Truly This Was the Son of God!

Matthew 27:50-54

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The wages of sin is death. Jesus never sinned and would have lived forever had He not yielded His spirit. Yet, He voluntarily surrendered His life as the payment for mankind’s sin. When He took His last breath and yielded up His spirit, the curtain of the temple ripped from the top to the bottom. The curtain separated the holy place from the most holy place where the ark of the covenant rested and the glory of God appeared. The high priest was the only one who could go behind the veil and enter the most holy place. The curtain served as a symbol of sin because it separated man from the presence of God. At the death of Jesus, the sin that separated man from God was removed, granting sinful humanity access to a holy God. Additionally, the curtain tore from top to bottom as though God rent it from heaven, proving Christ’s death was a sufficient payment for sin. The death of Jesus was literally a ground shaking experience that caused rocks to split and graves to open. It was not a zombie apocalypse but many of the dead saints were raised to life in the city of Jerusalem appearing to many. Many Christians miss the small detail that they did not come out of their graves until after Jesus was resurrected. Upon seeing how Jesus died, the centurion and other non-Christian Romans saw these things take place, they were gripped with fear, and proclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew fills a few short verses with ample evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. First, he shows Jesus was sinless. No one took Jesus’ life from Him; He yielded up His spirit. Second, the veil in the temple is estimated to have been about four inches thick. For it to completely rip from top to bottom shows this was not natural. Third, the earthquake is attested by many sources outside of the Gospel writers. Phlegon, a Greek historian, records a great eclipse and a great earthquake taking place in AD 33. Likewise, other historians such as Africanus, Thallus, and Tertullian testify to the veracity of the events described by Matthew. There is even archaeological evidence in Wadi Ze’elim that is believed to support a magnitude 5.5 earthquake in AD 33. Even secular geologists believe there was a major seismic event between AD 26 and 36. Next, Matthew wrote his Gospel within 30 years of these events. The fact he mentioned that the dead came out of their graves and were seen by the people in Jerusalem could have easily been corroborated by witnesses who were still living or by those who heard the testimony of those witnesses. Yet, there is no first century writer that refutes any of the evidence Matthew offers. Finally, non-Christians such as the centurion testified to what Matthew recorded and to the uniqueness of Jesus’ death. Had these events not actually taken place, the Gospel of Matthew would have been cast aside as a work of fiction, but it was accepted and has remained accepted as a genuine historic account of actual events. So, you can trust the Bible you have in your possession. You can trust that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead. And, you can trust that Jesus truly is the Son of God.