The Significance of the Cross (Matthew 27:45-54)

If you saw somebody with a tick on it would you know what it meant. How about a little alligator, what would you think is the significance of that little alligator. I must confess that I’ve never worn of those shirts but until I researched this I have never had a clue as to the original significance of an alligator. For me the only significance was it meant they were expensive, and I couldn’t afford one.  Well let me tell you what the significance of that little alligator, many years ago there was a man named Renee Lacoste he was a tennis player, as a matter of fact he was a champion tennis player in the 1920’s  he won Wimbledon twice, the Us open also twice and the French open three time. He was famous for being tenacious on the court that the French public nick maned him the crocodile. He took it to heart and put a little alligator on his jacket and then he started a company and put a little alligator on shirts and it became a best seller. I suspect many people who were a Lacoste shirt don’t have a clue as to how that alligator got on that shirt, or what the original significance of it was.

Let me ask you another question if you saw a cross what comes to mind, what is the significance of a cross, don’t jump to theology too quick. If you see it on a building it means that building is a church or a hospital, if you see a black one beside the road in southern Europe it means there was a fatal accident there. If you see it on a lapel or reground someone’s neck it probably means that the person wearing it identifies at some level as a Christian, or it used to anyway. So, a cross can mean just a whole lot of things but again like the little crocodile  on a shirt what was the original meaning of the cross has been lost somewhat. 

So, what is the significance of the cross? Now I suspect that most people listening to me are going to say well it means Jesus died on the cross, and they may even go further than that and say it means that he died for me on the cross and all of which is true but that’s only the beginning of what it means.

We’ve been going to the Gospel of Matthew, and we’ve now come for the passage that describes his death and I want us to look at it and amazingly it doesn’t describe his death in any physical detail rather it describes some events that accompanied his death and those events give us some insight into some of the things the death of Christ on the cross signifies. Some of these things are intensely meaningful and practical to us in just our everyday life. 

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

(Matthew 27: 45-54)

In the  passage in the Gospel of Matthew that describes the death of Jesus Christ frankly very little is said about the death itself rather we were told a number of other things that happen around the cross if you will and some of those things become symbolic and significant of what transpired when Jesus died.

Firstly, let me clarify that the 6th hour would have been nine in the morning the 9th hour would have been three in the afternoon. Jesus hung on the cross for six hours, by the way that’s remarkable, I have read that that those who were crucified languished for days on the cross, Jesus did not he died in a relatively short period of time as compared to many who that were crucified.

I’ll  explain why I think that was so a little later in this passage, at any rate the verse is telling us that he was on the cross for six hours and that darkness came upon the land from the 6th hour until the 9th hour. So, from noon until three in the afternoon there was darkness over the land.

Some come to this, and they want to explain it is an eclipse, but it can’t be because this was during the time of the Passover there was a full moon and there was no eclipse during the full moon, and no  astronomical records suggest there might have been one. 

This is no doubt a meant to be read as a supernatural act of God, and one that had symbolic significance also. When darkness covered the land in the Old Testament it was always a judgment of God. When it happened in Egypt to pharaoh this was an indication that the judgment of God is being exercised.  Verse 46 is one that is significant, and it is when Jesus cried from the cross, “My God my God why have you forsaken me”. This cry is full of meaning, for one thing notice how Jesus addresses God, he dresses him as, “My God”. One scholar I read said Jesus addressed God 170 times in the gospel accounts and in every case, he addressed God as “father” there is only one exception and here it is. Furthermore, as you know Jesus Christs poke seven times while he hung on the cross, I have spoken on those last 7 phrase by Jesus before.

The first utterance is when he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. The final 7th was, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”. Notice the first time he spoke it was father the last time he spoke it was father, but in the middle, the fourth time, he says “My God my God, now why does Jesus’ address God as God when every other time he spoke including those times on the cross and he addressed God as his father.

Notice that what he’s describing is being forsaken by God, so that it is not that God the father is forsaking his son, it is that God is forsaking Jesus as God, not in his father son relationship as part of the trinity.

Let me put that another in his position as the representative of humanity and he’s saying my God my God why have you forsaken me. You see at that moment Jesus Christ died in the place of the sins of the human race and when he died in our place we’re not talking about just physical death, we’re talking about spiritual death, for the penalty of sin is separation from God and what Jesus Christ experienced on the cross was separation from God.

The belief of the Christian church since these words where penned is that Jesus Christ died spiritually for the sin of the world. It is impossible for God to forsake God, the nature of the Trinity makes that impossible, it is not however impossible for the father to separate himself from the son’s human nature because of how it represents sinful fallen humanity.

In the words of Isaiah, he was wounded for our transgressions, and in the words of John the Baptist, the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. The apostle Paul says, “He was made sin for us, and made a curse for us”. I can tell you is this the death of Jesus Christ was the death of death for believers in Him.

Christ died so you and I don’t have to die, death physically yes but spiritually it bought eternal life with the God who created and loved us. That’s what I know that’s he died as my substitute, and somehow when he died he was forsaken by God and that was the payment my sin demanded. Some of the bystanders heard him saying this and probably because they spoke Hebrew instead of Aramaic, they thought he was calling for Elijah.

One of the things I’m struck with in this story is the fact that the gospels are satisfied to simply say that Jesus was scourged and mocked and crucified and beyond that the gospels do not go into great detail discussing or describing his physical stuff. I think it’s significant that the New Testament scriptures never does that, the closest thing to it is Isaiah 53 and it does not go into great detail about the physical suffering of Christ. The answer is that the point, of his death, the main issue is not his physical suffering, and his physical death, the point is his spiritual suffering and his spiritual death.

Jesus Christ died to pay for sin and that’s way beyond the physical torments and the scourging and the like and it’s that that the scripture wants us to focus on. So, what is the significance of the cross, well for starters it’s that Jesus Christ died in my place to pay for my sin but that is only the beginning.

Somebody’s written a book and talked about 50 different things the cross of Christ accomplished and gave 50 reasons why Christ died.

We could go on and on and on, Jesus died to absorb the wrath of God, Jesus died to show the wealth of God’s love and grace, Jesus died so that we could be forgiven of our sins, Jesus died so that we could have eternal life, Jesus died so that we could be set free from the slavery of sin and according to the book of Hebrews he died so that he could be crowned with glory. On the cross he was deserted that we would never be deserted, he was abandoned so that we would not be abandoned, he was forsaken that we would never be forsaken, he tasted death and separation of God that we might experience life and unity with God. I could go on and on and on, but the most fundamental significance of the cross is that Jesus Christ died there in my place to pay for my sin and I have the forgiveness of sin because Christ died for me.

We then see the end of the matter when Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Matthew doesn’t bother to pause and tell us what he said at this point but from the other gospels we know that the next thing Jesus said was, “It is finished”, notice he did not say, I am finished, he said, It is finished. What is finished, as a matter of fact the Greek word finished is a word that word meant paid in full, it’s finished the debt is paid. The text says he yielded up his spirit, what does that mean? It means he voluntarily yielded up his spirit he, voluntarily went to the cross, he voluntarily died, his life was not taken from him he gave it up. 

The next significant event is in verse 51 where it says that “The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earthquake and the rocks were split. This is deeply significant, let me explain. The Tabernacle consisted of a large courtyard and as you went in through the gate the first thing you encountered was an altar where they sacrificed animals, that’s as far as the average person could go. 

Only the priest could go beyond that, and there was a tent at the back of this enclosure called the Tabernacle proper, and before you got to the tent there was a wash basin called the lever and only the priests could go there and wash their hands. From there you went into that Tabernacle proper, it was a room divided into two parts the holy part had some furniture in it and then there was a veil and then there was the holy of holies. Only the high priest could go in that last compartment called the holy of holies and he could only do it once a year and  there was a little piece of furniture in there sprinkled on the mercy seat. Within the dwelt the presence of Gods. Between the time Jesus Christ died on the cross which I think was By tradition when the Priest went in their he went in they had a rope around his leg in case he died in the presence of God they could drag him out with having without having to go in and pick him up.

When they built the temple, they built it using the Tabernacle as a model, but in the day of Christ this was no temporary Tabernacle this was a permanent temple and it was elaborate and this veil that separated the holy place from the holiest of holies. It was massive it was 60 feet long 30 feet high and two inches thick, it is said that it took 300 men to hang it and Matthew says when Jesus that whole thing was ripped from top to bottom.  So what was the significance of that, well it would take two days and nights to explain it all let but let me briefly mention two things.

Firstly, the Bible clearly teaches in the New Testament that we are not under the law the mosaic law any more. The law has come to an end, John says the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Paul says in the book of Romans, “We’re not in the law we are under grace”. The symbolic significance of the ripping of the veil is that we are no longer under the law. We are free from having to keep the law we are free and the barrier between humanity and God has been torn down.

Let me make another suggestion and one that I think is deeply significant, think about what was behind the veil, it was their we found the very presence of God himself.

Who could go into the presence of God, only the high priest and only once a year, but God has torn the veil and we can now all come before into the presence of God. In other words, the significance of the cross is not just that I am accepted by God but I now also have access to Him. You can come boldly to the throne of grace and receive mercy and grace and help in time of need, to quote the writer to the Hebrews.

The significance of the cross is way beyond just the forgiveness of sins, as if that’s not enough, it's that you now have access to the very presence of God ,the death of Christ made that possible.

Now there’s something else that happens in this in that the graves are opened and the bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the grave also adding that after the resurrection they went into  people.

All this just raises a whole bunch of questions.  Top of the list is usually who are these dead people wghgo get raised form the dead. Most believe the answer is that these guys were the Old Testament , so this is Abraham and Moses and the like. The significance of people being raised just after Jesus died is to immediately draw attention to the fact that the death of Christ provides for a resurrection.

Which means you too can be resurrected and that’s what the death of Jesus Christ accomplished. These are all supernatural events, the darkness, the earthquake, the ripping of the veil, the raising of the then dead, and so the passage concludes at this point by saying and the centurion and all that we’re with him saw all these things and they feared God and said truly this man is the son of God. Outside of the scripture we have a tradition which says this centurion became a believer, I don’t doubt it, but the point I wish to make is simply this, what’s the significance of the cross is the fact that through these events we have forgiveness, we have access to God, we have a future resurrection to look forward to.

Because of his life, his death and resurrection the power the grave has lost its power, death has lost its tragedy, death has been defeated. Because he lives, we shall also live.

So, what is the significance of the cross?

The answer is  that we have the forgiveness of sin, we have access to the throne of God, and we have a future resurrection to look forward to. When I began today I said if you saw a cross what would you think. Some might see it on a building and say, oh, that’s a church.

In some areas of Europe if you see a black cross at the saide of the road, you might think, oh, what a tragedy somebody died at this spot in a road accident.

But for Christians it means more than that, it means the forgiveness of sin, it can mean you are going to heaven when I die.

Let me conclude by reminding you in all of this salvation is by grace through faith. The Christian life is by grace through faith but what a lot of people miss is the fact that the same way you get saved is the same way you grow spiritually. You started in grace, and you should continue in grace. There’s one verse that says that as clearly as any verse

“Therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.

The two most fundamental and essential things that I have to say is number one salvation is by grace through faith and the verse for that is  is John 316.

The second most essential and fundamental thing I have to say is continue in grace by faith and the verse for that is Hebrews 416. Everybody needs to have those two verses deep in their hearts.

The finest thing any of us can do for our own souls is to remember those two things , and the finest thing we can do for the body of Christ and every member of it is teach them to do this things  To know that.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

(John 3.16)

And to, 

“Come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace and help in time of need.”

(Heb 4: 16)

So, what’s the significance of the cross?

Number one I have acceptance with God because I’ve been forgiven of my sin, and I’ve been given the gift of eternal life.

Number 2, I have access to the throne of grace, the temple veil was ripped from top to bottom and I can walk right in to the very presence of God and the cherry on top is that when all this is over I get a resurrected body and get to be in the presence of the Lord forever.

That’s the significance of the cross. That is what the cross means.

Many years ago when communism had taken over most of Eastern Europe they tried to do away with the symbol of the cross across the whole wider soviet sphere  of influence. Under communism the crucifix was removed from all factory’s hospitals and public buildings, then at one point the Prime Minister decided that all of the crucifixes should be removed from the classrooms also.  As a result of that Poland erupted, there was such a reaction they backtracked and made the decision that the law would stay on the Christian books but they would not enforce it on any existing crosses.

Sometime later a zealous communist school administrator decided the law was law, and so he went to all the classrooms in his school and he took dow nall the cross there. There was a wave of protest and at one 600 students form the school went marching through the streets of the town all holding up crosses. They marched down to the main Catholic Church in the square by which time the crowd had grown to 2500 people, The police surrounded the crowd but it’s the images and the news got flashed all around the world of these students holding up the crosses. When interviewed the leader of the protest said this, I quote, “There is no Poland without a cross.” 

I don’t know about but this I know without a cross there is no Christianity, because there is no forgiveness by God, there is no access to God, and there is no external life with God in a resurrected body. This I know there is a cross, and the significance is I have acceptance with God, I have access to God, and I am blessed God today and one day I’m going to be glorified with him.