Five Miracles From The Cross

4. And when He came, how was He received by the Jewish people? They arrested Him, beat Him, and crucified Him! I bet Abraham, Jacob, Moses & David turned over in their graves!

5. What a heart-rending event! So terrible was this event that graves broke open! In O.T. times, when kings wanted to vent their anger on a town, they would desecrate their graveyard. Maybe it was the graves of those who schooled the Jewish leaders to reject Jesus.

6. Or, it could have been a prelude to the resurrections that would take place 3 days later. It was heralding Christ’s triumph in death over sin! Victory!

B. HISTORICAL RECORD: ORIGEN

1. Until the Enlightenment era, the crucifixion darkness story was often used by Christian apologists because they believed it was a rare example of the biblical account being supported by non-Christian sources.

2. ORIGEN. When the pagan critic Celsus claimed that Jesus could hardly be a God because he had performed no great deeds, the third-century Christian commentator Origen responded, in Against Celsus, by recounting the darkness, earthquake and opening of tombs. As proof that the incident had happened, he referred to a description by Phlegon of Tralles of an eclipse, accompanied by earthquakes felt in other parts of the Empire during the reign of Tiberius (probably that of 29 CE).[Roberts, Donaldson & Coxe (1896), Volume IV, "Contra Celsum", Book II, chapter 23 p. 441.]

V. RESURRECTION OF DEAD SAINTS vs. 53

A. THE TEXT & EVENT

1. Mt. 27:51-54, “The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

2. Since Christ is the firstfruits of the dead (1 Cor. 15:23), the resurrection of these people did not occur until Jesus was raised.

3. The tombs, then, broke open at Christ’s death, probably by the earthquake, thus heralding Christ’s triumph in death over sin, but the bodies were not raised till Christ was raised.

4. These people returned to Jerusalem, (the Holy City) where they were recognized by friends and family. Like Lazarus (John 11:43-44), Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:52-56), and the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:13-15), they too passed through physical death again.

5. It was the POWER OF THE RESURRECTION of Christ by which the bodies of the saints were raised!

B. THE RESULT OF THESE 5 MIRACLES?

1. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (54)

2. They also should inspire faith in us! The hour is coming, in which the Son of man will come again.

3. All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5: