Matthew has recorded the account of Christ’s crucifixion in only 25 verses and about 365 words. Neither he nor the other gospel writers were attempting to write about each detail or explain the significance of the details that they did include. But very importantly Matthew and the other gospel writers have given to the church the account of how Jesus the Son of God was obedient in all things including death, so that His perfect life and death were accepted as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
Matthew’s account of Christ’s shameful crucifixion can be divided into two main sections. The first section is =erses 32-44. What do we see especially emphasized in those verses? It is the shame, the mocking, the insults that were poured out on our Lord.
The second part of Matthew’s account in verses 45-54. And this second part of the account can be divided into two sections. Matthew first focuses on the judgment Christ endured as the perfect sacrifice. The greatest agony that Jesus experienced was not the physical pain of crucifixion but was the spiritual pain that He endured. Thomas Kelly wrote,
… the deepest stroke that pierced him Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Matthew’s account, thankfully, does not end with the judgment and wrath He bore in being made sin for us, but he shows also very powerfully that the sacrifice of Christ was accepted.
2Cor. 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Know that your sins were placed upon Christ. Rejoice in the acceptance of His perfect sacrifice.
1. The Judgment Jesus Christ Endured, vv. 45-50
Let us review the events of Christ’s suffering as the perfect sacrifice. The crucifixion of Jesus started in the morning after a very long night where Jesus was first arrested, tried before Caiaphas the High Priest, where he was also mocked and beaten. He was later brought to Herod and then examined by Pilate who ordered that he be cruelly scourged. He was stripped of his clothes given instead a crown of thorns and a scarlet robe. This robe was then stripped off as they continued to spit in Jesus’ face, beat and mock him before He was taken to Golgotha.
In Matthew 27:45 there is a change in the account. As we observed last week, in the first part of the account Jesus is silent. His only direct action was His rejection of the wine-vinegar mixed with gall. There is also no mention of any actions of God. But this changes in verses 45-54.
Highlighting this change in focus is the detail that Matthew records in verse 45. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, that is from about 12 p.m. until 3 p.m., there was darkness over all the land. This is the first of four signs or parts of the judgment that Jesus endured. This was not simply an eclipse of the sun – you can’t have that when you have a full moon, nor does a solar eclipse even last that long. Matthew presents no physical cause for the darkness, though God may have used some physical means to cause this darkness. Based on several OT passages it would seem that thick and dark clouds blocked the light of the sun and caused the great darkness. However God brought about this darkness at the brightest part of the day and for three hours, it clearly was a picture of judgment. Israel was warned in Amos 8:9-10 that God would bring judgment for her hypocrisy and exploitation.
Amos 8:9-10 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.”
Do you see the connection of Amos 8:9-10 and the account here in Matthew? The sun did go down at noon. The festival of Passover was turned into a time of mourning.
Listen also to Zephaniah 1:15 which describes the Day of the LORD.
Zeph. 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,
The crucifixion was a Day of the LORD. It was a day of judgment against Israel, but I think even more significant than judgment coming on Israel is the fact that the NT writers show that judgment was directed against Jesus. Jesus did not simply die as an example of love or sacrifice.
How are you to see that judgment was directed against Jesus? Two reasons. First, Jesus is the focus of this entire account. Second, the words of Jesus speak of His pain and suffering. You see both the suffering inflicted by men in various forms and you are to see then also the judgment that came from God in that Christ bore your sin and judgment.
We are not told what those who watched the crucifixion thought about the darkness. Rather Matthew focuses on Jesus’ response. Here for the first time in Matthew’s account one of the sayings that Christ spoke on the cross is recorded. Looking at all the gospels, there are 7 sayings that Jesus spoke on the cross, but Matthew has only given one of those sayings, perhaps to emphasize the theme of the silence of Christ as a sacrifice, as the lamb of God.
The second aspect of judgment that Jesus endured is seen in verse 46. We read that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
How are you to understand this cry of Jesus? Let us give some time to this question.
First, consider the timing of this cry. It took place at about the ninth hour, after Jesus had been on the cross for about 6 hours. It would appear from the rest of the account here in Matthew, that Jesus was close to death. I think we would be correct in understanding that this cry represents the climax of what Jesus suffered. R. T. France wrote, “This is not just a cry of pain, but an anguished appeal to God which reveals for a moment something of the mental and spiritual torment of the ‘cup’ Jesus had accepted in Gethsemane.”[1]
Second, observe that Jesus after all that He endured cried out not with a whimper but in a loud voice. This was not a private expression of sorrow but Jesus was speaking something that others were to hear.
Third, the cry of Jesus comes from Psalm 22:1. David was the human author of Psalm 22. So in this loud cry there is another clear connection with David and another powerful testimony that Jesus is the Messiah. His suffering did not call this into question but rather was a powerful proof that Jesus was the true Son of David and the promised Messiah.
Fourth, the words of Jesus in no way are an expression of despair or doubt on the part of Jesus. Jesus cried out to God, My God, My God.
Fifth, there is great difficulty in understanding what exactly it means that Jesus was forsaken. How was Jesus forsaken by God the Father? I think in this cry we understand that Jesus was tasting the fullness of the cup that He had to drink. In this cry we understand that Jesus was made sin for us and that He experienced the fullness of God’s wrath and justice which His people deserved to bear.
Origen, one of the early church commentators, has made a good observation here. He wrote,
But you will be able clearly to comprehend His meaning if you make a comparison of the glory which He had with the Father with the shame which He despised when He endured the cross. [2]
In verses 47-49, Matthew shows that Jesus’ loud cry was misunderstood, perhaps intentionally, twisted, and that he was further mocked as He continued to experience the judgment of the cross. This is the third part of Christ’s suffering and judgment as well as a form of temptation. Though Jesus was not asking to be taken down from the cross, those who stood by and watched Him die, claimed that He was calling for Elijah’s help. This twisting of Jesus’ words is made more sensible by understanding that Jewish tradition taught that Elijah would come from heaven to help God’s people in danger.[3] Both verses 47 and 49 show the mockery that was shown to Jesus in the midst of his most intense pain. “This Man is calling for Elijah. Let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”
Further adding to the mockery is the sponge filled with sour wine that was offered to Jesus. This action done in fulfillment of Psalm 69:21 was not an act of kindness but again of rejection. Though this sour wine was used by the soldiers to quench their own thirst, it may have been offered to Jesus not to relieve His thirst but to revive him in order to prolong his agony.[4]
Luke 23:36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
The final aspect of the judgment Christ endured on the cross is given in the brief account of Jesus’ death in verse 50. Jesus again cried out with a loud voice. Jesus was not just fading away, but He died in full possession of His senses and still with great pain.[5] Matthew does not record what Jesus said in this final cry. In John’s gospel, Jesus declared, “It is Finished.” Luke records that Jesus once again spoke of God as His Father; “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” But Matthew perhaps emphasizing the rejection of Jesus on the cross simply describes that Jesus with one final and loud cry yielded up His spirit.
In the Greek translation of Psalm 22, the same word cryis used three times.
Psa. 22:2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
Psa. 22:5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
Psa. 22:24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
This last use of the word cry in Psalm 22 is very significant in considering the continued account of Jesus’ death.
Jesus did not simply pass out, become unconscious for a time. No, He died. His physical life came to a complete end.
Adam was warned in the Garden of Eden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
The NT speaks much about the death of Christ as being the triumph over sin, the devil, and death itself. But this triumph was accomplished because Jesus bore the curse of sin and the wrath of God. His death is victory but also the judgment He faced in being made sin for us.
2. The Acceptance of Christ and His Sacrifice, vv. 51-54
Psalm 22 begins with the cry of rejection. It ends celebrating final deliverance and victory. And in a similar way, Matthew after presenting the fullness of judgment that Christ endured also shows the acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice and His victory.
Matthew presents 5 supernatural signs that followed Christ’s crucifixion which show clearly that Christ’s sacrifice was not in vain and with His resurrection there was the end of the old covenant administration and the beginning of the new covenant.
First, from verse 51 we see that God in a dramatic fashion ripped the massive veil of the temple in two from top to bottom. We are not told whether this was the massive outer veil, a curtain 7 stories in height that hung in front of the equally massive gold-plated wooden doors, or whether this veil was the inner veil which blocked the entrance into the Holy of Holies. It is theologically more likely that it was this inner veil or curtain that God tore showing dramatically that the old sacrificial system was finished.
Heb. 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.
Second and third from verse 51 we see that God shook the earth and split or ripped the rocks into two. Both of these actions are found throughout the OT as pictures of God’s judgment on those in rebellion. These actions again show that the death of Christ was a Day of the LORD. We could look at Jeremiah 4:23-24 which describes God bringing both darkness and the shaking of the earth in response to the evil of His people. Listen also to Ezekiel 38:19.
Ezek. 38:19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: “Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel…”
Those who mocked Jesus in His pain and agony demanded a sign from heaven in the coming of Elijah. But here God was powerfully demonstrating the significance of the death of Jesus and the judgment that would come to those who continue in their rebellion.[6]
In verse 52, two other powerful signs are recorded. Graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And then in verse 53 we read, “and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Only Matthew records this amazing miracle of the raising of dead saints. I believe the best way of understanding these verses is to understand actions both connected with Christ’s death and with His resurrection. At the earthquake of verse 41, tombs were opened. After Christ’s resurrection the bodies were raised and these saints came into Jerusalem.
Who were these saints, these holy ones who were raised? We know only two details. Many were raised. This means more than just one or two, but how many we don’t know. Second, likely they were saints living near Jerusalem. They entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Some commentators suggest that we should not understand verses 52 and 53 as having literally happened. But why not? Just because we can’t understand all the details or that they are difficult doesn’t mean we simply understand this in a metaphorical way.
We also should see a connection here with Ezekiel 37:12-13.
Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
There are a number of points of contact between Ezekiel 37, the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones and verses 52-53.
Let me quote from a paper written by C. Hassell Bullock in 1982.
Just as in Matt 27:51 an earthquake is followed by the opening of the tombs (v 52), likewise in Ezek 37:7 there is an earthquake at the voice of the prophecy, and in v 12 the Lord says, “Behold, I am opening your tombs.” The opening of the graves then is succeeded by the divine impartation of the Spirit (37:14). And it may not be without significance in this regard that in John 20:22 we see the risen Christ who “breathed” upon the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Lord’s instructions to the prophet Ezekiel were: “Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus says the LORD God: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live” (37:9). So we may suggest that Jesus, by his resurrection and the attendant revivification of many of the dead saints (Matt 27:52), inaugurated the eschatological era that Ezekiel predicted. [7]
Finally then in verse 54 we have another powerful response to the death of Christ. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
I don’t know that we have enough information presented here to say that this one centurion and the others with him were converted at this time having come to a full understanding of Jesus and His work on the cross. But it is worth noting that the words spoken by this centurion have only been spoken before by the disciples of Jesus. It was Peter who earlier declared to Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. The religious leaders condemned Jesus for blasphemy for affirming that He was the Son of God. But now this one centurion and the others with him were given insight that those in Israel did not have. We have here as throughout Matthew’s gospel a picture of the gospel going to the nations.
And in this great confession of the centurion is there not a picture of what all sinners must do in seeking the only true source of salvation? We also who are responsible for his death are led to again declare, Truly this was the Son of God!
Final Applications and Conclusion
I would like to present two points of application in conclusion.
The heart of the Protestant Reformation is the doctrine of justification. A sinner is declared righteous not through any work or act that he does, rather a sinner is declared righteous by God because the righteousness of Christ is accounted or imputed to Him, and this is received through faith.
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 60. How are you right with God?
Answer. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart.
Question 61. Why do you say that by faith alone you are right with God?
Answer. It is not because of any value my faith has that God is pleased with me. Only Christ’s satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me right with God. And I can receive this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone.
There are many Scripture passages which confirm this wonderful truth. But unfortunately in the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and in other places a different message is being offered. Oh, yes, Jesus paid for your sins but still your works in some way are part of your justification.
There are various ways to show that such is heretical teaching. One way of arguing this is to ask the question, how could any human work ever be compared with what Jesus accomplished on the cross? It is perfectly true that just as Jesus offered Himself in sacrifice so you are called to act in a similar manner, but could human obedience ever be placed on the same level as Christ’s obedience? Could human suffering ever compare with what Christ suffered? No, the only hope anyone can ever have is to trust and believe in what Jesus accomplished. This is the only place of rest and hope.
Second, it is important to often consider the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice in light of what God expects of you. The greatness of Christ’s sacrifice and the acceptance of His sacrifice means that there is no way you ever hope to somehow repay the debt that you owe and so there is absolutely no place for seeking to repay God.
If Christ’s sacrifice was not all that great then perhaps there could be some way of repaying Christ for what He did. But there is absolutely no way for this. It would be like a person who makes $10.00/hour thinking that he could hope to repay the national debt of over $14 trillion, if he could only put in a little overtime most weeks.
Christ’s sacrifice is not a call for you to seek to repay the debt of love and obligation you owe. This is why we speak of salvation as an act of love and grace. You don’t seek to repay grace and in this case it is totally impossible. Rather than repay you are to seek to live according to God’s grace. Show love and grace to others not as a way of repaying but as a way of celebrating the matchless grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Rom. 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
[1] France, 1075.
[2] Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea (Golden Chain), Accordance electronic ed. (London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1842), 958.
[3] France, 1077.
[4] IVP NT Background Commentary, s.v. Matthew 27:48-49.
[5] France, 1078.
[6] R. E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, Vol. 2, 1120.
[7] C. Hassell Bullock, “Ezekiel, Bridge Between The Testaments.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 25, no. 1 (March 1982): 30. Emphasis mine.