Hail, King of the Jews!

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Bubba)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

3 announcements:

1) Members Meeting, TONIGHT

Potluck meal at 5PM (we’ll eat what you bring)

Meeting at 6PM

Pick up packets at the exits

One of the things we do at our members’ meetings is receive people into membership

Tonight we’ll be presenting a few families that we’d love for you to meet, if you haven’t already.

Please stand when I call your name...

Brittney Clukey

Kevin & Katie Hammond

Jacob & Hope Worthan

PBC members, if you don’t know these folks, introduce yourself after the service

2) PBC Kids Christmas Program

Save the date for 12/10 at 5:30

3) Christmas Eve Service, 12/24 at 5:30 PM

This is the highest attended service of the year for guests

Many people who would never go to church at any other time are happy to come to a service like this, so it’s a great opportunity to spread the gospel

Please grab an invite card at the welcome desk to invite your friends, family, and neighbors

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Isaiah 53:1-6)

Prayer of Praise (Sandra Lindell)

Hymn of the Ages

How Great Thou Art

Prayer of Confession (Todd Holdren), Sinful Anger

Assurance of Pardon (Hebrews 9:13-14)

How Vast the Love of God

In Christ Alone

Scripture Reading (Matthew 27:26-44)

Page 991 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Bubba)

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

This coming February will mark the 20-year anniversary of the release of Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ.

In some ways it was a smashing success.

Even though it cost only $30 million to film, it grossed over $600 million worldwide, and holds the record for the highest-grossing R-rated film in the domestic box office.

But despite being a box office hit, it’s considered the most controversial film of all time, partly for its devastating violence. [1]

Movie critic Roger Ebert said it was “the most violent film I have ever seen.” [2]

The New York Review said, “If you relish the sight of a healthy male body being systematically demolished, beyond the farthest reach of plausible endurance, The Passion of the Christ is your movie.” [3]

Another critic called it “an extended torture episode.” [4]

Nearly all of the film’s 127 minutes depicted Jesus’ suffering with graphic brutality.

The unflinching portrayal of the violence of the cross was so intense, it caused physical responses among its audiences.

Many people wept.

Some vomited or passed out.

At least two people had fatal heart attacks while watching the film. [5]

For many moviegoers it was the most graphic depiction of violence they had ever seen.

Many Protestants were concerned, not so much with the violence, but with the way the film told the story.

As a devout Roman Catholic, Mel Gibson included many details steeped in Catholic tradition, but not found in the Scriptures.

For example, the film shows Roman soldiers throwing Jesus off a bridge, Mary wiping Jesus’ blood off the ground, a woman named Veronica wiping Jesus’ bloody face with a cloth, Mary begging Jesus to let her die with Him, and other details that are nowhere in the Bible.

But the greatest problem with the film was not what was added, but what was absent.

While it certainly revealed the physical horrors of crucifixion, it did little to reveal two of the most important truths the suffering of Jesus is meant to reveal.

The film was unable to communicate the depths of man’s sin and the heights of God’s grace.

Turn to Matthew 27:26

Last week we watched as the religious leaders brought Jesus before Pilate. We saw Pilate’s cowardice, the religious leaders’ envy, and the mob’s anger.

And we saw Jesus, suffering as a lamb that is led to the slaughter.

Today that suffering will continue, but it reveals more than meets the eye.

The Big Idea I hope you’ll understand from today’s text is that the suffering of King Jesus reveals the depths of man's sin and the heights of God's grace.

We’ll see that as we ask and answer Two Questions:

1) How did Jesus suffer? Answering this question will reveal the depths of man’s sin.

2) Why did Jesus suffer? Answering this question will reveal the heights of God’s grace.

Let’s begin by diving right into our first question...

1) HOW Did Jesus Suffer?

Notice four truths about how Jesus suffered...

A) Jesus Suffered as a Man

We covered this extensively a few weeks ago when we were in the garden of Gethsemane, but it bears repeating.

Jesus is not like Clark Kent, pretending to suffer on the outside while inside He’s serene and calm. He is truly human, both body and soul. His suffering is internal and external.

His nerve endings and pain receptors worked just like yours do. He was not immune to pain just because He is God.

Jesus is truly human, in every sense that you and I are, except without sin.

But also, it’s significant that...

B) Jesus Suffered Alone

In his book The Kill Switch, Phil Zabriskie reports that veterans with PTSD are far more likely to suffer longer and more intensely if they have nobody to talk to about their struggles.

There’s something about being alone that intensifies and extends our suffering.

Now think about the suffering of Jesus.

If you could have heard the crowd when Jesus entered the city on Palm Sunday, you would have thought Jesus had no enemies. But if you heard the mob shout “crucify Him!” earlier that morning you would have thought Jesus had no friends.

And indeed, His friends have all deserted Him.

The last of them, Peter, has denied Jesus three times.

Even the Father will eventually turn His back on Jesus.

Jesus truly suffered alone.

But that’s not all...

C) Jesus Suffered Intense Mockery

Have you ever tripped and fallen, then looked around to see if anybody saw you? Why do we do that? Because most of the time we prefer to keep the mockery to a minimum. Nobody really wants to be mocked. But if it must happen, we typically prefer it’s as small a crowd as possible.

Jesus didn’t have that luxury.

Matthew 27:27—Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

A battalion included about 600 Roman soldiers.

Imagine a crowd about four times the size of a normal Sunday at PBC, all gathered to mock Jesus.

Now look at how they mock our precious Savior...

27:28—And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

First they stripped Him, probably completely naked, adding to His shame.

Then, they put a scarlet robe on Him.

Mark’s gospel says it was purple, leading some to say this was a contradiction.

Most likely it was an old red robe that had begun to fade to a purplish color. And since purple signified royalty they put this old robe on Him to mock Him for claiming to be a king. [6]

But it gets worse...

27:29—and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

The crown of thorns was likely made out of the 2-inch barbed quills that still grow in Jerusalem today. [7]

The Romans were doing two things at once: they’re inflicting pain on Jesus, and mocking Him for claiming to be a King.

But God is also doing something too. If you remember back in the garden of Eden, God cursed the ground after Adam’s sin.

Genesis 3:18—“thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.”

Jesus is symbolically bearing our curse on His head. And in a few hours He will be literally be cursed in our place.

But the mockery isn’t over yet.

They kneel before Him and call Him King, but none of it was real.

And since a king also needs a scepter, they take a reed and put it in His hand.

But Jesus won’t hold their scepter for long...

27:30-31—And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

They spit on Him, beat the crown of thorns into His head with the reed, then make fun of Him.

After they’ve had their fun they lead Him away to be crucified.

But the mockery continues on the cross...

27:37—And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

Usually a criminal would have a sign nailed to the top of his cross listing the crimes he had committed.

Jesus' sign was another attempt to mock Him. His only crime was claiming to be King.

Even as Jesus is dying, the people around Him are mocking Him...

27:38–44—Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The religious leaders, the passersby, and even the robbers crucified on either side of Jesus joined in the mockery.

They mocked Him for claiming to be God. They mocked Him for failing to save Himself.

They didn’t understand that Jesus wasn’t trying to save Himself. He was dying to save His people!

There is no way you and I can relate to the intense mockery Jesus is enduring. He is the eternal God who deserves endless praise. Yet He is being mocked by men and women that He created. He is being mocked by those who are being upheld by the word of His power.

But that’s not all Jesus suffered...

D) Jesus Suffered Excruciating Pain

The word excruciating literally means “from the cross.” It’s a word we used today to describe the most intense forms of pain.

First, Jesus suffered a scourging.

27:26—Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

In his book, The Murder of Jesus, John MacArthur writes this about scouring:

“Scourging alone was sometimes fatal. A Roman scourge was a short wooden handle with numerous long lashes of leather attached to it. Each leather strip had a sharp piece of glass, metal, bone, or other hard object attached to the end of it. The victim would be stripped of all clothing and tied to a post by his wrists with his hands high enough over his head to virtually lift him off the ground. The feet would be dangling, and the skin on the back and buttocks completely taut. One of the two scourge-bearers would then deliver blows, skillfully laying the lashes diagonally across the back and buttocks with extreme force. The skin would literally be torn away, and often muscles were deeply lacerated. It was not uncommon for the scourge-wounds to penetrate deep into the kidneys or lacerate arteries, causing wounds that in themselves proved fatal. Some victims died from extreme shock during the flogging.” [8]

But Jesus’ suffering did not end with scourging...

Next was the pain of carrying His cross.

A Roman cross large enough to crucify a grown man would probably weigh as much as two hundred pounds of recycled wood. [9]

Heavy enough to dislocate Jim Caviezel’s shoulder, while filming The Passion of the Christ.

Now imagine the pain of carrying something like that after your back has been lacerated by a scourging.

John 19:17 tells us Jesus carried His cross part of the way to the place where He would be crucified.

But Jesus’ strength gave out before He reached the end.

Who will help Jesus carry His cross? There are no friends or followers around to volunteer. So a random passerby is forced to carry it.

27:32—As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.

Finally, after enduring excruciating pain beyond what most of us can imagine, Jesus arrived at the place of His crucifixion.

27:33–34—And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

Some believe this drink functioned as a mild narcotic, and Jesus refused it because He was determined to endure the full pain of the cross. [10]

Others believe this was just another form of torment. They pretended to offer wine to comfort Jesus, but it was too bitter to drink. [11]

Either way, the lesson is the same. Jesus had no relief from the pain of the cross.

The pain of crucifixion is almost unimaginable for us today.

In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott writes “[Crucifixion] is probably the most cruel method of execution ever practiced, for it deliberately delayed death until maximum torture had been inflicted." [12]

The cross was the Romans preferred method of execution. By the time of Christ, Rome had crucified over 30,000 victims.

It was reserved for the worst criminals. Roman citizens, and women were rarely, if ever, crucified.

Josephus—The cross is “the most wretched of deaths.”

Cicero— “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes and his ears. . . . the mere mention of [the cross] . . . is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man.” [13]

Long 5-7 inch spikes would be driven through the wrists of criminals into a rough-hewn plank of wood.

Some would grow incontinent, and a pool of blood, sweat, feces, & urine gathered at the base of the cross.

Victims would die from slow suffocation. The body would hang so that the diaphragm would be restricted. In order to exhale the victim would have to push up on the nails penetrating his flesh.

One author wrote: “The unnatural position of the cross made every movement painful; lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; wounds inflamed by exposure, gradually became gangrened; arteries became swollen and filled with surcharged blood.” [14]

Truman Davis, a medical doctor who studied the physical effects of crucifixion described the end like this:

“As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. . . . Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber . . . . It is now almost over.” [15]

That's just a glimpse of how Jesus suffered.

But how does Jesus’ suffering reveal the depths of man's sin?

The Passion of the Christ clearly reveals the sin of the Jewish people as they cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion and mock Him as He suffers.

It clearly reveals the sin of the Romans as they take pleasure in inflicting unspeakable torture on an innocent man.

But it does not reveal your sin and mine.

The most dangerous thing about a film like that is you can watch the entire thing and think “THOSE people are pretty bad,” and never realize Jesus suffered because of OUR sin.

John Stott says “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance).” [16]

As Sandra read earlier, “He was pierced for OUR transgressions; He was crushed for OUR iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5).

Perhaps it would be helpful as you think about the cross to imagine yourself holding the hammer. Or swinging the cat of nine tails. Or twisting the thorns into a crown. Or laughing at Jesus as He suffers.

Thinking that way can deepen your hatred of your sin. But it can also deepen your love for your Savior.

The suffering of King Jesus reveals the depths of our sin.

But it also reveals the heights of God's grace.

We’ll see that as we answer one more question...

2) WHY Did Jesus Suffer?

After The Passion of the Christ was released, John Piper was concerned that the film showed the facts of Jesus’ death, but not the reasons for it. So he wrote a helpful book called The Passion of Jesus Christ explaining fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. [17]

We don’t have time to list fifty reasons, so let’s consider four...

A) Jesus Suffered to Fulfill the Scripture

27:35-36—And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

Why does Matthew say this? Was it to highlight Jesus’ suffering—to show how even the clothing on His back was taken away from Him in the end All while the cold and calloused Roman soldiers were playing games at the foot of the cross.

Well that’s certainly true, but once again there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

1000 years before Jesus’ crucifixion, King David prophesied about the suffering of the Messiah in...

Psalm 22:16–18—For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Matthew tells us about the gambling for Jesus’ clothing to increase our confidence in the Scriptures.

Or consider the mockery Jesus endured from the crowds in verses 39-43

The head-wagging, and even the words in verse 43 are an unmistakable allusion to Psalm 22:7-8.

You can tell how much you value something by what you’re willing to endure to accomplish it.

Jesus is willing to endure excruciating pain in order to fulfill the Scriptures down to the most meticulous detail.

Your Bible is a blood-bought Bible. Is that the way we treat it? Is that the way we follow it?

Perhaps you’re not a Christian and you’re just looking for more evidence. Some sign to make it clear that you should believe.

Be careful, friend. I don’t know your heart. You could be sincerely trying to understand.

But you could be like the crowd in verse 42.

You don’t need more evidence, you need to ask God for faith to believe the evidence He’s already given you.

Jesus suffered to fulfill the Scripture. But also...

B) Jesus Suffered to Ransom His People

Matthew 20:28— “… the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

That verse may be the most important verse in all of Matthew’s gospel.

Weeks before He endured the cross, Jesus clearly explained the purpose of His coming. He was going to die to ransom His people.

In Jesus’ day, the word “ransom” was used to describe a payment made to purchase a slave’s freedom.

The price paid to set us free was nothing less than the life and death of Jesus.

Do you remember what Jesus said when His suffering was complete? He cried out, “It is finished!” Why? Because the price to ransom His people had been fully paid.

If you belong to Jesus, the price to ransom you has been fully paid. There is no penance you must endure, no purgatory to face after death. No good works you must perform to earn God’s pleasure.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

If you’re not a Christian, would you trust Him now? Would you turn from your sins and put your faith in Him?

Jesus suffered to ransom His people. But also...

C) Jesus Suffered to Comfort Us in Our Suffering

Everybody suffers.

As Westley says in The Princess Bride, “life is pain. . . . Anyone who tells you different is selling something.”

Without Jesus, your goal in life becomes to avoid suffering. To suffer as little as possible until you die.

But to the Christian, we can endure suffering and even find comfort in suffering as we remember the suffering of Jesus.

Since Jesus knows what it’s like to suffer, we can go to Him with our pain.

Since we belong to Jesus, we know there is purpose in our suffering. Just as there was purpose in His suffering!

We know our suffering is temporary, just as His suffering was temporary!

Jesus suffered to comfort us in our suffering. But finally...

D) Jesus Suffered to Free Us from the Power of Sin

Jesus didn’t merely die to free you from the penalty of sin, He died to free you from the power of sin.

In other words, Jesus’ death is not only what gets us into heaven, it’s what helps us in our daily fight against sin.

Hebrews 13:12—So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood.

That word “sanctify” is the word the Bible uses to describe our growth in holiness.

Notice that Jesus’ blood—His suffering—is what helps us grow in holiness.

You will learn to put your sin to death as you think upon the suffering of Jesus.

Think about how this works as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper:

A Puritan preacher named Jeremiah Burroughs was teaching his congregation about taking communion rightly and he said this:

“If you saw the knife that cut the throat of your dearest child, would not your heart rise against that knife? Suppose you came to a table and there is a knife laid at your plate, and it was told to you that this is the knife that cut the throat of your child. Fathers, if you could still use that knife like any other knife, would not someone say, ‘There was but little love to your child?’ So when there is a temptation come to any sin, this is the knife that cut the throat of Christ, that pierced his sides, that was the cause of all his suffering, that made Christ to be a curse. Now will you not look upon that as a cursed thing that made Christ to be a curse? Oh, with what detestation would a man or woman fling away such a knife! And with the like detestation it is required that you should renounce sin, for that was the cause of the death of Christ.” [18]

In the same way, as we come to the table and see the bread and cup we remember what did this to our Savior. My sin was the knife that killed my Savior.

And as I think about that, I want to put that sin to death because I love Jesus!

In just a moment we’re going to sing a song, and after that we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper together.

If you’ve not repented of your sin and followed Jesus in baptism as a believer we would ask you not to take communion.

That’s not because we think we’re better than you.

We want you to receive Jesus Himself, not merely the symbol that reminds us of Jesus.

And since we believe baptism is the first step of obedience as a follower of Jesus, we shouldn’t take later steps until after we’ve taken that first step.

If that’s you this morning, we would love to talk with you about what your next steps should be.

One of our pastors will be at the white flag ready and waiting to talk to you once we stand to sing.

If you’re not ready to talk to someone about that, you’re welcome to stay in your seat when folks come to the front to take communion.

Or, if you prefer, you’re also welcome to leave the service.

If you do choose to leave, nobody is going to be staring at you or judging you because there will also be a bunch of parents getting up to collect their kids from the nursery while we’re singing so all our volunteers can join us for communion.

If you’re a believer and you’ve been baptized as a believer, we encourage you to begin preparing your heart now to take communion with us.

Think about the depths of your sin, that we were so bad Jesus had to die for us.

Then think about the heights of God’s mercy, that God is so good Jesus was glad to die for us.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Behold Our God

LORD’S SUPPER

1 Cor 11:23-26—For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Take as much time as you need to examine yourself as the instrumentalists play.

When you come to the table one of our pastors will pray with you in a small group of other baptized believers.

You’ll eat the bread around that table, then take the cup back to your seat.

Once we’re all finished with the bread we’ll take the cup together.

[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT THEN PRAY]

If you haven’t eaten the bread yet, please do so now as we prepare to drink the cup.

1 John 1:7 “...if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Drink this in remembrance of Him.

Let’s sing together

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen

Benediction (Ephesians 3:17-19)