Worship the Lord for the Miracles of the Cross
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 27:45-54
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared May 11, 2023)
MESSAGE:
*Our God is a miracle working God! I am sure that He is working miracles in our world every single day. I am sure, because people we know have experienced miraculous healings, and other kinds of miracles too. There are also countless other testimonies of God working miracles in people's lives. On top of that, we know that God works miracles, because every time someone gets saved, that is a miracle too, the greatest miracle of all!
*God is certainly able to work miracles. In Jeremiah 32:17 the prophet said this to the Lord: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You." Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." So we know that yesterday, today, and forever, our God is a miracle working God! And we can worship the Lord today for the miracles of the cross.
1. WORSHIP HIM FIRST, FOR THE MIRACLE OF THE DARKENED SUN.
*This is the miracle Matthew described in vs. 45, where he said, "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land." This darkness began at noon and lasted until 3 p.m. By the time it started, Jesus had already been on the cross for 3 hours (Mark 15:25). Luke 23:45 tells us that "the sun was darkened."
*Many people believe this unique event was simply a total eclipse of the sun. These eclipses happen when the moon comes between the sun and part of earth. But total solar eclipses are only about 100 miles wide. Plus, a total eclipse can only last 7 ½ minutes at the most, and most of them are much shorter than that. (1)
*This three hours of darkness all over the earth was not an eclipse of the sun. It was one of God's miracles of the cross. And we don't know how God did that. But remember that God was able to turn on every single star in the universe! Think about this wonder for a moment. Our own Milky Way galaxy is estimated to have 100-400 billion stars. But the supergiant galaxy "IC 1101" is estimated to have 100 trillion stars, and that's just two out of countless other galaxies. (2)
*Richard Wimer said if you hold your thumb at arm’s length toward the sky, your thumb nail is covering up more than 250,000 galaxies out in space. Isaiah 40:26 in the New Living Translation says, "Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away." (3)
*I forget people’s names all the time, but God knows all of the stars by name! And He turned every single one of them on, so He can certainly turn one off, whenever He wants to. And that's what He did on the day Jesus was crucified.
*Again, Luke 23:45 tells us that "the sun was darkened." The New Living Translation says, "The light from the sun was gone." And the International Standard Version says it was dark "because the sun had stopped shining." What a mighty miracle!
2. WORSHIP THE LORD FOR THE MIRACLE OF THE DARKENED SUN, AND WORSHIP HIM FOR THE MIRACLE OF FULFILLED SCRIPTURE.
*This miracle is in vs. 46, where "about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'' that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?''
*Well Christians, we know why don't we? It was because of our sins. That's why Charles Spurgeon said this about the cross: "See what our sin deserved. It was all laid on Him: Ridicule for the folly of sin, scorn for the pretension of sin, shame for the audacity of sin, and Jesus took it all." (4)
*Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'' Those words are a direct quote from Psalm 22:1, and this is one of many miraculous fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy. Some people think Jesus was simply quoting the words that King David had written. But just the opposite is true. Led by God's Holy Spirit, David quoted what Jesus would say on the cross a thousand years later. And David could do that, because God knows the end from the beginning.
*God made this truth clear in Isaiah 46:9-10, where the Lord urges us to: "Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'" God knows the future, and He has revealed it to us in the Bible. This is a miraculous blessing for us to see.
*Some people pretend to see into the future. James Merritt told about a fortune teller in England who stopped a preacher one day. The fortune teller said she would tell his future for $500. The preacher replied, "You mean you can tell me what I will be doing a year from now if I give you $500?"
*The fortune teller said, "I can tell you exactly what you will be doing a year from now." The pastor then said, "If you will tell me what I was doing this time yesterday, I will give you a thousand." (5)
*That ended the meeting. Some people pretend to see into the future, but God has surely revealed the future in His Word. Josh McDowell reported that the Old Testament contains over 300 prophecies about the Messiah that Jesus Christ already fulfilled. The odds of that happening were impossible, but all of those prophecies were fulfilled. And one day, the rest of them will be fulfilled too!
*No wonder that in John 5:39 Jesus said this to the unbelieving Jews, "Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
*Luke 24 tells us about the day Jesus rose again from the dead. That evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples. And at first they were terrified. They thought He was a ghost. But Jesus calmed them down, and invited them to touch Him. The Lord even ate with them. Then in Luke 24:44-45 Jesus said, "'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.' And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."
*Prophecies that Jesus has already fulfilled are all over the Old Testament. For example, there are more prophecies about the cross in Psalm 22. There in vs. 16 we hear the Lord say, "The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet." That was another clear prophecy of the cross, written a thousand years before Jesus died on the cross, and 500 years before crucifixion was reported anywhere in the world. (6)
*In Psalm 22:18 we also hear the Lord say, "They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." This very minor detail prophesied was also fulfilled, as reported above in Matthew 27:35. God knew about the cross of Christ from all eternity past, and He revealed it to us in His Word. This is one of the greatest miracles of the cross.
3. SO WORSHIP THE LORD FOR THE MIRACLE OF FULFILLED SCRIPTURE. AND WORSHIP HIM FOR THE MIRACLE OF HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH.
*In vs. 46, Matthew first recorded the Lord's question in the Aramaic language native to Israel in that day: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'' that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?''
*Verses 47-49 tell us what happened next:
47. Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!''
48. Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink.
49. The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.''
*Those men had no idea what was really happening on the cross that day. Elijah wasn't coming to save Jesus. Jesus was dying on the cross to save Elijah, and everyone else who will put their trust in the Lord!
*Those men had no idea what was happening on the cross, and most people are the same today. Maybe that's why the Holy Spirit led Matthew to record this little part of the story. It reminds us that most people don't understand the cross, and God wants us to do everything we possibly can to help them.
*The cross was all about Jesus dying to take away the shame and punishment for our sins. And we see the Lord's death in vs. 50. Here Matthew simply wrote, "Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit."
[1] JESUS DIED FOR US, AND ONE REASON WHY HIS DEATH WAS A MIRACLE WAS BECAUSE JESUS NEVER HAD TO DIE AT ALL.
*Remember what the Lord had said in John 10:14-18:
14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.''
*Jesus Christ could have come down from the cross any time He wanted to, and His death was a miracle, because He never had to die at all.
[2] BUT THE LORD'S DEATH WAS ALSO A MIRACLE, BECAUSE JESUS WAS THE PERFECT SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS.
*Hebrews 9:12-14 tells us about the Lord's perfect sacrifice for us:
12. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14. how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
*Hebrews 9:19-28 also tells us that:
19. . . When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20. saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.''
21. Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.
22. And according to the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission (or forgiveness of sins).
23. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
25. not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another
26. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28. so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
4. THANK GOD FOR THE CROSS OF CHRIST! AND WORSHIP JESUS FOR THE MIRACLE OF HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH. BUT ALSO WORSHIP JESUS FOR THE MIRACLE OF THE SPLITTING VEIL.
*This miracle is reported in the first part of vs. 51, where God's Word says: "Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. . ."
*Remember that under Old Testament Law, God was almost completely unapproachable. God's visible glory was present over the Mercy Seat in the Temple at Jerusalem. But the Temple was divided by walls. The first wall held back the people of all other races and nations, the Gentiles. That's us. And Gentiles could only go as far as the outer court. Signs were posted in Latin and Greek warning Gentiles not to go any farther under the penalty of death.
*The second wall held back the women and children. The third wall held back Jewish men. Only the priests could go farther. Last was the veil surrounding the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, only once a year, and only by the sprinkling of blood to protect him from death.
*That veil in front of the Holy of Holies was no ordinary curtain. 1 Kings 6:2 tells us that Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high, but according to the ancient historian Josephus, King Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits. That would be about 60 feet high. Early Jewish tradition said it was 4 inches thick. But why did God go to so much trouble to keep people away from Him? One answer is because of our sin. God is a holy, holy, holy God who cannot tolerate the presence of sin. (7)
*But that curtain separating people from God's presence was also a sign. It was a sign that God revealed when His Son Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It was a sign that the only possible way for people to enter into God's presence was through the sacrificial death of His Son. That's why just when Jesus died on the cross, God the Father miraculously tore that curtain in two from top to bottom. God was showing us that the door to Heaven and to Him was opened through the cross of Jesus Christ.
*I love the story of the pastor who was telling some children how this curtain miraculously split open. Then a little boy asked, "How big was the hole?" And the preacher wisely replied, "Big enough for anyone to get through." -- Big enough, that is, for anyone who will put their faith in Jesus Christ. (8)
*So now, by trusting in our crucified and risen Savior, you will get to know God in a personal way. You will have the constant presence of His Holy Spirit in your heart. And you will have eternal life with God in Heaven. This is the miracle of the veil that split in two.
5. WORSHIP THE LORD FOR THE MIRACLE OF THE SPLITTING VEIL. AND WORSHIP HIM FOR THE MIRACLE OF THE SAINTS' RESURRECTION.
*Please listen for this miracle in vs. 51-53:
51. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
52. and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53. and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
*John Gill and J. Vernon McGee concluded that these risen saints stayed on earth for forty days until Jesus went back home to Heaven. Then they went to Heaven with Jesus as trophies of His victory over sin, Satan, death, and the grave." (9)
*What an amazing miracle! Just imagine walking into church this morning, and bumping in to your long departed, godly father or mother, risen from the dead! I'm pretty sure that we'd be scared at first. But what joy to be reunited with our loved ones! And we will be reunited with our saved loved ones, if we have trusted in Jesus. That's because our God is a miracle working God.
CONCLUSION:
*Some of the lost people near the cross that day began to get it. A Roman centurion was one of those people. Verse 54 says, "Now 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!'''
*Jesus was and will always be the eternal Son of God. So put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ! Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Call on the Lord to save you today. Then worship the Lord with us, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Sources:
-http://www.space.com/15584-solar-eclipses.html
-"Solar Eclipses for Beginners" on mreclipse.com - Copyright 2020 by Fred Espenak - http://mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html
-"Darkness at the crucifixion" by Daniel Anderson - Creation.com - 6 April 2007 - https://creation.com/darkness-at-the-crucifixion-metaphor-or-real-history
(2) Sources:
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
-IC 1101 - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_1101
-FUTURISM - "The Largest Galaxy In the Known Universe: IC 1101" by JOLENE CREIGHTON - 01/17/2016 - https://futurism.com/ic-1101-the-largest-galaxy-ever-found
(3) KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 34700 - SOURCE: Wit And Wisdom at http://www.witandwisdom.org by Richard G. Wimer - TITLE: Billions And Billions - DATE: 5/31/2007 - Source: Popular Science TV Program
(4) Original source unknown for Charles Spurgeon quotation
(5) Sermons.com sermon "The Lion King" by James Merritt - Revelation 5:1-14
(6) Sources:
-SermonCentral illustration contributed by: David Parks - Source: "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell
-Britannica reports that the first historical record of Crucifixion was about 519 BC when "Darius I, king of Persia, crucified 3,000 political opponents in Babylon" - Encyclopaedia Britannica, crucifixion - Some further detail is given in "The Eerdman's Bible Dictionary", Rev. Ed., 1975: CROSS ... Crucifixion is first attested among the Persians (cf. Herodotus, Hist. i.128.2; iii.132.2, 159.1) - Source: "The Interactive Bible" - bible.ca
-https://www.bible.ca/d-history-archeology-crucifixion-cross.htm
(7) GotQuestions.org - "What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Jesus died? - https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html
(8) "Preparing for Easter Sunday" - "Dynamic Preaching" email 03/13/2002
(9) Sources:
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Matthew 27:52-53 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON MCGEE by J. Vernon McGee - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville - Copyright 1981 - "Incidents Connected with His Death" - Matthew 27:51-56 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
