When Jesus Died (Words 5-7) Series

WHEN JESUS DIED (WORDS 5-7)

Bob Marcaurelle

Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37;

Luke 23:46a; John 19:30; (Psalm 31:5)

A. Jesus Dies

Putting all four Gospels together, we find that Jesus asked for the sour wine (to clear His throat). He shouted, “It is finished.” And he yielded up His spirit (life) to God, praying, Psalm 31:5 “Father, into your hands, I commit (entrust) my spirit.”

When Jesus cried “It is finished”, He did not say “He” was finished. He meant His work was finished. He had paid our sin “debt”. He had taken the punishment we deserve upon Himself. (Romans 3:20-27)

By not giving in to any of Satan’s temptations, He had also defeated Satan on the field of battle and won the right to let anyone He chooses into heaven. (Colossians 2:14-15)

And those He chooses, are those who give Him their sins to forgive and their lives to change (Repentance and faith). John one says, “As many as received Him, He gave them the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Now it was time for Him to go home. And He did it by quoting Psalm 31:5, the bedtime prayer for Jewish children.

A little boy in the hospital was dying and he asked his daddy what dying was. The dad said, “Do you remember how you used to fall asleep while we were watching TV in the den; and then you would wake up in your own bed? At first you wondered why, and then you realized that your mother or I, had picked you up and carried you there. The instant you close your eyes in death, you will wake up in heaven, because your heavenly Father carries you there.

B. God Replies

1) The earth shook and the rocks split, and the Temple curtain split down the middle from top to bottom. Matthew 27:51a; Mark 15:38; Luke23:46b

How do we know God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and our sin debt has been paid. God tells us with three mighty miracles. He shook the earth and the rocks were split; the huge curtain in the temple that enclosed the Holy of Holies was ripped open “from top to bottom”; and some dead people in a Jerusalem cemetery came to life and walked around.

God’s presence lived in the Holy of Holies, and anyone who moved the curtain and walked in there would die instantly. One day a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest went in there and placed blood on the “Mercy Seat”, the top of the Ark of the Covenant. (Leviticus 16)

Now, through Christ, we can kneel in prayer, and enter there in our spirits. And when we die, through Jesus, we can enter the holy presence of God’s glory in heaven. Jesus said, “No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

I cannot understand how anyone thinks that he, trusting in his own good works, can enter the presence of the Holy God, without Jesus. A true child of God would no more think of approaching God, without Jesus, than he would think he could lie face down on the surface of the sun and live. (Read Hebrews 9:24-26; 10:19-22)

2) Dead people rise and walk through the streets of Jerusalem.

(Matthew 27:51b-53

More than likely, these were people who had recently died, and like Lazarus, were brought back to live out the rest of their lives. And in this, we get a foretaste, a preview of the return of Jesus.

The Bible says the trumpet will sound; Christians who have died will return with Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14) and their bodies will rise up to clothe their spirit (1 Corinthians 15:52). And we (Believers), who are on earth, will be changed and our bodies will become our eternal bodies, fit for life in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:52). We will be “caught up” (raptured) into the sky to be with Jesus and all the people of God, of all the ages past (1 Thessalonians 4:14-20).

3) The Body of Jesus was Raised

But the miracle (act of God) that “declared Him to be the Son of God” was the resurrection of Jesus’ body (Romans 1:4). Between 3 and 6 PM, Jesus’ body was lovingly wrapped and anointed with spices and placed in the tomb.

God did not allow Jesus’ body to suffer “decay”(Acts 2). No doubt, the instant the tomb was sealed, Jesus’ body was changed as He (His spirit) entered into it, and came out through the wrappings and the walls of the tomb. He has the kind of body we will receive (Philippians 3:21) It was visible, touchable, not easily recognized (John 20:15) and was not subject to gravity (Acts 1:9-11).

He still bore the wounds of Calvary (John 20:27) and still does in heaven (Revelation 5:6). This doesn’t mean we will still have our wounds and defects. Jesus’ scars remind us, through all eternity, that we are in heaven because of Him.