GETTING THE MESSAGE/Jesus is who he says he is

In the Easter season, we are reminded that Christ came into this world to reconcile us to God. His willingness to die was out of obedience to the Father and out of his love for us. The cross is God’s pulpit declaring forgiveness and new life to all who believe in Christ.

In Matthew 27:45, Jesus is on the cross, and there was darkness over all the land for three hours. At the end of that time, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The question doesn’t mean that Jesus was surprised at his sufferings. He had repeatedly stated that he had come into the world for that purpose.

Indeed, the question is for us to consider. When Jesus came into the world, his birth was announced with glory from heaven. Angelic voices sang praises to God and proclaimed peace on earth because a Savior, who was Christ the Lord, had been born. Jesus is the light of the world, so why is it that he is in darkness on the cross and forsaken by God?

Christ is suffering because he has pledged to represent sinners before God. God is imputing to Jesus all their sins and pours out his just judgment upon Christ in their place. The darkness represents the displeasure of God over sin. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has gone his own way. The Lord has laid upon him the iniquities of us all.”

In verses 51-53, we see some things that happened after Jesus died on the cross. One of these is, “The earth shook, and the rocks were split.” Earthquakes are connected to God’s judgment. When God created man, he put him in a perfect environment. There were no earthquakes or other such things we call natural disasters.

It was the sin of man that brought disasters and death. These are not normal; they belong to the realm of nature that bears a curse upon it. Disasters like earthquakes are more than an illustration of how uncertain things are in our world; they speak to the urgent need we have to turn from sin to God.

When God gave his law to Israel, he instructed Moses to bring the people to Mt. Sinai to meet God. The Lord descended in fire and smoke on the mountain. There was an earthquake that shook the mountain and the sound of a trumpet getting louder and louder.

The Lord appeared in this manner to impress upon the people that He is the Almighty, Majestic, Holy God. He is not like the Egyptian gods who promoted idolatry and immorality, gods of men’s sinful imaginations. God was giving his righteous, unchangeable law to an unrighteous people; in order to teach us the need we have of a Savior from God, of salvation by grace.

The earthquake at Christ’s death is a liberating earthquake. The judgment was upon Christ, not us. He sets us free from the debt of our violations of the law and free from having to keep the righteous demands of God’s law as a way of being reconciled to God. The converse is true also. If you don’t have Christ, you will be accountable to the law of God. Sin will certainly find you out. God has not left men without a witness of his displeasure over sin.

In verse 54, the Roman soldiers have a reasonable response to all they had seen and heard: “They feared greatly and said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”  Put yourself in their place. They had scourged Jesus with whips. They had mocked his kingship. They had driven the nails through him into the cross. They had divided his clothes among themselves. Then came darkness.

They also heard all the things said. Pilate, declaring he found no guilt in Jesus and that he was innocent of his blood. The chief mockery of the Jews toward Jesus was that he claims to be the Son of God, let him save himself. They heard Jesus ask God to forgive the people who were abusing him. They heard Jesus assure a thief he would be in paradise with him that day. Then an earthquake.

How would you respond to these things? It all churned through their minds and their conclusion was this: Jesus is who he says he is, the Son of God. And a right and good conclusion it was.  There is much to learn of Christ. But the first thing is that he came to save sinners. His suffering on the cross conveys his willingness to have you. Blessed are those who have him.

The Rev. Chris Shelton is pastor of Union’s First Presbyterian Church.