Matthew 27:54-56 Women and a Gentile
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: September 23, 2019 Matthew 27:54-56
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
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!” There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
(Understanding the Text) John was there with Jesus’ mother, but John’s mother was also there. She had been an ardent supporter of Jesus and believed that He would set up an earthly kingdom. She had to have been watching all of her hopes and dreams crash down around her. Mary Magdalene had known that Jesus was going to die, but then she had let others’ lack of belief change her thinking. Now, she saw the confirmation of what she had feared. Her Savior seemed to need a savior for Himself. Who was Mary the mother of James and Joseph? It is interesting that while the church makes much of Mary the mother of Jesus, the gospels don’t mention her much. John tells us that she was there, but Matthew ignores her.
The women were at a distance from the cross. They may have been the sources for this part of Matthew’s narrative if he wasn’t there. There must have been quite a crowd there and more arrived with the darkness. The earthquake that was timed for when Jesus’ died made a big impression on the centurion and soldiers at the cross. They had watched the way Jesus had interacted with them even in their mockery and to the mockery of the crowd. They heard His last “It is finished.” They had experienced the oppressive darkness for three hours. They were able to piece together the information about what had already occurred beforehand in the story of Jesus. When He died and an earthquake resulted, they knew that they had witnessed something supernatural. Did they mean the same thing as Christians when they said that Jesus was the Son of God?
Robertson’s Word Pictures says “Truly this was the Son of God (alēthōs theou huios ēn houtos). There is no article with God or Son in the Greek so that it means “God’s Son,” either “the Son of God” or “a Son of God.” There is no way to tell. Evidently the centurion (hekatontarchos here, ruler of a hundred, Latin word kenturion in Mar_15:39) was deeply moved by the portents which he had witnessed. He had heard the several flings at Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God and may even have heard of his claim before the Sanhedrin and Pilate. How much he meant by his words we do not know, but probably he meant more than merely “a righteous man” (Luk_23:47). Petronius is the name given this centurion by tradition. If he was won now to trust in Christ, he came as a pagan and, like the robber who believed, was saved as Jesus hung upon the Cross. All who are ever saved in truth are saved because of the death of Jesus on the Cross. So the Cross began to do its work at once.” Thus, the centurion did not understand the full significance of the title Son of God, but may have just been repeating the accusations flung around that day or been expressing a belief that some supernatural event had occurred, but he believed that whatever had happened, Jesus was dead.
(Revelation of God) God loved both the Jews and the Gentiles. He gave signs that helped them to see that Jesus was their Savior. In the end, the cross was God’s method of drawing all men to Him, and that drawing started on that very day with a thief and a centurion. That drawing would extend into the future and God is still drawing people to Himself today because He loves us.
(Application / Prayer) My application to myself is that I have a lot of wrong expectations about God. When those expectations are dashed, it does not mean that God is a disappointment or wrong. It means that I need to see God more clearly and understand that not everything is about me and my views. Help me to see You more clearly and to serve You well. I’m sorry that I mess up so much. Please help me to serve well and to trust You even when I mess up.