The life & killing of Jesus Christ

from the Gospel of Matthew

(Matthew 27:51-54)

The Killing of Jesus

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What are the three time periods leading to the killing of Jesus?
2. What followed the Passover?
3. What were the first and last days of the week following the Passover called?
4. What was the day before each Sabbath called and what was its purpose?
5. What was the purpose of the rush to get Jesus’ body buried after the crucifixion?
6. What were the three supernatural signs that followed the death of Jesus?
7. What was the result of the earthquake for those who were watching the crucifixion of Jesus?
8. In verse 51 of our text, the temple veil was torn from the top to the bottom; what was significance?
9. What was the purpose of the two veils in the temple?
10. What did the tearing of the Temple veil have to do with us today?
11. Why was the outer veil ripped and not the inner veil?
12. Since the original temple was destroyed, where is the temple located now?
13. The Holy Place in the Temple had three items; what were they and what relationship do they have to us today?

Introduction

We have been talking about the killing of Jesus. Our understanding of why Jesus died on the cross is one of the most fundamental and essential things to being a Christian. Paul called it of first importance: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

The essential thing in any person’s life is understanding and abiding by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus and what He did in our stead reconciles us to God; our sins are forgiven, and we receive God’s gift of eternal life. 

In our previous study, we came to verse 50, which covered steps one and two of God’s plan of redemption. Jesus was separated spiritually for three hours from the Heavenly Father, the first and last time that will ever happen, and then in step two, He died, and now is step three, His burial and resurrection. No man had the power to take Jesus’ life; He voluntarily laid it down. Jesus took the wrath of men and God on that day to settle our sin debt and set us free from the penalty and bondage of sin. After six hours on the cross, Jesus said, “it is finished,” meaning God’s plan of redemption was complete. At this point, Jesus yielded up His spirit to God and died.

Jesus did not have an expensive funeral like we expect today. His body was quickly prepared for burial and taken directly to the tomb. According to Jewish custom, a dead body must be buried before sundown, so there was little time left. At 6:00 PM, the Passover was finished, and the sabbath day began; as Passover ended, it was followed by a week-long feast called the feast of Unleavened Bread, and according to Exodus 12:16, the first and last days of that event were celebrated as a Sabbath regardless of the day on which they landed. The special days were referred to as High Sabbaths to be distinguished from the regular Sabbath that began each Friday evening. The day before the Sabbath was called the day of preparation; all work and choirs must be completed since no work was to be done on the Sabbath. Therefore, the body of Jesus had to be buried quickly to meet the sundown deadline at 6:00 PM; otherwise, it would be two days before it could be buried since there were two sabbaths in a row, the High Sabbath on Friday and the regular Sabbath on Saturday; delaying a burial would have been a dishonor in the eyes of the Jews.

From 9:00 AM that morning until 6:00 PM that evening the day was divided into three-hour segments, the last segment was the preparation for burial, which included some supernatural signs:

Matthew 27:51-54, “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

The supernatural signs that followed the killing of Jesus convinced many that Jesus was the Son of God. They included three types of characters:

• The temple’s veil was torn from top to bottom.
• The tombs gave up their dead bodies.
• There was a great earthquake that shook the ground.

We will begin with the last mentioned, earthquakes, since it is something that many of us have experienced and can easily understand. Earthquakes are scary and can cause considerable damage to structures and land features. Jesus, in Matthew chapter 24, listed earthquakes as increasing in the last days as a sign of the end time events before His second coming. Why did God announce the death of His Son with an earthquake? We might ignore a thunderstorm. But there is no way we will ignor an earthquake. Earthquakes are a powerful way of showing God’s presence in the universe, His command over everything, His magnificence, and our insignificance. 

God used an earthquake at the time of the death of Jesus to show his power to redeem man. The sign got the centurion’s attention in verse 54, and the others who stood guard at the cross. There was unexplainable darkness for 3 hours, and then suddenly, the sun’s brightness burst out precisely the moment Jesus said, “it is finished.” They became frightened when they recognized that Jesus, whom they had been watching, was none other than the Son of God dying voluntarily. The decisive events resulted in them recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and savior. 

Jesus had prayed for them earlier, as we see in Luke 23:34, “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lot.” But now, they have changed from a heart of unbelief to one of believing in Jesus for who He was.

The second sign was astonishing, and the people must have been shocked when people they knew had died suddenly showed up in the city. Beginning with verse 52, Matthew says the tombs were opened. In those days, above-ground tombs or rooms carved out of the side of a mountain were the burying places. The body was prepared for burial, placed in a tomb, and then a large stone was rolled to cover the entrance. In verse 52, at the death and resurrection of Jesus, many tombs were miraculously opened, and the dead saints came forth and went into the city; this happened on the third day after Jesus was resurrected; this is a picture of what happens when we receive Jesus as our savior; death no longer holds us, but we are free from the penalty of death; that is the message of the gospel.

Eternal life is provided to those who trust Jesus according to Romans 10:9: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The way of eternal life is simple; it requires a belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, joined with repentance of sins. Just a simple faith in the gospel replaces the sentence of eternal death and separation from the love of God. If you have not already, you can be freed today from the penalty of eternal death if you are willing to believe that Jesus died and was resurrected to pay the price of your sins; it is as simple as that.

First, there was an earthquake, and second, the resurrection of dead saints to announce the Messiah’s death and resurrection; finally, in v.51, the temple veil was torn from the top to the bottom. Being torn from the top was significant, showing that it was an act of God. It is vital to understand this event because it is tied to new freedom, which we as believers have in the Lord. The tabernacle was a model of temple the which came later. The Tabernacle and the Temple were both divided into three separate compartments. The first compartment was an open courtyard surrounded by a tall wall and called the tabernacle or Temple proper. Inside this area was a building divided into two compartments. The first and larger of the two was the Holy Place, which held the Menorah or the candle stand, the table of shewbread, and the altar of incense. Each day incense and the blood of daily sacrifices was applied to the altar of incense and burned; the lamp was lit, and bread was set out on the table of shewbread.

The smaller of the two-compartment compartments was the Holy of Holies, the Tabernacle, or the Most Holy Place. It contained the golden sensor, the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, which had the mercy seat on top where the sacrificial blood was applied and where the glory of God dwelled perpetually; inside the ark was the golden pot of manna; the ark also included the rod of Arron that budded and the Tables of the covenant. The ark was overshadowed by cherubims. The ark was behind a curtain called the inner veil. The Holy of Holies was only accessible by the High Priest and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the Holy of holies was empty during the time of Jesus; the ark was taken during the Babylonian invasion and captivity and never returned. Nevertheless, the Holy of Holies was still held as a sacred place of God’s presence and was still inaccessible except by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, who went in to represent and make atonement for Israel before Almighty God.

On the day of the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew reports the veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom. There were two veils; one was the veil that covered the entrance to the Holy Place, or the outer veil, and the second, or the inner veil, separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. It was the first veil or the outer veil that Mattew said was torn. 

According to Josephus, the entry to the Holy Place had two huge doors covered in gold, and a purple veil was before these doors. During the time of Jesus, the outer veil was the largest of the two. Josephus describes it as 60 feet high and 30 feet wide by 4 inches thick, weighing 3,100 pounds. The cover hid the Holy Place from sight even when the vast doors were open, the point being that the way to God was restricted. In that day, people who wanted to worship God had to go through the priests. Gifts, offerings, and sacrifices were brought to the priest, who took them into the Holy place to be presented to God. The people stayed outside while the priest worshiped in their stead behind the veil. 

A new message was sent to all at the resurrection of Jesus when the veil was ripped from top to bottom. It took the powerful force of God to tear the 60-foot tall and 4 inches thick veil beginning at the top. As a result, a new covenant was established, which gave open access to God through the new High Priest, Jesus Christ, who opened the way to God for all who believe in His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

Believers no longer have to be represented by priests, the only ones who could go behind the veil. The veil was destroyed, opening access to all believers in the place of worship. The question is, why was the outer veil ripped and not the inner veil? The destruction of the inner veil would mean that the God and the Mercy Seat were openly revealed, which was not the case. Jesus is now the High Priest, and only He has access to God’s presence, and He is now our representative to the Heavenly Father; each time we pray, He is our intercessor. Jesus reconciles us with the Heavenly Father: “But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;” Hebrews 9:11.

Only Jesus alone can go before the Father to make atonement for us, and unless we abide in Him, we can do nothing. We who take Jesus into our life can now enter the Holy Place where only priests at one time could go. Therefore, all who believe are priests: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2:9. 

 Where is the Holy place now located? Paul tells us: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. Also, we read in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and you are not your own?”

We are no longer our own; Jesus bought and paid for us by His shed blood on the cross. Animals are no longer a sacrifice that we bring before God; God now calls us to be living sacrifices in our service to Him. God expects us to sacrifice our will, sinful desires, and resources to Him in our daily service. Like the priest of old who lit incense to represent prayers to God, we are now to make intercession by our daily prayers. The candle stick gave the light in the Holy Place; we are now the light of the world; The light of Almighty God shines through us. The manna on the Table of shewbread is now the word of God, the Bible, spiritual food upon which we are to feast daily. The rod of Arron inside the ark represents the dead body of Christ which came to life. The Table of covenant represents God’s righteousness which only Jesus can abide. The mercy seat depicts God’s presence, and the cherubs represent the glory of God.

We now have a new position and a new responsibility through Jesus, our High Priest: “Therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having a high priest over the house of God;” Hebrews 10:19-21. And again, we read in Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus’ death on the cross finished God’s work of redemption, but it provides much more than avoiding hell; He gave us a new life and assurance by His presence. It is comforting to know that God is always with us to help us through life: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go,” Joshua 1:9. Do you realize the significance of the veil being removed? Are you taking advantage of all the opportunities that God has given you to serve Him. God will reward those who serve Him in this life in the future kingdom. You are a priest of God Almighty; why not live like it?