DID YOU KNOW?

WHEN JESUS BREATHED HIS LAST.

Luke 23:46 — “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!’ And having said this He breathed His last.”

The cross is the center of the Christian faith. It is the moment where heaven and earth met, where love faced hatred, and where sacrifice defeated sin.

When Jesus took His final breath on the cross, it was not the end of His story—it was the beginning of our salvation. The Bible records that several extraordinary things happened at that moment, showing the power and meaning of His death.

Let us reflect on what happened when Jesus breathed His last breath.

According to Gospel of Matthew 27:51, “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”

Inside the temple in Jerusalem was a thick curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place—the place symbolizing God's presence.

Only the high priest could enter there, and only once a year.

But when Jesus died, the veil was torn from top to bottom, meaning God Himself opened the way.

What does this mean?

Through the death of Jesus:
We now have direct access to God.
We no longer need a human priest to approach Him.
The barrier caused by sin was removed.

As Epistle to the Hebrews 10:19 says, we now have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus opened the door that had been closed since the fall of humanity.

The Bible says in Gospel of Matthew 27:51 that the earth quaked and rocks were split.

Creation itself reacted to the death of its Creator.

The One who spoke the world into existence was hanging on the cross, dying for the sins of the world.

Even nature could not remain silent.

It was as if the earth itself was declaring:

“This is no ordinary death.”

The cross was a cosmic event—something so powerful that heaven, earth, and creation all responded.

Matthew also records something mysterious and powerful:

Gospel of Matthew 27:52–53 says many tombs were opened and saints who had died were raised.

This moment foreshadowed something greater.

Jesus' death was not defeat—it was victory over death itself.

The opening of the graves symbolized that death would soon lose its power.

Later, the apostle Paul the Apostle would write in First Epistle to the Corinthians 15:55:
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Because Jesus died, death no longer has the final word.

Something remarkable happened among the soldiers.

A Roman centurion, a man who had probably seen many executions, looked at Jesus and said:
“Surely this was the Son of God.”

This account appears in the Gospel of Mark 15:39.

Think about this moment.

Religious leaders rejected Jesus.
Many of His followers fled in fear.

But a Roman soldier, a Gentile outsider, recognized the truth.

Even in death, Jesus revealed who He truly was.

The cross has always had this power:
It opens the eyes of those who truly look at it.

Just before He died, Jesus said something powerful.

In the Gospel of John 19:30, He said:
“It is finished.”

This does not mean His life was taken from Him.

It means His mission was completed.

The price of sin had been paid.

From the time of Adam and Eve, humanity had been separated from God.

But on the cross:
Sin was paid for.
Justice was satisfied.
Mercy was released.
The cross was not defeat.

It was the greatest victory in history.

Before Jesus died, the Bible says darkness covered the land for three hours.

This is recorded in the Gospel of Luke 23:44.

Darkness symbolized the weight of sin being placed on Jesus.

At that moment, Christ carried the sins of the entire world.

The prophet Isaiah had foretold this centuries earlier in Book of Isaiah 53:5:

“He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities.”

Jesus bore the darkness so that we could live in the light.

When Jesus breathed His last breath:
The veil was torn
The earth shook
Graves opened
A Roman soldier believed
Darkness covered the land
And salvation was completed

The cross was not the end of Jesus.

It was the turning point of human history.

Three days later, the stone would roll away and the tomb would be empty.

Because Jesus died, we can be forgiven.
Because Jesus died, we can come to God.
Because Jesus died, we can have eternal life.

So the question for us today is simple:

What will we do with the cross?

Will we ignore it?
Will we stand far away?

Or will we come to the One who gave His life for us?

Jesus breathed His last breath on the cross so that we could breathe the breath of new life.