Earthquake at the Crucifixion

In the beginning, out of the personality of His  great love, God created the heavens and the earth.  Out of the passion of His heart, God made a place where He wanted to come and dwell.  First, He created Adam out of the dust of this earth.  He took some of the very substance of the place of His dwelling (earth, adam in Hebrew) to create a being who was of the place, named after the place, and could have relationship with Him.  He gave that place to mankind. (The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to man.)

We know that the first Adam had one assignment with two parts; take care of the place, while taking dominion: conquering for God.  Adam’s assignment was to rule in such a way that God could indeed dwell with him on the earth.  Before that could happen, Adam needed to take dominion over anything on earth that was in opposition.  He needed to establish the authority God had given him over the earth.  The task had already been accomplished in the Spirit, since Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the earth, but God wanted a visible manifestation of that fact, through one made of the substance. 

The place from which one originates, always gives one authority in that place.

Because Adam abdicated his authority and gave it to the devil, there was a need for a Second Adam to come in time, and be born into the place, and of the place.   His assignment was to do what had never been done before; to manifest on earth, what had already been accomplished in His heart. 

Immanuel came to the earth, and took on the same quality of being.  He was made of the dust of the earth.  He turned Himself inside out and became the creation.  He knew what we are now learning, “if you can see it; you can have it”.  He saw Himself as having already accomplished the intention of His heart, and He wanted to walk it out in demonstration, to manifest the victory.

At the crucifixion, there was an earthquake and the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  In Jewish culture, when the father hears of the death of his son, he tears his garment in a visible demonstration of the grief of his heart.  Kriah is a Hebrew word meaning "tearing." It refers to the act of tearing one's clothes. This rending is a striking expression of grief and anger at the loss of a loved one.

Kriah is an ancient tradition. When Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead, he tore his garments (Genesis 37:34). Likewise, in II Samuel 1:11 we are told that King David and all the men with him, took hold of their clothes and rent them upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Job too, in grieving for his children, stood up and rent his clothes (Job 1:20).  Even today, a cut is made on the left side of the clothing for parents--over the heart.  As the tear or cut is made, the family recites the following blessing:

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam dayan ha'emet.
Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, the True Judge.

The Father’s heart for His Son is revealed to us in this picture.  The veil in the temple, shielding the Holy of Holies, was torn open to reveal how the Father felt at the moment of Jesus’ death.  There was no longer a covering over the precious place Jesus held.  The grief of having to turn away from looking at His son when Jesus voluntarily took on the sin of earth, was demonstrated for those who had eyes to see.

The earth itself responded to the death of Jesus with a tearing apart that was recorded in the Bible.  At the point of death, all hope for earth to be the dwelling place of God with man was lost. The earth shook and the rocks were split. The place of God’s dwelling was rent asunder in much the same way as the veil in the temple was torn.  Creation-- the earth--which is of Jesus, for Jesus and thru Jesus, and is held together in Him, (Col.1:16), was rent in two, travailing in grief.

Jesus descended into the dwelling place of the author of death, the apparent victor.  He confronted him with victory, and rightfully took possession of the keys to the earth; an earth man, taking ownership once again.  When he arose, Jesus gave the keys back again to those of Adam’s descendants, to go forth with the same commission He gave the first Adam.  Just as Jesus had authority to conquer, so we have the same authority to kick the opposition in the teeth, and get rid of him.

The earth is still groaning today for those who can picture the victory that has been imparted to them in their DNA.  The earth is still travailing for the ones made of the stuff of the earth and of His heart, who can legislate the victory.  They are of the earth and have authority there because they have been handed the keys.  When they see it, they can have it.

It is interesting to note that before the earthquake, at the time of the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin, who were the legislative body of the Jews, met in a chamber called the Chamber of Hewn Stones located near the Holy Place.  One of their functions was to judge capital offenses.  However, at the time of Jesus, they also tried to make the case of treason against Rome. Therefore, when they wanted to get rid of Jesus, they had to appeal to Pilate, a Roman governor. Members of the Sanhedrin also went behind the scenes and stirred up the crowds to ask for the release of Barabbas when Pilate gave them a choice of whom to let go.

After the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin was forced to leave the Chamber of Hewn Stones, located near the Holy Place in the Temple.  They moved to a location called The Trading Station on the Temple Mount.  The Trading Station was outside the Temple; a much less favorable spot.  Many sources note the Sanhedrin would not have done this voluntarily, nor would Herod have dared to require it.

Sources also indicate the move may have been necessitated by damage to the Chamber, from the earthquake, rendering it unsafe structurally.  There are also sources remarking that the lintel in the Temple was broken, splintered and fell.  This stone was some 30 feet long and may have weighed 30 tons.

In any case, it appears that the last time the Sanhedrin was able to seek the death penalty was for the crucifixion.  After that, the power to judge capital offenses was taken from them, with the Romans retaining sole right of capital punishment. 

Apparently, the earthquake also rendered judgment on those who were opposed to the plan of God.