In Matthew chapter 27 and verse
50, the Lord is on the cross and is near death. And look what
Matthew records happened while our Lord was dying on the cross,
and when He died. 27 verse 50 through verse 53,
please. Jesus, when he had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil
of the temple was rent, or torn, in twain from the top to the
bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, And the graves
were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into
the holy city, and appeared unto many. Then in Mark chapter 15,
and verse 33, and when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness
over the whole land until the ninth hour. Then let me add Luke
chapter 23, verse 44 and 45, and it was about the sixth hour
and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth
hour, and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst." Now, those great passages of Scripture suggest
another event that occurred in the life of our Lord. That is,
when the soldiers went to arrest the Lord and to bring Him to
the Sanhedrin Council, they came back empty-handed and without
Him. And the Sanhedrin said, Why have
you not brought him? And the soldiers answered, Never
man spake like this man. John 7 and verse 46. Just the very words, just the
very way that our Lord did speak. caused them to say, never did
a man speak like this. The words of our Lord were so
grand, so majestic, and were so powerful. Well, here we have
much the same thing. When we look at the death of
our Lord, the same kind of logic can be applied. Never a man died
like this man. Now before we settle in on this
subject, let's expand the focus by showing that God manifested
His glory, His special sign, and confirming miracles and wonders
upon special occasion so that He might impress upon the people
the great character of our Lord and our Savior. For example,
the birth of our Lord was unusual and majestic, and there were
great signs that accompanied the birth of our Lord that would
let them know that a significant event had happened in the world. Plus, there were the inspired
witnesses, Simeon and Anna, to His being the Messiah and the
one that had been sent from God and a great example. One more
example, the giving of the law at Sinai, that it might impress
upon the people the significance of this event. There were great
signs and wonders, the mountain quake, a voice from heaven, a
cloud covered it, fire and smoke ascended up out of the mountain,
and terror in the heart of the people. But we want to focus
today on those miraculous events that occurred in connection with
our Lord's time upon the cross and with the matter of His dying. I say again, never did a man
die like this man. For there were signs, there were
wonders, there were miracles when this Holy One of God suffered
and died and dismissed his spirit into the hands of Almighty God. It was a death unlike the death
of any common man before or since. I think I can safely say, never
did another die in the manner of our Lord, never were there
the manifestations that were made when our great Savior breathed
this last, gave up the ghost, and died upon the cross of Calvary. I was reading J.C. Ryle, this
comment on the uniqueness of our Lord's death upon the cross,
and Ryle wrote these words and I quote, it was most, it was
meet and right that the attention of all in the city of Jerusalem
should be arrested by this occasion and mark the way that the great
sacrifice for sin was being offered as the Son of God was dying,
unquote. This was not to be considered
as an ordinary death. It was not to be put in the same
category of those thieves and malefactors that were put to
death. upon the cross of Calvary. Now, let's remember that the
Jews had condemned him to death as a blasphemer against God,
as an enemy against Moses, as an insurrectionist against Rome
and Caesar, and they treated him as a criminal and considered
his blasphemy of claims with equality with God to be an occasion
worthy of death. Now the nation as a whole rejected
Him as being the Son of God sent from heaven. They denied Him
in the presence of Pilate and would that Barabbas be turned
loose. It was not me that he should
be put to death without a strong attestation of his divinity and
of his character. There were many of them to vindicate
the claims of the Lord that he came from heaven, that he was
the Son of God, and that he was dying for the sins of others. So the signs and the wonders
during the suffering and the death of our Lord were by God's
providence calculated to give an impression that something
marvelous and mysterious and different there was about the
death of this man. It made it unlike the death of
any other that had ever been dead in any other manner than
the Lord was died. For consider again, there were
signs and wonders in the sight of all of they that were in Jerusalem
when our Lord died. To the unbeliever the sun darkened,
which could not be explained by science in any way. To the battle-hardened soldier,
used to seeing criminals put to death, he saw and heard things
that made him exclaim, truly this man is or was the Son of
God. To the Jews and their religion,
as soon as Jesus died, that veil yonder in the Jewish temple rent,
it tore into from the top unto the bottom, which wonder would
have produced a profound effect upon those priests that served
there and the Jews that entered and sacrificed. Consider the
words then of Luke 23 and verse 48. All the people that came
together to that site, beholding the things that were done, smote
upon their breasts and returned." Now let's be like Moses and turn
aside for a while and behold this wondrous event that is occurring
on the cross. Many had come and many saw the
sight. There were thousands upon thousands
in Jerusalem who had come there for the celebration of the Passover. And the word site, that is, that
site, there were thousands of them that saw it, is a word that
actually means a spectacle. It is a Greek word that had something
to do with a secular act or performance in a theatrical show. Luke said that many had come
together and they came together out to Golgotha as well. They came to see and they saw
that spectacle or that great sight. Then we see the word there,
beholding. beholding the things that were
done, looking upon them, seeing them with their very own eye. They viewed the spectacle of
our Lord's death. They watched all that was done. They saw and they heard all that
occurred there that day and hear what Luke described. Smote their
breasts and returned again into the city, some kind of melancholy. They were smitten with something
that they could not understand. The spirit in them changed that
they had had earlier or before. They became of a more subdued
mind and of spirit. and from their jeering and their
mocking that they had done earlier. Here they had seen a man die
as never a man had died before. Since the world began, was there
ever such a death that occurred as this? Did ever another die
in such circumstances? Did ever another die with such
manifestations as was seen that day? Now many had been put to
death, we grant, by crucifixion. Many had been taken out to that
place and affixed to a cross and died that kind of death that
our Lord died. But never in that one of those
occasions did the sun hide its face. Never did rocks split in
half, never did the graves open, never did the veil in the temple
rend from the top to the bottom when other ordinary men died
upon that cross and smitten with what they had seen, what they
had heard, the spectacle of Jesus dying, smiting upon their breast
and returning again into the city, to their homes, or to the
continuance of the Passover. But the point is their mood was
drastically altered and changed when they saw what occurred when
our Lord died. Only a blind, hard-hearted apostate
would not be moved by the event surrounding our Lord's death. Never did a man die in the manner
that our Lord died. An ordinary man's death had nothing
to commend it unto men as being special. Never was there a man
born, however, like the Lord Jesus Christ. Never a man lived
like the Lord Jesus Christ. Never a man died like the Lord
Jesus Christ. Several commentaries have noted
that the unique and mysterious manner for his death was a forerunner
and a preparation for Pentecost, for there on that day You remember
that Peter clearly charged the Jews as being guilty of the death
of the Holy One. Him they crucified. When Peter said that, you killed
him, he's alive again. They too were stung in their
heart. For no doubt some of the same
ones that did behold the things that were done in his crucifixion
at Golgotha were also witnesses to the great event at Pentecost. Beholding those things which
were done. focus in or hone in, consider
some of the events that occurred as our Lord suffered and died
on the cross. These were manifestations, again
I repeat, that the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was no ordinary
dead, and this is no ordinary man. They were supernatural,
purposeful, that manifestation, though we may not have them all
in the exact order of their occurrence, yet were they manifestations
of the people of the character of our Lord. First of all, the
first thing that I call our attention to is the three hours of utter
darkness as our Lord was hanging there upon the tree. The Scripture
said from the sixth until the ninth hour, while our Lord was
upon the cross. This occurred shortly before
the Savior died. Now all three of the synoptic
Gospels, that would be Matthew and Mark and Luke, Record this
event. Matthew 27, 45. Now from the
sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth
hour. We read Mark 15. And verse 33,
when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over all of
the whole land until the ninth hour. Luke 23 and verse 44, and
it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all
of the earth, the margin, says land, until the night hour. And only Luke tells us this,
and the sun was darkened. Now that this occurred is beyond
dispute and beyond question what was on purpose and meaning of
the darkness for three hours. It was not a natural phenomenon. We must not explain it in that
sin, else it had not occurred, no doubt, at the exact time and
hour when our Lord was on the cross. not an eclipse as we might
see or think of it today. You might expect there are several
views of the dark period while our Lord was on the cross. Some there are who say that it
showed gods of horrors of the murder of his beloved son. Others see it as a symbol of
the blindness of the crucifying nation. Others see it as a further
part of the Lord's suffering and of his death. Matthew Henry
thought that it signified the powers of darkness ruled over
by the prince of this world. Some have noted how an extraordinary
light attended the birth and the extraordinary light at the
death of our Savior. Now, there may be truth in these,
and there may be spiritual lessons in these that might be learned. But Calvin and such view seem
to be upon much more solid ground, seeing in the darkness that God
aroused them with darkness. to consider His amazing purpose
in the death of Christ. Never had it been like this before. Never had it done this before.
No doubt some had been there to watch and to jeer as malfactors
were put to death on the cross, but never had this occurred before. that such a sudden and such a
deep degree of darkness, such a reversal of nature might make
deep impression upon them for a time shut the mouths of the
blasphemers who stood about the cross as they stood there in
that darkness, groping about to feel and to grope their way
and to freeze in their steps and to shut their mouth as if
they were frozen in time. Does this not put us in remembrance? One of the plagues upon the land
of Egypt was the plague of darkness. The plague of darkness, the ninth
plague that came upon them. You can read about it in Exodus
chapter 10, verse 21 through verse 23. Thus we read in the
22nd and the 23rd verse that Moses stretched out his hand
toward heaven. And there was thick darkness
over the land and it lasted three days. They could not see one
another. None rose out of their place
to go about the camp for three days. This could not be attributed
to any natural occurrence. Pink said that the Egyptians
worshipped the sun. If that be true, then God cast
their God into darkness. Especially when we read from
Exodus 10, verse 23, and the last part of that verse. But
all the children of Israel had light in their dwelling. Both
the light and the darkness were supernatural manifestations of
God. The darkness when our Lord was
upon the cross was general. I don't believe it was confined
just to Jerusalem. Upon all of the land, thus it
affected the Jew and it affected the Gentile. It had an effect
upon the saint and upon the sinner. And several commentators argued
that this could not be a natural phenomenon or an eclipse of the
sun, since the Passover was held in the full of the moon, making
an eclipse an impossibility. But we move along. Not only was
there darkness for three hours when the Son of God was hanging
upon the cross. Now let's look at the second
sort of manifestation accompanying the death of our Christ. That is described by Matthew's
Gospel. And it's in Matthew chapter 27,
51 through verse 53. For the time being we skip the
renting of the veil in the temple. In verse 51 notice, the earth
did quake. and the rocks rent. Verse 52, the graves were open,
literally the tombs were open. Many Jewish graves or varying
places were hollowed out to as it were caves in the side of
a rock, as was the tomb of Lazarus, was the rocky terrain around
Palestine. Graves were not only always dug
in the earth, but sometimes hewn out of rocks or cliffs or something
like that, sealed off then with slabs of stone and such like. Now while the darkness occurred
before the death of our Lord, these things here in Matthew
27, 50 through verse 52, occurred just as our Lord died. Matthew lists three things, and
we'll consider that later. But before we consider them,
let's focus on the final moment of the Lord before and as He
died. Now all three synoptic gospels
again record the Lord Jesus crying out with a loud voice, giving
up or dismissing his spirit. Matthew says this, 27 and 15,
when he had cried again with a loud voice, he yielded up the
ghost. Mark 15 and 37, Jesus cried with
a loud voice and gave up the ghost. Luke 23 and 46, when Jesus
had cried with a loud voice, he gave up the ghost or his spirit. Now note, To give up the ghost
is a euphemism used in the scripture for dying. The spirit leaving
the body. Genesis 25 and 8, Abraham gave
up the ghost. Genesis 25 and 17, so did Ishmael. Genesis 35 and 29, so did Isaac. Genesis 49, and 33, so did Jacob give up
the ghost and they slept with our father. But we take note
of the emphasis that the scripture gives to the Lord and that last
act crying out with a loud voice. I agree with Gil that this act,
quote, declared him to be more than a man." A loud voice, a
strong voice, crying out with a great voice, what ordinary
dying man at the point of death could ever do this? Most speak
not at all as their life comes to an end, but even after all
the beatings and the mistreatment and the fatigue of the body,
and all of the beating, the loss of blood, the hours upon the
cross, then to cry out with a loud and with a strong voice. John Gill wrote on Matthew 27
and verse 50, quote, to speak with so loud a voice was more
than human and was a conviction under the centurion that heard
it. that he was a divine person."
It was what Matthew called the great voice, the great loud voice
of Christ, our Lord and our Savior. Matthew Henry, a commentator,
wrote, Christ's loud cry was like a trumpet blown over the
sacrifice Or in those days of old, a loud trumpet blew over
the sacrifices that might call the attention of the people that
a great event was to have occurred. It must have been as startling
as it was unexpected to hear this dying, wounded, bleeding
man lift up his voice like a trump at the point of death on giving
his last breath, yet in a great and a loud voice. as it were,
to give a mighty shout. One thing our Lord said as He
shouted, it is finished. Did ever they see, did ever they
hear such a thing, did ever such things occur from any other dying
man? How many godly men and women
have died over the centuries and yet nothing like this has
ever occurred at the occasion of their death. Now this great
voice with which our Lord cries out clearly appears to be a separate
one from things that are said by our Lord upon the cross. Prior to His last great cry,
seen again in Matthew 27 and verse 50, the Word again, there
are three utterances that we consider that our Lord made upon
the cross. Here they are. Number one, Matthew
27 and 46. Mark 15 and 34, which both authors
interpret as meaning this. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Eli, Eli, lama, sebach, phanei,
as we have it in the scripture. and the thing to not lose sight
of, these are the exact words of Psalm 22 and verse 1. My God, my God, said the prophet,
why hast thou forsaken me? Yet the Jews in their blindness
thought that our Lord was calling for Elias, showing that the passage
in Psalm 22 is clearly and definitely messianic in its scope. That the Lord had a sense of
the wrath of God upon his soul as he was made sin for his people. And he made his soul and offering
for sin as Isaiah 53, verse 10 and verse 11 and verse 12. Secondly, another cry found in
John 19 and verse 30, great words from Christ our Savior. The words are but three. is finished and the next thing
which John records is this when the Lord said it is finished
he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost it is finished in
the Greek there is but one word and it can be rendered it has
been finished and the question is What is finished? Our Lord said, it has been finished. What then is finished? For he's not yet dead, he's not
yet actually buried, and he is not yet actually raised from
the grave. But his dying words It is finished,
or the purpose of God, salvation is complete. The great sacrifice
of all sacrifices has been given. The prince of this world is destroyed
and is cast out. Sin is put away by the sacrifice
of him. God's wrath and God's justice
are satisfied. Yes, it is finished. Sin has been condemned in the
flesh as our Lord died upon the cross. The third utterance that
we want to look at, Luke 23 and verse 46. Father. Notice that. As opposed
to, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now the Lord
addresses as Father. And he says, Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit. And Luke says, and he gave up
the ghost. It is finished. Into thy hands
I commend my spirit. And he gave up the ghost. So the conclusion of all of this
today is we will have two parts to our study. The second part
will follow in the evening. That being that it could not
be that the eternal Son of God die as a sin bearer without special
manifestation of his person and of his character. There were
signs and wonders, yes, at his birth. There were signs and wonders
which crowned the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. and acted as a seal of divine
approval of the death and suffering of the God-man. This was a sure
testimony to the children of God, to those that saw it or
to those that read about it. And it is a terror to those who
saw and who heard. And it justifies our subject
of the day. Never man died like this man
who died upon the cross. No other death will ever be accompanied
by the same event and manifestation. No other death. could ever have
such a lasting effect upon religion, particularly Christianity. No, not the death of Abraham,
a friend of God. Not the death of Moses, who died
before the Lord. And the Lord buried Moses personally,
not one of the apostles like Peter or like Paul, nor did their
death so shake the creation as did that death of the Son of
God. So we have seen never a man died
like this man. Unusual circumstances occurred
surrounding the death of our God of our Christ when he gave
up his life for us and for sin upon the cross of our Lord. Great men have died, great theologians. We could think of Spurgeon and
Gill Calvin, Zwingli, and others that we might mention Luther.
But in none of their deaths did these manifestations occur. Only in the death, only in connection
with the death of our Lord. Never man died like this man. And thank God for it being written
up in the scripture.