Bible Study series: Matthew 27:32-56. He is confirming the New Covenant with his blood. This is a global event, just outside Jerusalem.

A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:

biblegateway.com

In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!

Matthew 27

In this post, links are provided for further study.

Let’s begin.

Scripture: Matthew 27:32-56

³² While they were going out, they found a man, a Cyrenian named Simon. They compelled him to pick up his cross. ³³ And going to the place called Golgotha, which is translated the Place of the Skull, ³⁴ they gave to him wine to drink, mixed with gall, and on tasting it, he did not want to drink it. ³⁵ After they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots. ³⁶ They were sitting and keeping watch over him there. ³⁷ And they placed over his head the written charge against him:

“This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”

³⁸ At that time they crucified two insurrectionists with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who were passing by abused him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “The one who could destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” ⁴¹ Likewise, also, the chief priests with the teachers of the law and elders, mocking him, were saying, ⁴² “He saved others; he is unable to save himself! He is the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him! ⁴³ He trusted in God, let him now rescue him, if he delights in him! For he said, ‘I am God’s Son!’” ⁴⁴ In the same way also, the insurrectionists who were crucified with him were scorning him.

⁴⁵ Darkness descended on the entire land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ Around the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [Ps. 22:1]

⁴⁷ Some of those standing there heard and said, “He is calling on Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge soaked with sour wine and put it around a reed and gave him it. ⁴⁹ The rest were saying, “Leave it! Let’s see if Elijah comes and saves him!” ⁵⁰ Jesus again cried out with a loud voice and released his spirit.

⁵¹ And look! The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² And the tombs opened up and many bodies of holy people who had fallen asleep were raised ⁵³ and left their tombs after his resurrection and went into the sacred city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴ The centurion and those with him keeping watch over Jesus, seeing the shaking and the events, were exceedingly afraid, saying, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching at a distance, who followed Jesus from Galilee, to minister to him, ⁵⁶ some of whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Matthew 27:32-56)

Comments:

Jesus is now ratifying the New Covenant, as he promised during the Last Supper:

²⁶ As they were eating, Jesus, taking bread and blessing it, broke it, and giving it to the disciples, said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” ²⁷ And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, everyone, ²⁸ for this is my blood of my covenant which poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matt. 26:26-28)

Blomberg describes how crucifixion was done and how people died:

So Christ is nailed to the cross (this is what is implied by “crucified” in v. 35)—his feet nailed together at his ankles at the bottom of a vertical pole, his hands nailed at the wrists to either end of the crossbeam. Crucifixion was undoubtedly one of the most gruesome forms of torture and death humans have ever invented. It involved prolonged suffering for up to several days. The final cause of death was usually asphyxiation, since the victim finally became too weak to lift his head far enough off his chest to gasp for air. (comment and 27:35-37)

32:

Simon the Cyrenian is a better translation. Cyrene is in N. Africa, where Tripoli is. Keener says that archaeologists have uncovered a grave of an “Alexander son of Simon,” a Cyrenian Jew, near Jerusalem (p. 677). But identifying him with this Simon is not nailed down. It does make one think, however. Keener further insightfully says that Simon carrying the cross underscores the disciples’ failure to carry the cross with Jesus (p. 677).

He was coming from the agricultural field where he was working.

Mark 15:21 identifies him as the father of Alexander and Rufus. Paul wrote: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well” (Rom. 16:13, ESV). How did Mark know who Rufus was? No doubt he met him in the Christian community in Rome. Recall that Peter arrived there, and Mark assisted Peter in putting together Peter’s preaching. I can easily imagine that Rufus liked to say, “My dad carried the beam for Jesus! That’s right!” However, all this is no more than a possibility, because Rufus was a popular name among Jews who wanted to Latinize their Hebrew name Reuben.

The soldiers made him carry the cross beam. The upright or vertical beam was already there at the place of crucifixion.

33:

They have reached the place outside of Jerusalem called “the Skull Place.” The Latin word for skull is calvaria, and we get our word calvary from it (Turner on 27:33). The site of “Gordon’s Calvary” and the Garden Tomb is not historically confirmed.

34-35:

The soldiers offered him sour wine or vinegar, which evidently lessened the pain. It refers to Ps. 69:21: “And for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” (ESV). He tasted it but did not drink it. John 19:30, Mark 15:23, and Luke 23:36 agree that he did not drink it, but he did fulfill Bible prophecy when it was offered and put to his mouth. France points out that the wine was mixed with gall from the gall bladder, though France says that in this case it may not be the animal byproduct. It could be wine mixed with myrrh, which served as a narcotic. But France is not sure (p. 1066). If it was a narcotic, it is good that Jesus rejected the drink. He wanted to feel the full effect of the pain, in empathy for our own pain. Don’t take narcotics to deaden your personal pain.

Further verses in this Psalm perfectly summarize the blindness of the religious leaders and the Roman soldiers:

Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
²³ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, (Ps. 69:22-23, ESV)

And,

For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. (Ps. 69:26, ESV)

Again: Messianic Prophecies

This section of Ps. 69 speaks of God punishing those who persecute the righteous. It may make the soft-hearted squeamish, but look at this idea more theologically. God is the God of justice (not irrational vengeance), and he cannot deny who he is. Yes, he will forgive those who repent, but there is no evidence that these men repented, except one soldier and those with him (v. 54). God was going to visit on Jerusalem and the temple judgment, which happened in A.D. 70. See Matt. 24:4-35 for a thorough discussion of this judgment:

Matthew 24:4-35 Predicts Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple

Also, see this post on the Synoptics:

Matt 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and 17 in Parallel Columns Are Finally Clear

Dividing up the clothes by lots speaks of putting them in a pile and then casting lots for them. Jesus was about to be crucified naked, for his clothes were gambled away by lot.

36-37:

These verses move us along to another angle. The guards sat down to keep watch over him. But before then, they had placed the written charge or cause against him, over his head.

38:

Now we learn of two more (unnamed) criminals. Matt. 27:38 and Mark 15:27 call them lēstēs (pronounced layss-tayss) and means, depending on the context: “robber, highwayman, bandit … revolutionary insurrectionist.” Barabbas was called a lēstēs (John 18:40). Luke 23:18 says that Barabbas participated in an insurrection. For all we know, Barabbas knew these two men, and they knew him. France seems to think so (p. 1068).

This scene goes back to another prophecy of Jesus: “For I tell you that it is necessary that what was written be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the lawless’” (Luke 22:37, referring to Is. 53:12).

39-42:

The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders—the very ones who had accused him—and the two insurrectionists sneer because they expected the Messiah would storm Jerusalem and blow every enemy away. But here he is on the cross. “What a loser!” they thought. But they could not put two-and-two together. Is. 53 talks about the suffering Messiah. So the first mockery were done by Jews (26:67-68). Then the ridicule was done by soldiers (27:27-31). And now the people and the religious leaders and even the Jewish insurrectionists entered the verbal fray (vv. 39-44).

“if he delights in him”: That is, if God delights in him. We already learned that God does delight in and love his Son.

And being baptized, Jesus instantly got up out of the water, and look! the heaven opened up to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove and coming upon him. ¹⁷ And listen! A voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight!” (Matt. 3:16-17)

A bright cloud covered them. And then listen! A voice from heaven from the cloud speaking: “This one is my beloved Son, in whom I have been well pleased. Listen to him.” (Matt. 17:5)

So these religious leaders were swimming around in irony. God endorsed his Son, already. They were ignorant of this, yet they thought they understood the mind of God in getting rid of Jesus—but not for long. Vindication is coming.

The mockers didn’t fully understand the title Son of God, but we do now, so let’s explore it more deeply.

Let’s get into a little systematic theology.

Jesus was the Son of the Father eternally, before creation. The Son has no beginning. He and the Father always were, together. The relationship is portrayed in this Father-Son way so we can understand who God is more clearly. Now he relates to us as his sons and daughters. On our repentance and salvation and union with Christ, we are brought into his eternal family.

6. Titles of Jesus: The Son of God

When Did Jesus “Become” the Son of God?

Let’s return to the passage at hand. Blomberg’s words are inspiring:

For the sake of our eternal salvation, we praise God that he chose to remain faithful despite this unspeakable and excruciating agony. He thus perfectly illustrated the principle of 16:25 (“whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it”), which applies to all people. It is difficult to study the crucifixion sensitively and sympathetically and not break down in tears. It is almost inconceivable that believers who frequently meditate on Jesus’ suffering on their behalf could exalt themselves or quarrel with each other (hence 1 Cor 1:18–2:5 as Paul’s response to the problems of 1 Cor 1:10–17). The ground is indeed level at the foot of the cross. (comment on 27:38-40)

Jewish and Roman Writers on the Death of Jesus
1	Mara bar Serapion (c. AD 73): “For what advantage did … the Jews [gain] by the death of their wise king, because from that time their kingdom was taken away?”
2	Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3: “Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified.”
3	Agapius Book of Titles (summarizing Josephus): “Pilate condemned him to be crucified.”
4	Tacitus, Annals 15.44 (c. AD 110-20): This name [i.e. Christian] originates from ‘Christus’ who was sentenced to death by the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.”
5	Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 43a: “On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene. And a herald went out in front of him, for forty days, saying: ‘He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead on his behalf.’ But not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover.”
Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Vol. 2. (Baker 1996), p. 1843. Bock wrote these summaries before the web was up and running for the public, but now you can find them everywhere, in reputable videos and websites. We should give the printed, published authors credit.

Most scholars I have read about the reference in Josephus (no. 2) conclude that the core of his record is authentic, though later Christians embellished it. Bock preserves the core. It is obvious that these writers differ greatly in the details, which is natural enough since they wrote at different times and in different places; the Talmudic record seems hostile and dishonest, which gives it a sort of credibility, an admission against its own interest. However, they all agree that Jesus lived and died. And I don’t discount the four Gospels on the basics, either.

4. Did Jesus Even Exist? (part four in my series on the reliability of the Gospels)

45-56:

The sixth hour was noon (12:00), and the ninth hour was 3:00 p.m. (15:00). France argued at 26:17 that this was done around the time of the slaughter of the Passover lambs (p. 1075, n. 11). See my long quotation of him there.

Matthew 26 (scroll down to v. 17)

This pericope is divided into three aspects: Jesus, the people, and supernatural phenomena, like the curtain tearing in two. At the death of Jesus, people, living or dead, react, and so do nature and the curtain in the temple.

Let’s take them one at a time.

Jesus:

Let’s go into the significance of Jesus’s death.

“Why have you forsaken me?” It could be translated as “abandoned.” He is quoting Ps. 22:1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (ESV). Why did Jesus feel abandoned? Some Bible teachers say that he was feeling the sin of humanity imputed or credited to him in a vicarious or substitutionary or representative way. Jesus took the penalty of our sin, and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus died in our place. He was our substitute. I believe that this reason is strong enough. However, a teaching circulated about a decade ago that said that the Father really didn’t abandon him, but Jesus simply felt abandoned. Maybe. But I prefer the idea that the Father poured out on him the penalty and judgment for our sin, so the penalty and judgment we deserved was imputed over to him. Now we do not have to be punished for our sin, at judgment. In fact we now have free access to the throne of grace, because of Jesus (Heb. 4:16). We are right now benefited by his sacrificial and substitutionary act on the cross. We don’t have to get the benefit only at judgment.

Yes, Jesus was quoting Scripture, when he said, “My God, my God ….” But France insightfully points out a poignant dimension. He had referred to God as his Father (11:25, 26; 26:39, 42). Thus it was a change in mood or atmosphere from the intimacy in Gethsemane, where he did say “My Father” (p. 1076), to the pain of actually being on the cross now.

Keener: “By expiring at 3:00 p.m. [15:00], Jesus died close to the official time of the evening lamb offering in the temple, especially significant in a paschal context … though I would argue that the final Passover lambs were being slaughtered the preceding day. … (p. 684). “Some more recent studies suggest that dehydration and loss of blood are more plausible causes” of death (p. 684). Earlier studies said that the crucified victim was unable to lift the diaphragm and died of asphyxiation. Maybe all these causes contributed to his death. But truthfully, Jesus died earlier than expected (John 19:33), so he gave up his spirit, voluntarily (v. 50).

Jesus was satisfying the justice of God by taking our place on the cross. Our sins deserved death, but he took it instead of (substitution) of us. Now what is the “wrath” of God? Let me show it in pictures:

God’s wrath is judicial.

It is not like this:

(Source)

But like this:

(Source)

That is a picture of God in judgment.

The Wrath of God in the New Testament

Do I Really Know God? He Shows Wrath

The Wrath of God in the Old Testament

Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words

Word Study on Judgment

Bible Basics about the Final Judgment

God’s wrath is not primitive or human or uncontrolled rage. It is slow and methodical and tied to his justice.

Now a little more theology. If Jesus dies on the cross, did God die? No. God lived on, but his body and humanity died. We can understand this if we look at our lives. When we die, our spirits live on, but our bodies die. So only a part of us dies. God did not die when Jesus did, and neither, incidentally, did his own spirit. Jesus commended his spirit to God the Father (v. 50).

4. Two Natures in One Person: Tough Questions

5. Two Natures in One Person: If Jesus Got Hungry, Did God?

Let’s look more deeply at the atonement, which is connected with Jesus’s death on the cross.

Atonement literally means in English at-one-ment or being one with God or being reconciled to him (the -ment suffix means “the result of”).

It is the extensive and costly process of reconciling sinners to God.

For more information, please click on this post:

What Does ‘Atonement’ Mean?

Once again, to forestall objections that falsely accuse God of being primitive or petty, please see this post:

Christ’s Death on Cross = Cosmic Child Abuse?

Is. 6 is a wonderful passage that describes a holy man—Isaiah—in the very presence of God, and he saw himself as undone and ruined, because he was an unclean man living among an unclean people. God reached out to him and put a coal on his lips to speak with power and anointing. God cleansed him.

Is. 27:9 talks about the extreme need of Israel’s sins to be removed, and one way to do this was to cut down fertility poles and crush altars to false gods. But this would not bring about reconciliation for all of humanity, forever, but the need for it is clear.

Dan. 9:24 speaks of Israel living in exile seventy years to finish transgression and atone for their wickedness. The verb “atone” means to “wipe away” or appease or placate God’s righteous demands.

John 1:29 shows John the Baptist proclaiming to the people about Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!”

Source: Atonement: Bible Basics

Why was the blood of Jesus necessary, and what does it accomplish?

Personally, I like how the blood of Jesus cleanses our guilty consciences from past sins. And I like that last point about the blood of the Lamb tramples underfoot the accusation of Satan. The thing is—when he accuses us he knows which sins we have committed. They are not life by our own experience. But in Christ we realize that Satan’s accusations are lies, because God already wiped clean and forgave and released our sins. They no longer apply.

Source: Why the Blood of Jesus?

What did the cross accomplish for us?

First, the cross put to death the curse of the old law. Paul wrote to the Galatians that according to the old law, everyone who hanged on a pole was cursed (Deut. 21:23), so Christ became that curse in our place (Gal. 3:13). Now the curse of the law is broken over us, so God does not judge us in his justice-wrath-judgment. We are in Christ and are spared his wrath.

Second, the cross took away our sins. The power that the law and regulations was broken and canceled over our lives, by the cross. Those things used to condemn us but now through the cross we have forgiveness of sins (Col. 2:13-14). 1 Peter 2:24 says that Christ himself bore our sins in his body, which happened at the cross (Is. 53:5).

Third, the cross reconciled us to God. Paul writes that humanity used to be divided by ethnic and cultural differences, but through the cross, all humans are made into one new human, united in Christ (Eph. 2:16). The fullness of deity lived in bodily form in Christ, and now God reconciled all things to himself by his cross and the blood that was shed there.

Fourth, the cross brought us eternal life. Jesus taught that when he was lifted up on the cross, so that everyone who sees him and believes can have eternal life.

Fifth, the cross triumphed over our enemies. As noted, Col. 2:15 says all the decrees issued against us were canceled, and Christ dragged behind him all of his enemies like a roman emperor led captive people in his victory parade.

Source: Why the Cross?

What is reconciliation, and how does Christ’s death on the cross accomplish it? Reconciliation is when God calls us to surrender fighting him and become his friend. He doesn’t have to move, but we do. He did act, however, by sending his Son to die.

But why?

First, God’s law and holiness required payment for human degradation and sin, if redemption is to be done. God cannot ignore or overlook sin. So how can humankind be reconciled or brought near to God, with such a wide gulf? Christ willingly became a sin offering in our place (substitute) and paid the penalty of sin that engulfed humankind. Now reconciliation between God and humans can take place because Christ is the mediator between the two. God can be just and the justifier of humanity (Rom. 3:26).

Then, second, there is another point of view. Redemption is a gift. Out of his love God gave his all through his Son and his Spirit. Humanity that was plunged into sin and darkness and the devil’s kingdom overcomes by Jesus atoning life and work. God maintains his justice, expresses his love and triumphs over darkness and Satan.

Source: What Is Redemption in the Bible?

Also see:

9. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Died for You

That last link has tables, comparing the different accounts of Jesus’s death.

Jesus gave up or entrusted or commended his spirit to his Father. Jesus didn’t allow himself to be a victim of natural causes, like suffocation. He had complete control over his death. He declared when it was over.

When we die, our spirit is entrusted to our Father. It is not a ghost or goes into a soul sleep (see the comment on v. 43). If we are converted, saved or redeemed, then our spirit goes to heaven. If we are not saved, converted or redeemed, our spirit goes to hell waiting the final resurrection when our transformed bodies are reunited with our soul / spirit and go through final judgment. But there is some unclarity about what this hell is. Is it outer darkness? Fire? How can fire and outer darkness coexist? Whatever it is, it is separation from God.

Bible Basics about Hell

Sleeping in all NT passages that speak of death is simply a metaphor for death. It’s a great image, because when we die, we appear to sleep as our body lies in the coffin, but our spirit or soul is very much alive and not sleeping. We are awake, even though our body is dead.

People

The focus shifts over to the onlookers. First, the centurion and those with him, who were seeing the signs, concluded that this man really was the Son of God. That is a profession of faith. However, the centurion and company did not see all of the events in one moment, since they happened over a (short) time. But he did see the sky darken. Matthew has simply telescoped or condensed the events. France says that the crucifixion and death and the earthquake and darkened sky explained the guards’ terror and triggered their confession of faith (pp. 1083-84). In Matthew’s community, the soldier’s and his company’s confession of faith in God’s Son is supposed to trigger the same reaction. God twice declared that Jesus was his Son (3:17; 17:5); Peter called him the Son of the living God (16:16); demons declared his Sonship (4:3, 6; 8:29). And Jesus said so himself (11:25-27; cf. 24:36). Now we are to declare his Sonship for our salvation (Gal. 2:20).

Once again:

6. Titles of Jesus: The Son of God

I really, really like how Matthew mentions the women. This honorable mention sets the stage of the beginning of the next section when they spy out the place where his body was laid. It refers to Ps. 38:11, which will become true in the near future: “My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away” (Ps. 38:11, NIV). Peter and the others thought the women’s report about the resurrection was “nonsense” (24:11).

It takes a deep commitment from the women to observe him crucified. It must have broken their hearts. But I wonder if they remembered his words, deep in their spirits, hope against hope, that he would rise from the dead. They are about to get the burial spices and perfumes ready, so their commitment to him goes even further.

Mary Magdalene:

Luke 8:2 says that Jesus expelled seven demons out of her. Seven is the number of completion, so you can interpret the seven demons as a deep need for deliverance or there really were seven demons. I take the number literally. It is good to see her restored and still following Jesus.

Mary, the mother of James and Joseph:

Her name is also Maria in Greek. James is identified as James the Younger (Mark 15:40). Therefore, she is the wife of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3). Apart from these small hints, scholars don’t know who she is.

The mother of the sons of Zebedee:

Here are the two sons and their father:

²¹ Then he went ahead from there and saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their net, and he called them. ²² And instantly they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matt. 4:21-22)

And here she is demanding or requesting (you choose) that her two sons get special privileges and status in the Messiah’s kingdom:

²⁰ At that time the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons, bowing before him and asking something from him. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you wish for?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine would sit, one on your right and one on your left, in your kingdom. (Matt. 20:20-21)

James and John (and Peter) formed the inner circle of Jesus. He must have seen something stable in them, in the end.

Let’s look at an interesting possible family connection. Are Jesus, James, and John first cousins by their two mothers (Mary and Salome)?

The discussion has now been moved to this article:

Were Jesus, James and John First Cousins? Was Clopas Jesus’ Uncle?

Resurrected Holy People

I have written a separate article on these people in those two verses.

Matt. 27:52-53 and Appearance of Holy People: Pious Fiction or Fact?

Nature and the Curtain

You have two (or three) options in interpreting these events: literally or symbolically or both, in part.

Curtain:

Let’s take the curtain in the temple first.

A small local earthquake happens, and apparently it is strong enough to tear the curtain in two. Keener writes:

But some rabbinic sources may report a garbled account of a similar tradition, though the evidence is not clear. Josephus may know a related tradition about a heavy gate to the inner court opening by itself presaging Jerusalem’s destruction, though he or his source place it closer to the latter event (Jos. War 6:293-96); likewise, the priestly aristocracy would certainly not have publicized a rending of the inner veil at Jesus’s death (which they might regard as a coincidence … but early “leaks” to the Christians unconfirmed by the hierarchy would be possible (Acts 6:7). (p. 687)

The tearing of the curtain happened around the time of the evening sacrifice of the evening sacrifice (vv. 45-46), so it would be obvious to attending priests (p. 686). “The rending [tearing] could symbolize the departure of God’s presence that preceded God’s judgment against the temple. Perhaps the old veil was ‘rent’ because the new order would not fit it (p. 696).

It for sure the curtain or veil tearing relates to this teaching in Hebrews, which says that Christ entered the holy place in the heavenly tabernacle.

²³ Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb. 9:23-28, ESV, emphasis added)

In line with the above passage, this tearing symbolized that the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place was now accessible for Jesus’s followers, spiritually speaking. Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle by means of his once-and-for-all sacrifice. Old Judaism was ending.

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb. 10:19-22, ESV, emphasis added)

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he opened the curtain, so that we can have complete access to God. We can enter the Most Holy Place. We enter through the curtain, that is, through his body.

When Was the Temple Curtain Torn in Two?

Nature:

Nature was bowing in reverence. The sixth hour was noon (12:00), and the ninth hour was at three in the afternoon (15:00). Some identify the darkness with a solar eclipse in A.D. 33 (BTSB), yet Jesus was crucified, more likely, in A.D. 30. So this event was a supernatural occurrence. On the other hand, you can interpret the sign in the sky as symbolic—the sky darkened when the Son of God was just about to expire. In the OT, when a major eschatological change happens, like the judgment on nations, the cosmos or creation reacts apocalyptically. They do not react literally. For a list of the Scriptures, click on this link:

Cosmic Disasters = Apocalyptic Imagery for Judgment and Major Change

Here are some:

“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” (Amos 8:9, ESV)

The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶ Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. (Nahum 1:5-6, ESV)

And:

¹¹ And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, (1 Kings 19:11, ESV)

Whichever way you take the cosmic sign and the curtain tearing, whether symbolic or literal, the significance is the same as just described. A massive eschatological shift just happened. The world would never be the same—it would get better, but only when people hear and receive the gospel.

And whatever you do, don’t make the literal or symbolic belief in these phenomena a test of orthodoxy. Keep the main thing the main thing, and these verses are not the main thing. The resurrection will be.

Here are biblical allusions in the Crucifixion narrative:

Matthew	Allusion	Old Testament
27:34	Wine mixed with gall (mercy or mockery?)	Ps. 69:21
27:35	Garments divided by casing lots	Ps. 22:18
27:36	Soldiers watch Jesus	Ps. 22:17
27:38	Numbered with transgressors	Is. 53:12
27:39	Shaking head in derision	Ps. 22:7
27:44	God will deliver Jesus if he trusts in him	Ps. 22:8
27:45	Darkness at noon	Amos 8:9
27:46	“Why have you forsaken me?”	Ps. 22:1
27:57-60	Jesus’s grave with a rich man	Is. 53:9
Turner, p. 662

GrowApp for Matthew 27:32-56

1. Jesus loved you so much that he was willing to go through crucifixion for you. What does his great and sacrificial love mean to you?

2. Jesus gave his life—his all—for you. Please read Matt. 10:38 and 16:24. What had to die in you when you converted to Christ?

RELATED

9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel

1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel

2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels

14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels

1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series

SOURCES AND MORE

To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.

Matthew 27