Have you ever felt the earth shake and quake beneath your feet? Heard things rattling and clattering around you? Watched things quiver and collapse? Wondered where your loved ones are, and whether they are safe?
It must be terrifying!
Life in an earthquake zone has to be lived on high alert.
I used to do a lot of regular international travel with work, so I have spent plenty of time in earthquake zones. Ahead of the trips, I would receive training about ‘what to do if you’re caught in an earthquake’. Thankfully, I never had to put it into practice!
I have, however, had the experience of leaving an earthquake zone in order to return home, only for a major earthquake to strike within days of getting back – and then watching news coverage, showing rubble where I had just been, while feeling relief that I had got out on time, combined with guilt that others hadn’t been as fortunate.
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ASKING WHY …
This month, I have been thinking a lot about earthquakes!
It’s because this month includes Easter, so I’ve been re-reading the Gospel accounts of the original Easter story – and it’s struck me afresh that there are two significant earthquakes in the Easter story.
Have you ever noticed them? Have you ever thought about why they are there?
Matthew records them both. On Good Friday, he writes, ‘the earth shook and the rocks split’ (Matthew 27: 51) and then, on Easter Sunday, ‘There was a violent earthquake’ (Matthew 28: 2a).
In the Bible, earthquakes often accompany God’s judgment, God’s revelation, or a unique act of God. (See, for example, Exodus 19: 18 and 1 Kings 19: 11-12.) They are often full of supernatural spiritual significance, making them more than just natural phenomena.
So, as I’ve been pondering the two Easter earthquakes, I’ve been asking myself: Why does Matthew tell us about them? Why is it important for us to know they happened? And what is their supernatural spiritual significance?
Here’s my thinking so far in this, my ‘thought for the month’ for April!
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God’s intention
Back at the beginning of time, God created ‘the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1: 1). He created both/and, not either/or. He designed it so that the two were to be intertwined, each one created for the other.
But the fall into sin caused there to be a separation and a breaking of the bond between heaven and earth. Sin got in the way – and God got angry about it.
So when God, in heaven, expresses his wrath towards our sin, it’s experienced by the earth – which is why, for example, we read in Jeremiah that, ‘When [the Lord] is angry, the earth trembles.’ (Jeremiah 10: 10) and in Isaiah that, ‘the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,’ (Isaiah 13: 13).
[If you have time, I recommend this powerful sermon for understanding more about this link.]
God never designed it this way. He never wanted heaven and earth to be separated. He always wanted them to be entwined together – which is probably one of the reasons why Jesus encourages us to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10).
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God’s solution
So, on that first Good Friday, when Jesus died on the cross, God was pouring out his wrath against sin. Jesus was enduring God’s judgment for sin – in our place, on our behalf. (See 2 Corinthians 5: 21 and 1 Peter 2: 24.)
And the earth reacted – with trembling – to God’s wrath and judgment.
It’s why ‘the earth shook and the rocks split’ (Matthew 27: 51).
But three days later, when Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, the earth had even more reason to respond – and, this time, we are told there was an earthquake that was ‘violent’ (Matthew 28: 2a). (If the Richter scale had been invented then, it would probably have hit the top!)
It was ‘violent’ because the earth was responding to the incredible earth-shattering news of Jesus’ triumph over sin. His victory over sickness. His deliverance from death.
It was ‘violent’ because the earth was celebrating the bond between heaven and earth being restored; the relationship between God and mankind being reconciled.
And it was ‘violent’ because the earth was declaring that the demands of God’s laws had been fulfilled through Jesus – once and for all – by replicating the earthquake that had occurred when God originally gave the Jewish laws to Moses, on Mount Sinai, and ‘the whole mountain shook violently’ (Exodus 19: 18).
For all these reasons, the Easter earthquakes matter.
They were more than mere natural phenomena. Their timing was full of supernatural spiritual significance. They were designed to remind us that Jesus’ death and resurrection was, quite literally, earth-shattering news!
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Pausing to reflect …
Most of us don’t live in earthquake zones, so we don’t have to deal with the daily reality of being on high alert all the time.
However, all of us can choose to follow Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit, whose mighty power and strength raised Jesus from the dead. (See Ephesians 1: 18-20 and Romans 8: 11). And if we make this choice, it means we can carry resurrection power. It means we can carry earth-shattering news. It means we can carry ‘light through the cracks‘ to those around us.
What could this mean for you?
As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.
(Please note: This is my ‘thought for the month’ reflection for April. You can find all my ‘thought for the month’ reflections here.)
Photo by Angelo Giordano via Pixabay
12 Comments
That’s such an interesting insight Joanna – I hadn’t thought of heaven and earth being naturally entwined, and then divided, before. Will try and find time to listen to the sermon you recommend. Thank you for sharing your thoughts for the month, they are always so inspiring.
Thank you Mary. I’m glad you’ve found it interesting. For me, it felt like a little detail in the Easter story that is rarely mentioned!
I found this very interesting to read in light of the recent earthquake in Istanbul Turkey. I spoke to my sister who lives nine hours away. She told me their region is unaffected, but people are obviously nervous. It is interesting reading how there was a second earthquake on Easter Sunday: I think we tend to focus on the tomb joy and miss out these important factors. (I hadn’t comprehended there was a second earthquake.) But as I’m writing this, there is the line in my head from a modern day chorus, ‘the ground began to shake, the stone was rolled away’. Thank you again, God bless you and sustain you in the work you do for him. You are definitely a ‘Kingdom Story Writer’.
Thanks Sarah. That’s a wonderful song lyric to have as an earworm, as well as being really relevant to my blog post. Thanks for reminding me of it.
Jo – I LOVE how Holy Spirit unites our thinking! I had always felt the earthquakes were significant and that the spiritual was connected to the physical, but you’ve now articulated this perfectly for me! Thank you!!! It reminds me of when we were finishing the King’s Army march at Buckingham Palace in March, back down Pall Mall and had stopped at the Admiralty Arch. We had been declaring and proclaiming the Word and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ – the sky darkened and there was a loud clap of thunder! As we stood in formation, the hair stood up on the back of my neck! And we were all overcome – it was like God almighty Himself had spoken and was agreeing with His Word and that this Nation is HIS! Hallelujah!
Thanks for sharing this, Nina. What a powerful prophetic action and declaration to have done, right at the heart of the nation’s capital city, and how amazing to have witnessed the darkened sky and the thunder clap at that exact moment. Amazing!
Thank you for this thought, Joanna! I have now noticed the second earthquake at the resurrection of Jesus, for the first time and I’m wondering why l haven’t realised it’s there before. But OF COURSE there had to be another earthquake, to split and move the stone in which Jesus was entombed! Not that Jesus could not have passed through it, just as he did when he suddenly appeared before the disciples in the upper room. But another earthquake perhaps gives equal importance to the two incredible events for all mankind. Our salvation could not be obtained without both the cross and the empty tomb. Also, the terror of the guards at the angel’s appearance, and the earthquake, together must have caused them to flee regardless of the punishment (probably of execution for desertion). But you have explained all this far better than l could have done, and you’ve also revealed much more. Thank you.
Thank you Marjorie. I’m so glad to hear how God has used my words to help you to notice the second earthquake for the first time – and shown you how it was this that moved the stone from the entrance of the tomb. It’s always so good to have our eyes opened to fresh insights from the Scriptures, isn’t it?
I am commenting from a country that sits right on top of an earthquake zone and earlier in my life I’ve been in many good shakes!
I’m reminded of the connection between God speaking in Isaiah 24 about the earth being defiled by its inhabitants because they had transgressed the laws, broken the everlasting covenant, etc. And how the earth shook, was broken, reeled like a drunkard, etc.
Breaking Gods Word always has a consequence.
Thanks for commenting Linda! What has it been like to live through so many earthquakes, and to be based in an earthquake zone at the moment? Perhaps it makes you more mindful of the times that the Bible speaks about earthquakes? I’d love to hear!
I’ve been in many shakes, but not a huge tragedy, so we just live day to day as normal. Always mindful but not acutely conscious. Nowadays, I’m in the far North of New Zealand, and there has never seen an earthquake up here. But we are aware of the need to walk carefully and that is definitely in our understanding.
Thank you, Joanna, as I’ve never noticed the large earthquake in Matthew 28. Yet even the Romans wondered how a huge stone moved from the entrance to the tomb. You would think they would have realised!
Thanks for sharing this Linda. I’m so glad to hear how God has used my words to help you notice the Resurrection Sunday earthquake. As you say, you would have thought the Romans would have clocked that this is what caused the stone to roll away from the tomb!