April 10, 2022
Morning Service

Our journey with Jesus has led us to the point that none of us wanted to come to.  We have seen Him suffer through being betrayed, arrested, tried, convicted, scourged and mocked.  Each of these has begun to take their toll on Jesus physically.  It was required of condemned prisoners to carry their cross to the site of their execution and that is where we begin our study today; Jesus is on the final road to His destiny.

Mat 27:32-33 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.  (33)  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull,

            Jesus weakened by the beatings and abuse was unable to carry His cross so Simon was chosen to carry it for Him.  Cyrene was a city in northern Africa and Simon may have been in Jerusalem for the Passover as many others also had made the journey to be there.  This, however, was not on his plans.  The video we watched this morning portrays so well this event through Simon’s eyes.  Golgotha is Aramaic for “Skull,” whether that referred to the hills’ appearance or to the fact that it was a place of death.

 Mat 27:34-38 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  (35)  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."  (36)  Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  (37)  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  (38)  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.

            Matthew records the facts here without much details other than the prophecy that is fulfilled.  “They crucified Him,” certainly is a short version of what takes place once Jesus reaches Golgotha.  Spikes would have been driven into His hands and feet to attach Him to the cross.  As He was raised up the cross would have come to jarring stop at the bottom of the hole that held it in place no doubt causing even more pain.  Matthew quotes Psalms 22 here which prophesied of these events taking place; the sour wine, the garments divided, and dying among thieves.  Each of the prophesies, written hundreds of years earlier, that was fulfilled should build our faith that Jesus indeed is the Son of God and our Savior.  The sign over His head was meant to mock Him, but yet it told only part of the truth.  Not only was the King of the Jews being crucified here, but the One King of Kings!

 Mat 27:39-44 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads (40) and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  (41)  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, (42) "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  (43)  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' "  (44)  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

            The abuse continued as all those who passed by ridiculed Him by mockingly challenging Him to “come down from the cross, and we will believe.”  We hold the opposite view; we believe because He did not come down from the cross, but bore the price of our sins fully.  He had to but speak the word and legions of angels would come to His rescue, but He chooses in meekness to withhold that power and suffer according to God’s plan.  The other gospels tell us other parts of these moments; the thief’s repentance, Jesus call for John to take care of Mary, and Jesus’ unbelievable request to His Father for those who are crucifying Him.  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.

            Darkness covers the entire land from noon until 3:00 in the afternoon.  It was during this dark time that Jesus, the sinless Son of God, suffers for the sins of the world; my sins.  The Perfect Passover Lamb was being sacrificed that we might have hope of eternal life and to restore our broken relationship with our Creator.  His obedience makes that possible. 

Mat 27:46-50 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"  (47)  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  (48)  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  (49)  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  (50)  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

            In that dark moment with our sins upon His shoulders, Jesus cries out as prophesied from Psalms 22 which helps us understand what is happening in this moment.  The Psalms tells us that God is “holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.”  His Holiness does not allow sin to be in His presence, so the Father had to withdraw His presence for that time from His Beloved Son; He was truly alone upon the cross.  He bore our sin and suffered the separation from His Father so that He would build a path for whosoever believes in Him to have salvation.  In Johns’ gospel he records the moment with Jesus crying out “It is finished” and the He gave up His spirit.  Matthew says “He cried with a loud voice, and yielded His spirit.”  It would have been odd for one being crucified to have a voice at all, so when Jesus “Cries out loudly” is shows He dies in strength, not weakness.  No one killed Jesus, He GAVE His life for us; willingly yielding to His Father’s will and driven by His love for us.  The price for our salvation was paid in full.

Mat 27:51-54 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, 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 out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  (54)  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

            His death came with an exclamation mark as these many miracles happened.  The tightly woven curtain in the Temple that separated the people from the presence of God was torn from the top to the bottom as a symbol of what had just been accomplished upon the cross.  The wall between our Creator and us had been torn down.  Even the unbelieving centurion could see the divinity of Jesus in that moment as he says; “Truly this was the Son of God!”  As we read and experience this as well, I pray you to are inclined to cry the same thing: “Truly this IS the Son of God!”  Not only to recognize Him for who He is but also for what He has done and why.  Through His death upon this cross, He has paid the debt for your sin, that you could never pay.  He did it because He loves you and desires a relationship with you.  The cross is an extreme symbol of the love God has for His children that He would give His all for us.

Mat 27:55-61 And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, (56) among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  (57)  Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  (58)  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  (59)  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  (61)  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

            There is a sense of closure as a grave is covered or here sealed with a stone.  Jesus is dead and lies in a grave placed there by Joseph with help from Nicodemus.  At dusk the Sabbath would begin and the Law prohibited the Jews from any work until sunrise on Sunday.  These hours in the grave had to be very difficult for those of us who were following Jesus.  We all would be suffering from guilt of abandoning our Lord and regrets of what we should have done not knowing we were all simply fulfilling prophecy.  Uncertainty would rule as we had no idea of what our lives would now look like after spending three years ministering, and learning at the feet of our Master who now lay in a sealed tomb.

 

Heavenly Father, we are in awe of Your love for us this morning.  We do not deserve the gift that Jesus purchased for us on through His death upon the cross, but He did it anyway.  While we were still sinners Christ died for us.  Thank You for loving us!

 

Mat 27:62-66 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, (63) saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'  (64)  Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first."  (65)  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  (66)  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

            That grave would soon be empty no matter how many soldiers guarded it!  Sunday is coming!