasingly myself.
Here’s how it works. When I put my trust in
Jesus’ death to forgive me, I began a personal relationship
with God. The more I experienced the reality of God’s love in
my life, the easier it became to believe that Jesus’ death will
also conquer my physical death.
So why not start by putting your trust in Jesus?
The sooner you receive forgiveness from him, the sooner you can start
experiencing God’s love. And the sooner you experience a
love-relationship with God, the sooner you can experience the
deepening confidence that not even death can overcome God’s
love.
Footnotes
Copyright 2005 Gary DeLashmutt