Atonement, Salvation, and the Death of Jesus -- a study of Matthew 27:27-54
- mww
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Salvation is available to all -- even those who want Jesus dead.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Matthew 27:27-54
Begging your pardon, but this week's notes feel like a series of topics. Good Friday. Jesus' final words. AI and humanity. What is salvation? What happened on the cross? What happened when Jesus died? All of these critical topics are mashed together into a too-short post. But I try to point you to additional resources to help you process these verses.
But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. (27:50)
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter?
Let's create some chaos this week. Ask this very provocative question: which is more important: Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter?
Yes, at some level, the value of each one depends on the others. But force your group to talk this one out. I'll give you two leading questions:
What does Christmas mean without Good Friday?
What does Easter mean without Good Friday?
Yep, I'm suggesting that Good Friday is the most important day in humanity's history. (Now, the most important day in your personal history is the day you trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.)
In other words, I don't think it's a letdown at all to end our study of Matthew's Gospel on Good Friday rather than Easter Sunday.
Jesus' Final Words on the Cross
This isn't a discussion as much as a challenge. I'm covering so many "topics" this week that I haven't left any time for chit-chat.
List these on a board or hand them out -- these are what's called "the seven last sayings of Jesus", and I've put them in a "logical" order. Obviously, we're only specifically covering the Matthew verse in this week's study, but I think there's so much value in reading them all together.
Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.
Luke 23:43: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
John 19:26-27: Woman, here is your son. / Here is your mother.
Matthew 27:46: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
John 19:28: I’m thirsty.
John 19:30: It is finished.
Luke 23:46: Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
Your "project" would be to put them all together. What is the total message, and how does each statement fit into it?
Spoiler for my big ideas -- when Jesus says, "It is finished", what is "it"?
This Week's Big Idea: What Silicon Valley Misunderstands about Humanity
I really didn't plan on another AI reference this week, but the pope (and the expected responses) gave us something tough to ignore.
Among other things, Leo called for:
government regulation of the private companies that are driving the development of A.I.
protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened
education to help students think critically about the technology
action to protect children from violent, hypersexualized or fake information online that is often generated by A.I.
safeguards to ensure that humans, not artificial intelligence, remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons.
It's the White Sox fan's first "encyclical" (which is basically an important pope declaration), and frankly it's pretty solid in what it says about AI.
But here's where the discussion has gone, and this might be something your group would be interested in. Pope Leo assumes that there is a fundamental difference between humanity and everything else (including machines). Silicon Valley (and all non-Christians/non-Catholics) does not.
You won't see those exact words in the talk about the encyclical, but that's what's going on in the background.
This should only make sense. Christians and Catholics believe that humans are uniquely created by God in God's image. Everybody else . . . doesn't. To them, humans are accidents of evolution -- machines in the workings of a blind universe. To them, an AI is fundamentally no different from a human. Does that make sense? Do you see why that distinction is pretty important in this discussion?
“People are matter-of-factly saying that they are looking to build a machine God,” said Rayan Krishnan, the chief executive of Vals AI, a San Francisco company that tracks the performance of the latest A.I. technologies. “They are not saying that ironically or in jest. They are saying it as a matter of fact.”
Even the tech bro who spoke during the pope's declaration said some nutty things:
What is actually happening inside them [AIs]? We find structures that mirror results from human neuroscience. We find evidence of introspection. We find internal states that functionally mirror joy, satisfaction, fear, grief and unease.
One atheist tech bro described his goals for AI:
Practically speaking, it will achieve the outcomes that many religions claim their deities would be able to achieve.
He concluded:
A.I. and its capabilities represent something analogous to the Second Coming.
Yes, those are the musing of a few folks in the depths of Silicon Valley, but they are folks who are actively trying to influence the development of this technology. Their goal is to create a machine god -- the next step in the evolution of "life on earth".
Jesus Came to Save Humans
This week's lesson, more than any other event in the Bible, explains why and how the machine god worshipers are delusional. Jesus became a human to die for humanity. Why? Because humanity is God's "special creation" -- the only thing God made in His image (not even the angels can say that!).
John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
There is a fundamental difference between humans and man-made machines.
This Week's Better Big Idea: What Is Salvation?
This is where I intended to go this week. Frankly, it's a more important topic, though I do think the growing worries about "AIs replacing humanity" is worth our awareness.
"What is salvation?" is a hard question. And it's impossible to give a comprehensive one-line answer. I'm going to copy some paragraphs from the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology to prove my point.
We define salvation by what we are saved from.
"This includes sin and death; guilt and estrangement; ignorance of truth; bondage to habit and vice; fear of demons, of death, of life, of God, of hell; despair of self; alienation from others; pressures of the world; a meaningless life."
We define salvation in intangible terms of results.
"Paul's own testimony is almost wholly positive: salvation has brought him peace with God, access to God's favor and presence, hope of regaining the glory intended for men, endurance in suffering, steadfast character, an optimistic mind, inner motivations of divine love and power of the Spirit, ongoing experience of the risen Christ within his soul, and sustaining joy in God (Rom. 5:1-11)."
We define salvation in cosmic terms.
"Salvation extends also to society, aiming at realizing the kingdom of God; to nature, ending its bondage to futility (Rom. 8:19-20); and to the universe, attaining final reconciliation of a fragmented cosmos (Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20)."
We define salvation in terms of past, present, and future.
"Salvation is past (Rom. 8:24; Eph. 2:5, 8; Titus 3:5-8); present (1 Cor. 1:18; 15:2; 2 Cor. 2:15; 1 Pet.1:9; 3:21); and future (Rom. 5:9-10; 13:11; 1 Cor. 5:5; Phil. 1:5-6; 2:12; 1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:2). That is, salvation includes that which is given, freely and finally, by God's grace (forgiveness—called in one epistle justification; friendship or reconciliation; atonement, sonship, and new birth); that which is continually imparted (sanctification—growing emancipation from all evil, growing enrichment in all good—the enjoyment of eternal life, experience of the Spirit's power, liberty, joy, advancing maturity in conformity to Christ); and that still to be attained (redemption of the body, perfect Christlikeness, final glory)."
We define salvation by its effects.
"Religious (acceptance with God, forgiveness, reconciliation, sonship, reception of the Spirit, immortality); emotional (strong assurance, peace, courage, hopefulness, joy); practical (prayer, guidance, discipline, dedication, service); ethical (new moral dynamic for new moral aims, freedom, victory); personal (new thoughts, convictions, horizons, motives, satisfactions, self-fulfillment); social (new sense of community with Christians, of compassion toward all, overriding impulse to love as Jesus has loved)."
Peter focused on salvation as from past sin and to a new purpose in life (and separation from a wicked generation). John focused on salvation as from death and judgment and to a new birth/renewal. Paul focused on salvation as from self-righteousness and to an infilling of the Holy Spirit, resulting in freedom from sin's power.
The Baptist Faith and Message has a very good statement about salvation, even if it isn't short:
"Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed."
Bonus Big Idea: What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
I talked at length about this in a previous post on this week's event (though in a different Gospel). I encourage you to skim through that post. Lots of helpful material in this post:
I want to cite myself at length here. I started writing this section (based, again, on the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology), then remembered I'd done it already in the above post.
Long story short, on the cross, Jesus provided atonement resulting in our salvation.
The word "atonement" just means "reparation for a wrong". The Bible does not attempt to explain in detail what that means as far as Christian salvation is concerned, but the Bible does say this:
Christ turned away (propitiated) the wrath of God (Rom 3:25).
Christ suffered the human penalty for sin (Rom 6:23).
Christ paid the price that would set us free (Gal 5:1).
Christ won our victory (1 Cor 15:55).
Animal sacrifice cannot atone for human sin (Heb 10:4).
Christ's sacrifice set an example for us (1 Pet 2:21).
Over the years, theologians have focused on individual verses to create different theories about the atonement. And at the end of the day, each of those theories attempts to answer the question -- "How can a holy God accept sinful people?"
The Moral Influence Theory. This is popular among liberal camps. In short, this view says that Jesus' sacrifice did not "do" anything other than demonstrate how much God loves sinners, and by thinking about that sacrifice, people will be encouraged to repent of their sin and return to their loving Father and be saved. There is a certain amount of truth to this -- it does demonstrate God's love for us (John 3:16)! But there are a whole lot of ways God could have proved His love without Jesus going to the cross, and the Gospels are clear that Jesus must go to the cross.
Christus Victor (Atonement as Victory). In this theory, the cross is victory over Satan and evil. Jesus was stronger than Satan and death, and so He could not stay dead. (There's a version of this theory that focuses on the idea that Jesus was a ransom paid to Satan, and then Jesus conquered Satan. The problem there is that Satan did not hold humanity hostage; our own sin did.) There is some truth to this theory -- by dying on the cross, Jesus won our victory over sin and death (and in the process took away the power of the devil). But there has to be some accounting for the price that was paid, not just the final result. In other words, the cross was more than a simple victory.
The Satisfaction Theory. This theory follows this logic: God is a king. When a king is insulted, satisfaction must be given. But because this particular king is also God, the offense in infinite, requiring an infinite satisfaction. Humans cannot pay that -- only God can. Therefore, Jesus (God the Son) came to earth to pay the satisfaction for the offense to God caused by our sin. There's truth to this -- a price had to be paid. There are two main problems with this theory: it doesn't explain why God couldn't simply have mercy and forgive the offense; it also doesn't explain how sinners "appropriate" the atonement for themselves. (Plus, it makes God out to be a petty, prideful ruler.)
The Penal Substitution Theory. In this theory, sin is not so much offending God's honor but breaking God's law. And the price for breaking God's law is death. The only way we could get out of the punishment we earned for ourselves by breaking God's law would be in somebody served the punishment in our place. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and, being God, was able to serve that punishment for every human who ever lived. You might recognize that we use this kind of language when we talk about the atonement at FBC. The liberal crowd doesn't like this view because it acknowledges that a price must be paid for sin, that sin must have consequences.
The Sacrifice Theory. Some people focus on the fact that Jesus, "the Lamb of God", was the perfect once-for-all sacrifice that ended the Old Testament sacrificial system. The author of Hebrews makes a very convincing case for this. Paul even called Jesus "our Passover" -- remember that all of this took place at Passover. But then they conclude that all Jesus did on the cross was provide that sacrifice. As with all of these, there is truth to this. But it does not explain how such a sacrifice saves us.
The Governmental Theory. In this theory, God is the ruler of a government that passed a law -- "sin is punishable by death". But God did not want to put sinners to death, so He "relaxed" the rule and let Jesus pay the penalty. Yes, He could have simply pardoned humanity, but that is no basis for a just society, so He required Jesus' sacrifice to demonstrate His commitment to law and order.
Summary. My point in that oversimplified summary is that each one can tell part of the story of the atonement. Let's review some things we should all agree on:
Our sin deserves God's punishment. God hates sin. It has ruined His good creation and the people He loves. His holiness demands that sin must be dealt with. There can be no debate that Jesus suffered God's wrath on the cross. The New Testament calls what Jesus did a "propitiation" that turned aside God's wrath (see Rom 3:25, 1 John 4:7). He bore our curse (Gal 3:10-14, 1 Pet 2:24). And He did so to rescue us from God's coming wrath (1 Thess 1:10). That final statement tells us that in bearing the penalty for our sin, Jesus has made atonement on our behalf. That leads to the next primary point:
Jesus was our substitute. If we are to think of the sacrificial system as an innocent animal being offered in the place of the human sinner, then Jesus was the perfect sacrifice offered in our place. The key point is that God offered Jesus as a sacrifice on our behalf (Rom 8:31-34, 2 Cor 5:21). By dying in our place, Jesus enabled us to be reconciled with God (2 Cor 5:19, 1 Pet 3:18).
Jesus' death (and resurrection) has implications for the entire universe. Adam brought the effects of the curse for his sin to all of creation (Rom 8:22). Because of Jesus, there is now coming a restoration of the heavens and earth -- there will not just be a new humanity in heaven, but there will be a new earth. The "god of this age" (Satan) who has power over the fallen inhabitants of this world (2 Cor 4:4, 2 Tim 3:26) has been defeated. Christ has achieved victory over sin and death and hell (1 Cor 15:27-28), allowing us to return to God as God originally designed (Rev 21:3).
Implications. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sin. He absorbed the wrath that God must have against sin. He took our place. And because it was the perfect sacrifice, it broke the power of sin and death. Jesus could not stay dead -- He rose in victory. And God not only graciously accepted that sacrifice, He also allowed us access to the victory that Jesus won. Let me give some excerpts from Romans 3:
Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world? . . . For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. . . .
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
That final statement is the last piece of the puzzle for us. Jesus' atonement is available to the person who has faith in Jesus. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but if you don't have faith in Jesus (meaning -- you believe He is the Son of God, that He died for your sins, that only His sacrifice can pay the price for your sins, and that He is your Lord and Savior) then His sacrifice does not apply to you. Think of it this way -- when you die, you're going to stand before God. God is going to ask you to account for all of your sins. Then He will ask you if you want Jesus to pay that price for you. If you say no, what do you think happens?
Other Topics
When we studied this passage in 2017, I covered some additional topics that you might find useful:
What Is Crucifixion?
The Prophesies of Jesus' Death
What Is "Contempt"?
Why Three Crosses?
Where We Are in Matthew
We have been studying Matthew's Gospel for 6 months! Ordinarily, I'd say you should spend some time doing a recap. But this week, that's competing with my other big ideas
what is humanity?
what is salvation?
what is atonement?
Focus on what you think your group needs to understand the most.
Because we covered the resurrection and the Great Commission (chapter 28) on Easter, Lifeway chose to wrap up Matthew with the crucifixion.
I'm fine with that. I mentioned above that I think Good Friday is the most important day in humanity's history.
A lot happens on Thursday/Friday, and we're only covering a small part of it.
The Passion (26:1-27:66)
The plot against Jesus (26:1-5)
The anointing at Bethany (26:6-13)
Judas's betrayal agreement (26:14-16)
The Last Supper (26:17-30) - last week
Preparations (26:17-19)
Prediction of betrayal (26:20-25)
The Lord's Supper (26:26-30)
Prediction of abandonment (26:31-35)
Gethsemane (26:36-46)
The arrest (26:47-56)
Jesus before the Sanhedrin (26:57-68)
Peter's denial (26:69-75)
The Sanhedrin pronounces (27:1-2)
Judas commits suicide (27:3-10)
Jesus before Pilate (27:11-26)
The soldiers (27:27-31)
The Crucifixion (27:32-44)
The death of Jesus (27:45-50)
The effect of the death (27:51-56)
The burial (27:57-61)
The guard (27:62-66)
A lot has happened, and each of those events builds to this week's passage. If you need help getting into the proper "headspace" because we just parachuted into the crucifixion, perhaps a clip from The Passion of the Christ will do it --
Part 1: A Crown of Thorns (Matthew 27:27-31)
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. 28 They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. 31 After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
I guess I ask for your pardon for including these very disturbing Passion of the Christ clips, but I can't think of a better way for us to take these verses very seriously very quickly.
The "governor's soldiers" were Pilate's mercenaries; think of them as a local "brute squad". Being unprofessional and brutal was their thing. At full strength, a "company" is 600 soldiers, but Pilate probably didn't have that many on duty.
If you've ever touched a palm spine, you know how incredibly sharp they are. This is vicious mockery at its worst. It the clip above, the soldiers use their staff to push the thorns into Jesus' scalp without hurting themselves. In Matthew's passage, they just hit Jesus on the head with their staffs. Unimaginable pain.
My first New Testament professor made an indelible observation to me -- when blood coagulates on a cloth, it solidly connects the skin to the cloth. So, when the soldiers ripped the robe off of Jesus, they immediately reopened all of those wounds at once.
Carson notes that it was actually customary for a crucifixion victim to be led naked to his place of execution and flogged along the way. That didn't happen with Jesus -- either He had been tortured too badly already (He had lost so much blood that He probably wouldn't have made it to Golgotha), or they didn't want to offend the Jewish bigwigs who were following closely behind. (Remember that Pilate has already showed a lot of deference to the Jews.)
These verses show Jesus suffering the sins of humanity. Why would God want to save someone capable of such barbarity? Why would Jesus want to die for such a person?
Lifeway Skips Lots of Verses
I also can't really complain. My notes are already overstuffed. Read them, and refer to my post linked above on Matthew 27 if you need anything else about them.
Part 2: Sour Wine (Matthew 27:45-49)
45 From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink. 49 But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
Timeline:
Jesus is nailed to the cross at ~9:00 am
Over three hours, Jesus gives His first three "last sayings"
Darkness descends at noon
At ~3:00 pm, Jesus gives His last four "last sayings"
Jesus dies at ~3:00 pm
"The whole land" is likely a reference to the fact that salvation was being given for all people.
The "darkness" was probably not an eclipse -- it lasted three hours, after all, over all the land -- but it was supernatural. Some speculate that God was figuratively "hiding" Jesus from Himself (because God cannot look on sin).
Several have made the observation that 3:00 pm was the time for the afternoon prayer and the afternoon sacrifice.
There's a bit of debate about which language Jesus spoke in verse 46. He's clearly quoting from Psalm 22, which was of course written in Hebrew. And Jesus obviously knew Hebrew (and Aramaic and Greek, and likely Latin). Matthew has Eli, Eli; Mark has Eloi, Eloi. People say that "Eli" is Hebrew, and "Eloi" is Aramaic. According to Carson, the difference is only a small mark, and Aramaic speakers would also say "Eli". I.e., Jesus was speaking in Aramaic (for the sake of the hearers), and this doesn't change anything of consequence.
Psalm 22 ends in a note of triumph, as Jesus would have known very well. But Carson wants us to focus on what Jesus said, not what He didn't say. This is the cry of a man who feels abandoned by God. Thus Carson believes (and I agree) that this is when the relationship between Father and Son was ended -- when Jesus absorbed the punishment for sin. Jesus was truly abandoned by God, something we could never understand because we have not known the intimacy of being a Trinity. What exactly does it mean? We don't know. That would require that we fully understand the Trinity, which God has not given us to understand.
It makes sense that the non-Jewish watchers would not understand what Jesus was saying. (At least, that's how I read it. Certainly -- see the centurion mentioned below -- the Romans got involved for the actual execution. Whether or not Pilate's person mercenaries stayed around isn't said. In any event, none of them were Jewish.)
It's possible (likely) that verse 48 was brought on by the additional line, "I'm thirsty."
I go back and forth on verse 48. Right now, I see it as mockery. Cheap wine diluted with vinegar is what common soldiers drank to take the edge off (their job was miserable). The person offering it to Jesus probably hoped it would help Him squirm longer. But the others wanted to intervene, I guess in hopes that He would keep saying strange things about Elijah or whatever. Mockery to do it, mockery to withhold it.
Catch the image: Jesus had been abandoned by God in order to save the people who had tortured Him and were mocking Him to the moment of His death.
Part 3: The Death of God (Matthew 27:50-54)
50 But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 51 Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Verse 50 very clearly says that Jesus "chose" the moment of His death. As He prophesied, no one took His life from Him; He willingly gave it up.
Right before this, Jesus also said, "It is finished," and "Into Your hands I commit My spirit." I take this to mean that salvation was accomplished. Our church sings a wonderful song called "It was finished upon that cross".
This leads to two questions (see above) you can challenge your group with:
What was finished upon the cross? and
Is Easter necessary for salvation?
You know from above that I believe that salvation was accomplished on the cross. That necessarily means that Easter is not necessary for our salvation. So, what does Easter mean? Why is it important?
There are two curtains in the temple:
The curtain separating the Holy Place from the courtyard. Tearing this curtain would probably symbolize the coming destruction of the temple.
The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Tearing this curtain would symbolize new access to God.
The author of Hebrews believes this was the inner curtain. I ride with him.
That curtain was vital to the Old Testament sacrificial system, isolating the Most Holy Place (and the special function of the Day of Atonement). By destroying that curtain, God was indicating that the Old Covenant was now over. (Good thing Jesus has just told us that He has made a new covenant with God for us!)
[Note: because the temple no longer held a special place in God's economy, it also makes sense that God would allow its destruction so that the people would no longer look to it for hope.]
Only Matthew reports the earthquake and dead rising. And it's weird. What kind of bodies did they have? Did they die again? What were they doing until after Easter?
We don't know any of it. And yes, skeptics love to make fun of this verse. I guess we will see who's laughing when the dead rise at the final judgment.
Matthew definitely connects this mini-resurrection with the tearing of the curtain. Jesus' death was so profoundly cosmic that
it removed the barrier between man and God, and
it weakened the barrier between death and life.
Jesus was the firstfruits of those who would rise from the dead.
My guess is that these few Old Testament saints were now in their "resurrection bodies" and were about to ascend into heaven, waiting for Jesus. But Matthew doesn't say, and it really doesn't change anything.
[Note: Carson makes the good argument that Matthew put this story here because it would have messed with the flow of chapter 28.]
The soldier probably wasn't using "Son of God" as we use it today, but rather in the sense that the emperor was a "son of god" -- a term of sincere respect, but short of a call to divinity. Regardless, this non-Jew realized that something had happened that was far above his pay grade.
This might be where you have the conversation about AI. Jesus came to die for us -- for humans, for God's unique creation. It's irrelevant to wonder if that's unfair to dogs or whales or AIs or aliens -- God didn't create them with eternal souls.
One of my very favorite short stories (and I mean short) is a gem from 1954 called "Answer"
1954, y'all. Anyway, the story comes from a worldview that is now rampant in Silicon Valley, that there is no God and that humans can create one. Pope Leo was right to invoke the Tower of Babel, because that is what is happening. But the actions of a few (no matter how potentially destructive) do not change what God has done. Salvation is in Christ, and it is freely offered to everyone who repents and puts their trust in Him. That includes the soldiers who tortured Jesus, the criminals who were executed with Jesus, and the atheists today who think they can replace Jesus.
Indeed, Jesus is the only hope we have in all of the chaos of the world today.