Matthew 27:45-66 - They think its all over

27:45-50

Darkness covered the land, we can perhaps see this as the wrath of God being turned on Jesus, God turning His back on Jesus. Jesus then quotes from Psalm 22:1. While this first verse is obviously important, we should also read the rest of that Psalm to get a fuller picture of what is happening. The “forsaking” was not the end. His words may have been somewhat indistinct for someone thought He was calling for Elijah. He was offered some wine vinegar, maybe out of compassion. Then Jesus gave up His spirit after a loud cry, which John tells us was “It is finished!”. In the words of that excellent song, “the wrath of God was satisfied”.

27:51-53

The temple curtain was torn in two, signifying the ending of the separation between man and God. Jesus had paid the full price for our sins. There was also an earthquake, and then we get one of the most enigmatic sections in the Bible, “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 Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people”. And I haven’t got a clue what to make of it!

27:54

We have here the witness of the centurion, and those with him, It is worth noting that it says “saw the earthquake and all that had happened”. This implies that the strange events of 51-53 were not a “narrative device”, but something that actually happened. So seeking to write it off because we find it so odd and difficult to explain is not a viable option. The centurion and those with him declared that Jesus was the Son of God. It was not just the centurion himself, but his fellow soldiers as well. Those who partook directly in the crucifixion were the first to recognise who Jesus is. And of course, they were gentiles. The gospel is for the guilty, regardless of race or gender or nationality. And we are all guilty. See also that “they were terrified”. Fear is part of a proper reaction to Jesus. It is not just “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”.

27:55,56

Most of the men come out badly in the Easter events. Judas and Peter, and the rest of the disciples, the religious leader, Pilate, the soldiers (prior to the previous verse). The women come out rather better. Here they are mentioned as watching from a distance. They are marked out as having cared for Jesus’ needs. 

27:57,58

Is 53:9 says that the suffering servant “was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death”. This seems inherently contradictory, yet it is what happened. He was on the cross between two criminals, now Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, gives Him his tomb. Joseph had become a disciple of Jesus. He had to approach Pilate, that would possibly have been a risky thing to do. So we see that while many of the disciples were not rich, some were. The gospel is for all and we need to utterly reject any teaching that rejects parts of society. All have sinned, and all are called to repent and believe, and all who so will be saved. 

27:59-61

Jesus’ body was wrapped in a linen cloth and placed in the tomb. This tomb had been cut out of the rock. A big stone was placed in front of the tomb. So the body was secure. And the two Mary’s were sitting watching. This counters two of the theories that deny the resurrection. One is that Jesus had not died on the cross, but had merely passed out and was later revived “in the cool of the tomb”. First the idea that Jesus had not died is itself ludicrous, the Romans knew how to kill people! But even if it was true that He had not died, how could He have escaped from the tomb, especially in the terrible physical state He would have been in? Another theory is that the women went to the wrong tomb on Easter Sunday. We see from here that they knew exactly where the tomb was, they had seen Jesus being placed in it!

27:62-66

“The day after Preparation Day” is the Sabbath. This further shows up the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, remember how many of their clashes with Jesus revolved around the Sabbath and not doing “work” on that day! Yet here they are going to the Roman rulers. They are fearful that Jesus’ words about rising from the dead might actually come true. It seems they were more aware of these words than the disciples were! They did not actually expect Him to rise, but thought the disciples might try to steal the body. So they requested that a guard be placed on the tomb. So Pilate ordered that the tomb be made as secure as possible. This counters yet another “theory” about the resurrection, namely that the disciples stole the body. This theory is pathetic. First, the guards on the tomb mentioned here made it impossible. If they had stolen the body it would surely have turned up eventually. Finally, how would a dead body utterly transform the disciples, and lead to a movement that impacted the Roman Empire and has gone on to impact the whole world?