Matthew 27:45-54

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Introduction

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

In our last time together we looked at verses 27-44 which covered most of Jesus’ passion, as well as the onset of his crucifixion. In those verses we witnessed his scourging at Pilate’s palace by Roman soldiers, we witnessed the mocking he endured, both within Pilate’s palace and while he was being crucified, by the both the Roman solders and the Jews. He was taken outside the city of Jerusalem to a place called Golgotha (translated ‘the skull’), what we commonly refer to as Calvary.
While we often focus on the physical sufferings that Jesus endured, Matthew saw fit that we notice the irony in the mockery that Jesus faced. That when the soldiers dressed him up, that they dressed him up like a king with cheap props. Dressing him up with a makeshift scarlet robe, crowing him with a crown made from a branch of thorns, and forcing him to hold a reed in his hand as though it were a king’s scepter. And while the soldiers made fun of him, and even mockingly bowed down to him, little did they know they spoke more truly of him than they realized. That the man of whom they mockingly dressed as a king really was a king, and not just any king.
And after Jesus was hung from his cross they attached a sign above him that read, “The King of the Jews” which made even the Jewish council members uncomfortable, and so they mocked him also, saying things like, “He saved others, [yet] he cannot save himself.” and “He is the King of Israel; [therefore] let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him.” and “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Yet, again, little did they know that they too spoke more truly of him than they realized. That in order to save others he must not save himself, and that it was precisely because he was the Son of God that he would not come down from the cross. And that their unbelief was not because it wasn’t manifestly obvious who Jesus was, but that it was because they loved their own sin.

Jesus’ final hours

Now, it’s at this point in the story that Matthew directs our attention to Jesus’ death and his burial, but not before we witness his final moments on the cross, and the immediate impact of his death. We read there, starting in verse 45,

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

So, at first, Matthew grounds this moment in his timeline of events. He tells us that Jesus was crucified between the sixth and ninth hour of the day, which by our calculation would be between noon and 3 p.m.. And don’t forget, by Jewish reckoning this was very late in the day, because sunset would have marked the end of their daily cycle, and the beginning of the next, which would have been somewhere around 6 p.m.. And later in verse 62 Matthew indicates that this is the day of Preparation, in other words, the day leading up to the Sabbath on Saturday. It had been less than 24 hours since Jesus had sat down with his disciples over the Passover meal Friday night, which, if you’re following closely was the beginning of the day of Preparation, or Good Friday as we often refer to it now. Jesus’ day began with the Passover meal and will end in his death.

Darkness over all the land

And Matthew says that while Jesus suffered on the cross for those three hours, that darkness fell over all the land. And while we’re not told explicitly whether or not this was a natural or supernatural event, I get the impression that it was the latter based on the reaction we see from the soldiers later on in the story, that they responded to these events with an unexpected fear. Moreover, in Luke’s Gospel he describes the darkness as when the “sun’s light failed.” But either way, the darkness is intended to communicate judgement.
Most of you probably recall that one of the plagues brought against Egypt was darkness. We read in Exodus 10:21,

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

And then in Amos 8:9, the prophet describes God’s judgement against Israel like this,

9  “And on that day,” declares the Lord GOD,

“I will make the sun go down at noon

and darken the earth in broad daylight.

So, the darkness is intended to communicate judgement, and judgement upon the land and its people, however, we know that it’s also a judgement upon Jesus himself, which we’ll see in the next verse. As one scholar put it, “the cosmic blackness [also] hinted at [another] deep judgement that was taking place.” (D.A. Carson, Matthew Commentary)

Jesus forsaken

Read again with me there in verse 46,

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

So, while the darkness is intended to communicate judgement against Jerusalem, we also see that a great judgement is being carried out upon Jesus himself. That this judgement results in him crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus appears to be quoting Psalm 22 when the David writes,

1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2  O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

This is the same messianic psalm that we quoted from in our last time together when Matthew told us that the soldiers were casting lots for Jesus’ garments, it said,

16  For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17  I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18  they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

So, it would be fitting for Jesus to quote from this familiar psalm, as he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” However, while David in Psalm 22 felt genuinely forsaken we know that he was not, that though, to David, God felt far away, that he was not. That David’s struggle was that though he knew God was with him, he felt unable to perceive him in his circumstances.
Whereas, in Jesus’ circumstance, he experienced a forsakenness that what qualitatively different than David’s. Jesus’ experience was more than merely feeling as though God had forsaken him, but really hadn’t, instead Jesus’ sense of abandonment was one that was very real. Now, I’m not saying that the Godhead was somehow put asunder, or that God was divided in his divine essence in that moment, but the darkness of Jesus’ crucifixion, the experience of his suffering and the cup of God’s divine wrath poured out upon him is to be likened to that of divine abandonment, of being forsaken.
That he experienced genuine abandonment and estrangement from God in a way that was a fitting punishment for the sins of the whole world. Jesus had become a curse, and he had been put outside the camp, put outside the city into the darkness to die a cursed death. And for three hours He sat under divine judgement for sin, and at the end of that time he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
You see, this was the cup that, less than 24 hours ago, Jesus was referring to while he prayed in Gethsemane, saying,

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

You see, Jesus was experiencing the horror of the world’s sin, and the consequences of it, which was the price for our salvation.

Calling Elijah

However, those around didn’t understand what was happening. We read there in verse 47,

47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

This is kind of a weird exchange, but the best we can tell, is that some of the bystanders probably misunderstood what Jesus was saying, thinking that when he said, “Eli, Eli” that he was calling for Elijah. And apparently there were some in the ancient world who thought that Elijah would return (in the same way he departed) to rescue the righteous in their distress. Now, there’s no biblical warrant for this expectation, but this appears to be what’s happening here. It’s also hard to determine whether this offer of sour wine again is some kind of newfound compassion due to the darkness, or merely an attempt to heap further mockery upon him.

Jesus yielded up his spirit

But then in verse 50 we read,

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

It’s at this point that the other Gospel writers include two of Jesus’ other closing remarks, when he said, “It is finished.” and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” So, we get the impression here that Jesus dies when he means to. That for three hours he endured the divine darkness, and by the ninth hour it was finished, and so he yielded up his spirit. This was a man who was in complete control of his faculties even at his death, and that he remained as long as it took to drink the cup. As Jesus said in John 10:18,

18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

Manifest ramifications

Then, starting in verse 51, the effects of Jesus’ crucifixion are felt across the land. We read,

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew’s description of the events that preceded and followed Jesus’ crucifixion give us this image of a splash and ripple affect. That Jesus’ death caused a deep darkness to fall upon the land which was immediately followed by a severe earthquake, the temple’s curtain being torn in two and even the resurrection of many dead saints throughout the city. In other words, there were many dramatic signs that accompanied Jesus’ crucifixion that gave evidence of it significance.

Temple curtain torn

For instance, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Likely referring to the curtain that fenced off the holy of holies, where only the high priest could enter in under certain circumstances. The curtain was symbolic of the barrier between God and man. In the beginning, after Adam and Eve had sinned, they were banished from the Garden of Eden, banished from God’s presence. Genesis chapter 3 says that He drove them out of the Garden and placed cherubim to guard the entrance. Genesis 3:24 says that,

24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

And then later during the Exodus, when God was moving redemptive history forward by means of the people of Isreal, he instructed them in the wilderness to erect a tabernacle, a place where He would dwell among them, yet even the tabernacle remained guarded by thick fabric walls. With only certain individuals permitted to enter parts of the tabernacle at certain times and under certain conditions, especially the innermost room, the holy of holies.
So, ever since sin had entered the world, through Adam, a barrier stood between God and man. However, when Jesus came, that barrier was torn down. At Jesus’ crucifixion the curtain of the temple was torn in two. And to signify that this was the Lord’s doing, Matthew tells us that the 80’ tall curtain inside the temple was torn from top to bottom.
Therefore, when we worship a barrier no longer separates the people from God. Hebrews 4:16 describes it like this,

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

and then in Hebrews 10:19-22,

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

and then finally in Hebrews 10:19-22,
Hebrews 10:19–22 ESV
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
The tearing of the temple’s curtain signaled a new age, the age of the Messiah and of God’s kingdom. That something greater than the temple had come, and that access to God was through Christ rather than the temple.

Earthquake, rocks split in two

Matthew also says that “the earth shook, and the rocks were split in two.” Again, like the darkness that had fallen upon the land, the earthquake signified judgement. To the Jews it also signified God’s immediate presence and his direct intervention into the affairs of men.
In the same Amos text that I referred to earlier about the connection between darkness and judgement, Amos also makes a connection between earthquakes and God’s judgement. Amos writes in chapter 8, verse 8,

8  Shall not the land tremble on this account,

and everyone mourn who dwells in it,

Psalm 114, when describing God’s presence says in verse 7,

7  Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,

And then in the book of Judges when Deborah and Barak were rejoicing that God had subdued the Canaanites, they say in chapter 5, verses 4-5

4  “LORD, when you went out from Seir,

when you marched from the region of Edom,

the earth trembled

and the heavens dropped,

yes, the clouds dropped water.

5  The mountains quaked before the LORD,

even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.

Tombs opened, bodies raised

Then, back in verse 52, we read that,

52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

So, not only has the sky been darkened and the city hit by an earthquake, but Matthew tells us that three days later the bodies of many saints who had died were raised. Now, Matthew is the only Gospel writer that records this and we don’t get any further detail, so we’re left with a lot of questions about these resurrected saints, but Matthew’s point is for us to feel the impact of Jesus’ crucifixion, and for us to ponder the ramifications of Jesus’ death.
Because the resurrection of these individuals I think symbolizes Jesus’ conquest over death itself. In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy he describes Jesus as abolishing death, and bringing life and immortality through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). The author of Hebrews also wrote that Jesus, through his death, destroyed the one who had power over death, that is, the devil. So the local resurrections witnessed around the city of Jerusalem represented, at least in part, what Jesus’ death had accomplished. They were evidence that Jesus had conquered death. They signaled that death had been overcome, the promise of resurrection was evidenced, in part, by these resurrected saints.

Truly this was the Son of God

And these signs impacted everyone, even the Gentiles solders who were guarding Jesus. In fact, notice the response of the centurion and his soldiers there in verse 54,

54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

And this has been one of the persistent themes throughout Matthew’s Gospel, that Jesus is the Son of God. Matthew has repeatedly revealed this in various ways. Think about Jesus’ baptism back in chapter 3 when Jesus came up out of the water and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Then again in chapter 8 when Jesus encountered the two demon-possessed men in the country of the Gadarenes, and the demons cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God?” Or when Jesus himself repeatedly claimed that God was his Father? Or when Jesus came to his disciples, walking on the water, and calmed the wind and the seas, and those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Then in chapter 26 we saw that Jesus was condemned for the very claim that he was the Son of God. And it wasn’t but a few verses ago that the soldiers and chief priests were mocking him for it. And so by the time we reach verse 54 Matthew is bringing to bear upon his reader all of this testimony that screams, Jesus is the Son of God. And now even the Gentile soldiers can see it.
Notice how he builds his case, God bears witness from heaven, the demons bear witness, Jesus himself bears witness, his disciples bear witness, the signs and wonders bear witness, and now even the Gentiles are filled with awe and they say, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The darkness and the earthquake couldn’t be easily overlooked. The soldiers had, undoubtedly, carried out countless crucifixions, but none like this one.

Conclusion

As we close, I want to draw your attention to a biblical doctrine that theologians like to call double imputation. In short, when we’re saved Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, and our sin is imputed to Christ. It’s a twofold transaction. The word impute simply means to credit or to ascribe, so the doctrine of double-imputation teaches that while Christ’s righteousness was credited to us, our sin was credited to him at his crucifixion. And in our text today, Jesus hung on the cross from noon until 3 o’clock, for three hours, until it was finished. And in that moment the sins of his people were credited to him as though he were the sinner, and simultaneously your salvation was secured. Jesus suffered punishment for real sins committed by real people, his people, that we might possess eternal life. The Apostle Paul describes this concept of double imputation well when he writes in 2 Corinthians 5:20, that,

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And with that let’s pray.

Prayer

Lord, help us to see the severity of judgement that Jesus drank on our behalf. Help us to see the wickedness of our own sin that we might see the magnitude of Christ’s love for us at the cross. I pray that seeing the wickedness of our sin would motivate us to flee from it and to deepen our love for you, that it would cause our hearts be grateful. To give thanks always, and for everything.
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