Exodus 35:10-36:38
Matthew 27:32-66
Psalm 34:1-10
Proverbs 9:7-8
Matthew 27:45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
I don't know when Jesus began to feel the separation from the Father. I wonder if it was at noon when the whole land went dark. Could it be creation shadowing the darkness that Jesus was going through being plunged into the darkness of that separation? But at this point He cries out to Him. I imagine that as He endured the pain of that separation from the Father for ALL the body of Christ even for us and those who will come after us, that it became so overwhelming that He needed to cry out to the Father. I am sure that another reason is to reveal to us the depth of what He was doing for us. Maybe He cried out the moment that He felt it, and the darkness was nature taking on the darkness of our sin. So that when He took on the sin of us all the darkness left because He was carrying it for us. He had never been separated from the Father so I would think that the suddenness and the vastness of the separation would have been intense. As I reflect and write on this I am leaning toward the later. But I guess I will find out when I meet Him face to face.
Matthew 24:51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,
Exodus 36:9 All ten curtains were exactly the same size—42 feet long and 6 feet wide. 10 Five of these curtains were joined together to make one long curtain, and the other five were joined to make a second long curtain.
The temple curtain in front of the Holy of Holies was constructed very much like the Tabernacle curtain. It was there to keep a separation between God and the people and the only one able to enter that area was the priest. Just as Moses was the only one who could enter the tabernacle. It was at least 30 feet high and 30 feet long. The thickness of the curtain is not recorded but I have seen thoughts that it was 1inch to a hand breath thick. Either way there was no way that a curtain of that weight would be able to tear. Tearing top to bottom is a representation that we no longer are separated from God. Jesus, God Himself tore down the barrier between God and man and gave us access to the Father because our sins were no longer in God's sight. The power of what Jesus did when He breathed His last breath was felt by and responded to by creation itself as the earth shook and rocks split apart. Just as creation sings God's praise I believe that it trembles at His power.
Matthew 27:63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
On the radio this morning while I was on my way to work I heard Chuck Swindoll preaching on the story in John of the women coming to the tomb and finding it empty and are "puzzled, perplexed, baffled" until angels said to them "Remember how He spoke to you while he was still in Gallelli. saying the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful man and be crucified and the third day rise again." Then they return to the tell the eleven who did not believe them and John and Peter run to the tomb to investigate and don't believe until after they see and examined the evidence.
I am struck by the fact that they did not remember Jesus words but those who did not believe in Him did remember. The chief priests and elders asked for the tomb to be sealed so that the disciples would not come and steal the body but they were so grief stricken they couldn't even remember what Jesus had told them let alone conceive a plan to make it look like it happened. At first I thought how could they have missed this? But as I think about what it is like to be this overwhelmed with loss and grief I think I'm being a little hard on them. You often hear people talk about not understanding anything that people are saying to them or forgetting things that they never would have forgotten when they are dealing which such strong emotional situations. I believe that is why they did not remember and the unbelievers had no problem doing so which is something I had not thought of before.
I love when God opens my eyes to new ways to understand His word. HE is soooo Good.
Lord open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.
When we are feeling overwhelmed with grief, fear, anxiety, or any other emotion the fogs our ability to think clearly we need to be reminded of Jesus words. Ideally that would mean opening His word and reading it. But in those times we often don't remember to do that. So God has put "angels" in our lives that are able to speak those truths to us. They can direct us to seek God's truth and He can use them to open our eyes that we might see what it is He would have us see.
Loved where God took you today with these verses. Thank you for sharing. For the last couple of weeks, I know the Holy Spirit is moving, stirring, growing, awakening whatever word you want to use within me. One of the reasons is every time I read verses in the Bible that refer to Jesus’s betrayal, crucifixion, and all the things that happened to him I am deeply saddened and on the verge of tears, and immediately I start to worship him for a bit. 🙏