238 of 365 - Truly this is the Son of God!

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54
 
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cries out from the cross. He is quoting Psalm 22, something that would be extremely familiar to the Jewish onlookers. 

A holy God must turn His face from all the sin. This moment is what Jesus dreaded in the Garden…not so much a painful death, but a momentary separation from His Father. And not only a separation but assuming the full wrath of God for our sins. He takes it all.

Once again Jesus cries out with a loud voice and yields up His spirit. No one could take it from Him. He willingly, purposefully, and obediently gives it up. Jesus takes the punishment for our sins, securing them forever between the splintered wood and His bloody hands. But it doesn’t end there…He also gives us His righteousness. A holy, spiritual transaction.

Simultaneously the following occurs:

• The curtain of the temple is torn in two, from top to bottom.  Access to God now open to all, not just the high priest. The death of Jesus permanently removed the veil; removed the separation between God and man.
• The earth quakes and the rocks were split. Creation powerfully responds!
• Tombs open. Bodies of the saints…raised, coming out of the tombs.
• A Roman centurion confesses, “truly this was the Son of God.”

As hard as it is to read or comprehend, may we never lose the significance or awe of the details surrounding the death of Jesus. The fulfillment and culmination of God’s sovereign plan from the beginning of time.

Truly this IS the Son of God. My Savior and Lord!
 
Challenge: Read Psalm 22 that Jesus quotes from the cross.