Matthew 27:50-54 New American Standard Bible 1995
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the [a]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the [b]saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was [c]the Son of God!”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Welcome, beloved readers to this blessed gathering where we come together to draw nearer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We are all united here today, not by chance, but by the divine will of God and His love that binds us together, a love so truly profound that it was manifested in the most extraordinary sacrifice known to mankind.
Our focus today is on the heart of our faith, the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We’ll be looking at the momentous events that took place in Matthew 27:50-51.
The scripture reads as follows:
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
These two verses, though brief, carry a weight of significance that continues to shape our faith and our lives.
They speak of the moment when salvation was secured, not by our own works, but through the cross.
They tell the story of a world forever changed by the resurrection of Christ.
And, they serve to remind us of the scriptural promises fulfilled through these miraculous events.
In the words of the esteemed Charles Spurgeon,
“The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”
This quote, my dear brothers and sisters, is a reminder that our faith is often forged in the hardcore crucible of trials and tribulations. But let us not forget, it is through these very hardcore trials we are all drawn closer to the cross, to the sacrifice made by our Lord, and to the promise of resurrection and eternal life.
As we embark on this sacred reflection, let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father, we come before You today with humble hearts, thankful for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask that You open our hearts and minds to the profound truths found in Your Word. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may gain a deeper understanding of Your love, Your sacrifice, and Your promise of eternal life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Matthew 27:50-51 Amplified Bible
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan]. 51 And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was [a]torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
Have you every pondered the reason that the first verse after Jesus’ death in three of the four gospels is the fact that the temple veil, curtain, tore in two?
Why is this so significant?
How does this apply to all believers today?
We are going to spend time studying the value and wonder of our great and victorious Savior whose death tears down the veil and makes us His own again.
What Was the Veil?
When we first hear of the word veil, we may think about a bride or just simply a covering.
This curtain was established in the times of Moses.
It was intentionally placed to divide the holy of holies in the temple of God (The Tabernacle then).
Exodus 35:25 says, “Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.”
The veil was in the temple where God dwelled among the Israelites.
The veil was the divider inside between the holy place to the holy of holies.
Only a high priest once a year could enter the holy of holies.
The veil was the physical symbol of separation caused by our sins.
The veil was said to be 60 feet high.
This would not have been easy to get to the top to tear down.
Behind the veil sat the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. The veil concealed the Presence of God. Two cherubs were woven into the veil.
The High Priest’s Privilege
One time a year during Yom Kippur, one high priest would be selected to go into the holy of holies.
This was a great honor.
It could be a moment of life or death, as they would literally tie a rope around his ankle in case he were to pass away while in the presence of God.
The priest offered sacrifices and gifts on behalf of the people to reconcile them to God. We know that based on the book of Hebrews that Jesus is called our High Priest. He fulfilled this task of Passover as our sacrificial Perfect Lamb of God.
One Temple, One Way
There was one temple found in Jerusalem.
As we ponder this thought, that meant that there was only one veil.
One sin caused separation from God.
One veil symbolized that divide.
And one Savior Jesus came and made one way to heaven.
John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We have such a great hope today in Christ.
We do not have to be distanced or feel the need to hide in our shame.
Jesus has unveiled our faces, He has taken away the separation of sin and brought us all into His presence again.
He has sent us the Holy Spirit.
We now are Christ’s temples.
When He is in our hearts, we have security of heaven.
1 Corinthians 2:1-11 New American Standard Bible 1995
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [b]message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 [d]For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
Understanding how the Old Testament is leading up to the New Covenant amazes us.
We gain a greater appreciation and understanding of our Savior’s completely intricate, yet straight forward plan of salvation.
We are reaffirmed that He has delivered us and we are His forever.
We are His bride and we are united with our Groom.
He has called us His own, given us the right to be co-heir’s with Him forever.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
How does knowing the veil was torn for you remind you of the great length Jesus went to in order to save you from your sins?
How does this compel you to live out of that confidence – the cross be our glory.
Salvation Secured Through the Cross
The cross, a symbol of our faith, stands as a testament to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is at the cross where we see the full extent of His love, a love so profound that it led Him to lay down His life for us.
This act of love, this sacrifice, is the bedrock of our faith.
It is the assurance of our salvation.
The cross is not just a symbol of death, but of life.
It is through the cross that we have been given the gift of eternal life.
Jesus, our Savior, bore our sins on the cross.
He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved.
He paid the price for our sins, a price we could never pay.
This is the love of our Savior, a love that secures our salvation.
Jesus Yields His Spirit
Matthew 27:50 Amplified Bible
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan].
Now, let us turn our attention to the moment when Jesus yielded up His spirit.
This was not a moment of defeat, but of victory.
It was at this moment that the power of sin and death was broken.
Jesus, in His death, conquered death itself.
He secured our salvation, not through His death alone, but through His resurrection.
His resurrection is the assurance of our own resurrection, the promise of eternal life.
Our Long Awaited Reunion with God
Matthew 27:51 Amplified Bible
51 And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was [a]torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
The veil of the temple, torn in two from top to bottom, is a powerful symbol of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
The veil separated the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the temple, from the rest of the temple.
Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year.
The tearing of the veil signifies the breaking down of the barrier between us and God.
Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have been given direct access to God.
Hebrews 4:15-16 Amplified Bible
15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
We are reunited with God.
We can approach Him with confidence, knowing that we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
The earth quaking and the rocks splitting is a testament to the power of Jesus’ sacrifice.
It is a reminder that His death was not an ordinary death.
It was a momentous event that shook the world.
The cross, the yielding up of Jesus’ spirit, the tearing of the veil, the quaking of the earth and the splitting of the rocks – these are not just events that happened two thousand years ago.
They are truths that continue to shape our lives today.
They are reminders of the love of our Savior, a love that secures our salvation.
They are the assurance of our faith, the promise of our eternal life.
So, let us hold fast to these truths.
Let us confidently live in the light of the cross, in the assurance of our salvation.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995
The King of Glory Entering Zion.
A Psalm of David.
24 The earth is the Lord’s, and [a]all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul [b]to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord
And [c]righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 [d]This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. [e]Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O [f]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O [g]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 