Jump Start # 1916

Matthew 27:54 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.”

Our verse today comes from Jerusalem. Jesus is dying upon the cross. The sky became dark. The “sixth’ hour” is noon. The “ninth hour” is 3 PM. From noon until 3, the prime time for the brightest part of the day, the sky became dark.

Today is eclipse day. Everyone is buzzing about that. I have an eclipse t-shirt and my special eclipse glasses. Where I live is a pretty good spot for the eclipse, nearly total. I’ve heard that song birds will sing like it’s evening, while the eclipse is taking place. The temperature will drop about ten degrees during the eclipse. People are traveling to special places so they can get a great glimpse. There hasn’t been anything like this in nearly 100 years.

All of this hype about our eclipse made me think about those few dark hours at Calvary. Not only was the sun obscured, as Luke states it, but there was a massive earthquake. The curtain in the Temple was torn in two, and the graves of the righteous were opened and the dead were resurrected. This was much more than an eclipse. It had God’s finger prints all over it. Miraculous events took place.

Our eclipse today reminds us of three important Biblical truths. Even in natural events, such as today, there are things we can see spiritually that will help us in our journey with Christ.

First, the sky will darken. It will darken for us about the same time it darkened at the death of Jesus. Without Christ, how dark our world can quickly become. There are strong moments today to remove Christianity from society. No church buildings. No Bibles. No prayers. No references to God. Many folks would like that. They think life would be better that way. They do not realize how dark things would really become. Racism, prejudice, violence, hatred can only be conquered by love, forgiveness and the principles that are in the Bible. Remove Christ, and the world gets really dark. Christ brings hope, joy and forgiveness. Christ brings peace. Christ builds bridges that connects people rather than separates them. Our music, art, literature are all influenced by the goodness of Jesus Christ. Remove Jesus and the world becomes a dreadful place.

Second, lights shine the brightest in dark places. As the sky darkens today, some car headlights might come on. Some street lights might come on. We are the light of the world, Jesus tells His disciples. We shine the brightest in dark places. Think about that for a moment. You may be the only N.T. Christian where you work. Sure there may be some good people, some may even go to church services once in a while, but to be a devoted, dedicated follower of Christ, you might be the only one. Your light shines. Honesty is something people will know you for. Kindness is found in your words. People will recognize that you are a straight shooter. You don’t play favorites or use people to your advantage. In time, people will even come to you for help, advice and insights. Why? Because you stand out. You are a light.

Also, consider your family. You may be the only Christian in your family. When the family all gets together, you shine. You are helpful. You are thoughtful. You don’t talk about other people in a negative or hurtful way. You praise God and His people. They may not all agree with you and they may even mock you for being “so religious,” but there is something in your character that they notice. There is a goodness about you that is missing in their lives.

Third, after the eclipse this afternoon, the sun will come back out. Tomorrow all the eclipse glasses will be tossed in a box or the trash can. Life will go on, and in time people will not think much about it. The sun came back out in Jerusalem when Jesus died. But His death changed things. Things were never the same after that. Satan thought he won. The dead Jesus brought a smile to Satan’s face. But three days later, “up from the grave He arose.” That huge stone that sealed the tomb of Jesus was rolled away. Christ walked out of that grave, crushing Satan and filling the world with hope and salvation.

We ought to be a different people because of what happened that dark day in Jerusalem. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are never the same. Who wants to return to the darkness, when we can live in the bright light of the Gospel? Who wants their soul to remain dark and spoiled when they can be washed in the blood of Jesus?

Eclipses are fascinating. The death and resurrection of Jesus is more than that. It’s life changing.

We are of the day, Paul told the Thessalonians. Darkness, referring to sin and evil, has been removed from our hearts and we prefer the day to the night.

Roger

Jump Start # 1740

Matthew 27:54 “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’”

  Our verse takes place at the Cross. A lot of things happened. Some were typical of most executions, but there were things that were most unusual. The centurion and the guards that were assigned to him, were Roman soldiers. They were the execution squad. Putting rebels and criminals to death was their job. I doubt this was their first assignment to that bloody detail. There had been others. Crucifixions were not nice, neat and quick. It was just the opposite. It was state sponsored torture. Death was slow and painful. Those dying on the cross often spoke final words. Those words were threats, cursing and pleadings to take them off the cross. The place of these executions were public and often the public gathered. Guards were needed to keep peace. Rome was making a statement. If you dare mess with the Empire, you will be crushed. These executions were as much of a statement to the living as they were a form of death to the rebellious.

Our verse reveals the feelings and the words of a centurion. There are many centurions in the N.T. They seem to be people of high moral fiber. We remember Cornelius, he was a centurion. Then there was the centurion who came to Jesus because of a servant that was suffering. He understood the authority of Jesus. We don’t see these men as being heartless, cruel and evil. In a pagan, worldly atmosphere that these soldiers have been in, they have a character unlike the image we would have of a tough Roman soldier.

Matthew states that the centurion and the guards with him, noticed the earthquake and the things that were happening, they became “very frightened.” Earthquakes are common in that area. The earthquake itself wasn’t too unusual. But remember, the sky became dark for three hours. An earthquake. The graves of the righteous were opened, and the righteous came back to life. And then there was Jesus. He didn’t die like other criminals did. He didn’t curse this torturers. Instead, He prayed for their forgiveness. He was talking about being in Paradise that very day. He promised to take one of thieves with Him, as well. He was prayerful. He didn’t say anything about Rome. Very strange to the eyes of those who witness executions often.

Then there was the reason for Jesus even being there. That was questionable. The others beside him were thieves, rebels and murderers. They were bad. They messed with Rome and they were getting the full force of Roman justice. But this Jesus, He’s different. There was doubt about what He had even done. Pilate, Herod and others had questioned Him and found that this was an internal Jewish problem and certainly not worthy of Roman execution. A riot nearly broke out. The Jews wanted Jesus crucified. Why? How strange?

Matthew said these soldiers became very frightened. They realized something bigger was at hand. The sky, the earthquake, the resurrections, it was as if the gods were shaking the earth. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to those rumors about who He was. He had followers, but they were peaceful. They didn’t cause fear. They didn’t cause trouble. Stories had been told about lepers being cured, blind receiving their sight and dozens and dozens of people who were helped by this one called Jesus. He was a teacher, a rabbi. He taught moral goodness and responsibility. Could it be that the gods sent one of their own down here and now Rome got caught up in this and put Him to death? What will the gods do to Rome? What will the gods do to the executioners? It’s too late now. They have gone too far. Jesus had died. Now, the curse of the heavens was falling upon them.

It is here that Matthew records the centurion saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Some translations, and some Greek texts word this statement as, “Truly this was a son of god,” showing that these pagan soldiers didn’t fully understand the concept of Jesus nor Jehovah. Either way, they recognized that Jesus belonged to the Heavens and not one of us. He was different. Different in life and different in death.

It is at this time of the year that the world gets excited about a baby in a manger. That’s how the story began. The baby in the manger is cute. The baby in the manger makes no demands. The baby in the manger is dependent upon us. It is the Savior upon the cross that changes the world. It is the risen Savior that demands obedience. It is the risen Savior that causes us to fall to our knees and makes us realize that we are dependent upon Him.

The thrust of the Bible, especially the New Testament, is to lead us to Christ. It is to get us to see who Jesus is and to develop a great trusting faith in Him. As we intersect with so many people, like this centurion, we are not told what happened to them later on. As Paul Harvey would make famous, “the rest of the story,” is not given. We wonder. What happened to the bent over woman after she was straightened up? What happened to that little twelve year old girl that Jesus resurrected? What became of her? And here, what happened to this centurion? After he saw all these things, did it change him? Did he look at other executions differently? Did he pursue some of the disciples to find out more about this one called “Jesus?” Did he turn in his resignation papers to Pilate and walk away from putting people to death? Did he become a believer? Will we see this one in Heaven? We are not told. We don’t know. Or, could it be, that he went to a pub drank himself drunk to forget the events of that day and lived out a pagan life putting criminals to death? Don’t know. I’d like to think he changed. I’d like to think that he’ll be with Jesus in Heaven.

A greater question comes to you and I. Now that we have stood at the foot of the cross, through the Scriptures, how has it changed us? Are we any better because of that? Are we different? Have we turned in our resignation papers to Satan and the world? Or, have we continued on, pretty much the same. Same attitudes. Same outlook on life. Same outcome to life.

Seeing Jesus at the cross…it ought to change us. I hope it has.

Roger

Jump Start # 61

Matthew 27:54 “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the son of God!’”

  Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus adds this statement and perspective from one of the Roman soldiers. This is just one of the tiny tidbits of information that adds further evidence and proof of the claims of Jesus Christ.

  A little bit of background observation will add even more to this passage. A “Centurion” is an officer in the Roman army. They are generally in charge of one hundred men. Many remember, that Cornelius in Acts 10, was also a centurion.

  The centurion in this passage was on the “execution squad,” not a job for the faint of heart. Rome had many forms of putting people to death, the cross was slow and painful. It was a form of torture. But more than that it was a statement to the world that you don’t mess with Rome. Those who tried to overthrow Rome were executed on the cross and often on the main roads so everyone could see. Putting Jews to death was a difficult job. There were so many Jews and they wanted independence from Rome. Soldiers flooded the area when Jews were put to death to keep riots from starting. The men dying the slow death on the cross often screamed for mercy and cursed Rome at the same time.  

  On this particular day, three Jews were being executed. Two of them criminals against Rome, and the third one, most unusual, Jesus Christ. The Roman officials trying Him could not find anything worthy of death, yet a riot was taking place and the crowds were demanding his execution. So Pilate appeased the crowds. It was one less Jew in his mind and it calmed people down.

  So, to the cross Jesus went. The execution squad nailed Him and watched over Him. This centurion had witnessed many deaths and many executions. This one was different. The sky became dark. An earthquake took place. Rocks were split. Graves opened up, and the dead were resurrected. You couldn’t imagine a better setting for a horror movie. These things just didn’t normally happen. Generally the sun shined, the birds sang and the executed simply died. Not this time.

  And the “criminal” being executed didn’t beg for mercy. He didn’t curse Rome. He prayed for their forgiveness. He died calm and in peace, even though His death was painful. His nature, His character was so different from every execution witnessed before. So shocking were these events that the centurion proclaimed, “Truly this was the son of God.” Interesting observation. The sign above Jesus’ head stated that He was the king of the Jews. The crowd had taunted Him to come off the cross, but no one had openly said He was the son of God. I believe that these were the whispers racing through the crowds. The Jews rejected Jesus on the basis of blasphemy. These soldiers would have heard this. They too must have thought at the beginning of the execution, He sure doesn’t look like the son of a god. He doesn’t have powers like the son of a god. If he is, where is his father, a god, to save him? But as Jesus dies, everything changes. These seasoned soldiers who kill every day became frightened. It seems as if a god was angry. This led to the great statement, ‘Truly, this was the son of God!’

  I wonder what happened to this centurion after this. I expect he never forgot that day. I wonder if he ever became a disciple? How has the death of Jesus affected you?

 Roger