The triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death isn’t a celebration confined to Easter Sunday alone. The very moment of His passing on the cross was punctuated by divine pronouncements, supernatural events that declared the profound significance of His work. Matthew 27:50-53 records three such miracles, each carrying a timeless message of victory and access to God.
Let’s revisit the powerful passage:
Matthew 27:50-53: And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.1
What is the meaning embedded in the death of Jesus Christ? What did His sacrifice truly achieve? Consider this: God the Father Himself, through these three immediate miracles, announced the profound significance of His Son’s death. This wasn’t a message conveyed in a localized human language, but rather in God’s universal language – the language of miracles – proclaiming to the entire world the meaning of Christ’s finished work.
This passage unveils three astonishing miracles that occurred immediately upon Christ’s death:
- The Torn Veil of the Temple
- The Earthquake
- The Resurrection of Saints
Remember, through these visible wonders, God is preaching a truth about invisible realities. This is God’s own powerful testimony to the meaning and impact of Christ’s death. Let’s delve into the significance of each:
First Miracle: The Torn Veil – Unfettered Access to God
The thick, heavy veil in the Old Testament temple served as a potent symbol – a stark barrier between sinful humanity and the holy presence of God. No ordinary person could freely enter the Holy of Holies; access was restricted, signifying the separation caused by sin. The only way a sinner could approach God was through the prescribed sacrifices and the anticipation of a perfect righteousness.
However, through the finished work of His Son, the Lord has inaugurated a new and living way. By imputing the perfect righteousness of His Son, purchased through His life of obedience, and by atoning for all the sins through His death, God now welcomes sinners into His presence. In a dramatic act, God Himself tears that veil from top to bottom, extending an invitation to all sinners to come boldly through His Son.
The message is clear: In the completed work of Jesus Christ, there is now complete and unrestricted access into God’s holy presence.
Imagine the unspoken question: “But Father, won’t these sinners sin again? Will this access not be revoked?” The tearing of the veil wasn’t a mere unhooking or pushing aside; it was a decisive, irreparable act. God’s response is emphatic: “My Son’s offering is so perfect, so complete, that it has dealt with sin once and for all.” As Hebrews 10:14 beautifully states: “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Jesus has fully paid the debt of all past, present, and future sins; He has satisfied divine justice and purchased perfect righteousness for sinful humanity. Now, clothed in this imputed righteousness and with their sins forgiven, believers can freely approach God.
God’s act of tearing the veil from top to bottom underscores its divine origin. No human effort could have accomplished this. It is God Himself who throws wide open His arms and declares, “Come, all you sinners, through My Son! The way is now open for all.” This glorious truth is expounded upon in detail in the book of Hebrews. Consider Hebrews 10:19-20: Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body…
The rent veil is magnificent news, a joyous invitation extended to both believers and unbelievers. Through the death of Jesus, every barrier separating humanity from God has been definitively removed.
Second Miracle: The Earthquake – God’s Covenant Promises and Warnings
Throughout Scripture, earthquakes often signify God’s powerful presence drawing near to humanity, frequently associated with the outpouring of His great covenant promises and blessings, as seen in Exodus 19:18 and Acts 4:31. Conversely, the Bible also records earthquakes as foreboding signs of God’s righteous judgment, as in Isaiah 13:13, Jeremiah 10:10, and Revelation 6:12.
Therefore, the severe earthquake that split rocks near Golgotha at the very moment of Christ’s death is a profound sermon from God. In a universal language, shaking the very foundations of the earth, God is declaring, “Hear, O heavens and earth! My Son has perfectly and completely fulfilled all the conditions of My eternal covenant.”
This covenant, revealed progressively throughout history – the promise to Adam that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, the covenant with Abraham that through his seed all families of the earth would be blessed, the covenant through Moses, and the promise through David of an everlasting kingdom – has now been fully realized in His beloved Son. Through His perfect life and atoning death, Jesus has met every requirement.
And so, God draws near in a dramatic earthquake, splitting rocks to capture our attention and proclaim this momentous message. Not only can sinners now enter His presence through the torn veil, but God Himself descends to bestow the infinite, inestimable, glorious blessings of the new covenant upon all who come to Him through His Son. This is the positive and powerful message of the earthquake.
Through Christ’s one sacrifice, all sins are atoned for, all righteousness is fulfilled, all justice is satisfied, all obedience is rendered, and divine wrath is exhausted. God can no longer remain silent; He draws near in an earthquake – a language understood by all, Jew and Gentile alike, a clear act of divine intervention. The very voice of the earthquake declares: all the blessings of the new covenant are now available to every sinner who comes to God through His Son.
God throws open the doors of heaven, pouring out His glorious new covenant blessings upon every sinner who approaches Him through Jesus. He comes promising forgiveness of sins, justification, the peace of God, a new heart, new life, reconciliation, redemption, sanctification, and eternal life. Kings and prophets of old yearned to experience these very blessings, but now, because of Christ’s finished work, they are accessible to everyone born from that day forward.
However, the earthquake also carries a solemn warning. If you reject the work of God’s Son and fail to embrace the blessings of the new covenant, the only thing that awaits you is His eternal, infinite, and terrible wrath – the covenant curse for those who do not believe, resulting in eternal damnation.
The cross is the ultimate expression of God’s sacrificial heart and boundless love. If this profound display doesn’t melt your heart in confession of sin, then there remains nothing more God can do, except to warn, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). Furthermore, be warned: your earthly life, though it may span decades, will bear the marks of the curse of the covenant of works broken by Adam – separation from God, intensifying relational conflicts, disobedient children, a life marked by job stress and financial struggles, culminating in the decay of old age and the return to dust from which you came.
Just as surely as the earth shook at Golgotha, a day is coming when God will shake the entire world in final judgment, holding you accountable for your sins. That is why the Gospel records that some who witnessed these events understood the gravity of the message and returned home beating their breasts in sorrow and repentance (Luke 23:48).
Third Miracle: The Resurrection of Saints – The Efficacy of Christ’s Victory
Matthew 27:52 records the marvelous resurrection of many holy people. What is the significance of this extraordinary event? God is announcing, in a tangible and powerful way, that all the redemptive blessings of the covenant become truly and experientially effective in the lives of those who believe in Christ.
A little reflection reveals the profound connection. The Man on the cross declares, “It is finished,” and dies. Immediately, these dead bodies rise as soon as He breathes His last. There is an inseparable link between His death and their resurrection. He dies; they rise and live. His head bows in death; their heads are raised in life from the tombs.
The crucial question is: what is the nature of this connection? What does it signify?
The connection lies in the fact that Christ did not live and die merely as an individual, but as the Head, Representative, and Mediator of the New Covenant of Grace. The passage identifies these individuals as “saints,” meaning they were people who lived before Christ and died believing in His future work. Therefore, the very moment He died, the benefits of His sacrifice were effectually applied to them.
God is graphically announcing to all living sinners today: if you place your faith in Christ, all these new life resurrection blessings will truly and experientially work in your life. You will experience genuine forgiveness of sins, the peace of God that comes with justification, a new life surging within you, a new heart with new desires, and new power to overcome sin and live a transformed life, experience of eternal life, peace of God, joy of God escalating as you grow in your knowledge of God’s word.
Here, then, is the glorious sermon of God preached through the torn veil, the earthquake, and the resurrection: victory is won, access is granted, promises are secured, and new life is offered – all through the finished work of Jesus Christ. You don’t have to wait until Easter to celebrate this profound and life-altering truth! The victory is declared, the invitation stands open, today.
When you come to God through Christ, you will experience
- Tearing of the veil that kept you from God
- New Covenant Blessings
- Effectual Resurrection blessings
Will you accept and come today?
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 