Mt. 27:51-53 - God Makes a Statement

     God made some powerful statements when Jesus died. "At that moment (the minute of Jesus' death) the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Mt. 27:51-53)
     The curtain that separated the holy and most holy place was ripped from top to bottom by an unseen hand. It is significant that Matthew says it was ripped from above since it was very tall, and the top was much higher than a man could reach. It was clearly a divine act. God was showing two things by this.
     First, He was demonstrating His grief. It is customary in Eastern culture to tear one's garment as an outward act of sorrow. God's Son had just died, and the temple veil represented His covering--the covering of His presence. God grieved at the death of His Son. Although it was necessary and part of His eternal plan, He loved Jesus very much and mourned His death.
     Second, God was showing the sacrificial service was now at an end. The One to Whom it all pointed had died.
     From the time of the Wilderness Sanctuary, built by Moses from God's blueprint, the temple had been a symbol of the plan of salvation. The daily sacrifices, the ministration of the priests, and the yearly Day of Atonement, symbolized God's way of saving humanity, His way of dealing with sin.
     The Most Holy Place contained the Ark of the Covenant, a golden box which contained the Ten Commandments. Its cover was called “the mercy seat." Together, the commandments and mercy seat showed God's justice and mercy.
     In the Wilderness and Solomon Temples, God often manifested His glory above the Ark of the Covenant, so the Most Holy Place was considered very holy.
     No one but the high priest could look into or enter the Most Holy Place; and He could enter only once a year on the Day of Atonement. This room was where God revealed Himself to His people, personally or through the high priest.
     Every aspect of the temple and its services pointed forward to Jesus and the salvation He would bring. So when God's Lamb (John 1:29-36) died, there was no more need for the symbolic system. The real Lamb had been sacrificed for the world's sins and how His ministry would shift to the heavenly temple where Jesus would minister as our true High Priest. (See Heb. 9:11-15, 24-28; Heb. 7:24-28; Heb. 4:14-16)
     God also made a statement with a resurrection. Jesus had provided the sacrifice for all sin and conquered Satan (Col. 2:15) and death. Now God had the right to raise people from the dead.
     As a sign of His victory and a herald of that great Resurrection Morning when Jesus returns again the second time, God resurrected some of the saved from ages past and made them living witnesses to Christ's resurrection.
     Imagine walking down the street of Jerusalem on Sunday morning and seeing a group of people from all previous ages and then hearing from their lips that Jesus was truly the Messiah and had been raised from the dead. How amazing that would have been! Who made up that group we don't know. Was the great sufferer Job part of it? What about John the Baptist who gave his life as the forerunner of Christ? Would Abel the first martyr have been raised? We don't know.
     What happened to those special people? They likely were taken to heaven sometime later as a "first fruits" sample of Christ's resurrection power. Some think the twenty-four elders of Revelation may be from that group. They certainly worship Jesus and the Father with great gratitude and passion. It would make sense.

Michael Brownfield