Matthew 27

51 And then, the veil of the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom!*God Himself ripped the veil (or ordered it done). Access to God’s presence is no longer limited to one man once a year. See Hebrews 10:19-22. And the earth was shaken, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened. (And many bodies, of the saints who had fallen asleep, were raised; 53 and coming forth out of the graves after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and were made visible to many.*Wow! How would you like a departed saint to knock at your door?! It would be tremendous confirmatory evidence for Christ’s resurrection. The Text does not say what happened to these resurrected saints, but to be sent back into the ground would be a real drag. It is more likely that they went with the risen Christ to heaven.) 54 Now when the centurion and those with him guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened they were scared stiff and said, "This Man really was the Son of God!"*"All that happened" is better explained in Mark 15:39—the loud shout followed immediately by death convinced the centurion. He had seen many crucifixions and was doubtless hardened to it. He knew that a person on a cross dies from asphyxiation. The weight of the body pushes the diaphragm against the lungs and you cannot breathe. Nailing the feet was a sadistic procedure that prolonged the agony—rather than die they would push against the nail to get a breath. Finally, when too weak to do that they would die for lack of air. (That is why they broke the legs of the two thieves; they then died within a few minutes.) Obviously, if you are dying without air you cannot shout! The centurion knew that the cross had not killed Jesus. But what mere human can just tell his spirit to leave? 2 + 2 = 4. Jesus had to be the Son of God.