Jesus died on Good Friday, and in between the death and his resurrection, things occurred! We saw a bit of this in yesterday’s writing, but today, I want us to take a different view. As Jesus died on the cross, some things were set in motion and made a huge difference.
First, Jesus died on Friday at
3:00 p.m. Almost immediately Matthew’s
Gospel records the Temple Curtain torn in two and graves were opened:
“…Jesus cried out again with a
loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep
were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went
into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53).
Jesus’ death was no ordinary
death. It was as if Heaven shook the
earth and gave a foretaste of what was to come as many bodies of those who had
died came alive. Yet, the Temple Curtain
was the most significant event. The Temple Curtain was huge and separated the
Holy of Holies from the Holy Place where the Priests did daily ministry. The Temple Curtain separated the Holy of
Holies where the High Priest, once a year, on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)
sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the altar to signify God’s forgiveness of
the people’s sin.
The fact that the Curtain was torn
in two from top to bottom means it was an act of divine power and not a
human act. The significance of that
picture is twofold: First, it signified
that access to God was now through Jesus Christ. Secondly, it foreshadowed the destruction of
the Temple that Jesus had foretold would occur forty years later in 70 A.D.
The fact that “the earth shook,
the rocks split” was in all likelihood an earthquake. Earthquakes appear in other scriptures as a
sign of God’s judgment and power.
“The mountains quake before him,
and the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who live in
it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire, and by him, the rocks are broken in pieces” (Nahum
1:5-6).
The graves opened to point to
other times when God made a statement demonstrating that he has power over life
and death and that a future resurrection will occur someday for all of us.
“But in fact, Christ has been
raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of
the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming
those who belong to Christ.
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:20-24
Friday opened up some heavenly
actions. While on earth, humans were
considering what to do with Jesus in his death.
Pilate wanted to know for certain, the Centurian saw that Jesus was the
Son of God, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, along with the women came to
begin Jesus’ burial. As Humans, we live
with death all the time. The older we
get the more real it becomes, and we watch family and friends pass on into
eternity. Yet, I’d like to think that
something much more is happening in the heavenlies.
If we could think beyond the
physical realm and begin to contemplate the mystical and spiritual realities
around us, we’d see beyond the boundaries of our everyday happenings. We would learn to place all of our problems,
disappointments, physical pains, and suffering in the hands of our Savior, who
died for us and did it through Suffering.
Do we see that Death is NOT
final? At the end of Friday, the
disciples, the women, Mary included retreated to the Upper Room. It was Sabbath: “And on the Sabbath day
they rested according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). They grieved and probably talked about
what would need to happen next. We all
do…someone we love dies, and we grieve, and make preparations for a
funeral.
Most of all, did they remember
that Jesus said “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the
belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man
will be in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40)? His body was in the
Tomb, but Jesus was still at work.
Peace
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