Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 27:32-54
Matthew
27:32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they
forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which
means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink,
mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had
crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting
down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written
charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
38
Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying,
“You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same
way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42
“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of
Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He
trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the
Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also
heaped insults on him.
The
Death of Jesus
45
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46
About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema
sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,
put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now
leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of
many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the
tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to
many people.
54
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the
earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed,
“Surely he was the Son of God!”
-- on September 30th,
1999, Japan suffered its most serious nuclear accident up to that date, at the
Tokaimura Nuclear Facility – while the tsunami-caused Fukushima accident in
2011 has now surpassed the extent of the damage from the Tokaimura accident, at
the time it was Japan’s greatest and most significant nuclear event
-- the incident spanned
approximately 20 hours, and resulted in the death of two workers at the nuclear
plant, with the surrounding area exposed to hazardous nuclear radiation from
the event
-- the incident began when three
workers at the plant took shortcuts while refueling a nuclear reactor – despite
the danger of radiation and the potential for an uncontrollable fission reaction,
the three workers entered the room with the radioactive material and began
filling the tank faster than authorized and in a manner that negated the safety
protocols
-- instead of slowly precipitating
the fuel into the tank, they mixed it in stainless steel buckets and began
pouring the fuel into the tank – and even though two of the three technicians
reported seeing blue-white flashes of light from within the tank, they kept on
with their efforts – only evacuating after the gamma ray alarm went off
-- but by that time, it was too late
– the fuel in the tank reached critical mass, and uncontrolled nuclear fission
began occurring, releasing hazardous radiation into the room and through the
vents into the surrounding countryside
--
the two workers in the room who were pouring the fuel from the buckets into the
tank received serious radiation exposure – they began experiencing pain, nausea,
and difficulty breathing – and emergency response crews were called in – all three
men were evacuated to a local hospital for treatment, but the two technicians
who were in the room with the tank died within a couple of months of the
accident
--
the radiation release was contained in the local area, and quickly dissipated,
without causing additional contamination
--
the results of the investigation into the cause of the incident confirmed that
it resulted from the direct actions of these three men, who ignored safety
protocols and entered the presence of hazardous nuclear fuel without
recognizing the danger
--
there is an old saying that “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” – and while
that is certainly true in regards to the nuclear incident in Japan, it is also
true for most people when it comes to spiritual matters
--
in our modern age, it seems that we have lost our awe and our reverence for God
and the things of God – we no longer have the “fear of the Lord” that the Bible
speaks of, but instead have exchanged a healthy respect for God and His power
for casual familiarity – a place where we no longer hold sacred the institutions
and attributes of our Creator
--
God is no longer regarded as the Lord God Almighty, great and worthy to be
praised – but is regarded as a friend who will meet all our wants and desires
if we only approach Him in the right way
--
this is the way of idolatry – and we see this attitude in our churches and in
our culture and in this current push for Christian nationalism – and I believe
this is as real a risk to us today as it was for those three men to rush into
the presence of nuclear fuel without considering the danger
--
so, on this Easter morning, I wanted us to spend a moment considering an event
in the Easter story that just casually gets mentioned in our modern day – we don’t
see the mystery of it – we don’t tend to understand the significance of it in
the way the original author and reader of the gospels would have understood it
II. Opening the Veil
-- we began this morning by reading
the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and death from the gospel of Matthew – it is
the same story that we see in all the synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and
Luke – the familiar story of Jesus carrying His cross to Golgotha – the place
of the skull – where He was crucified between two criminals
-- they were being put to death for
their crimes, while Jesus was being put to death for ours
-- the crucifixion began about nine
in the morning on that first Good Friday – and the gospel writers tell us that
from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the land – this is
the first reference in the gospel story to the presence of God the Father at
the crucifixion
-- a few years ago, the southeastern
US was within the zone of totality for a solar eclipse – you might remember
when this happened – we were not in the area to experience the total darkness
and full occlusion of the sun here, so we traveled into South Carolina where we
gathered with hundreds others to watch the total eclipse of the sun
-- and it was an awesome event – it was
just as described in the literature – little by little, the sun began to dim – a
dark shield started on the right hand side of the sun and eventually covered
the entire disk – you could look directly at the sun without fear of damaging
your eyes
-- the area around us gradually grew
darker and darker as the eclipse progressed – the birds began to roost – crickets
and other insects began to call – and then it was over – the light began to
return – and in a less than thirty minutes, all was back to normal
-- scientists say that the duration
of a total eclipse typically lasts between 1 and 4 minutes, depending on where
you are located on earth – the longest possible duration of a total eclipse is
7 minutes and 29 seconds, predicted to occur on July 16th, 2186
-- seven minutes – that is the
longest possible duration of a total eclipse – but we read here in verse 45
that from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land
-- this was not a natural event –
this was not a normal total eclipse – this was a miracle – this was the effect
of an awesome and mighty God displaying His presence and His authority over
nature and all creation as His Son died on the cross in our place
-- for three hours, darkness fell on
the land – supernatural darkness covered the land – scholars believe this was
the period of time when God’s wrath and judgment poured out on Jesus for our
sins and the sins of the world
-- look at verse 46
Matthew
27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,
lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
– it was
at the very end of this three-hour period that Jesus cried out to the Father, “My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – as the God-man – as the Son of Man
who bore all our sins on the cross before God – Jesus had experienced the full
wrath and power of the Lord God Almighty – taking the punishment upon Himself
that we so rightly deserve
-- but we miss that – and we gloss
over that – and we read that it grew dark for three hours and think nothing
more of it
-- we need to learn to read the
Scriptures in light of God’s power and majesty – and to see His presence – and to
learn to fear His presence – as the early Christians did
-- but this is not the main event that
I wanted to call your attention to – look down at verse 50
Matthew
27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his
spirit.
51
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of
many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the
tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to
many people.
54
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the
earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed,
“Surely he was the Son of God!”
-- so, here we read that at the very
moment when Jesus cried out again in a loud voice – saying, as John tells us in
his gospel, “It is finished” – giving up His spirit and dying in our place –
the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom
-- we’ve all seen that – we’ve all
read that – we probably all know what that means – the typical interpretation
of this event is that Jesus’ death made it possible for us to enter into the
Holy of Holies and the presence of God again
-- but do we truly understand what
that means? – the importance of it? – the implication of it?
-- to truly understand this and what
this means, we have to go all the way back to the Book of Genesis – look with
me at Genesis 3:23-24
Genesis
3:23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground
from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the
east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and
forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
-- once again, a familiar passage –
this takes place after the fall of man – after Adam and Eve disobeyed God by
eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – yes, they
were tempted by Satan – by the serpent of old – but Satan didn’t make them do it
– they couldn’t use the excuse of Flip Wilson’s Geraldine, “The devil made me
do it”
-- Adam and Eve chose to disobey God
– this was their action – this was their willful event – and when they turned
away from God and His commands and chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil when He had specifically told them not to, they
sinned against God – causing sin and death to enter a perfect world
-- and after the pronouncement of
judgment on mankind and on the serpent – and after the promise of a coming
Messiah who would crush the head of the serpent – God shed innocent blood to
atone for the sins of Adam and Eve – providing for them even in this sinful
state
-- and then we read here in verse 23
and 24 that He banished them from the Garden of Eden and put cherubim with a
flaming sword to guard the way back into the garden to the tree of life
-- but here’s the thing that we miss
in this story that affects how we read and understand the story of Jesus’ death
on the cross
- the Garden of Eden was more than
just a description of God’s creation – the Garden of Eden was created to be the
first temple – you see, a temple is the place the heavens and earth interact –
where God and man interact – where man can come into the presence of God
-- and that is what we saw with the
Garden of Eden prior to the fall -- the garden was the place where mankind
could come into the presence of a Holy and Mighty God – of the Lord God Almighty
– that’s why the Bible tells us that God would visit Adam and Eve in the garden
– walking with them in the cool of the day – as the first humans, they were to
be His priests – the mediators of His presence with the world – taking care of
His creation and bringing others safely into His presence as they multiplied
and filled the earth with their descendants
-- this was the original plan – mankind
was to live in the presence of God and to commune with Him in His creation
-- but sin ended that relationship –
Habakkuk 1:13 says that God cannot look upon evil – that God cannot be in the
presence of sin – His purity and holiness and righteousness cannot abide with
sin
-- and so, Adam and Eve were banished
from the Garden of Eden – they were banished from the temple – they were
banished from the very presence of God
-- no longer would they be allowed
into His presence as they had before – no longer would they walk with Him in the
same way as before – because His holiness would prevent them from entering His
presence in that same way – and judgment and wrath would destroy them
-- they could only approach God if
their sins had been atoned for – if propitiation had been made for this evil
behavior – and this happened through the shedding of innocent blood as an
atoning sacrifice
-- in verse 24, we read that God put
cherubim with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the
tree of life – to prevent Adam and Eve from entering the Garden of Eden – to keep
them from entering the temple again – why?
-- was this to protect God from Adam
and Eve? – no – this was to protect Adam and Eve from God – this was an act of
grace whereby God created a separation between Himself and His creation who
were now filled with sin and death – for if they were to enter His presence in
their unclean state, they would surely die
-- remember the story of Uzzah from 2
Samuel 6? – if you remember, King David was trying to bring the Ark of the
Covenant – the symbol of the presence of God – from the land of the Philistines
into Jerusalem
-- but David approached the Ark with
complacency – he did not recognize the ark as being the very presence of God in
his midst – and he tried to carry the ark into Jerusalem in the same manner you
would any chest – he put it on a cart and tried to drive it into the city
-- and when the oxen stumbled and
the Ark of the Covenant tipped in the back of the cart, Uzzah reached out and
touched it and was immediately struck dead – not because the Ark had any power
on its own – but because Uzzah tried to come into the presence of God and to
touch God without first atoning for his unrighteousness and sin
-- and remember what Isaiah said in
Isaiah 6 when he was brought into the presence of God in a vision? – Isaiah cried
out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a
man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord Almighty!”
-- to come into the presence of God
uninvited and unprepared – to come into the presence of God in our sinful,
unclean states – is to invite destruction as God’s holiness interacts with our
sinfulness
-- God is too holy – too righteous – too powerful
– too perfect – to come into contact with unclean sinners – we will die if we
come before God in this way -- and so, cherubim with swords were placed between
the original temple of God – the Garden of Eden -- and mankind -- to protect us
--
later, when the tabernacle and the permanent temples were built by the nation
of Israel, God directed that this barrier – this protective element of Eden –
was recreated – the curtain that we read of in the gospel accounts was a heavy
curtain that separated the holy place from the holy of holies – the room where
God’s presence dwelt over the Ark of the Covenant – the place where the heavens
and God Himself interacted with our world
--
the curtain was not put up to protect the Ark – it was not put up to protect
God from the people – but to protect the people from God
--
if anyone entered the Holy of Holies without first preparing themselves and
completing elaborate cleansing sacrifices and rituals – if anyone tried to
enter into the presence of God without propitiation – they would die
--
so, only the High Priest was authorized to enter the Holy of Holies as the
mediator between mankind and God – and he could only do so one day a year – on the
Day of Atonement – and only after he completed intensive sacrifice and
cleansing to prepare himself to appear before the Lord
--
even then, it was a risk – and high priests were known to die in the Holy of
Holies if their hearts were not right or if they entered in a flippant manner –
for that reason, they would tie a rope around the foot of the priest before he
entered the presence of God, so that if he died in the Holy of Holies, they
could pull his body out
--
as Skye Jethani points out, “both the Eden story and the temple’s design were
intended to communicate the separation between the heavens and the earth;
between sinful humanity and the holy God. Any contact between the two was
complicated, dangerous, and mediated with special procedures to ensure one’s
safety.
--
“Think of God’s holiness like a nuclear reactor. It is powerful and incredibly
dangerous. Therefore, great caution is necessary when approaching it, and only
those with the correct training and protection should even attempt to break the
barrier between the two realms.”
-- the curtain that separated the
holy place from the holy of holies represented the spiritual barrier that
separated man from God because of our sinful nature -- this is the curtain that
was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary in our place
-- and the tearing of the curtain
means more than just the replacement of the Jewish religion with the Christian
religion – this means more than just the setting aside of the requirement to ritually
cleanse ourselves by sacrificing innocent animals on the Day of Atonement
-- when the curtain in the temple –
the symbolic barrier between the heavens and the earth – between God and us –
was torn from top to bottom at the death of Jesus, this signified that the way
back to the garden – blocked since Genesis 3 – was reopened – that through
Jesus’ death and atoning sacrifice on the cross, it became possible for God to
dwell with His people once again, as He had in Eden
-- the curtain – in fact, the entire
temple structure and system of annual sacrifices – were God’s way to dwell
among His sinful people until their sins could be permanently atoned for –
which happened during that three hours of darkness on the cross as Jesus
suffered and died in our place for our sins
-- the tearing of the curtain, along
with Christ’s proclamation, “It is finished!” was the fulfillment of the
ultimate purpose of God -- to live among us and to allow us to live with Him
-- we see its final fulfillment in
the Book of Revelation, as we read in Revelation 21 of the new heavens and the
new earth coming at the end of the age – there will no longer be a temple – a single
place where God interacts with mankind – but the earth will be the temple of
God, just as Eden was the original temple
-- and in Revelation 21:3 we read, “And
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now
among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God'” (Revelation 21:3).
III. Closing
-- so, what does all this mean for
us today – on this beautiful Easter morning here in south Georgia?
-- it means a couple of things:
-- first, this passage should remind
us of the holiness and righteousness of God and of His mighty power – we need
to remember who God is – and we need to be more reverent and more careful in
how we approach God, even on this side of the cross
-- the God of the Bible is still God
today – and to attempt to come into His presence complacently or flippantly
should give us pause – for the same God who struck down Uzzah for failing to
respect His power and majesty is the same God who struck down Annanias and
Saphira for their sin in the early church – and He is the same God who takes serious
our relationship with Him
-- remember who God is – and approach
God with the fear of the Lord He demands – approach Him with reverence and awe –
and be mindful of the way we handle the things of God and come before Him – in our
worship and in our private times with Him
-- second, this passage should renew
in us an appreciation of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us – for it makes
clear that the barrier between God and us was removed only through the sinless
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary
-- not everyone has permission to
enter into the Holy of Holies, even with a torn curtain – but only those who
have been cleansed of their sin and unrighteousness by the washing of the blood
of Jesus
-- we are not the authors of our salvation
– for it was Christ and Christ alone – that saved us from our sins and removed
the barrier between us and God – it was by grace, through faith, not by works
or by anything that we did – that restored our relationship with the Father
-- Jesus paid the price with His
body and blood – and as we read in Hebrews 10:19-22, we can draw near to God
with sincere hearts and with the full assurance that faith brings, because
Christ has made a way for us to enter the Most Holy Place – the Holy of Holies –
the very presence of God the Father Almighty – through a new and living way –
His body which was broken for us and His blood which was shed on the cross to
atone for our sins
-- and His resurrection from the
dead on the third day proves His victory over sin and death, once and for all,
as we stand in righteousness in His name alone
-- and, finally, this passage should
reinforce the hope that we have in the return of Christ and the restoration of
Eden on earth again – just as we pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy Kingdom come –
Thy Will be done – on earth as it is in heaven”
-- as the people of God, washed in
the blood of Christ, we stand in anticipation of eternal life with the Father –
and look forward to the time when we will dwell with Him on earth forever as His
people and with Him as our God
-- this is what the tearing of the
curtain at the death of Jesus signifies
-- so, as we close our gathering
today on this Easter morning – rejoicing and worshiping the God who paid the
price for our sins so that He might live with us again forever – let us praise
Him as His people – holy and sanctified in His name – washed through His blood –
and saved from our sins forever
-- to God be all the glory and honor
forever and ever -- Amen
-- let us pray
