Son of God Matthew 27:27-54

This week, I was moving some books and boxes around and came across one that has meant a lot to me, a complete collection of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. I’ve always been fascinated by a good detective story. Whether it was Encyclopedia Brown as a child, or Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot as an adult, the detective has a fascinating ability to see the evidence and come to a conclusion that no one else can see. On some level, that’s what we see in this passage. At the close of the crucifixion, a Roman Centurion weighs the evidence and declares, “Surely this man must be the Son of God.”

-The events surrounding the crucifixion demonstrate that Jesus is the Son of God

I. Mocked vv. 27-44

In this passage, we transition from the trial of Jesus to the actual crucifixion.

Interestingly enough, Matthew does not focus on the physical pain that Jesus experienced, but on the spiritual and emotional trauma of crucifixion

For Jesus, shame, humiliation, ridicule, and spiritual separation are all as much a part of the pain as the physical suffering

The people Jesus encounters here continually mock and jeer Him, yet their mockery comes from a lack of understanding:

He is a Servant Sovereign vv. 27-37

They mock Him as a king by twisting a crown of thorns and placing a robe on Him

However, His punishment on the Cross is precisely the act of a King; He is protecting and preserving His people by laying down His life for them

He is a Suffering Savior vv. 38-42

Jesus makes atonement for the sins of the people; He is the savior who rescues through His own suffering

Interestingly, the leaders claim they would believe Him if He came off the cross; however, if He came down from the cross there would be no hope for them in believing. They would only meet Him as judge and not as Savior

He is the Sacrificed Son vv. 43-44

The crowd leans into this identification of Jesus: If He is the Son of God and trusts God, then God should rescue Him

However, it is precisely because of His obedience and trust in God that He will not be delivered

The purpose of God for His Son looks radically different than anything that we can imagine by nature; we can either reject that outright, or we can believe it and be saved!

Isaiah 53:10

[10] Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (ESV)

They say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.

C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Macmillan.

II. Forsaken vv. 45-50

Next, we see three evidences of Jesus’s purpose as He hangs on the Cross and faces death:

First, we see that a dread darkness descends on the land in the middle of the day v. 45

At the very least, this is strange, but more than that it is ominous

The day is a day of judgment on sin and it is going to be the Day of the Lord

This is not the suffering of a criminal, but this is going to be God’s judgment on the sin of mankind

Second, we hear a proclamation: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

These words from Jesus are absolutely stunning to hear

They are an echo of David from Psalm 22:1, but they are shocking nonetheless

All we have ever heard about was the relationship between Father and Son; now that has been severed

A Great Exchange is taking place; Jesus takes on the sin of humanity, yet with that, He must endure relational separation from His Father.

Because God is holy, He cannot look on sin and will not tolerate it

As sin bearer, Jesus experiences that rejection

We must not try to explain away or minimize what Jesus is saying here, but we ought to pause and reflect!

Third, we see Him yield up His Spirit v. 50

Matthew wants us to understand that death is not something that was done to Jesus, but that He laid down HIs own life. His life was not taken, but it was given on His own terms

Only the one who had the authority of the Son of God could lay down His life in this way

John 10:17–18

[17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (ESV)

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 31: Authority

For decades, anyone living within five or six miles of the hat factory in Denver, Pennsylvania, set their clocks and watches by the sirens the factory set off five days a week. At 5:30 A.M., the wake-up siren would begin the day followed by the starting, lunchtime, and quitting sirens at the designated times.

When the siren system was eventually disbanded, a friend of mine was reminiscing with the timekeeper about his job. “What did you use to determine the exact time?”

With a twinkle in his eye, the man reached in his pocket and pulled out a child’s Mickey Mouse watch.

Some experts are not as authoritative as they seem.

III. Vindicated vv. 51-54

Matthew follows up with three more noteworthy events that point to the identity of Jesus, following His death

First, the curtain in the Temple, separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple was torn from top to bottom

This is a supernatural occurence, with symbolic importance

This curtain represented the boundary between God and Man, the only access point to the presence of God

Now, that barrier is taken away and replaced with a new and living way, through the body of Christ

Even as He has been vindicated as the Son of God through this, we have confidence in Him to approach God through Him!

Second, we see the tombs opened

Through His death, life springs forward

While we do not understand all that this means initially, it is a powerful indicator of who Jesus is and is a preview of what is to come

Death will not be able to hold Him and it will also have no hold over His people!

Finally, we see that the Centurion believes

The Centurion’s belief does not make these things true, but it is a reminder that it is true; Jesus is the Son of God who has died so that we can experience abundant life here and eternal life hereafter

However, we only experience that as we believe it!

John 20:30–31

[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; [31] but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 36: Belief

Athletes illustrate what it means to truly believe in a person in authority.

A high school basketball player, for example, who believes in his coach because that coach is a former NBA champion, will do whatever that coach says. He believes the coach is right. If the coach says to change his technique in his shooting motion, he will do it even if it feels awkward and initially causes him to shoot worse. If the coach says to run four miles a day or lift weights thirty minutes each day, he will do it even though it hurts. If the coach says to pass the ball more and shoot less for the sake of the team, he will accept that role.

Why? Because the athlete believes the coach knows better than he does what makes a winner. When you truly believe in a person in authority, you follow that person in complete obedience.

The athlete who does not truly believe in the coach will not fully follow. He may believe things about the coach—that he is a former NBA champion, that he is honest, that his name is Michael—but believing certain information and believing in someone’s authority are two different things.

Those who believe in Jesus not only believe the facts about his deity, atoning death, and resurrection, they believe in his right to direct their lives. True believers follow.