Devotion #3: Shaky Foundations

Pastor Philip Piasecki

I still remember the day like it was yesterday. I was standing in the kitchen of my childhood home when I felt a very slight shaking of the house. I thought to myself, I think we just had an earthquake. Sure enough, later that evening the local news confirmed it. There had been a tiny earthquake that some people were able to feel. It was the smallest one you could possibly experience, yet it still sticks out to me. Thankfully, I have never been caught in a significant one, but I know for all of you that have, it is an experience you will never forget. There is just something so jarring about the fact that the ground beneath your feet is moving, and this is exactly what all of those present at the time of Jesus’ death experienced.

Matthew 27:51-54 describes the moment when Jesus died on the cross and the profound effects that it had on creation. It says, “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!’”

It is so easy to just overlook the fact that there was an earthquake when Jesus died, but this really was a miraculous sign from the Lord in His death that He was no ordinary man. This earthquake that occurred at the moment of Jesus’ death was a physical manifestation of the spiritual reality that was taking place. The death of a man would not shake the foundations of the world, but the death of God caused all of creation to quake. It was a sign that something monumental had occurred, something that would shake the foundations of the world. The earthquake showed that the sacrifice of the Lord’s life actually has a physical impact on our world. Nothing would ever be the same after the sacrifice of Christ.

For us today, the earthquake that occurred at the moment of Jesus’ death is a reminder of the magnitude of what He did for us. It is a sign of the great love that He had for us, and the incredible sacrifice that He made on our behalf. It is a call to remember that our salvation was not cheaply won but came at a great cost. It is an invitation to respond with awe and gratitude to the One who gave everything for us. We should never take lightly the magnitude of what Christ did for us through His death. We need to be constantly reminded that what Jesus did is something that should truly change the world to its core, and we have the privilege of taking that news to people each and every day.