Good Friday 2023

Introduction:

Thank you for being here this evening as we remember the price that Jesus paid on Calvary. Andy read a great passage in Isaiah 53 and I want you to turn to Matthew 27 and see wa

There are so many prophicies that point to the Messiah’s coming. Over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament and Jesus fulfilled all of them.

Hundreds of years before Jesus would be born it was prophesied that He would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 KJV 1900

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.

He lived a perfect and sinless life.

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV 1900

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Lets look at the way Jesus was crucified for you and for me.

The scourging of Jesus was so brutal its hard to comprehend the beating that He took. Lets look at

He was scourged. Scourging or flogging was the legal preliminary to every Roman execution. The victim was stripped naked and tied to a flogging post. The instrument was a short whip called a flagrum, which was a short whip made of two or three leather thongs connected to a handle. These thongs were braided with pieces of sheep bone, metal and iron attached at various intervals. The back, the buttocks, and the legs were flogged and with each blow flesh would be torn away exposing the muscles, until the entire back side of the victim was nothing, but quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.

Almost every victim would go into what was called, hypovolemic shock. Hypovolemic shock occurs when a person has suffered the loss of a large amount of blood. The heart tries to pump blood that isn’t there. The blood pressure drops. The kidneys stop producing urine to maintain what volume of blood is left and a person becomes very thirsty, craving fluids to make up for the lost blood volume, all of which you see clearly happening to Jesus before He was even crucified.

In other words, Jesus was already in critical condition before He was even nailed to the cross, but the worst was yet to come. No other form of capital punishment has ever been invented in history that is more cruel and torturous than crucifixion. It was so terrible that only slaves, foreigners, and the vilest of criminals were crucified. The victim was laid on a crossbeam, then spikes that were 5 inches long and tapered to a razor sharp point were driven through the wrist of both arms. This would lock the hand. If the nails had been driven through the palms as we see so often, the weight would have caused the skin to tear and the victim would have fallen off the cross, so the nails went through the wrist. When that nail was driven through what is known as the median nerve, which is the largest nerve going out to the hand, it would have been crushed by that nail. The pain shooting up both arms would have been absolutely unbearable and never ending.

Furthermore, the moment the victim was lifted up to the vertical beam, because of his weight, both shoulders would immediately have become dislocated causing even further excruciating pain.

Then the feet would have been fixed to the cross and again 7 inch spikes would have been driven through both feet and the knees would have been bent to the right to make sure the pain to the legs and the hips were at a maximum.

Once in the crucified position, the victim would begin to die a slow death by asphyxiation. The reason is the stresses on the muscles and the diaphragm put the chest into a permanent inhaled position so that while the victim could draw air into his lungs, he was powerless to exhale. This is where the real torture began, because in order to exhale the individual had to push up on his feet and pull up with his arms, just so he could exhale. The pain was absolutely unbelievable. Then after managing to exhale, the person would relax and go down so he could take in another breath.

To be able to keep breathing the victim on the cross had to stay in constant motion literally dragging himself up and then letting himself down. Every time he did it, his arms, his legs and his entire body screamed with pain - nerves pulled tightly like the strings on a violin.

Keep in mind that every time He dragged himself up and down the painful scourging wounds on his back would be scraped against the rough wood of that cross opening up fresh wounds causing more loss of blood and even more excruciating pain. What finally caused the death of Jesus Christ? Doctors would say take your pick. Hypovolemic shock, exhaustion, asphyxiation, dehydration, arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. In fact, death by crucifixion was so terrible that a new word was invented to describe it - the word excruciating which comes from the Latin word meaning, out of the cross.

Isaiah 52:14 KJV 1900

14 As many were astonied at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, And his form more than the sons of men:

Matthew 27:27–30 KJV 1900

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. 28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Matthew 27:31–33 KJV 1900

31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. 32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. 33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Matthew 27:34–36 KJV 1900

34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. 35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36 And sitting down they watched him there;

Matthew 27:37–39 KJV 1900

37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. 39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

Matthew 27:40–43 KJV 1900

40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be 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.

When Jesus was suffering on the cross there was darkness on the earth at the sixth hour. This would have been from noon - 3pm. At this time God the Father turned from the Son as Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world! He took on all the sins of mankind before He came. All the present sins and all of the future sins.

God the Father in all His righteousness couldn’t look upon Jesus as He took upon himself the sins of the world and darkness fell on the Earth!

Jesus’ earthly body had died on the cross.

John 19:23–26 KJV 1900

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

John 19:27–30 KJV 1900

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. 28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Those final words that Jesus spoke seal all of Eternity.

It. Is. Finished. Forever. Nothing has to ever be done again. It is complete.

Matthew 27:50–51 KJV 1900

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Matthew 27:54–55 KJV 1900

54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. 55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

Jesus came for a purpose and that was to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:28 KJV 1900

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

He came to pay the pentalty of our sins.

Romans 3:10 KJV 1900

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He endured all the mocking, ridicule, shame, physical beating and crucifixion.

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:9 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:13 KJV 1900

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Conclusion:

John 3 this evening as we looked at the life of Jesus.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry He met a man named Nicodemus. This man was inquiring about Jesus and Jesus gives him details on how to be born again, saved, redeemed. He told Nicodemus what was going to happen and why He came to earth to die. Lets look at that here.

John 3:14–18 KJV 1900

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We see here that Jesus is telling of His crucifixion when He says that He must be lifted up. v. 14

Belief is necessary for Salvation. v. 15-16

God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to pay our sin debt. v 16

We are all condemned v 17

Belief vs condemnation v 18

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.