The Power of Christ's Death

The Power of Christ’s Death

Matthew 27:45,= 50-54

See also Mark 15:37-38 and Luke 23:45-46

¶

Now from the sixth hour darkness fe= ll upon all the land until the ninth hour. And Jesus cried out again with a lo= ud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

And behold, the veil of the temple = was torn in two from top to bottom;

and the earth shook and the rocks w= ere split.

The tombs were opened, and many bod= ies of the saints

who had fallen asleep were raised;<= o:p>

and coming out of the tombs after H= is resurrection

they entered the holy city and appe= ared to many.

Now the centurion, and those who we= re with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the thi= ngs that were happening

became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

introduction

The darkness lasted from noon until 3:00 p.m.

The darkness represented tragedy, sorrow, = and judgment.

Then Jesus cried out in a wordless scream of agony<= /u>!

And then in an act of sovereignty he willingly gave up his spiri= t.

Then at the very moment of Christ’s death, just after he uttered his last = cry and gave up his spirit, three miracles occurred immediately and virtually simultaneously!

Three Amazing Things Happened in Conjunction with Christ’s Death:

1.       A Mighty Earthquake Occurred

Demonstrates the power of His death to judge sin and Satan

            An earthquake also occurred at Christ’s resurrection. (Matthew 28= :2)

“The Bible uses earthquakes as symbols of God’s power (2 Sam 22:8), presence (Ps 68:8), revelation (Ex 19:18), and judgments (Ezek. 38:19-23).”

- Nelsons New Illustrated Bible Dictionary

            Other scriptures indicating the symbolism of judgment in earthquakes include

Isaiah 29:6, Jeremiah 10:10, and Ezekiel 26:18-19.

The earthquake was probably= the physical cause of the other two miracles as entirely guided by God for that purpose.

2.        The Veil of the Temple Was Torn in Two

Demonstrates the power of His death to make man acceptable to God and to open = access to God and that the Old Mosaic Covenant had become obsolete

&n= bsp;           Hebrews 4:16; 6:19-20; 9:11-28; 10:19-22

3.       The Graves of the Saints Were Opened

Demonstrates the power of His death to overcome sin and death and to give eter= nal life and it pictures the future resurrection of all saints<= /o:p>

Conclusion

=

The darkness= , the earthquake, and the cry of dereliction convinced the soldiers that his was = no ordinary execution. The portents terrified them and probably led them to believe that these things testified to heaven’s wrath at the perpetra= tion of such a crime.

<= /o:p>