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I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Tonight, churches all over the world would commemorate the crucifixion and death of Christ in a worship service like this. It is a time whereby people would look to the cross of Calvary and remember our Lord Jesus, who is the second person in the Triune God. We've got the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is the almighty God who created the heavens and the Earth, and yet he humbled himself to come into this world. He lived a perfect life, he died, and shed his precious blood on the cross to save us from our sins. If Jesus did not come, you and I would be dead in our sins; death would have dominion over us; we would be lost for all eternity. But Jesus came, he died, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day. Praise be to God.

This evening, we want to consider Matthew 27, verses 50 to 56, and learn what happened immediately after Christ's death. And there are two things we want to focus on: the significance of his death and also the response to his death—what you and I should do knowing that our Lord Jesus's death is so significant, without which we would be lost.

Firstly, let us consider the significance of his death. Verse 50: "Jesus, when he cried out with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." When Jesus died, there were three miraculous events. The first miraculous event was that the veil of the temple was torn in two. Verse 51 tells us, "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." The veil was a massive curtain that separated the Holy of Holies, not only from the Holy Place but also from the rest of the temple. The Holy of Holies was where God dwelt in his symbolic presence. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest was allowed to pass through the veil into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the altar for the sins of the people, and even then, it was only for a brief period of time. This ritual had to be repeated every year, anticipating the one and true sacrifice that the Son of God himself would one day offer.

So, when Jesus did give up his ghost, or his spirit, that once-for-all sacrifice was completed, and the need for the veil was no longer required. Now, any man would be able to go to God directly without the need of the priests, the sacrifice, or the rituals. Therefore, the veil was torn in two from the top to the bottom, signifying the barrier of sin was forever removed for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

If I can give you an illustration: let's say you are not able to see your wife because you have to go overseas to work in a remote place, and the only way you can see her is through some photographs of her, and each time you miss her, you will look at those photographs. Then one day, finally, you are able to be physically reunited with your wife. Those photographs will no longer have any purpose. Why? Because you are now able to see her personally. That is a glimpse of what happens here. When the veil was torn in two, it signified that Christ had died and shed his precious blood. The final sacrifice had taken place, and so the sacrificial system and priesthood, which were but types and symbols of the reality, would cease to have any symbolic value.

It is good for us to be reminded that, at this point in time, the temple was filled with worshippers because of the Passover celebration. Therefore, all the priests and the people would have been aware of this supernatural event. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the veil was about four inches thick, and even horses could not tear it apart. So, humanly speaking, it was impossible for the veil to be torn in two from the top to the bottom. But sadly, the Jews did not understand the significance of the veil being torn in two, and they continued the sacrificial system and priesthood for another 40 years, until A.D. 70, when the Roman general Titus invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Only then, without the physical temple, they could not have the sacrificial system and the priesthood—that was when all came to a halt.

In other words, when the veil was torn in two, they repaired the veil, and it was business as usual. They still had their sacrifices; they still went to those priests. When we look at our Roman Catholic friends, are they not doing the same thing today? They are still looking to the priests; they still go into the confession boxes, confess their sins, and then ask the priest to mediate on their behalf. They still go for the rituals and the ceremonies. How sad.

For us believers, we understand that when Christ died, the veil was torn in two. The sacrificial system and priesthood had come to an end. We do not need anyone to represent us before God; we go to God on our own accord. That is why Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace"—not just come, but come boldly—that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The second miraculous event was that the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. In Old Testament times, whenever God appeared, or when he spoke to the people or judged the people, oftentimes it was in the midst of an earthquake. For example, when God spoke to Moses, the whole mountain shook violently—Exodus 19:18. When God appeared to Elijah, the Bible tells us there was a strong and great wind that rent the mountain and broke the rocks into pieces—1 Kings 19:11. The Book of Revelation tells us that, in the end times, when God judged the world, the stars would fall onto the Earth, and the mountains and islands would be moved out of their places.

You see, when God first created the world, there were no earthquakes because everything was perfect and good. But when man fell into sin, not only were they cursed and separated from God, but even the Earth was cursed as well. Since then, the Earth has been experiencing corruption and destruction. No matter how hard you try to protect this Earth, this Earth will still go through corruption and destruction, and ultimately, God would destroy this Earth because it has been tainted with sin. The Bible tells us that at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and after the millennial Kingdom, 2 Peter 3:10 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up."

So, when God shook the Earth at the death of his Son, he gave the world a foretaste of what would happen one day when his Son returned in judgment. Dear friends, at Christ's death, the Earth shook; at his return, the Earth would be shaken again, and this time it will be in judgment. Dear friends, if you are still an unbeliever and you have been rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ again and again, please remember that there will come a judgment worse than all the earthquakes in this world.

I think it was about last year—I was in a parsonage; all of a sudden, I felt the entire parsonage tremble that was like a rumbling underneath the Earth, and it was so frightening. I was contemplating: should I go under the table, lest the roof may fall? Or should I run out of this building? Maybe this whole building will collapse. I called out my wife, and my wife said they were all on the streets because my house shook too. It was so frightening. But if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us, "It is appointed unto man once to die," but death is not the end of everything, because after death comes the judgment—Hebrews 9:27. And without Jesus as your Saviour, without the forgiveness of sin, you will be sent to the eternal lake of fire where the fire burns forever and ever. Dear friends, please do not reject Christ. If you still have breath to breathe, repent of your sins, turn to Jesus Christ—the one who died on the cross, shed his precious blood. Only his blood can wash away all your sins. Believe in him. Jesus says, "He who comes to me I will in no wise cast out." Jesus will not reject you if you repent and turn to him for salvation.

The third miraculous event was found in verse 52: "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose." Verse 53: "And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." Notice Matthew says "many bodies of the saints," which means, though it were many, but nonetheless not all of them—it was still a limited number of believers. These believers had trusted in God under the old covenant or the Old Testament, and their bodies might have been in the graves for hundreds or thousands of years. When Jesus died, there was this miraculous event whereby the bodies of many of those Old Testament saints were raised from the graves to be joined with their souls, which were already with God in heaven in a glorified body.

This is a fourth phase of the final resurrection and glorification during the end times. Remember, our Lord Jesus will come in the clouds, and those who are dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who are still alive will be caught up to meet him in the air. You can read about that in First Thessalonians 4:16 to 18.

Take note of the phrase “after his resurrection”—whose resurrection? Christ's resurrection. Why must it be after Christ's resurrection? Because Christ was divinely appointed to be the first fruit of those who are asleep. Death to the believers is like a sleep; the soul never goes to sleep, only the body goes to sleep. The soul goes to be with God, but the body will lie in the graves like someone sleeping, only to be awakened. And because our Lord Jesus was resurrected, therefore the rest of the people who trusted in him would also be resurrected. Because our Lord Jesus liveth, therefore the rest of the people who trusted in him would also live.

In other words, after Jesus was resurrected on the third day, he appeared to his disciples and the 500 people. Subsequently, many of the Old Testament resurrected saints entered into the holy city Jerusalem and appeared to many people. The Bible did not record for us what this resurrected saints did or said, but most certainly, like our Lord Jesus, who only appeared to the believers, we believe that this Old Testament resurrected saints also appeared to the believers.

Dear friends, are you afraid of death when you draw your last breath? Are you afraid? As believers, we all know that we would either be raptured or be resurrected. Isn't it comforting to know that the Bible not only recorded for us Christ was raised from the dead, but even the Old Testament saints were resurrected? That is a foretaste of our future. One day, you and I would also either be raptured or be resurrected. We should not be afraid when death knocks on our doors before our Lord Jesus returns. We draw our last breath; our soul goes to be with God, our bodies will be asleep. Death is like a sleep; it will be buried in the graves awaiting for our Lord’s coming in the clouds, and then the dead shall rise first. Our bodies will be risen to be united with our souls in a glorified body. What a wonderful promise!

So we have considered the significance of his death: the veil was broken into two, there was an earthquake, and then there was this resurrection of the Old Testament saints. Now we move on to our second point: the response to his death. Basically, Matthew recorded two responses to Christ's death. Firstly, the centurion and his soldiers—look at verse 54: "Now when the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God."

A centurion was a military officer in charge of 100 men. These centurion and his soldiers must have been responsible for the crucifixions of Jesus and the two thieves. Since Pontius Pilate was the one who sentenced Jesus and instructed him to be crucified, that would mean these soldiers belong to the residents of Pilate. In other words, they were present in the trials of Jesus. They would have heard the charges brought against him by those Jewish leaders; they would have heard Pilate repeatedly declaring that Jesus was not guilty; they would have also heard about him being called or mocked as the King of the Jews.

These soldiers were not religious in any shape or form; they were simply performing their duties as soldiers—Roman soldiers—so they had no issue in scourging Jesus, beating him, spitting at him, putting a crown of thorns on his head, gambling for his garments. When Jesus kept quiet and did not respond like all the other criminals, they would have thought that this man must be mentally deranged. When Jesus talked about having a kingdom not of this world, they would have thought that this man had lost touch with reality; he was deluded.

But something changed all that suddenly when they saw the earthquake and the sky turning dark—they feared greatly. Now think a moment and consider this: these were hardened, trained soldiers who had fought many battles as the Roman Empire expanded. They had experienced all kinds of extreme weathers, and yet they were so afraid. It was not so much about the darkness and the earthquake; it was not so much about the natural events, but rather the divine power behind the natural events. That was what caused them to cry out, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

Something had penetrated their pagan, hardened hearts, and they knew they were standing in the presence of the one who truly was who he said he was—the Son of God. The Gospel of Luke tells us that they not only confessed Jesus to be the Son of God; in fact, they began to praise him. It was an indication that they had come to believe in him. How was that possible? Well, you may say perhaps they had watched carefully how Jesus had responded throughout the entire ordeal. They had witnessed his absolute humility; they had listened to the very words Jesus had spoken, especially the seven last sayings of Christ on the cross of Calvary. That could be true.

But dear friends, we know that the only way for them to come and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as truly the Son of God was that God had to do this supernatural work by illuminating their minds and convicting their hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit. Remember the disciple Peter? He had been with the Lord Jesus Christ for several years; he had listened to perhaps thousands of messages and witnessed hundreds of miracles most likely. But when Jesus asked him, Peter—or asked the disciples—whom do you say that I am? Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” What did Jesus say? Jesus said it was my heavenly Father who revealed all these things to you. In other words, it was by divine illumination and conviction; it was a supernatural work.

Dear friends, you and I may have come to know and believe in Jesus under different circumstances. Some of us were brought up in Christian homes. We attended Sunday school from a young age and never missed the fellowship groups. Others may have believed after years and years of rejection. We may have different testimonies, like the thief on the cross, like the disciples of Christ, like the Apostle Paul, like the Centurion and the soldiers. They all came to know and believe in Jesus Christ under different circumstances. But one thing for sure—it is an undeniable truth that we have come to believe because God had opened our spiritual eyes, and He had convicted our hearts. It is an irresistible grace, and because of that, we cried out, just like the Roman soldiers, "Truly, this was the Son of God." Otherwise, none of us in this room would believe.

Now, the faith of the Centurion and his soldiers was very significant. Why? Because, if you remember, when our Lord Jesus was still alive and hanging on the cross, He said one thing while He hung on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." His prayer did not go unanswered. Immediately when our Lord Jesus died, God convicted the hearts of the Centurion and his soldiers, and they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just a moment ago, these were the soldiers who nailed Him to the cross, spanned Him, even gambled for His garments. Now, they were the same soldiers who cried out, "Truly, this was the Son of God." Can you see how amazing the grace of God is?

For some people, God will illumine their minds and convict their hearts gradually, through the years or maybe months. For others, it was immediate, like the Centurion and the Roman soldiers. But whether gradually or immediate, it was the grace of God, and because it was the grace of God, they responded: "This was truly the Son of God," and they began to praise His name.

The second group of people who responded to His death were the women. Verse 55: "And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him." Verse 56: "Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's children." Unlike the soldiers, who had turned from unbelief to belief, these women were already believers. Matthew mentioned that there were many women; we do not know exactly how many of them, but the Bible names a few: Mary Magdalene, the one whom Jesus cast out demons from; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph; Salome, the mother of Zebedee's children, the wife of Zebedee—the children were James and John. And we all know that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also there.

Matthew says they were observing from afar off. Previously, we were told that they were at the foot of the cross, close enough for our Lord Jesus to speak to them. Remember, Jesus said to Mary, "Behold thy son," referring to the disciple John, and then He said to John, "Behold thy mother," referring to Mary. They could hear Him at the foot of the cross. Now they were standing afar off. These women were standing afar off at a distance, not because they were afraid of the Roman soldiers or the religious leaders. They were not afraid because, later on, they were the very ones who went straight to the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason why they were standing afar off was because they were devastated and heartbroken at the death of the One whom they had loved so dearly.

When we consider the death of someone whom we love so dearly, how can we not be devastated and heartbroken? When we consider the One who died for us, who shed His precious blood without which our sins can never be washed away, how can our hearts not be devastated and heartbroken? Whenever we approach the Lord's table, that is when we remember such a great love. Surely, our hearts would be troubled. But praise be to God, we know that our Lord Jesus, He was not consumed by death; the grave cannot keep Him; He rose again on the third day.

At this point, the disciples of Christ had deserted Him, except John, who was standing at the foot of the cross. Peter denied Him; Judas had betrayed Him. But you do notice that these women were the only ones standing by Him all the way. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, and they had since been ministering unto Him. Never once does the Bible tell us they stopped ministering unto Him. The word ministering comes from the word whereby we get our English word for deacons, which means to serve tables. Can you imagine, even before the first deacons were elected in the book of Acts, chapter 6, these women were already serving, and they never stopped serving? From Galilee, they followed Jesus, served Him, and even when He was nailed to the cross, drew His last breath, and died, they were still standing there and watching Him. And then they ran to His grave.

But why did Matthew only record the names of these three women and not the rest? Well, one theologian made this very interesting observation—this is just for application sake, and we should not read too much into the text, but it's an interesting observation. Notice the first Mary: Mary Magdalene was known to be single. The second Mary was introduced as a mother, the mother of James and Joseph. The third person, Salome, was the wife of Zebedee, mother of his children, that is, James and John. Therefore, this theologian said, very interestingly, God has a marvelous plan for women in all categories of womanhood. Whether she's a single person, a mother with children, or a wife, she can still serve God faithfully all the days of her life.

So please, do not think that just because you are married or you have children, you cannot serve God. You can serve God in any capacity. Throughout the history of the Church, women have always played an important role. Oftentimes, people think that men are more spiritual than women. That is not true. When the Bible says that women are weaker vessels, it is referring to the physical and emotional aspects, not spiritual. A lot of women are more spiritual than men. Think about this: in the early church, when the apostles were preaching and establishing churches, they were also testifying of their experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ. They would have to acknowledge that there were times in their lives whereby they deserted Christ; they ran away from Him in times of trials and temptation. And at the same time, they would also have to testify and acknowledge that there was this group of faithful women who were always following Jesus, ministering unto Him, and never stopped ministering unto Him. They stood by Him all the way.

As I was reading this text, my mind could not help but be drawn to the names James and Joseph, and the children of Zebedee. Who were they? They were the disciples of Christ, and yet they ran away. Who are the ones who stood by the cross? Their mothers. Their mothers were the ones who were standing by the cross, watching the Lord, following the Lord, ministering unto the Lord all the way. Do you think the mother's faith would have impacted the children's lives? Most certainly, I believe the mother's faith had impacted the children's lives so much so that all of them went on to serve the Lord with all faithfulness, even unto death, except John. But even he was exiled to Patmos Island.

Dear friends, what about us? Can that be said of us—that our lives have made a lasting impact and impression, not only on our children but the people around us? That when they see our lives, they see a life of steadfastness, a life of uninterrupted ministry, a life of following, serving, and never stopping to serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Dear friends, as believers, I believe many of us tonight profess to believe in the Lord. We understand what Good Friday means; we know the significance of Christ's death. We know that through the shedding of His blood and His death, we can have this way of salvation. And not only this way of salvation, but He has also provided for us to come boldly unto the throne of God to obtain grace and mercy. We know all that. But how should you and I respond to His death?

Like the Centurion and his soldiers, we acknowledge, we believe, and trust in the Son of God because it is the wonder-working of God's Spirit. It is God's divine work, without which we would not believe, without which we would not be singing in the choir. We would not be sitting in the pews, singing the hymns, worshipping God, partaking of the Holy Communion. We would not be doing all this. We would not be sitting there listening to this message. I would not be preaching this message as well, if not for God's supernatural work in saving us. And when He saves us, it is His irresistible grace. Like the Centurion and the soldiers, we simply cry out, "Truly, this was the Son of God," and we begin to praise Him.

Like the women as well, near the cross, we not only profess we believe in Him, but we follow Him. We serve Him—not just one day, two days, not just when we are happy, but all the days of our lives. By His grace and mercy, we pray that, like the women, we will never stop ministering and serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Once again, to all those who are still lingering outside the kingdom of God, there's no salvation apart from Jesus. Only Jesus saves. If you keep rejecting the Lord's grace and mercy, you keep rejecting the gospel message you hear, you keep hardening your heart—once you draw your last breath, you swing into eternity. You will be too late. It will be a point of no return. You will face the worst of all earthquakes—it will be the lake of fire. A million upon a million years, you will still be burning in a place the Bible says the fire never stops burning.

Dear friends, don't reject the Lord. Turn to Him in repentance and in faith, like the thief on the cross. At the last moment, he turned to the Lord: "Remember me when thou enterest into thy kingdom." What did Jesus say? "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." By faith, believing in the Lord, the One who died, the One who shed His precious blood, the One who was buried, the One who rose again on the third day, Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me." He's the only way. Believe in Him before it is too late. Let us pray.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for this blessed evening whereby we can come together to remember and commemorate the crucifixion and death of Christ. Indeed, it is so significant. Even from this short passage, we learn about the significance of Christ's death, whereby He provided this way through the veil being torn in two from the top to the bottom, whereby the barrier of sin was forever removed for those who trust in His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, as our Saviour. And there was this great earthquake, and that would also remind us, even through Thy record, that many of the Old Testament saints were resurrected, and they appeared unto many.

This is most comforting to us because we know that someday death will knock on our doors, but we are not afraid because, as believers, we know that even though our bodies may be buried, our souls will be with Thee. Our bodies will go to sleep, awaiting the day our Lord Jesus will come in the clouds. That is when the dead shall rise first, and our bodies will be united with our souls in a glorified body. What a wonderful promise! What is our response to all these great blessings? O Lord, we want to trust Thee, believe in Thee, walk with Thee, serve Thee, worship Thee, glorify Thee all the days of our lives, like the women who not only ministered unto Thee in Galilee but followed and followed our Lord Jesus, never stopped following Him, never stopped ministering unto Him, even when He was nailed to the cross, they were still standing near to Him. O Lord, help us to learn from their blessed examples, that we want to serve and glorify our Lord all the days of our lives. Glory be to His precious name.