On the day my father died, I visited his hospital room. The bed was empty. When I asked the nurse where he was, she looked alarmed and said, “Didn’t anyone call you?” I looked again at the empty bed, hoping my eyes had played a trick on me. But my father was gone.

Mary Magdalene “and the other Mary” (the wife of Alphaeus and the mother of James) must have felt similarly disoriented when they came to Jesus’ tomb, only to find its massive stone already rolled away. They had come to complete the burial rites and wondered how they would remove the stone (Mark 16:2). Upon arriving, they found the tomb open but not empty. However, instead of seeing the body of Jesus, they were greeted by an angel whose “appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow” (v. 3). The angel invited the women to inspect the place where Jesus had been laid, then commanded them to “go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him’” (v. 7).

This testimony laid the foundation for the Apostles’ gospel and is still the bedrock upon which it stands today. These women had watched Jesus die and were the first of His disciples to enter the empty tomb (see Mark 15:40). They were also the first to see the risen Christ (v. 9). The apostles and other disciples did not immediately accept their good news. According to Luke 24:11, “their words seemed to them like nonsense.” We should not be surprised or discouraged when others are put off by the gospel and express skepticism about its message. Even Jesus’ own disciples were slow in accepting what seemed too good to be true.

Those followers of Jesus who watched the events described in Matthew 27 must have felt like they were in a nightmare. Even though Jesus had told them about His coming death, this was not how they expected the story to unfold. Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion were horrific enough. But from noon until three in the afternoon, “darkness came over all the land” (v. 45). Modern readers are intrigued by the phenomenon. What caused this darkness? Was it an eclipse? A storm? Did some kind of supernatural fog envelop the area where the crucifixion took place?

Matthew does not give us details about the cause, perhaps because the language he uses provides enough of a clue to identify its ultimate source. The story of Israel’s Exodus tells how the Lord caused “darkness” to descend over the land of Egypt, which lasted for three days (Ex. 10:21–22). Similarly, the prophet Amos spoke of a day when the Lord would “make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight” (Amos 8:9). Matthew frames it as a theological rather than a meteorological event. The darkness is evidence that a great judgment has taken place.

Verse 46 notes that after three hours, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With this quotation of Psalm 22:1, Jesus not only identifies Himself with the suffering it describes (see v. 18), but also with the hope of resurrection promised in Psalm 22:22–31. At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain of the Temple was torn from top to bottom and a great earthquake split open the tombs “of many holy people” who “were raised to life” (v. 52). The earthquake occurred as Jesus spoke His final words, but the resurrection of these saints probably took place after that of Jesus (v. 53).

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest composers of all time. While he was regionally famous as an organist and technician in his lifetime, he was not well known for his work as a composer. But about one hundred years later, his music was rediscovered by Felix Mendelssohn. After this, Bach achieved worldwide fame and acclamation.

Moses’ life goal since he met God at the burning bush had been to lead Israel to the Promised Land. He had spent forty years wandering in the desert and led the people right to the cusp of a land that he would never get to experience himself. As an act of grace, God allowed Moses to glimpse the Promised Land before his death (v. 4).

In some ways, much of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) can be viewed as a biography of Moses. We are first introduced to him in the account of his miraculous deliverance at birth (Exodus 2). He has been the main human character throughout the rest of Exodus–Deuteronomy. We have seen him learn and grow into his role. As D. L. Moody memorably put it, “Moses spent forty years thinking he was a somebody; forty years learning he was a nobody, and forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.” Certainly, after he killed an Egyptian and fled for his life, it did not look like he would amount to much (Ex. 2:11–24). Yet, God called him to lead His people out of Egypt.

Throughout it all, Moses was a faithful servant (v. 5). He was not perfect, but he led Israel, revealed the Law, and pointed people away from himself and to the Lord. His life pointed beyond himself to a future Prophet and Redeemer who would do for Israel and the rest of the world what Moses could not—provide forgiveness of sin and new life in the Spirit (Acts 7:37).

Ceremonies often mark important transitions in life. High school graduation marks a transition toward adulthood. Marriage celebrates the start of a lifelong union between a man and woman. In Deuteronomy 27, Moses looks forward to a significant transition for Israel—they would cease to wander in the desert and take up residence in the Promised Land.

To mark this occasion, Moses outlined a dramatic ceremony. After writing out the Law publicly on stones coated in plaster, half of the tribes would ascend Mount Ebal and half would ascend Mount Gerizim (vv. 12–13). From Mount Ebal, the tribes and Levites would recite the curses of the covenant if Israel was unfaithful. From Mount Gerizim, the tribes and Levites would pronounce the blessings of obedience. In Deuteronomy 27, the focus is on the curses.

Curses were pronounced against those who violated clear standards the Lord had established. The curse was not operated by magic. Rather, it was a pronouncement with which God would judge. A common thread here is that these were all actions that could be done in secret: worshiping an idol in one’s home (v. 15); moving boundary stones (v. 17); misleading a blind person (v. 18); oppressing the foreigner, widow, or orphan (v. 19); various sexual sins (vv. 20–23); murder (v. 24); and bribery (v. 25).

The Lord desires His people to live holy lives, not just in public when everyone notices but also in private when only the individual and the Lord might know about it. Ultimately, Israel failed to keep the covenant. As Scripture clearly teaches, “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). The message of the gospel is that what Israel could not do—and what we cannot do—the Lord has done for us: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).