Thursday, February 19, 2015

Matthew 27:45-56


JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS

Matthew 27:45-56

 
LANTC "Jesus’ death was accompanied by at least four miraculous events: early darkness (Mat_27:45), the tearing in two of the curtain in the Temple, a timely earthquake, and dead people rising from their tombs (Mat_27:52). Jesus’ death, therefore, could not have gone unnoticed. Everyone knew that something significant had happened".
 
Matthew 27:45  At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Matthew 27:46  At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" Matthew 27:47  Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought He was calling for the prophet Elijah. Matthew 27:48  One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to Him on a reed stick so He could drink. Matthew 27:49  But the rest said, "Wait! Let's see whether Elijah comes to save Him." Matthew 27:50  Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit. Matthew 27:51  At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, Matthew 27:52  and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. Matthew 27:53  They left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
 
This sounds like a movie that would be made in this day and age. The difference, of course, is that this was real. Another prophecy was fulfilled during Jesus death. Amo_8:9 Everything changed the moment when Christ died. Can you picture this. You and your wife are at home. Across the street is a small graveyard. You picked this house out because the neighborhood was quiet and safe. The Tabernacle was just up the street so having any transportation was not needed since the food was sold near the temple. You just sat down at the table for lunch and suddenly the room is dark, there is no sun, moon nor stars. Your wife stumbles around to find a candle. Finally a candle is lit and you can see the room and the food. You remember the condemned man that the priests hated was going to be executed today. Fear enters your heart, did we just kill God? Is this the end of time? You and your wife gather the kids and get out of the house the earth had started to shake. Across the street the graveyard erupts and a few graves open up and people arise from the grave.  Now you are fearfully worried and you and the family run as fast as you can in the dark to the temple. Surely God would not destroy his temple. Upon entering you can see because the priest have lit a few candles and there in front of you lies the massive curtain split in two you can see the Ark of the Covenant. Now on your knees all that you can think of is what have we done! This surely is the end God forgive us. Then after three hours of mental torture the sun returns. You run to Golgotha and the cross is now empty. What have we done? What have we done? rattles through your brain. Something has happened you just do no what.
Of course this is fiction but imagine what you had just witnessed. Darkness, earthquake, people rising  from their graves, and you most beloved sanctuary had be defiled.  What would you have done?
 
Matthew 27:54  The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, "This man truly was the Son of God!"
Matthew 27:55  And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for Him were watching from a distance. Matthew 27:56  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
 
This is what the Life Application New Testament Commentary wrote on these verses:
 
"27:45 Jesus had been put on the cross at nine o’clock in the morning. Death by crucifixion was slow and excruciating. Three hours passed while Jesus put up with abuse from bystanders. Then, at noon, darkness settled over the land for three hours. We do not know how this darkness occurred, but it is clear that God caused it. Nature testified to the gravity of Jesus’ death, while Jesus’ friends and enemies alike fell silent in the encircling gloom. The darkness on that Friday afternoon was both physical and spiritual. All nature seemed to mourn over the stark tragedy of the death of God’s Son. Some see a fulfillment of Amo_8:9.
27:46-47 Jesus did not ask this question, “Why have you forsaken me?” in surprise or despair. He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22, a prophecy expressing the deep agony of the Messiah’s death for the world’s sin. Jesus knew that he would be temporarily separated from God the moment he took upon himself the sins of the world because God cannot look on sin (Hab_1:13). This separation was the “cup” Jesus had dreaded as he prayed in Gethsemane (Mat_26:39). The physical agony was horrible, but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture. Jesus suffered this double death so that we would never have to experience eternal separation from God.
The bystanders misinterpreted Jesus’ words and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. Because Elijah had ascended into heaven without dying (2Ki_2:11), a popular belief held that Elijah would return to rescue those suffering from great trouble (Mal_4:5).
27:48-49 John records that Jesus said he was thirsty (Joh_19:28-29). In response, one man soaked a sponge with sour wine. This was not the same as the drugged wine offered to Jesus earlier, but a thirst quencher that was there, probably for the soldiers to drink. This man, either in an act of kindness or further mockery, put the sponge on a long stick and held it up in order to reach Jesus’ lips (again fulfilling prophecy, Psa_69:21). The crowd, however, resuming its taunting, thought Jesus had called for Elijah (Mat_27:47), and said not to give Jesus any relief for his thirst, but instead to wait and see if Elijah would come and save him.
27:50-53 Jesus’ loud cry may have been his last words, “It is finished!” (Joh_19:30). This cry climaxed the horror of the scene and showed his sudden death after over six hours on the cross. Usually crucifixion caused a person to lapse into a coma from extreme exhaustion. Jesus, however, was completely conscious to the end, and then he gave up his spirit.
Some significant events symbolized what Christ’s work on the cross had accomplished. The Temple had three main parts—the courts, the holy place (where only the priests could enter), and the most holy place, reserved by God for himself. It was in the most holy place that the ark of the covenant rested. The room was entered only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, by the high priest as he made a sacrifice to gain forgiveness for the sins of all the nation (Lev_16:1-34). The curtain in the Temple was between the holy place and the most holy place. Symbolically, that curtain separated the holy God from sinful people. By tearing the curtain in two, from top to bottom, God showed that Jesus had opened the way for sinful people to reach a holy God. The opening of the tombs and people being raised from the dead revealed that by Jesus’ death, the power of death was broken.
27:54 A Roman officer had accompanied the soldiers to the execution site. He probably had done this many times. Yet this crucifixion was completely different. These Gentiles realized something that most of the Jewish nation had missed: “Truly, this was the Son of God!” Whether they understood what they were saying, we cannot know. They may simply have admired Jesus’ courage and inner strength, perhaps thinking that he was divine, like one of Rome’s many gods. They were terrified because of the other events (darkness and earthquake) that had surrounded this particular crucifixion, which they attributed to the wrath of God (or a god). They certainly recognized Jesus’ innocence. While the Jewish religious leaders were celebrating Jesus’ death, a small group of Gentiles were the first to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God after his death.
27:55-56 There had been many people at the cross who had come only to mock and taunt Jesus or, like the religious leaders, to revel in their apparent victory. Some of Jesus’ faithful followers were at the cross as well. Among the disciples, only John was there, and he recorded in his Gospel in graphic detail the horror he observed. Many women were also there, watching from a distance.
Mary Magdalene was from Magdala, a town near Capernaum in Galilee. She had been released from demon possession by Jesus (Luk_8:2). Another Mary is distinguished by the names of her sons who may have been well known in the early church. Zebedee’s wife was the mother of the disciples James and John. Her name was Salome (Mat_20:20-21), and she was probably the sister of Jesus’ mother. These women had been faithful to Jesus’ ministry, following him and providing for his material needs (see Luk_8:1-3). John wrote that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was present and that, from the cross, Jesus spoke to John about taking care of Mary (Joh_19:25-27).
These women could do very little, but they did what they could. They stayed at the cross when the disciples had not even come; they followed Jesus’ body to the tomb; they prepared spices for his body. Because these women used the opportunities they had, they were the first to witness the Resurrection. God blessed their devotion, initiative, and diligence. As believers, we should take advantage of the opportunities we have and do what we can for Christ."
Jesus didn't just die, he change the world,
Agape
Dave

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