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Bible - NT - Matthew: Notes on Matthew 27

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A couple of disconnected notes on Matthew 27.

First, the death of Jesus responds to the mockery of passers-by and Jewish leaders. The passers-by mock Jesus for His claim to be able to destroy and rebuild the temple (v. 40), but at the death of Jesus the temple is essentially immobilized when the veil is torn (v. 51). Both passers-by and leaders mock Jesus for claiming to be Son of God (vv. 40, 43), but at His death the centurion and his men confess Jesus as Son of God (v. 54). Not only does Jesus’ death rebut both forms of mockery, but the rebuttal is given in the same order as the mockery – temple, then Son of God. Of course, Jesus proves to have power over the temple, and proves to be Son of God, precisely by rejecting the temptation of the mockers: He demonstrates His sonship by not coming down from the cross (vv. 40, 42).

Second, at Jesus’ death, the cosmos is shaken. Three zone are hit by the impact of His death: the temple (v. 51a), the earth with its rocks (v. 51b), and tombs (v. 52-53). That’s a variation on the three-story universe of Genesis 1. The temple is the earthly “heaven,” the earth is, well, the earth, and people are buried in tombs “under” the earth. Jesus’ death shakes the whole universe; light turns to darkness, the firmament-veil is torn, earth becomes mobile, Sheol coughs up the dead. Creation is being dismantled to prepare for a renewal of creation.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 5:14 am

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Bible - NT - Matthew: Notes on Matthew 27

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