Matthew: Born to Die

Matthew 27.45-56: This week we see the final point of Jesus’ passion and sacrifice—his death on the cross. Though we are in the season of celebrating Jesus’ birth, we can’t fully appreciate his life without recognizing his death. The rough wood of a manger would later be transformed into the splintered wood of a cross. His birth in the likeness of sinful man would result in a death of atonement for sinful man. The God who became man through death tore the veil of separation so that all men may know the love and grace of God through the Son. In Matthew 27:45-56 we see the fulfillment of what Charles Wesley once wrote: “Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.” The dramatic and earth-splitting events of Jesus’ last moments on earth reveal the cosmic reality of sin and death and God’s plan to vanquish them. The Son died truly “that man no more may die."