Jesus cried before He died

“The rocks rent” (Matt. 27:51).

“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.” (Matt. 27:50).

Why did Jesus scream at this point? Maybe I’m slow to understand things, but for a long time I have wondered about this. Why did he not scream at the beginning of the crucifixion, but He screamed at the end of it? It would seem most natural the other way around.

It was significant that it happened like it did, and was annotated forever.

“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the Law of the LORD.” (Isa. 30:8,9).

This was written in a book for the time to come forever and ever, but not because Jesus was rebellious, and not that He was a transgressor of the Law of the Lord. But He was “He was numbered with the transgressors.” (Isa. 53:12).

Regarding His cry at the end, the context gives some pointers. Let’s look at the things that happened right afterward.

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.” (Matt. 27:51-52).

Everything rent. The huge three inch thick rug, the earth, the rocks, the graves. Everything ripped apart. Why?

It was the Father’s response to another ripping, a huge ripping. It was a ripping apart bigger than if everything on earth was ripped to shreds.

The Father and Son were ripped apart. The long planned for, long looked for, separation took place. From the age of 12 Jesus, in His human flesh, knew that this moment would come. Over the years His Father filled in the events to take place, to the finest details.

Every provision of salvation hinged on this moment. The point of death would be the last of infinite self-sacrifice, after 33 years of continuous sacrificing of self. The burden, the temptation, the difficulty involved in self-sacrifice had grown greater as He constantly grew in grace and developed in perfection. At any time He could tell His Father, “I’ve had enough.”

But, no. He kept accepting more and more, as His Father laid it before Him to choose or reject, both knowing that any rejection meant the end of the work of saving not only Adam’s family, but also restoring the kingdom to a sure, original kingdom of infinite selfless love.

Jesus must accept every challenge His Father required of Him. The extent of self-denial and self-sacrificing love must satisfy the Father. He alone knew the perfection of self-sacrifice would more than undo the claims of Lucifer against Him and His performance. All the Son knew was that He must go the full length of His Father’s program. And it would all be accomplished through the infinitely tight bond between them.

“God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” (John 3:34).

The covalent bonds within the atom holds a strength that is measureless. That bond the Father put into every atom. It would represent the covalent bond between Him and His Son. When that bond is overcome and broken, when the atom is ripped apart, rent, the atom separating nucleus and electrons, then a tremendous release of power and force occurs.

At the final moment of the separation process that had continued 33 years, and which had ramped up exponentially over the last 15 hours, the worst pangs, the worst fears of the unknown, eternal death, eternal separation from His Father, the trial and full evidence of a perfect offering, the utmost self-sacrifice, came upon Jesus. And He “cried^G2896”.

G2896

κράζω

krazō

krad’-zo

A primary verb; properly to “croak” (as a raven) or scream, that is, (generally) to call aloud (shriek, exclaim, intreat): - cry (out).

That cry was a horror-filled wail, a helpless scream, a loud shriek coming from deep within. It was the exclamation of complete lack of enjoyment, a final entreaty and eternal farewell to His Father. It was the utter facing of entering death. It was the going into, with full knowledge of, the sheer joy and peace of trusting in the God of His life. Through death He must achieve a victory over Satan’s accusations against His Father. In order to overcome the devil’s machinations, He must reveal His Father’s true self by the accomplishment of a death that He could never know would be acceptable to meet all the stipulations of Lucifer’s agenda, for “the dead know not anything” (Ecc. 9:5). He must die completely by faith, in perfectly submitting to His eternal end.

In all the pain and pummeling by Satan, the Spirit of the Son in human flesh had lost the ability to see past His surroundings. Every nerve of His body wracked with pain, and drinking full damnation for every man, depressed His powerful mind beyond human comprehension. His almighty, unending geyser of love was dampened and well-nigh stanched, yet never completely ceasing. In all the terrors that came from above, below, and around Him, the plan for a resurrection ceased to appear possible.

Satan concocted all that he could to stop Jesus from giving the perfect sacrifice of self. And His Father designed such a battle against the arch deceiver. At this crux of Their plan to reveal the truth of the eternal kingdom, God provided greatly limited protection for His Son, so that His sacrifice would be totally selfless—revealing “THE UNKOWN GOD” (Acts 17:23), “THE LORD THY GOD” (Deut. 28:58), the KING of the King of kings and LORD of the Lord of lords. The King must offer to never see His eternal KING again, His beloved LORD. He must lose His greater Ancient of days, forever and ever. The Father would reveal the Son; and the Son would reveal the Father.

And all of the gargantuan trials and difficulties encountered during the Son’s whole lifetime would afford the Father the freedom to ensure that Satan never would go beyond what was his due for his arguments against the government of heaven.

All the gospel writers said the same thing about that last cry to heaven.

“Jesus, when He had cried^G2896 again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” (Matt. 27:50).

“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” (Mark 15:37).

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46).

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30).

“He hath poured out His soul unto death.” (Isa. 53:12).

“He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53:12).

Then His final, loud cry was, “It is finished!”

Surely, permanently lost from His Daddy, a last hopeless plea to have Their original eternal relation, which could not be had. “Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit”. And the Prince of life gave up, and died.

Back of everything Jesus did, behind every just reproof, behind every gracious mercy, was the incomparable pleasure every moment, awake or sleeping, Jesus had with the Spirit of His Father. “When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.” (Prov. 6:22).

When Jesus gave up the ghost, everything in heaven rent at the death of Father and Son.

Therefore, heaven must bequeath some of its own ripping pangs of death for fallen mankind to behold. “And the rocks rent.” (Matt. 27:51).