6 Miracles that Show us the Meaning of the Cross

Intro:

Many know the bare facts of the crucifixion but have no grasp of its meaning apart from the obvious travesty of human justice.

Nowhere in Scripture is the meaning of the cross delineated more powerfully than in Matthew 27:45–53,

It records six miracles that form Almighty God’s own commentary on the meaning of the cross.

Read Matthew 27:45-53

I. Supernatural Darkness vs. 45-47

t The first miraculous sign that accompanied Jesus’ death was not glorious light but dread darkness

When Jesus was born, the night sky around Bethlehem was filled with supernatural light as “the glory of the Lord shone around” the shepherds in the field

The crucifixion darkness was indeed a mark of divine judgment.

From the sixth hour (noon), when the sun is at its zenith, supernatural darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour

The Greek word for (land) can also be translated earth, indicating the entire world.

It was pitch dark, not just darkness that comes from cloud cover

A normal astronomical eclipse would have been impossible during the crucifixion, because the sun and moon were far apart on that day

Why darkness?

Darkness was long taught that it was the judgment of God on the world for a heinous sin

Joel 2:2 ESV

a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.

The cross was a place of immense divine judgment, where the sins of the world were poured out vicariously on the sinless, perfect Son.

It was therefore appropriate that great supernatural darkness express God’s reaction to sin in that act of judgment.

II. Separation from His Father vs. 46-49

A second miracle occurred at about the ninth hour, or three o’clock in the afternoon, through an inexplicable event that might be called sovereign departure, as somehow God was separated from God.

At that time Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”

As Matthew explains, the Hebrew Eli means, My God, and lama sabachthani means, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?

In this unique and strange miracle, Jesus was crying out in anguish because of the separation He now experienced from His heavenly Father for the first and only time in all of eternity

God turned His back when Jesus was on the cross because He could not look upon sin, even-or perhaps especially-in His own Son.

Jesus did not die as a martyr to a righteous cause or simply as an innocent man wrongly accused and condemned.

Nor, as some suggest, did He die as a heroic gesture against man’s inhumanity to man.

The Father could have looked favorably on such selfless deaths as those.

But because Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world, the righteous heavenly Father had to judge Him fully according to that sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

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

Jesus did for a while cease to know the intimacy of fellowship with His heavenly Father, just as a disobedient child ceases for a while to have intimate, normal, loving fellowship with his human father

Jesus had to suffer the worst of all punishments by being our substitute, separation from His Father

III. Gave Up His Life vs. 50

A third miracle of the cross was Christ’s self-giving death,

the Son’s willing sacrifice of Himself for the sins of the world in obedience to His Father’s will.

The fact that Jesus cried out again with a loud voice demonstrated considerable physical strength, even after the beatings, scourging, crown of thorns, nail wounds, and hanging in agony for several hours.

Jesus did not gradually fade away, His life ebbing little by little until gone.

Even now He made it evident that He was not at the point of utter exhaustion and that He had the resources to stay alive if He so desired.

The last words the Lord cried out from the cross were first, “It is finished” (John 19:30), indicating that the work His Father had sent Him to accomplish was complete.

Then, once again addressing God as His Father, He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit

Jesus’ life was not taken from Him by men, but rather He surrendered His spirit by the conscious act of His own sovereign will.

John 10:18 ESV

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. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus’ ability to speak from the cross in a loud voice indicated a reserve of energy unheard of for a person in His physical condition.

Nevertheless, even in light of His severe bodily condition, Jesus died much sooner than normal.

Therefore when Joseph of Arimathea informed Pilate of Jesus’ death and asked for His body, the governor was surprised and asked a centurion to give verification

He did not take His own life, but He willingly gave it up to those who sought to take it and who otherwise could not have succeeded

On the cross the Father judged the sin of the world that the Son took upon Himself, and the Son, who divinely controls living and dying, willingly surrendered His life as penalty for that sin.

IV. Entrance to the Holy of Holies vs. 51

The fourth miracle that occurred during the crucifixion was the divine devastation of the sanctuary, as the veil of the temple was torn in two.

Temple does not refer to the Temple as a whole but to the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt in His symbolic presence.

A huge woven veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple

Once a year the high priest was allowed to pass through the veil on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle blood on the altar for the sins of the people, and that only for a brief period of time.

The ritual had to be repeated every year, anticipating the one, true sacrifice for sins that the Son of God Himself one day would offer.

When Christ gave up His spirit, that once-for-all sacrifice was completed and the need for a veil no longer existed.

By coming to the Son, any man could now come to God directly, without need of priest, sacrifice, or ritual.

Consequently, the veil was torn in two from top to bottom by God’s miraculous act, because the barrier of sin was forever removed for those who put their trust in the Son as Lord and Savior.

By rending the Temple veil, God was saying, in effect, “In the death of My Son, Jesus Christ, there is total access into My holy presence.

He has paid the full price of sin for everyone who trusts in Him, and I now throw open My holy presence to all who will come in His name.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

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.

Meaning: Access has been granted to everyone

V. Earthquake vs. 51b

A fifth miracle that occurred during the crucifixion was a supernaturally caused earthquake.

Immediately after Jesus died and the Temple veil was torn in two, the earth shook; and the rocks were split. Making still another statement about His Son to the world, and especially to His chosen people, the Father brought a devastating earthquake to Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

When God shook the earth at the death of His Son, He gave the world a foretaste of what He will do when one day He shakes the earth in judgment at the coming of the King of kings

Meaning:

VI. Tombs Opened 52-53

The sixth miracle at the crucifixion was closely related to the previous one, as the supernatural earthquake not only gave the world a foretaste of divine judgment but also caused many tombs to be opened.

The significant miracle of that event, however, was not the mere opening of tombs, as could occur during any earthquake.

The great miracle was that many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

After the veil of the Temple was torn in two and the earth around Jerusalem was violently shaken, the Lord selectively raised the bodies of certain believers who had died.