Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27. We've been considering Matthew's passion narrative. for a while now in our Lord's Supper services, and I want to read beginning in Matthew 27 at verse 32. Now, as they came out, excuse me, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross.
And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, place of a skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself.
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him.
For He said, I am the Son of God. Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Now, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And 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? Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, this man is calling for Elijah. Immediately, one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, let him alone.
Let us see if Elijah will come to save him. 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, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
So 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. And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this narrative and for what it instructs us concerning the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that as a result of his death and his resurrection, we have eternal life, and we praise you for that. We ask now that you would guide our thoughts and our meditation, that you would draw out our hearts in love and worship and adoration.
I do also want to pray for our brother Jonathan Hall tonight, Ask God that you would continue to watch over him and Selina and their little children, and just bless in this whole process. And God, encourage all of us now. There are many things going on in the world today, many things that perplex our hearts and our minds, and many things that drag us down, if we allow it. But help us to be encouraged by the balm of Gilead.
Help us to find great nurture in the word of the living God. and especially as we concentrate our energy upon the Son of Man who loved us and who gave himself for us. Forgive us again for our sin and transgression, guide and lead us by your Holy Spirit, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, our focus tonight is on verses 51 to 56. So the narrative that I read has to do with the crucifixion of our Lord. So the crucifixion proper is recorded in verses 32 to 38. And then you have the mockery of Jesus while he is on the cross, verses 39 to 44. and then the death of Jesus here specifically in 45 to 56.
But as we narrow in on this particular section, there is the cry of dereliction in verses 45 and 46, the mockery of the bystanders, again, verses 47 to 49, the death of Jesus in verse 50, and then tonight the signs and wonders after the crucifixion in verses 51 to 53, and then finally the witnesses to the crucifixion. The women and the soldiers testify great things concerning the Son of God who gave himself for us. Well, let's look first at the signs and wonders following the crucifixion. There are three recorded here.
First, the torn veil, verse 51a. This is also parallel in Mark and in Luke. Secondly, you have the earthquake and rocks. That's unique to Matthew.
The other gospel writers do not record that. And then you have the resurrection of the saints. in verses 52 and 53, again, unique to Matthew. You won't find that in Mark or in Luke. So the torn veil, the earthquake and the rocks, and then the resurrection of the saints.
I doubt that every question will be answered tonight in terms of the resurrection of the saints, but I'll simply try to point you in the right direction.
The Torn Temple Veil
In the first place, notice the torn veil. Verse 50 tells us that 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. Now commentators are a bit divided upon this because we don't know if it was the inner veil or the outer veil.
There was an inner veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies. And then there was an outer veil that separated the Holy Place from the outer courtyard. And there is significance to be found in both. With reference to the inner veil, it would indicate or underscore that there is now access.
As well, there is no more sacrificial system. There is no more Old Covenant legislation in terms of our approach to God. With that inner veil rent from top to bottom, it shows the initiative of God. It's not from bottom to top.
It's not man sort of making his way upward, but it is rather from the top to the bottom indicating showing, demonstrating that God is appeased, that atonement has been wrought, and now man has access by God's grace through the mediation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One man says that the whole epistle to the Hebrews is commentary on this split veil. Now, if it's the outer veil, that's significant in terms of the impending judgment upon Jerusalem. Now, these two concepts are not far removed.
Judgment typically implies salvation, and salvation typically implies judgment. While Old Covenant Israel is going to be cut off, and that's already been announced by Jesus in Matthew chapters 23 and chapter 24, there is that opening up in terms of the New Covenant, that blessed era prophesied in the Old Testament, inaugurated by the Lord Jesus Christ, wherein access to the Father is through the Son. the one who yielded up his spirit, the one who rendered up a blood atonement, the one who was the sacrifice for his people. So the judgment aspect, again, I think it's there. Matthew Poole makes this comment.
By this rending of the veil, God testified his wrath against the Jews, and that he was leaving his temple amongst them. Spurgeon says, as if shocked at the sacrilegious murder of her lord, the temple rent her garments like one stricken with horror at some stupendous crime. Again, these concepts are mingled. The new covenant is initiated, is inaugurated, and it is signified here by the renting of this temple.
So the veil is torn from top to bottom, indicating God's activity in bringing salvation to his people. Every attempt by man in terms of false religion is an attempt by man in vain to gain access to God. The only way that sinners have access to God is if God initiates, is if God orchestrates, if God actually puts into practice a way or means by which sinners can come into his presence. That is signified by the rent veil from the top to the bottom.
As well, the veil that prohibited access to the Holy of Holies is torn, indicating now that the sinner has approached into the Holy of Holies. And again, that is made much of in the book of Hebrews by the Apostle Paul. So we have access into that Holy of Holies, and if you're thinking in terms of Old Testament religion, that was only for the high priest on the Day of Atonement. We have this priesthood of believers today that is most excellent in the new covenant.
We are those who, by God's grace, have access into God's holy presence. Again, not because of our good works, not because of our virtue or our law keeping, but because of what Christ has wrought in terms of His atonement on the cross for His people. And the veil is torn, and that serves as a visible display of the covenantal transformation. Again, that will happen in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem is surrounded by her enemies, when the temple is destroyed, when the city is sacked, and when the Jews go into exile.
But with reference to the rending of the veil, the veil is torn and that serves as a visible display of the covenantal transformation involved and the fulfillment of the ceremonial law. For those who witness or rather attend the Wednesday night or the confession study, there's three divisions in the law of God. There's the moral law, there's the judicial law, and then there's the ceremonial law. And the ceremonial law was extant or present in Old Covenant religion.
It prefigured Christ. It pointed forward to the Lord Jesus by virtue of a lot of different ways and sacrifices and means. They were tutored to look forward to the coming Messiah. Well, by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, that has been fulfilled.
Again, I think I mentioned this recently, we don't have sacrifice. Tonight what we engage in is not atonement. This is not a bloodless atonement vis-a-vis Roman Catholicism. It is a means of grace.
It is a time and a special way to remember our Lord's death on our behalf. But we're not sacrificing. There's no incense. There's no animals that we bring into this place.
Why? Because the ceremonies of Moses have been fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ. The temple was under that same sort of an operation. Now that Jesus has come, there's no significance in an earthly temple.
This idea of dispensational theology to rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem to await for the Lord Jesus Christ is to go precisely backward in redemptive history. The temple stood to point to the Lord Jesus. Now that the Lord Jesus is here, we don't have to have a temple. We certainly don't have blood atonement in terms of animal sacrifice.
That is a backward motion in terms of redemptive history. John Calvin comments, for then Christ, the true and everlasting priest, having abolished the figures of the law, opened up for us by his blood the way to the heavenly sanctuary, that we may no longer stand at a distance within the porch, but may freely advance into the presence of God. That is, I think, a good take-home message. There may be some confusion in terms of the inner veil, in terms of the outer veil, in terms of salvation, in terms of judgment, in terms of ceremonies, and in terms of what is binding in new covenant religion.
But let this fester, or rather simmer, in your heart. What he says, we may freely advance into the presence of God. What was reserved for the high priest on the Day of Atonement alone has now been opened up through the high priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we have access to the Father through the mediation of the Son in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. such that the church, as it were, enters into the very new Jerusalem when we gather together for corporate worship. We can advance, we can enter the holy of holies.
The Earthquake and Split Rocks
Now notice, secondly, the earthquake and rocks in verse 51b. So then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked and the rocks were split. Davies and Allison say God vindicates his son with a shower of astounding miracles. Nature speaks again and loudly.
If you go back to verse 45, now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. So the created order speaks at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is as it were, as if the created order is underscoring the significance of what is transpiring in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. One man says, as the skies darken before Jesus' death, now the earth trembles after it.
So you have this statement, the earthquake and the rocks were split. Turn back to the book of Judges to see the significance involved in this language. Several passages underscore for us what is in view here. Remember that it's not only the death of Jesus in its positive aspect in terms of opening to us the Holy of Holies.
But there's also the judgment upon the nation that has taken the Lord of glory and has crucified Him. So these Jews, these lawless men, appeal to Pontius Pilate because they don't possess the prerogative of execution of criminal offenders. So they set up the case, they present it to Pilate, Pilate, because he's a coward, kowtows to mob rule, and what we have here is the greatest crime that ever transpired. Christ is holy, harmless, and undefiled.
There was nothing in him deserving the treatment that he received at the hands of men. So this phenomena that occurs in the natural order again underscores the significance of the event, but it also thunders forth God's judgment over those rejecters. Notice in Judges 5 at verses 4 and 5 in the Song of Deborah. Lord, when you went out from Seir, When you marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens poured.
The clouds also poured water. The mountains gushed before the Lord, this Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel. Turn over to Psalm 114. Psalm 114.
The significance of this is that God intervenes, and the significance of this is that He not only intervenes, but He shows His disapproval of their action. In other words, he is intending to bring judgment to bear upon them. That was announced in chapters 23 and 24 with the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in AD 70. But notice in Psalm 114, specifically at verses 7 and 8.
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters. And then in terms of judgment, look at the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 10. So we've got God's intervention and we've got God's judgment.
Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 10. But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath, the earth will tremble and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. the minor prophet, Joel, Hosea, Joel, the second of the minor prophets, chapter three, verse 16, same sort of an emphasis, the judgment of God as demonstrated through the natural order.
So Joel 3.16, the Lord also will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. The heavens and earth will shake, but the Lord will be a shelter for his people and the strength of the children of Israel. And then the prophet Nahum, just go a few books further and you'll see the prophet Nahum. This is a prophecy of judgment against the city of Nineveh.
You remember that Jonah was sent on that mission of mercy to preach to the city of Nineveh. Well, the Ninevites repented, but their repentance wasn't lasting. And so the prophet Nahum prophesied concerning their impending doom. And then you notice in chapter one of the prophet Nahum, specifically at verses five and six, the mountains quake before him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at his presence.
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation and who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him. So back to Matthew 27, it's God's intervention wherein this phenomena happens.
But it's demonstrative of God's judgment. And if these godless, Christ-rejecting Jews had pondered their own scriptures, they would have stood in fear. There's no sense of that whatsoever. They continue impenitent, they continue rebellious, they continue in that place of rejecting both Yahweh and His Christ.
Matthew Henry said, the earth, by trembling under such a load, bore its testimony to the innocence of Him that was persecuted, and against the impiety of those that persecuted Him. Never did the whole creation before, grown under such a burden as the Son of God crucified, and the guilty wretches that crucified Him. So we would expect this in terms of the significance of the event that it would be attended by this phenomena. But it does demonstrate to us not only the salvation of the elect as they have access to the Holy of Holies, but the damnation of those who reject and those who continue in penitent.
The Resurrection of the Saints
Back to Matthew chapter 27, we have the third aspect in terms of the resurrection of the saints. If you look at verse 52, It says, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. This demonstrates Christ's power over the grave.
This demonstrates what will be admitted or rather testified by Jesus in John's gospel in John 5, 24 to 29. He has the power over the grave. But when we look at that particular passage, we need to make a stop at the end of opened. Because as the text is punctuated, at least in the New King James, the idea is that the graves opened, the saints were resurrected, and then they sat in the grave for three days.
And then they exited the grave when Jesus rose from the dead. Their resurrection is connected to Jesus' resurrection. That's the way the text is to be interpreted. Notice, and the graves were open, full stop, period.
And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So you see the process or the trajectory there. You've got the graves open when the Son of Man dies.
But then three days later, many of these saints are raised at that point. It is consistent with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin says, there is no probability in the conjecture of some commentators that after having received life and breath, they remain three days concealed in their graves. That's not what happened.
So the graves were open, preparatory for the resurrection that would take place when Jesus rose from the dead. Now, in terms of the significance of this particular passage, it foreshadows chapter 28. It foreshadows the reality that Christ will rise from the dead. So in verse 50, you have the statement, Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And then here in verse 53, and coming out of the graves after his resurrection. So it foreshadows, as I said, chapter 28. If there were no chapter 28, you still have a Christ resurrected from the dead. As well, it underscores the efficacy of Christ's atoning work.
So when that veil is rent from the top to the bottom, that is God's signature that what Christ has accomplished is efficacious. It is approved by the Father. It is accepted. The way of access has been gained.
We now have the ability to go behind the veil into the very Holy of Holies and to meet with God Most High. So we have the efficacy of Christ's work underscored by His resurrection from the dead. And then notice this identification of many saints. It says, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
We don't know who they are. It doesn't give us their names. It doesn't give us their identities. It doesn't tell us either their status.
Did they continue on in their lives the way that Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, did? Or did they ascend at the time that our Lord Jesus ascended? Commentators are divided on either way. But we do know, we don't know who they are, but we do know this. that they were saints that were resurrected by virtue of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, His life, His death, His resurrection was applied to all those prior to Him. Turn to the book of Hebrews where you see that. You see a retrospective application of the finished work of our Lord Jesus to old covenant saints. Hebrews chapter 9.
The point is simple. Anyone who has ever entered into the presence of God has done so on the basis of the active and passive obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Enoch walked with God and then he was not. Abel was a righteous man who passed into the presence of God.
How did they enter in? through the blood atonement wrought out by our Lord Jesus Christ. The way we look back in history at that event, it has blessing for us. In the same manner, that event had blessing for those prior to the cross. Notice in Hebrews 9.15, And for this reason, He is the mediator of the New Covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the First Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Look at chapter 10, verse 1, for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things can never, with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered. For the worshipers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. They were typological. They pointed forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But they weren't efficacious to bring sinners into the presence of God Most High.
That is reserved solely for the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then one final observation before we leave these saints. Notice what it says. Verse 53. and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Bodily Resurrection Foreshadowed
This as well foreshadows the nature of the Christian hope. I have suggested before that we are not Gnostics. Gnostics believe that the body isn't incidental. It's sort of a necessary evil.
It's not all that, you know, it's just not something that is an end. That's why, you know, in 1 John, for instance, and in 2 John, the apostle there emphasizes that Jesus has come in the flesh. Why? Because not fully developed Gnosticism in play at that point, but at least in sort of seed form Gnosticism, they rejected the idea of the physical.
They rejected the idea of the bodily. You see that through the history of the church as well. Roman Catholicism, for instance, teaching that marriage, the only reason for marriage is for procreation. Now that's certainly an aspect of marriage, but there's other parts to it as well.
You know, the emphasis in Rome about not eating meat on Friday during Lent or, you know, not eating whatever. There is this sort of degradation of the physical among some who profess faith in Christ. And I think we can fall prey to that as well and somehow think that the end of redemption is simply the soul in the presence of God Most High. That's not it, brethren.
We believe in the resurrection from the dead. We believe in life eternal in the age to come. body and soul. One man says matter matters. God made it in creation, took it on in incarnation, and raises it again in resurrection.
Bodies are not immaterial or unimportant to the biblical God. They matter so much that God raises them. In the Apostles' Creed, we joyfully confess, I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. So brethren, this is a foreshadow of that.
It's not just a sort of a bodiless spiritual existence when we get to heaven. No, there's gonna be a general resurrection. All of the bodies that are dead will be raised, reunited to their souls, and brought into the presence of God Most High, where we body and soul will live forever and ever, praising Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So that is foreshadowed here as well.
And then it says that they went into the holy city, Jerusalem, and appeared to many. Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection. We see that pattern. Their resurrection is connected to His resurrection.
But the saints went into the holy city and appeared to many to confirm that the Christ who had been crucified has now been raised from the dead. They didn't just do this as some sort of a parlor trick. They didn't do this just because, hey, look, I was dead and here I am. They did it to testify to the efficacious work of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.
They were testifiers. They were witnesses. They were those who shone the light of God's glory upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Witnesses to the Crucifixion
So those are the signs and wonders following the crucifixion. Let's look finally at the witnesses to the crucifixion. Very intriguing what we have here in verses 54 to 56.
The Soldiers' Confession
In the first place, you have the confession of the soldiers. This is no small confession either. This is a robust, excellent confession made by these soldiers. Notice in verse 54, So 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.
Now, in terms of their identity, John tells us there were four soldiers present at the cross to make sure that everything happened in an orderly way. This wasn't their first rodeo. This is what they did. Now, when it says that they feared greatly when this earthquake comes, that indicates the supernatural character of the earthquake.
They had done many a crucifixion that were not attended by earthquakes. This one happened to be. So in terms of these men, they're the four specifically tasked with carrying out his execution. They are the ones, according to 27 to 31, who mocked him.
Look back at 27 to 31. They mocked our Lord Jesus Christ. They cast lots for his garments, according to verse 35, which is indicative of the fact that Christ hung on that cross naked. He had no clothing on.
Typically in Christian art, they put something covering his private parts. That's not the way the text reads. The text reads that he was naked on that cross. As well, they were the ones who kept watch over him, according to verse 36, and the ones who witnessed all that he had suffered on the cross.
So that's who they are. But in terms of their fear, again, look at the passage. when they saw the earthquake and the things that had happened. So the rent veil, they knew the effect of the earthquake, and then the rocks were split. They knew that the graves were open, but again, the actual bodies weren't raised until connection with Jesus' resurrection.
But they saw this phenomena, and then it says they feared greatly. They feared greatly. They knew they weren't doing a normal process in this execution. They knew there was something atypical about this particular event.
And then notice their confession. Truly, this was the Son of God. Now this is ironic, because previously in the passage, people were walking by, wagging their heads and mocking Him, challenging Him, if He is the Son of God, let Him come down from that cross. The religious leaders themselves mocked Him in that particular way.
So the rejection of the Son of God on the part of the Jewish leaders and the people of Israel makes this that much more glorious. They, the ones to whom He came, the very nation from whom Messiah comes, He comes to His own, His own receive Him not. They don't confess Him as the Son of God. They use that as a taunt.
They use that as ridicule. They use that as mockery. They use that as a means by which to blaspheme Him. And yet the Roman soldiers, men associated with death, Men associated with pain and torment and punishment.
Men who, again, this was not their first rodeo. They nevertheless confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Davies and Allison say the soldiers who are set up as witnesses in verse 36 take up the title used to ridicule Jesus in verses 40 and 43 and make it a sincere confession. As well, the confession of the Son of God in light of what they knew.
Think about what these men had seen. They had seen the charge above his head. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. They had heard the mockery in verses 40 and 43.
The idea that Christ was, in fact, the Son of God. They hear Jesus cry in terms of his commitment of his spirit to the Father in Luke's gospel. And then their time in Israel. They would have had some concept of Messiah.
They weren't ruler, at least in terms of military, over these people. They would be somewhat familiar with some of the idioms of their religion and of the messianic expectation. And so this is an accurate confession. Truly, this was the Son of God.
And then... In terms of Matthew's gospel, we see it very specifically in John. So John starts off, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then John ends with Thomas' confession, my Lord and my God.
What is John trying to communicate to us? He's trying to communicate to us theology proper. He's identifying for us who the Word is. He's telling us that Jesus is the second person of the triune God, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.
It's not as obvious in Matthew's gospel, but it is as obvious in Matthew's gospel. If you think about Matthew's Gospel, this confession of Jesus as the Son of God is made by the Father. The Father makes this confession in chapter 3 at verse 17 at the baptism of the Lord. The Father makes this confession in chapter 17 at the transfiguration of our Lord.
The disciples on a couple of occasions in Matthew's Gospel confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus himself obviously claims to be the Son of God in Matthew's Gospel. And even the demons in chapter 8 at verse 29 confess that Jesus is the Son of God. And so when we read this by the soldiers, they were absolutely positively right on.
They were correct. They weren't just taking a stab at some theological guess, but rather Matthew is showing us that this one who is crucified is in fact the Son of God. The religious leaders and the pastors by of Israel rejecting their Messiah would wag their heads and mock him for claiming to be the Son of God. And yet these Roman soldiers now confess that he is, in fact, the son of God.
Bruner makes this good observation. He says, it pleases Matthew that just as it was Gentile magi who first honored Jesus' birth in Matthew 2, so it is now Gentile militia who first honor Jesus' death. They say, they affirm, they confirm that what we know of a truth and what was completely rejected by this audience is the reality. And then Bruner says that Luther believed that the soldier's confession, quote, is a sign of the power of the death of Christ.
The blood of Christ not only wakens dead bodies, but also sinners' souls. These were sinner souls who had been awakened through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, we may sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the four soldiers who conducted the execution of our Lord Jesus Christ. They made the good confession.
Think back to Matthew chapter 16. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? The apostles say, well, there's all these people out there with all these conjectures out there, and then Jesus brings it to bear upon his own. Who do you say that I am?
And Peter confesses, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. He was the one that made this known. So these soldiers make the proper confession concerning Jesus Christ, and they say, truly, this was the Son of God.
The Faithful Women
And then notice the presence of the women. The presence of the women. There are three things here. Their devotion.
They had followed Jesus about 80 to 100 miles from Galilee. They had ministered to Jesus on several occasions. That they look on from afar here is no bad testimony on them. It is simply a matter of fact.
In terms of their identity, we are told Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, probably not Jesus' mother, and then the mother of Zebedee's sons. Remember, it was the mother of Zebedee's sons that brought her two precious boys to our Lord Jesus when they were jockeying for position. at the right hand of the Son of God. Remember that passage in Matthew chapter 20? Jesus says, I have a baptism to undergo.
I have a cup to drink to undergo that you men know nothing up. And so when it comes to push or when it comes to crunch time, guess where the sons of Zebedee are not? They're not present at the cross, but their mother is. Now, why does Matthew include this bit of information here?
Well, in the first place, there's an apologetic significance. Apologetic significance. Bruner, again, says, precisely because women's witness was not considered dependable in Israel's courts. Now, that makes us go nuts in the 21st century, but that's just not the way it was back then.
Right? It was the way. I'm not saying it was right. I'm not condoning it.
I'm not saying that women's testimony shouldn't be valid in a court of law, but it's simply reporting what was. It's just the way that it was. We can't go back and clean up history. We can't go back and refashion history.
We can't go back and fix history. It's an impossible task. We learn from history, we praise God for history, we extol the heroes in history, and we castigate the wretches in history. But we can't go back and police history.
But in terms of the apologetic significance, again, Bruner, He says, precisely because women's witness was not considered dependable in Israel's courts, the canonical writers would have had male witnesses present at these crucial events if they had invented the stories. In other words, that women were the witnesses and that the canonical writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, record that evidence that they're committed to the truth. They're not shaping their narrative. They're not saying in their first century context, well, nobody's gonna believe the testimony of women, so we'll excise them from the narrative and we'll put in a faithful body of men.
That's not what they do. There's apologetic value to the reality of what we find in the gospel records at the level of the women's witness. As well, notice the contextual significance. They are present at his death here, they are present at his burial, verse 61, and they are present at his resurrection in 28, verse 1 and following.
And then in terms of the practical significance, the male disciples are not there. It's not saying that women are better than men. It's just simply a commentary on what happened in terms of the crucifixion of our Lord. You had the bravado of a Simon Peter who said, I will never deny you.
He denies Jesus to a servant girl. We see in Matthew 26 that all the disciples flee from him. And yet here are these faithful women. The Bible's not anti-woman.
The Bible's not chauvinistic. The Bible doesn't have an axe to grind against women. Again, persons think that. They assume that.
They operate with that mindset. But it's simply false. It's simply incorrect. It is simply wrong.
Matthew dignifies these women by demonstrating their presence at the death, burial, and resurrection of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin says, but praise is bestowed on the women alone who accompanied Christ till death because their extraordinary attachment to their master was more strikingly displayed when the men fled trembling. And Calvin's not saying bad men, they're horrible men, they're satanic men, they're in hell kind of men. That's not what he's saying.
He's simply commending the faith of these women who were present at the death, the burial, and the resurrection, in spite of the fact that the men had fled when the going got tough. After having promised that I will die for you, I will not deny you, whatever comes your way, I will be right there with you. Well, when push came to shove, off they went. Which, before we close, doesn't that illustrate the beauty of the gospel?
What does Jesus not do? You guys deserted me, so forget it. You guys deserted me, so I'm cutting you off. You guys deserted me, so I'm done with you.
No, the glory of the gospel is that God's not done with us. The glory of the gospel is that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. The glory of the gospel is that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The glory of the gospel is that through the blood atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the rending of that veil, the opening up to the Holy of Holies, once By grace, a sinner is conquered, then that sinner is conquered forever.
He doesn't lose his salvation because he has a lapse. He doesn't lose his salvation because he has remaining corruption. He doesn't lose that salvation because ultimately that would reflect upon the Savior. Either he comes to save his people from their sins, or he doesn't.
And if a man can be truly saved and then lost, that reflects upon the ability or the lack of ability on the Savior himself. So this idea that sinners for whom Jesus died and rose again can somehow lose their salvation, again, it's been well said, if we could, we would. Absolutely, positively, in a moment. If the church could have been destroyed by now, it would have been destroyed by now.
God Most High is in control of the church, and He's in control of individual sinners, and we rejoice in that.
Application and Conclusion
Well, in conclusion, a couple of thoughts, and then we move to the supper. First, the efficacy of the atoning work of Christ. From chapter 27, verse 32, to chapter 27, to verse 56, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ is all according to the plan and purpose of God. This wasn't invented by men.
This wasn't conceptualized by some drama school. This was the plan and purpose of God Most High in order to save His people from their sins. That whole detailed legislation that we have in the Old Testament is preparatory. I hope that as you read through the Old Testament now, you feel that sense of preparation.
You know this is going somewhere. You know that there's purpose here. You know that every sacrifice, every detail, every jot, every tittle of that ceremonial law is pointing forward to and prefiguring the coming of the Son of God, who will save His people from their sins. And with reference to the efficacy, we see it in the rent veil.
We see it in the resurrection from the dead. We see the power of Jesus in inaugurating the new covenant. J.C. Ryle says, the rending of the veil proclaimed the termination and passing away of the ceremonial law.
It was a sign that the old dispensation of sacrifices and ordinances was no longer needed. Now brethren, when we talk like this, it doesn't mean it was bad. It rather means it was temporary. There was built-in an obsolescence with reference to the old covenant system.
It was built-in. It prefigured. It typified. It pointed forward to the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
So when we talk about no more ceremonial law, it's not some triumphalistic way saying, oh, the ceremonial law was bad. It was bad, it was, no, no, no, no, no. It was given for a time to keep the children of Israel under check, to tutor them in terms of their Messiah, and to provide for them gracious confirmation of God's saving interest in them. And so while it was in play, it was a most blessed institution.
But that Jesus comes to fulfill and therefore abrogates or abolishes the ceremonies, He does so through fulfillment. He does so through realization. Back to Ryle. He says, it was a sign that the old dispensation of sacrifices and ordinances was no longer needed.
Its work was done. Its occupation was gone from the moment that Christ died. There was no more need of an earthly high priest and a mercy seat and a sprinkling of blood and an offering up of incense in a day of atonement. The true high priest had at length appeared.
The true Lamb of God had been slain. The true mercy seat was at length revealed. The figures and shadows were no longer needed. May we all remember this.
To set up an altar and a sacrifice and a priesthood now is to light a candle at noonday. Obviously, he's taken a shot at Roman Catholicism, that has a priesthood, that has altars, that has sacrifice, that has a tabernacle, that has all those things that have been rendered obsolete, not because they were bad, but because they were fulfilled. Christ said, it is finished. There is no more ceremonies of Moses that the people of God must imbibe.
That's why Paul in Galatians, for instance, takes aim at those who underscore circumcision along with faith as a means for justification. No. Circumcision was part of the ceremonial law. It set apart the nation of Israel.
It prefigured certain things. It was typical of certain things. Now that Christ has come, there's no more religious obligation on the people of God to get or not get circumcised. If somebody wants to do that for cultural or ethnic or whatever, they're free to do that.
But the moment that one thinks it has religious significance, they fall under the anathema of the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians. As well, we see not only the power of Jesus in the inauguration of the new covenant, but the power of Jesus over sin. Access to God has been provided by God. The veil is rent from the top to the bottom. all of our attempts, all of our efforts, all of the things that man, I don't mean us specifically here, but mankind in general.
The apostle summarizes it in 1 Corinthians 1, for since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, but they tried, they tried to gain access. The philosophers spoke at length about God. The Jews certainly had a, had the old covenant scriptures and all those sorts of things, but when they weren't living by faith in that God, they were trying to do it on their own. That's always the common report from every man, is that he tries to go it on his own.
Not Christianity. Christianity is about a seeking God. Christianity is about the God of Luke 19, 10. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
We have victory over sin in our Lord Jesus Christ. And as well, you have the power of Jesus over the grave and death. The apostle in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 says, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory? We have that communicated to us in the opening of the graves, in the rising up of the many saints, and in their going into the holy city to testify that Jesus Christ is risen. Jesus Christ has power over death. Jesus Christ has power over the grave.
And Jesus Christ will usher His beloved church into His presence. forever and ever and ever. And that, my brothers and sisters, is a most encouraging benefit of our religion. Our people die, but they die well. They enter into the presence of Emmanuel.
They go to that place where there's no more sorrow, there's no more pain, there's no more suffering. They go to that place where there's no more hunger, where there's no more thirst. They go to that place where there's no more sin. They stand before the throne of God day and night, crying out, salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne.
And you know what else is not present in the New Jerusalem? Death itself. That is the last enemy that Christ defangs according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 28. Death punctuates this lower world.
Death is a grief. Death is sorrowful. Death does hurt. But in the new Jerusalem, there's no more death.
Our Savior is victorious. Our Savior is triumphant. And our Savior has removed the fangs from the grave itself. And in that, God's people rejoice.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the work of Jesus Christ. Every time we remind ourselves of the gospel of our salvation, we stand amazed that you would choose to save wretches like us. that according to your good pleasure you chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, and that in your time you sent Him. It wasn't us who asked, it wasn't us who fetched, it wasn't us who deserved, but you sent the Son of your love into this world, sinners to save.
We thank you for that life of obedience. We thank you for the death at Calvary. God, as we survey this particular scene, as we see this veil rent from top to bottom, as we see access into the Holy of Holies opened up by our Savior, we stand amazed and we give you praise and glory and adoration. And we ask that you would comfort and encourage our hearts tonight, that you would build us up in our most holy faith, and that God, as we continue to diverse distance in this present world, we would do so with that cheerful disposition, knowing that when we breathe our last, we'll enter into the presence of a gracious and a good and a holy God.
And as well, help us to look forward to the resurrection from the dead, because it's not just the intermediate state that is the Christian hope, but it is rather that resurrection, that day when you will summons all men everywhere to rise up. You will knit body and soul back together. You will bring the righteous into your presence, where we may enjoy our blessed God, body and soul, world without end. We bless and praise you for these mercies and these graces that you've given to us.
We bless and we praise you for the goodness that you have shown to us in the gospel of our salvation. And again, Father, we are jealous and desirous that others would know this truth as well, that you would convict sinners, that you would show them it's not their works, it's not their deeds, it's not their subscription to ceremonies in terms of law. but it is belief on the Savior for salvation. God, do this for your glory. Do this for the good of souls from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
And may you demonstrate your power and your sovereignty and your majesty in the saving of sinners by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in his blessed name. Amen.