NOTES for Mat 27:51
Jesus dies on the cross. "The earth shook, and the rocks were split." Nature "feels" the meaning of what is happening and marks the event as it marked His birth. But then there was the Nativity star, a joyful sign of hope, and now there is an earthquake, a stern warning to the people who killed the Author of life (see Acts 3:15).
But Christ's death is not only a human crime, the temporary triumph of evil, but also God's creative act of redemption. This is witnessed by the torn temple veil, the veil that had always separated people from the Holy Place, the place of God's presence, symbolizing the impassable gulf between God's holiness and human sin. And now the death of the Son of God, who took our sins upon Himself, accomplishes redemption and reconciles us with God. The gulf is bridged, the veil removed. The cherub blocking the way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24) takes away his sword.
My dear ones, behind all our reasoning about the reliability of the Bible or about the pre-eternal Son of God, are we not losing sight of this reality that is absolutely important for our salvation: the lifeless body of the Son of Man hanging powerless on the cross against the background of a sky darkened in threat and sorrow?