In the midst of chaos, YAHSHUA performed yet great miracles as He was letting go of His life to prove men that He was Whom He said He was. Embed by pains from His head to His toes, from His inner soul to His spirit, He, even though God, suffered as man in every sense of the word, for He was condemned as man by His Father, when He took upon Himself the sins of the world. However, He never stopped being God. Nature knew and reacted in the form of trembling. It was as if it could understand and perceive what was happening to the One Who had created it. The miracles that surrounded the atmosphere were vividly proclaiming to men that that Man was not an ordinary man, He was God! Nature could not be quiet about it.
First, the sun, the chief light of the day, decided it would not shine its Creator’s agony to sinful men. For the three hours YAHSHUA suffered His worst pain; it was as if God was hiding from the eyes of men the sufferings of His Son by turning the sun’s lights off. He had already suffered enough physical pain from the hands of sinful men. But His last agonies were hidden from the world, so that it would be a moment when they would stop mocking and making a spectacle of Him through the cruelty of their sinful nature. Three hours of darkness must have made men ponder about the meaning of it. Except for the Roman Centurion and his guards, nothing we read about men’s reactions that showed significant meaning toward knowledge of YAHSHUA’S divinity and their repentance.
The number three shone during the trials and crucifixion of our Lord. That meant that the “Three in One” all suffered the ordeal YAHSHUA suffered. He was crucified at nine o’clock in the morning; nine is 3X3. From twelve until three o’clock in the afternoon darkness ruled the land. Twelve is 3X4. On the third hour of darkness, YAHSHUA cried with a loud voice, expressing the worst pain He ever suffered in that ordeal- the separation from His Father, when He suffered hell for us. It affected the religious site of the Jewish nation when the curtain of the temple was torn in two opening the door for all to enter the presence of God, that is, those who would accept Him. Interesting thing is that YAHSHUA being God, even there on the cross was the one Who tore the curtain, as He took the position of our High Priest. The curtain of the temple was six feet long and thirty feet wide, with the thickness of the palm of a man’s hand. It was made from 72 squares woven from thick material. No man could ever tear it with bear hands. It was without a doubt the work of God. The most fascinating fact was that it happened at the time when YAHSHUA died and also when the priests were in the place of the Holy of Holies performing their priestly duty, facing the curtain. It was torn in two equal parts. It just happened right in front of their eyes. As a result, the Bible reports that great many priests accepted their Messiah. Acts 6:7 says: And the message of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were obedient to the faith [in YAHSHUA as the Messiah, through whom is obtained eternal salvation in the kingdom of God]. YAHSHUA not only reconciled men to Himself, but also opened the door for them to enter into His presence at any time. That is a great honor given to men. Undeserved as we are, punishment should have been ours, not blessings. With His death, even when we were his enemies, He reconciled us to God (Himself) (Rom. 5:10a). When He tore the temple’s curtain, He gave us full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies by the blood of YAHSHUA (Heb. 10:19). It happened by the power of His blood, not the blood of animals, which were being sacrificed at the same time.
Earth revolted when it witnessed the death of its Creator, sending shock waves radiating to its surface from underground as in an earthquake, splitting the rocks, creating panic in many people who did not understand the cause, especially those who had rejected Him and given Him up to be crucified. It even brought to life saints, who had died some time ago. The power of YAHSHUA’S life, even when physically dead, shocked the earth and it stirred up the dead saints to life. Where His presence is there will be life, no matter what. That was a powerful miracle. No one should ever have doubted the reason for it; no one should ever have doubted the meaning of it. We see here YAHSHUA’S power of resurrection, which will happen in the future at the time of the rapture of His church, when only those “in Christ” will come to life. Note that not all dead came to life in His death, only the saints; and not all will be brought to life in the first resurrection, only His bride. YAHSHUA, when facing the death of Lazarus, introduced Himself to Martha as the Resurrection and Life. He was and is the solution for every problem man has. He said, I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, although he may die, yet he shall live (John 11:25).
Another significant miracle that happened at the death of YAHSHUA was the conversion of the Roman Centurion and his guards. Interesting to note is that those Romans had no knowledge of Whom YAHSHUA was; YAHSHUA, when they were crucifying Him, said a prayer of forgiveness we must not forget to whom it was directed. It was directed to those soldiers who hammered the nails in His hands and feet, who speared His side, who carved His brains with a crown of thorns, who whipped Him to the point of breaking His body through the skin, muscles reaching the bone, causing His body to be out of joint. It was to these cruel and godless Romans to whom YAHSHUA’S prayer of forgiveness was offered. Ingrained in their culture and religion, they were lost without YAHSHUA’S prayer on their behalf. But because God so loved the world to the point of giving His only begotten Son, these Romans were part of the plan of salvation, even if they were the ones killing God’s Son. They well represented the “world” and that prayer was necessary to bring them in too. Matthew reports that when the Centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over YAHSHUA observed the earthquake and all that was happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe and said, truly this was God’s Son! What a proclamation coming from a pagan, godless mouth! No longer had that, now these men witnessing the miracles at the foot of the cross, believed YAHSHUA to be the Son of God. Salvation is a result of a confession that YAHSHUA is Lord; Paul said, For with the heart a person believes and so is justified, and with the mouth he confesses and confirms [his] salvation (Rom. 10:9a-10). When our Savior YAHSHUA went to the cross, He went with the purpose to save men from eternal death. He took our cross and with His shedding blood He washed all who wanted, clean, including the thief on the cross, who had acknowledged Him as Lord and to be an innocent man. After he defended YAHSHUA against the other thief, He then asked Him, Lord, remember me when You come in your kingly glory! And YAHSHUA answered him: Truly, I tell you today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:40-43). This was a promise for a thief at the end of his life for having believed YAHSHUA, and for all of us who will receive Him.
Light from the Word 