And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53)

What Happened When The Creator Died

The death of Jesus is the focal point of God’s scheme of redemption. There is nothing in history before or that which is to come that will rival the significance of what happened at Golgotha in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus died to save men from sin. Through His sacrifice, death is defeated, Satan is limited, and the portals of Heaven are opened for those who seek its glory. Every first day of the week, faithful saints gather to remember the sacrifice of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper. The blood of Jesus is explained in the cup, and the bread representing the body of Jesus is taken to remember the love of God. For two thousand years, God’s people have memorialized the death of Jesus. There is something else that happened when Jesus died that is remarkable.

Jesus claimed to be God. He told the Pharisees He existed before Abraham. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the man from Nazareth healed every disease, cured all ailments, raised the dead, walked on water, and performed many signs and wonders before the people. His miraculous power proved He was the Son of God. No man could do what He did, and no man taught like Jesus. Accepting the miracles of Jesus as proof of His divinity also proves that He is the Creator of the world. He could not have power over the world unless He had greater power over the creation of the world. Jesus could curse a fig tree because He made the fig tree. Healing blindness was Jesus exercising divine authority over disease. Raising the dead comes from the creative power of the Son of God. Everything Jesus did proved He was the Son of God, Creator of the world. All things were created through Him and for Him.

The death of Jesus on the cross was unlike the death of the two men crucified on His right and left. Their legs were broken, and they died. Jesus died, and creation erupted. When the two thieves died, no one took notice. They were taken down and buried in some unmarked graves. Jesus Christ died, and the world almost came apart. The veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This veil was not a thin fabric easily torn. Ancient texts suggest the veil was so large it took nearly two hundred men to manipulate it. It was so thick when ripped in two the noise would have been deafening. When Jesus died, the priests would have begun the service for the afternoon. The veil was torn from top to bottom. This was not something any man could do. The world tore that veil asunder. It was the declaration by the hand of God the new covenant had come to the world, and the Law of Moses was obsolete.

When Jesus died, the literal earth reacted. There was an earthquake, and the rocks were split. Creation shook at the death of its Creator, the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus died, the world suffered the death of the One who created it. Graves were opened up throughout the region. After Jesus rose from the dead three days later, many saints who had died rose from the dead and walked into Jerusalem. Wives received their husbands alive again, fathers returned to their families, and a host of righteous people rose from the dead to testify to the death of the Creator. When Jesus died, the world responded. What a day when Jesus died.