Matthew 27:38-56 Read the entire passage for context.

Matthew states that the robbers on both sides of Yeshua were joining the crowds in making fun of Him. The thieves picked up on the accusations that were made against Jesus. The focus of the statement is on destroying the sanctuary or dwelling of God. Jesus implied that the sanctuary that He was talking about was His body. Look at the focus of these verses and you will see a mockery of the statement. The natural man made fun of Jesus because it was obvious that His prophecy concerning His body was not going to take place.

Yeshua was fulfilling prophecy at this point by being crucified among those who were criminals (Isa 53:12). The prophecy went deeper than that. It spoke of the torment of the crowds and the end result of the ordeal, Yeshua was sacrificed for the sin of many (Isa 53:10-12). In that same way, the mockery over His prophecy concerning his body gave the religious leaders the opportunity to quote Messianic scriptures against Jesus (Ps 22:6-8). Little did they realize that recognition of these scriptures was directly on the mark. Yeshua was the Messiah and had to fulfill these painful prophecies. Quoting Psalm 22 was not an accident. The chief priests and leaders of the people were experts in Torah study. They knew the scriptures and accurately applied them to the situation.

The Greek indicates that night like darkness covered the land for three hours. This went from noon till three PM. This is a significant time period. It was during this time that the Passover lambs were slain. The task was to be completed at 3 PM. Remember context! We are dealing with the Passover sacrifices during this time.

Yeshua cried out in a loud voice… He quoted directly from Psalm 22:1. With Jewish tradition, if you quote a single verse in a passage, the entire passage is to be taken into account. This is considered to be the first level of Jewish interpretation. The first and most important level of Jewish interpretation is the “Pashat” level of interpretation. This level takes a passage in context. Through all the levels, context never leaves the meaning. So when Yeshua cried out with a direct quote from Psalm 22, the entire Psalm applies. This is a good time to review Psalm 22. It is a thumbnail sketch of the crucifixion.

You can be certain that the crowds were shocked at the darkness that was covering the land. Yeshua was a big attraction. He claimed to be God. Everyone was in a state of watchfulness waiting to see what would happen.

Many well-meaning teachers have the idea that the Hebrew language was no longer used at this point. They support this premise by pointing to this passage. But then forget that Paul addressed the crowds in Hebrew when he made his defense (Acts 21:40-22:24). Hebrew was spoken in the Jewish community. It was not understood by the Gentile community.

When Yeshua cried out “Eli, Eli…” They misinterpreted this to refer to Elijah. Most of the people living in the community were probably aware of the Passover Seder. They were also aware that there was a built in expectation that Elijah would come. This is a situation where people were expectant, they knew something was happening since they were present when the sky went dark. You can almost see the excitement in the people as they hurry to soak a sponge with wine in order to give Yeshua added strength.

The unexpected does happen. The veil in the temple is torn  in two from top to bottom. This veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. Here is an interesting note from Stern on this:

“The parokhet in the Temple. Exodus 26:31–35 describes this curtain as it existed in the desert Tabernacle. It separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Only the cohen hagadol was allowed to pass through it into the Holy of Holies; and that he could do only once a year, on Yom–Kippur, to make an atonement sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the Jewish people. When it was ripped in two from top to bottom it symbolized the fact that God was giving everyone access to the most holy place of all in heaven, as taught explicitly at MJ 9:3–9, 10:19–22.

“The Talmud bears an amazing witness to the work of Yeshua in altering the system of atonement. The background is that on Yom-Kippur, when the cohen hagadol sacrificed a bull (Leviticus 16), a piece of scarlet cloth was tied between its horns. If it later turned white, it meant that God had forgiven Israel’s sin in accordance with Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”^[1]

Stern quoted from the Talmud, I took the liberty of looking up the passage for a direct quote:

II.3. A.   Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:

1. Throughout the forty years that Simeon the Righteous serves as high priest, the lot would always come up in the right hand. From that time onward, sometimes it would come up in the right hand, sometimes it would come up in the left hand.
2. And during that same span of time the crimson thread would turn white. From that time, sometimes it would turn white, sometimes it would not turn white.^[2]

II.5 A.    Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:

1. Forty years before the destruction of the sanctuary, the lot did not come up in the right hand, and the thread of crimson never turned white, and the westernmost light never shone, and the doors of the courtyard would open by themselves,
2. until Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai rebuked them. He said, “Temple, Temple, why will you yourself give the alarm [that you are going to be destroyed? You don’t have to, because] I know that in the end you are destined to be destroyed. For Zechariah b. EIdo has already prophesied concerning you: ‘Open your doors, Lebanon, that fire may devour your cedars’ (Zech. 11:1).”^[3]

There was a marked historical incident that took place. The Temple changed after the veil was ripped from top to bottom. The sacrificial bull that was offered for sin offerings no longer had any effect. Sin was not forgiven/covered by the blood of the bull. Yeshua offered the final sacrifice for Yom Kippur. He was the final Passover Lamb that was slain for the sins of men. There was a permanent change that took place in the sacrificial system. Yeshua offered the final sacrifice (Ro 5:8; 8:22; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18). We are now able to enter directly into the Holy of Holies in order to speak with our God (Heb 9:2-3; 10:19-22).

To bear testimony to this change, there was a resurrection of saints that took place. These saints appeared to many people. There was enough of a disturbance that a Roman centurion declared that this was certainly the Son of God. At the death of Jesus, resurrection power surged through the area. A great earthquake took place that was severe enough to split rocks. Those of us in Southern California understand earthquakes. It takes a big one to split rocks. When earthquakes of this magnitude happen today, it is declared a disaster zone. Yeshua died on the cross. The earth gave testimony that it did not like it. The centurion saw the results and was extremely frightened. Can you imagine the devastation that must have followed? The epicenter was Calvary.

Matthew fades from the scene of wonder and spectacular back to the cross. There was a group of women gathered around who followed Yeshua. The women were faithful till the end.

The other gospel writers covered different events that occurred during the crucifixion. These are important to look at. In the future we will look at each of these cases and discuss their meaning. For now, we can see the fantastic story that Matthew told and the incredible impact that it had upon those standing around.

^[1] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 27:51.

^[2] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 5a (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 140–141.

^[3] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 5a (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 142.