EXPLORE THE TEXT
The crucifixion of Jesus calls for the response of faith.
50 But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice
and gave up his spirit.
51 Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom,
the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints
who had fallen asleep were raised.
53 And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection,
entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
54 When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus,
saw the earthquake and the things that had happened,
they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Highlight the supernatural events around Jesus’s death:
The curtain in Herod’s temple was reportedly almost twenty-one inches thick.
For such a curtain to be split from top to bottom could only be an act of God.
Symbolically, the barrier between Holy God and unholy humanity was removed by the death of Jesus.
The way was now open for all to approach God (Heb. 4:16).
Coinciding with the curtain being torn in two was a violent earthquake.
This earthquake evidently
was the force behind another supernatural occurrence at the time of Jesus’s death,
the opening of the graves of a select group of people. (PSG, p. 128)
Lead a brief discussion about the centurion’s response.
He and those with him were eyewitnesses to all that had happened, and it led to a confession of Jesus’s deity.
Verse 50: Even if these words did not have the full meaning of later Christian confessions,
making the same confession as the disciples (Matt. 14:33)
and Peter (16:16)
was significant to Matthew. He intended his readers (including us)
to interpret these words in their highest and truest sense.
As Christ followers, we need to live out this confession and encourage others to respond to Jesus in faith.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 130 of the Personal Study Guide:
Remind adults that Jesus’s death requires a response from each person. Challenge them to take a few minutes to examine their own hearts and to decide if they have made that response to Jesus. If so, encourage them to identify someone who still needs to accept Him and to start praying for them.
Invite adults to read the second set of questions on page 130 of the PSG silently. Urge the group to keep these questions in mind this week as they recall this study of Christ’s crucifixion. Encourage them to invite the Holy Spirit to guide them into deeper understanding of the gospel and a willingness to share it.
Invite adults to bow their heads as you read Matthew 27:50-51 aloud. Invite them to respond aloud as God reveals the impact of today’s passage on their hearts. Close with prayer, thanking Jesus for His death, which provided access to God.
Send adults a group text or email during the week, directing them to read and respond to the first set of questions on page 130 of the PSG. Encourage them to journal their responses and to consider sharing them when you gather for your next Bible study. Remind them that this was the final session in Matthew’s Gospel. Share that the group will be starting a new study in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. (See John 1:12-13; Titus 2:14.)
Examine an Old Testament passage to better understand a New Testament truth.
Of Jesus’s seven cries from the cross, the only one Matthew recorded was Jesus’s quote from Psalm 22:1.
Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm that predicted much of what Jesus suffered on the cross. Read and reflect on Psalm 22. Why are these messianic prophecies so important today? Use what you learned from Psalm 22 as a cross reference for deeper study into Matthew 27:33-50; Mark 15:22-37; Luke 23:33-48; and John 19:17-37.