Matthew 27:45-61

Matthew 27:45-61 NIV

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Heʼs calling Elijah.” 
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Letʼs see if Elijah comes to save him.”
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesusʼ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
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!”
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedeeʼs sons.
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesusʼ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

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And now the terrible cross of Christ. For the torture Jesus endured for us, the details Matthew shares worth is are sparse. Historians have filled us in on what the condemned went through on the cross. It is horrific. Jesus had nails driven through his wrists and ankles most likely. Although the scriptures clearly say hands and feet, which fulfills the description in Psalm 22.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
Psalm 22:16 NIV

Jesus' lungs filled up with fluid. He had to pull and push against his nailed flesh to raise up enough to get air into His lungs. You can imagine the sheer pain, and the anxiety of drowning in your own bodily fluids as well. Add to that the scorn and taunting of the crowd. The cross was a horrific way to die.

The sky went dark at 3 in the afternoon, a sign in the heavens that the Day of the Lord had come. Some have romanticized this sign by saying God the Father could not look upon Jesus and the ugly sins of the world He carried. The sky went dark because God turned His face away from Jesus. I rather interpret the sign to mean that the judgement of the Lord upon the earth has come and His judgment is to condemn sin in the body of Jesus, thus breaking sin's grip on humanity.

...for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. ...the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.
Joel 2:1-2, 10 NIV

When Jesus cried out "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" the crowd thought He was calling for Elijah. Instead He was quoting the opening to Psalm 22, a messianic psalm. By doing so Jesus was pointing to the entire psalm which was being fulfilled right there at Golgotha. Take a moment to read the all of Psalm 22. You will see the parallels between what David wrote and what Jesus experienced.

While the psalm deals much with the suffering of the "afflicted one", it ends in hope and praise. Redemption has come. The reign of God is proclaimed to reach the ends of the earth. All will bow and worship the God of Israel.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
Psalm 22:27-28 NIV

As ugly as the cross is, it became the beautiful sacrificial offering of the Son of God to atone for, and free us from, sin. The knowledge of God has spread the globe because of this event and the resurrection that followed.

They gave Jesus wine vinegar to drink, a sour acidic refreshment that curbed thirst. Jesus drank it to relieve the dryness of His mouth. It may have even served to revive Him a bit. Some believe Jesus accepted the drink in order to stay alert to the bitter end.

When He breathed His last breath and gave up His spirit, the curtain that separates the most holy place from the rest of the temple, was torn in two. This symbolizes the open access to God Christ's sacrifice won for us all. No longer do our sins separate us from God. His blood perpetually atones for sin once for all.

What happens next is amazing.

and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesusʼ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:52-53 NIV

Only Matthew provides this detail. This sign speaks of the new creation upon us. Caught up in Jesus' resurrection, these resurrected ones follow in His new form of being. Death no longer has a hold on the saints of Christ.

Note that holy people were raised. Holiness is achieved through obedience to the covenant under Moses. But now, through Christ, holiness is given freely, to those who desire it, with the gift of the Holy Spirit. No longer are we separated from God, but God dwells in us through faith in Christ.

The centurion professed that Jesus is the Son of God, a fulfillment of Psalm 22.

They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
Psalm 22:31 NIV

Because of the cross we know God. Because of Christ God reigns in those who believe.

The details that follow concerning His burial names the women and Joseph of Arimathea. Their tender care and vigil comfort me as I think of how they loved Jesus and mourned for Him. They showed great respect in contrast to the contempt of the crowd. While the apostles fled in fear, the women and Joseph showed courage and were willing to be associated with Jesus.

Where would I be in this scene? Am I one of the taunting crowd or a soldier abusing Christ? Am I one of the disciples standing near weeping and caring for His body? In what ways might I care for the body of Christ, the church? Am I like the apostles hiding out in fear? At one time or another I've been all these. And Christ gave His life for all these.

Praise the Lord for the victory of the cross and the salvation He gave to us all! Forgive me Lord and make me holy. Amen.