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He Touched
The Earth
Matthew 27:51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, (NKJV)
At the Palm Sunday Triumphal entry Jesus had responded to those criticizing the shouts of Hosanna in Luke 19:40:
But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (NKJV)
Here at Calvary, the greatest moment in history is unfolding and now no one is crying out for His glory. Only days before thousands and thousands thronged Him shouting HOSANNA and treated Him as a King. But now no one raised a voice in protest of this crime, except one dying thief. Where were they?
1. Bartimaeus: He made you see when you shouted after Him on the road to Jericho, why are you so silent now?
2. Lazarus: He raised you from the dead, not more than a week ago. Where are you, can’t you say anything?
3. Nicodemus: you came one night seeking and found eternal life, stand up and say something.
4. Disciples: He took you everywhere to witness His deity for three years. He calmed the sea, raised the dead, put shining eyes into dark and empty sockets, cast out demons, and loved you to the end. Where are you now? Hiding in back alleys and scared to death. Come and say something. Can’t you speak up for Him?
So since no one else will speak up God picked:
1. A dying thief: to seek Him as Jesus the Savior, and cry out REMEMBER ME.
2. A pagan Roman Governor: to place over His head the declaration He was the Messiah, Christ.
3. And the Earth, which quaked as the rocks cried out their worship of their Maker.
So Jesus on the Cross as the “Light of the World,” first reached up and touched the Sun, and then as the “Greatest High Priest” reached over and touched the Temple, and then as the “Creator of the Universe” reached down and touched the Earth. Then in v. 52-53, as the “Final Judge” He reached out and:
He Touched
The Graves