B26a-devotions

Matthew 27:45-54

Alternative devotions for Thursday 1st January

Today’s passage of scripture describes the climax and conclusion of Jesus’ earthly life. It is a dignified yet terrible story, but what happened immediately after His death is as intriguing as the story of His death itself. The world appeared to stop as Jesus gave up his spirit and the bystanders continued to play their petty games with the dying (27:47-49). It was only after Jesus had died that God began to work with drama and power. The Temple was defaced, then there was a powerful manifestation of God’s power as people were raised from tombs and ‘appeared to many’ (27:53). Lastly, Gentiles were the first to declare the faith of the Church (27:54)!

The time of the crucifixion (27:45) At the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, we race through time from the birth narratives (chs 1,2) to the beginning of His ministry (chs 3,4). From then on, there are few references to time until Jesus comes to Jerusalem for the Passover (ch21). Then, as Jesus is taken captive in the Garden, we realise that the days are short; for Jesus appears before Caiaphas that same evening (26:57ff); and in the morning (27:1) He is brought to Pilate, condemned Him to death and handed Him over to be crucified. Time slows dramatically, and by midday, Jesus has been crucified, enduring the wrath of the authorities and those who pass by whilst his life hangs by a thread.

Time stood still for three hours while Jesus was on the Cross.

During all this, the land was covered with darkness, representing both the final judgement of God and the respect of nature at this cataclysmic moment. The story line picks up Old Testament themes from Amos 8:9 ‘“And on that day," declares the Lord God, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”’ (see also Joel 2:2,31 and Zephaniah 1:15). The darkness also reminds us of Genesis 1:2, where ‘darkness’ is the state of the chaotic world before creation; the whole Universe recognised the moment of Jesus’ agony and death.

Calling for Elijah? (27:46-49) The darkness, and possibly the silence that accompanied it, was broken by Jesus’ cry; ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ These words are a quote of the first line of Psalm 22, and it is possible that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, causing the people round about to think He was calling for Elijah. But even today, there remains uncertainty about why Jesus said these words and what they mean. Did Jesus cry out because God abandoned Him whilst as He bore the sins of humanity? Did Jesus anticipate the resurrection, knowing that Psalm 22 continues (arguably) to do just this?

I suggest that whilst Jesus may have feared physical death as a man, He had to handle a spiritual battle with death. Jesus knew that He would be separated from the Father at death, but God would powerfully overcome that separation. However, as a man, he could not experience this until it actually happened. This divine paradox lies at the heart of Jesus’ work of salvation and redemption, for which we give glory to God.

Those listening, however, appear to have been confused, but for different reasons. Some attempted to offer Jesus a drink, unwittingly fulfilling Psalm 69:21. Others called them to stop (27:49), being interested to see whether his cry for help would be fulfilled. They misheard the word ‘Eli’ which means ‘my God’, and thought Jesus was calling for Elijah; their ignorant wait for Elijah was merely foolish voyeurism.

The death of Jesus (27:50,51) The moment of Jesus death came with a loud shout, and He stopped breathing (27:50). Much has been deduced from the few words of verse 50, but Matthew recorded them with simple dignity. The end of life is rarely an explainable event and always mysterious. Some suggest that Jesus’ cry meant that He had more life in Him, and He gave up His life voluntarily. But this is a mystery, for God took Him in His own time.

What happened next is extraordinary. From that very instant it is as if the Father acted to vindicate Jesus by performing miracles, which proved the truth of Jesus’ ministry and teaching! The accusation levelled at Jesus that caused the greatest damage before Caiaphas and Pilate was that He would tear down the Temple and rebuild it! God therefore tore down the ‘veil of the Temple’ (27:51)! Was this the Father’s outrage at the religious authorities who had killed His Son, against those who pretended to act in God’s Name? Surely this is where we start to understand the ‘rending of the veil’? It would not be long before the whole Temple was torn down by the Romans, in AD70 and everything was destroyed.

The opening of the tombs (27:52,53) Matthew next records an earthquake which split rocks and opened tombs. All this is suggests the Last Judgement (see Is 26:19, Dan 12:2, and Ez 37:1-14). It sounds very dramatic, but earthquakes had often happened in and around Jerusalem, and people had always thought it as a sign that the ‘bodies of holy people were raised’. God’s miracle, however, is best understood as the Father’s powerful demonstration of the link between the death of Jesus and the salvation of all the earth; a new work of Salvation had begun!

Enormous confusion reigns amongst Christians over these verses (52 and 53), because one verse suggests that people were raised before Jesus (27:52), and the next verse jumps forward in time to make it clear that Jesus was raised before those who were raised were seen (27:53). Jesus’ death and Resurrection is not a matter of timetables, however; there is something glorious about the way God went about dispensing resurrection power with liberality! Clearly, something amazing happened at the tombs, because those who watched Jesus die ‘saw the earthquake and all that took place’ (27:54). Jesus’ death was itself a moment of power and glory, something we struggle to comprehend.

The conclusion of the Centurion (27:54) Instead of sleepy disciples failing to watch their Lord at the garden of Gethsemane, here were Gentile soldiers, watching everything up to the end of Jesus’ life. Some of them were those who had mocked him earlier (they was only one cohort in Jerusalem). Observing everything that took place, they were not worried about theological and historical issues. They were immediately able to deduce that what was written over Jesus’ head was the truth, and like independent witnesses convinced of something they did not expect to see, they announced ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ and in so doing they made the strongest possible declaration of faith.

45 From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. 46 And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 47 Some of the bystanders heard it and said, ‘He is calling for Elijah.’ 48 Straight away, one of them ran to get a sponge, soaked it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered it to him to drink. 49 But others said, ‘Wait, let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.’

50 Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks split. 52 The tombs also opened, and many bodies of holy people who had died were raised. 53 After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those who were keeping watch over Jesus with him, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’

Dear Lord and Father of all, we commit ourselves to You in this New Year with confidence and joy. Confidence, because we know that nothing can separate us from Your love; and joy because we know that you will never leave us and Your compassion is unfailing. Dear Lord, may we demonstrate our zeal for Jesus, and may the glory of true faith shine on our faces. AMEN

In this New Year of 2009, let us rejoice in our faith

What a joy it is, Lord God, to be one who knows God’s love;

What a delight it is to be a person who puts faith into practice;

What a privilege it is to be one who feels God’s presence;

What a charge it is to be someone who cares for others;

What an honour it is to be one who receives God’s revelation;

What a challenge it is to be a preacher of the Word;

What a witness it is to be one who can testify to God’s salvation;

What a test it is to be a pioneer in His work in the world;

In this New Year of 2009, let us be ready to do God’s will.

Weekly Theme: The Coming Year

Now that 2009 is with us, let us all pray that this year will be one in which Christians will be willing to work together to testify to their Lord and do the work of the Kingdom of God.

On-going prayers

Pray for Iraq and the country’s prospects for 2009
Give thanks to God for all the blessings of Christmas time
Pray about the on-going strife between Israel and Palestine

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