Exodus 35:10-35, 36; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalms 34:1-10; Proverbs 9:7-8

“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54 NIV)

When you compare the world of today to the world of Jesus time, to be honest I don’t see that we are that much different. Yes, technology and our understanding of the world is vastly different. Yes, we have different cultural and moral thresholds. But the attitudes of us as people have not changed in the past 2000+ years. We’re still people–we “crucify” those we don’t agree with, we look for any chance to bring others down and “cancel” their efforts, and we are a generation full of unbelief. Many of us would like to believe that if we had been in the Pharisee’s shoes, we would have immediately seen Jesus for who he was. But would we have? Are we not so tied up in our own beliefs and ways that we think God should be that we ignore what He is actually doing in the world around us?

“Surely he was the Son of God”–I can imagine the terror of what happened immediately following Jesus death if people looked around and thought, oh shoot, what just happened? And as we are reading through Exodus in our One Year Bible Series, we know the significance that was placed on the temple, the inner rooms, and how the temple contained the presence of God. The curtain ripped in that moment, which would have been a huge shock and scare to the priests and leaders who were in charge of those aspects of the temple. The curtain was torn, the world shook, and immediately those not connected directly to the situation (ie the roman guards) could instantly see the truth. That was the Son of God. And his blood was on the Israelities (as we discussed yesterday).

Eventually, the truth of the cross will be revealed to every generation. Every religion will bow down, and every person will see the truth that is Christ. And I think we need to ask ourselves where God would classify us: are we part of the religious community that has crucified Jesus in our pursuit of tradition and what we believe God has said to be right, or are we like the Roman’s, who immediately see the truth of what has happened before their eyes?

I pray that the Lord would make me like a Roman. Yes, I want to grow in faith and minister to God’s people, but not if it means I am so stuck in my belief system that I cannot accept that God is doing a new thing. I want to see Him for who He is now, in this point of time, as part of the new covenant established through Jesus. I want to live in Jesus teaching and live out the truth that Jesus calls me to. I will never be perfect in this, but I can strive to be deeply connected with Him and open to His truth in my life. What that means for everything else, I don’t know, but I do know that it would mean that at the end of my days, I will have lived a life pleasing to Him. And whether my eventual death is celebrated or mourned, I know I will be greeted in the afterlife with a “well done.” And isn’t that the only thing we could possibly want for these brief lives we’re given?

“Surely he was the Son of God”–I pray that one day this is said about me, “Surely she was God’s daughter.” And I pray that we each can accept the new thing Jesus may be leading us into, and trust that He is exactly who He says He is.