On Tuesday afternoon (Lesson 132) Jesus instructed the disciples to prepare for that last Passover observance. Now, approximately 24 hours later, on Wednesday afternoon He has been crucified. And before we get to His burial, there are several things we need to look at.
At the instant Jesus let out His breath and died (Matthew 27:50) several miracles took place. Two of them are found in the very next verse in Matthew 27:51. This is the first, “And immediately the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom”. This veil or curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
And by way of a short explanation, the Holy Place in Herod’s temple was located on the west side and was where the priests entered every day to discharge various duties, the main of which was to offer incense on the golden incense altar (see Luke 1:8-23 for an example). The Holy of Holies represented the presence of God. It was just beyond the Holy Place and was where the High Priest entered only once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrificial blood to atone for his own sins and those of the nation (Leviticus 16:1-34; Hebrews 9:1-15).
The curtain that separated these two places was an elaborately woven fabric about four inches thick made from seventy-two twisted linen braids that had twenty-four threads in each braid. The threads were alternated in blue, purple and scarlet (Exodus 26:31-33). It was sixty feet long and thirty feet high. The sheer size and weight of it made it impossible to be torn in the way it was by any human action.
God Himself tore the curtain of the temple to show the barrier between God and man had been removed by what Christ had just suffered on the cross. The Book of Hebrews tells us the veil represented His body, that is, His humanity. It was by the rending of this humanity (by His two deaths, the spiritual and physical) that fellowship with God in both time and eternity is now possible.
“Having therefore, brethren, the full freedom to enter into the holiest (the very presence of God) by virtue of the blood (spiritual death) of Jesus, by this new and living way, that He has opened for us through the separating veil, that is to say, His body” (Hebrews 10:19-20). This brings into focus what Jesus had said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; and no man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
The second miracle is found in Matthew 27:51, as well. “And the earth shook so violently that the rocks were split in two.” If you remember at the end of the last lesson I mentioned the response of the Roman centurion at the death of Jesus from Mark 15:39 and his statement that “surely this Man was God’s Son”. Let’s compare this to Mathew 27:54, “Now when the centurion and those with him who were keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were afraid, and said, truly this was the Son of God.”
Let’s develop this a little further. The centurion was an officer in the Roman army and commanded 100 men. He was trained to think logically and to do it under pressure. He had supervised the crucifixion of Jesus and had observed the three hours of darkness at midday, the controlled way in which Jesus had died and now a violent earthquake the moment He had died. And, in his mind, he could come to only one conclusion – this was the Son of God as He had claimed to be! It is interesting that several Roman officers are mentioned as being devout believers. Matthew 8:5-13 tells us about one who begged Jesus to heal his servant boy. Acts 10:1-27 records the account of Cornelius, a centurion who reverenced God and was the first Gentile believer to have a house church.
The third miracle I want to discuss did not happen until after the resurrection of Christ three days later, but is found immediately following the account of the veil being torn in two and the violent earthquake in Matthew 27:51. This is Matthew 27:52-53, “And the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints were raised to life; and coming out of their graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”
This account is found only in Matthew and as such has been a problem for many. Though it is found in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, this remarkable event is not mentioned either in the other Gospels or in reliable historical accounts of that time (for instance, Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews does not reference it at all). So, naturally, there are skeptics who doubt its validity. However, I’m not one of them.
Here, certain saints were resuscitated to act as witnesses after the resurrection of Christ. These were Old Testament believers whose soul and spirit were in paradise (or, Abraham’s bosom, see Luke 16:19-31, and remember Jesus’ statement to the thief on the cross). This was not a resurrection, as they will eventually die again and be buried again after their ministry of witnessing is completed. At that time their soul and spirit will go to the presence of the Lord (II Corinthians 5:6-8). They will be resurrected and receive their new body with the other saints at the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:51-55). This might be confusing now, but we will explain it in detail in a later lesson when we discuss the transfer of Old Testament saints from paradise to the presence of God.
That the Lord has the ability to bring life back to the dead is well established in Scripture. Read the account of Elijah and the widow’s son in I Kings 17:8-24. Jesus resuscitated the widow’s only son in Nain and caused quite a stir (Luke 7:11-17). And, of course, when He brought Lazarus back to life it caused such a commotion among the people that the religious leaders were determined to kill Jesus (John 11:1-53). Then, when Lazarus became so well known after being brought back to life, they conspired to kill him as well (John 12:9-10).
All of these things happened to prove the reliability of the Lord’s authority over death and the validity of His promises concerning the future resurrection of all believers and their eternal existence in the presence of the One Who is faithful and true.