As Jesus died upon the cross Matthew records that He yielded up His Spirit with a great cry. Luke records that on the day of Pentecost, fifty days later, that same Spirit would come from heaven with the noise of a violent, rushing wind, like a storm or tempest, as the same word for an earthquake that marked Jesus’ death is translated in Mat 8:24; compare also Jer 23:19 in the LXX and NAS[1]. Matthew also notes that His death was marked not only by the rending of the veil of the temple but of the rocks of the earth. For He is the Rock of our salvation, the chief corner stone of the temple God has been building without hands. The rending of His life in the flesh inaugurated a new and living way through the veil into the holy place of God’s presence; Heb 10:19-20. That way is the way of the cross, for it is only through the death of our own self-will as demonstrated by the life and death of Jesus that we are able to enter into the eternal life for which He came to lead us. He was the rock that Moses, who represents the Law, struck with his rod in the wilderness in order to bring forth the spiritual water of life to the Israel of God; Exo 17:6, 1Co 10:4; see also Gal 3:13, Eph 2:15, Col 2:14. We should therefore not be surprised that the splitting of our spiritual Rock was manifested on earth by the splitting of the physical rocks; cf. Psa 78:15.
What covenantal refuge does the “Rock of Ages cleft for me” provide those who would enter within the veil to behold His glory? See Exo 33:22, Psa 18:2, 91:2,4, Isa 32:1-2, Mat 23:37. Again, how does one enter through the veil into that shelter of the Lord Jesus Christ who was cleft for us? See Mat 16:24-25, Joh 12:24-26. Is the nature of that cleft in the Rock and His glory we behold from there at all like the places of refuge that those in the world seek out or the glories they behold? See Psa 27:5, 31:20, Son 2:14 and contrast Deut 32:31, Jer 16:16, 49:16; see also Mat 6:2-6.
Throughout the Bible, to what is the terror of the great and mighty nations of the world likened especially as they rise and fall? See Isa 14:15-16, Jer 8:15-16, 49:20-21, 50:46, 51:29, Eze 26:10,15, 31:15-16, and in consideration of Jesus’ great cry, notice how often the shaking is from the noise or sound of something; cf. Rev 8:5, 11:19. What does this teach us about the relationship between spiritual and physical quaking or trembling, even within the natural realm, due to the fear associated with those great kingdoms? As God established His kingdom on earth and installed Jesus as King upon Zion through His death and resurrection, should we be surprised that it too was marked by an even more literal quaking of the earth? Cf. Psa 2:1-12, Mat 28:2, Act 16:26. Even as God established His first covenant with Israel, what does Scripture say happened as He came down upon Mount Sinai? See Exo 19:16-20. As God has acted throughout history on behalf of His people as He was establishing His kingdom on earth, what does Scripture teach is a common manifestation of His intervention? See Jdg 5:4-5, 1Sa 14:14-15, Psa 18:1-7, Psa 68:7-8, Isa 64:1-4. When an earthquake occurs then, should we suppose it is nothing more than a purely natural phenomenon, or allow for the possibility that God is perhaps acting in some way to accomplish His purposes? What in particular about the Lord does the Bible indicate that an earthquake is a manifestation of? See Psa 18:7, 60:1-3, Isa 5:25, 24:17-20, 29:6, Jer 10:10, 23:19 (NAS storm of the Lord = LXX earthquake from the Lord), Eze 38:18-20, Amo 8:7-8, Nah 1:5-6, Rev 16:17-20. Although men and their kingdoms may cause us to tremble, how does this truth help us to balance that fear with the fear of Him for whom we ought rather to tremble? Cf. Isa 2:19-22. For what purpose of the Lord does a great shaking of the earth have? See Job 38:12-13.
Considering the spiritual counterparts in the heavenly realms to the mighty men upon earth from whom they and their nations receive their power and authority (cf. Dan 10:13, Eph 6:12), is it only the earth that the Lord causes to tremble by the manifestation of His presence? See Isa 13:9-13, Joe 2:9-11, Hag 2:5-9,21-22. Whereas the Lord will shake all the nations of the earth and their heavenly counterparts in establishing His kingdom, what hope do we have who have fled for refuge into His Kingdom? See Isa 33:20 LXX[2], Joe 3:13-16, Heb 12:26-29. Again, what is the only Rock that cannot be shaken, even though cleft unto death, and how do we establish our lives upon that Rock? See Mat 7:24-25, 16:24-25.
[1] Jeremiah 23:19 LXX 19 Behold, there is an earthquake from the Lord, and anger proceeds to a convulsion, it shall come violently upon the ungodly.
Jeremiah 23:19 NAS 19 Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
[2] Isaiah 33:20 LXX Behold the city of Sion, our refuge: thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles which shall not be shaken, neither shall the pins of her tabernacle be moved forever, neither shall her cords be at all broken.