Yesterday, we reflected on the question of why a perfect and sovereign Creator of the universe would exchange glory for the humiliation and torture of the Cross. Today, as we dig into Matthew 27:45-56, we will continue that journey as we examine the events in the moment of Jesus’s death as creation recognizes the impact of who Jesus is and all He has done.
Take a moment to pray with me.
Father, Thank You for this time together. Thank You for Your Word and all You are. We praise You for Your perfect love. As we open Your Word, here we are … show us something amazing about You. And teach us Lord, to see ourselves better because of who You are. In Jesus name.
Take a moment to read Matthew 27:45-56.
As we saw in earlier verses, it’s hard to fully grasp the depth of Jesus’s love. But in Verses 45-56, we witness His love in perhaps its most powerful form.
Jesus hangs on the Cross, darkness covers the land. In His agony, Jesus cries out, quoting Psalm 22:1. Then, as Jesus dies, something incredible happens. The temple curtain, the barrier between God and humanity, is torn from top to bottom. The earth shakes, tombs open and the dead rise. The Roman centurion and others witnessing this moment declare, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” … AND with that revelation, everything shifts.
In these final moments, we see the counterintuitive completeness of God’s PLAN, His POWER and the glory of His PERSON.
God’s plan for our redemption is beautifully counterintuitive. To human eyes, the Cross appears as the ultimate failure — a perfect man condemned to a brutal death. Yet, in that moment, God was fulfilling His perfect plan.
The darkness that covered the land as Jesus hung on the Cross signifies the weight of sin He was bearing. In His cry, “My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus expresses both His pain and unwavering obedience to God’s will. He was not a victim; He chose this path, knowing the cost. Even in the garden, He prayed, “Not as I will, but as You will.”
When Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He wasn’t just marking the end of His life; He was declaring victory. Through His sacrifice, Jesus paid the full penalty for sin, and the way to God was opened. What appeared as defeat was the ultimate victory.
God’s plan defies our expectations. We think victory comes through strength, but Jesus’s victory came through sacrifice. The Cross, which seemed like failure, became the moment of triumph. Because of Jesus’s completed work, we are free, and access to God is now wide open. It is finished.
God’s power is revealed in surprising ways. When Jesus died, the temple curtain, which separated people from God, was torn from top to bottom. This was a supernatural act, symbolizing that through Jesus’s sacrifice, the barrier between us and God was removed. No longer do we need a priest or rituals to approach God; we can now come boldly through Jesus.
But the power didn’t stop there. The earth shook, rocks split and graves opened, with some of the dead rising to life. This wasn’t random — it was a preview of Jesus’s victory over death. Through His death, He didn’t just pay for our sins; He defeated death itself.
God’s power has never been about domination but rather about sacrifice and surrender. Through His death, Jesus made a way for us to enter God’s presence and overcome our fear of death. His death as our forerunner was the beginning of eternity for all who believe in His finished work.
In Matthew 27:54-56, we witness a powerful shift in perception. A Roman centurion, trained to carry out executions without emotion, watches Jesus’s response to suffering. Despite the mocking and brutal agony, Jesus doesn’t fight back — He surrenders His life willingly. In this moment, the centurion, seeing beyond the outward defeat, declares, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”
This is remarkable. A hardened soldier and agent of death, suddenly recognizes Jesus’s divine glory amid suffering. His declaration reveals a profound truth: Jesus’s identity was not diminished in His suffering — it was revealed through it.
The women watching nearby, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, also began to grasp the weight of the moment. Though shaken by the Cross, their faith would soon be transformed by the resurrection. What seemed like defeat became the greatest victory the world would ever know.
This passage shows us the counterintuitive completeness of the person of Jesus Christ. His glory wasn’t displayed through force but in sacrificial surrender. The Cross, seeming like the end, was the beginning of God’s ultimate victory over Adam’s curse. And Jesus’s true strength was shown in His willingness to lay down His life for us.
In Jesus’s death, we see the perfect completion of God’s perfect plan. His sacrifice opened the way for us to know God, experience His power and recognize His glory. Jesus, fully God and fully man, took on the weight of our sin and death so that we could have access to God. He cries “tetelesthai — it is finished, it is paid in full.” (Matthew 27:50, John 19:30) His work is done, and through Him, we find forgiveness, life and hope.
Jesus didn’t have to go to the Cross, but He chose to, out of love for us and obedience to the Father. His death wasn’t defeat; it was victory. Through His sacrifice, the barrier between us and God was torn down. No longer are we separated from His presence, but we can boldly approach Him, forgiven and redeemed.
In His death, Jesus conquered death itself and reversed Adam’s curse on all humanity. The earth shook, tombs opened, the dead were raised, the veil ripped and hard hearts melted, proving that He had defeated the power of death. And in Him, we too have taken hold of eternal life.
Reconsider the powerful scene through Matthew’s eyes in 27:32-56. What aspect is most counterintuitive to you?
Write out a prayer of thanks, worship and wonder, to the God who lovingly pursues us by becoming our substitute and forerunner in death.