The Beauty of Jesus' Death

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:51-54 ESV).

 

Perhaps you have read some of the devotionals I’ve written dealing with the “good” of Good Friday. Reading the title of today’s devotional might have even given you pause in thinking about the death of Jesus as being anything but “beautiful”. After all, the Bible affirms life, so how could any death be considered beautiful? Well, Jesus’ death was indeed good and expressed the best of God’s beauty in His grace revealed towards us.

 

In some ways that day was not good at all. We mourn the death of Jesus, and we regret the sin that caused him to die. But in other ways the day was very good indeed. The death of Jesus is good news for the world, because in his death Jesus tore down the barrier between God and sinful humanity. Now we can be united with God because of Jesus’ death. So, we can say that the death of Jesus was beautiful.

 

The book of Matthew adds that at the moment of Jesus’ death, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” That curtain barred the way to the holiest room in the temple. It represented the separation between the holy God and his sinful people. But because of Jesus’ death, the curtain was not needed anymore. People could be united with God again. God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to die, uniting us with himself again—and that is beautiful!

 

It is no wonder that the guards saw what was happening when Jesus died and said, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (v. 54). I am compelled to bring us back to the beauty that surrounds us, even in the death of Jesus, and call us to the same declaration as these hardened soldiers. Truly He is the Son of God. We have nothing to fear in this life. We have the absolute unshakeable hope of eternal life guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that allows us to be victorious even over death itself.