Dying with Christ

Our Theme for 2025 is “Live Like Jesus”

It comes out of a simple desire to follow Jesus - and to learn better what that means.

We are spending the entire year in the Gospel of Matthew.

Three weeks ago began the season of Lent - it is 40 days leading up to Passover and Resurrection Sunday.

It is a time of self examination and of repentance.

So during this time we follow Jesus through the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection.

It is a season normally referred to as “passion.”

We think of passion as a strong feeling or emotion.

But it comes from the Latin root meaning “suffering.”

This season of passion is a time to allow ourselves to experience what Jesus experienced as he fully entered into the human experience.

We want to fully enter into His passion - His experience.

We talked about fellowship with Christ’s sufferings.

We also talked about standing with Jesus as one who bears witness to the reality of who He is.

We read Galatians 2: 20 about being crucified with Christ.

This week we are going to talk more about identifying with Jesus in his death.

At my previous church, one Good Friday we did a dramatized production of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in an artistic style, set to music. I played the part of Jesus. I was on the cross and holding my arm up and the music was supposed to change and the lights go out so that I could exit in the dark. But back in the sound booth they were having trouble with the music and it was just silent as I stood there, arms outstretched for what was probably only minutes, but seemed like an agonizingly long time. I was not actually being crucified - I was only portraying Christ’s crucifixion - but I got a taste of the agony, the silence the sense of “how long can this go on?”

For Jesus the drama was real. And identifying with Him in his death means recognizing that He knows and understands our suffering.

He understands what it is like to feel like God is not there.

He understands what defeat and death are like.

But He also knows that this is not the end.

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 NLT

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

I don’t know what you are going through today, but I’m pretty sure that Jesus encountered worse.

Even more, I believe that what Jesus went through can be an example and an inspiration for whatever we may be facing.

Maybe you are bearing your own cross today - Jesus went before you.

Maybe you are waiting in darkness - Jesus is with you.

Maybe you are sitting in silence, feeling like there is nothing more to do or to say - Jesus would say to you “this isn’t over.”

Resurrection Sunday is coming, but for now we are dying with Christ.

Bearing the cross

Matthew 27:31–32 ESV

31 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. 32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.

Simon of Cyrene is a bystander on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion who became part of the story.

He is from North Africa, probably a Jew who happened to be in town for the festival.

Jesus is physically unable to bear the cross, so Simon is pressed into service.

He is the father of Alexander and Rufus

Mark 15:21 NLT

21 A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

The fact that they are mentioned by name suggests that they were known to people in the early church - perhaps members of the church in Rome.

The point is that someone else carried Jesus’ cross and that is an illustration of what we all should do - in a metaphorical sense.

Throughout Christian history “bearing one’s cross” has been applied to everything from suffering and dying for the sake of the gospel to embracing the daily struggles of life - voluntarily and with a good attitude.

What is your cross that you are called to bear?

Does it help to think of it as carrying your cross like Jesus?

The cross should be borne daily.

Matthew 27:33–37 ESV

33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

Another metaphor for suffering is drinking “the cup.”

Disciples James and John wanted to rule with Jesus, but Jesus asked them if they could also drink from his cup?

Matthew 20:22–23 ESV

22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Everybody wants the glory, but nobody wants to suffer.

Am I right? Do YOU want to carry the cross or drink the cup of suffering?

I didn’t think so.

What if it’s not about the hardship or the suffering.

What if that is just what you do because its what you have to go through to get to where you are going.

Hebrews 12:2 NLT

2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Nobody likes to suffer - if you do, there is something seriously wrong with you!

But the key to endurance is not to focus on the suffering but on the joy.

Simon, what you are doing right now was not your choice, it was forced upon you.

But you and your sons have just earned a place in history because of what you did.

James and John, are also going to have a place in history right along side Jesus.

James will be the first disciple to be martyred.

And John will be the last disciple to die - not as a martyr, but persecuted nonetheless.

The Apostle Paul boasts that he faces death every day.

1 Corinthians 15:30–31 ESV

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

The fact that Jesus had to suffer, and that he prepared his disciples to suffer, means that suffering is a normal part of life in a fallen world.

If you are going through a hard time, it doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you.

It’s just life.

Its these mortal bodies that break down over time.

It’s from being around wounded people in a fallen world.

It’s your cross to bear, and you will bear it every day.

The cross must be borne voluntarily.

Matthew 27:38–44 ESV

38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 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.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “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. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Those passing by the cross are mocking Jesus by telling Him to come down from the cross if He is so powerful.

Jesus already had this conversation with his disciples at his arrest.

Matthew 26:53–54 NIV

53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

Everything that Jesus suffered was voluntary.

He didn’t have to do it!

He did it willingly!

His arrest - He went willingly.

His trial - He told them exactly what they needed to hear.

He did not retaliate against those who mocked him, beat him or crucified him.

Why would he do that?

Because He knew it wasn’t about Him - it was for you and for me!

He trusted Gods plan, even when it was really hard.

Maybe that’s all we need to endure in this life.

We just need to know that our suffering has a purpose.

We just need to know that it is all part of a greater plan.

I believe that if my life is commited to serving God’s purpose, then nothing I face is by accident.

Everything that I go through is either God’ plan

Or it’s not what God wanted but God is going to turn it around and use it for His purpose because that is what He does!

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Bearing our cross is living our lives with the purpose of God foremost in our minds.

Waiting in darkness

Matthew 27:45–46 ESV

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Matthew tells us that there was about three hours of darkness while Jesus was on the cross.

These are the three hours of the day when the sun should be the brightest.

This unusual phenomena coincided with Jesus declaring that he felt the separation from God the father.

The darkness was a supernatural illustration of that separation.

Have you ever felt that darkness?

Sometimes God seems absent.

Matthew 27:47–50 ESV

47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

So the reason Matthew tells us exactly what Jesus said in Aramaic was because it was misunderstood by those standing by the cross as calling out for Elijah.

But he wasn’t calling for Elijah.

He was calling on God - “El” the general pronoun for God.

With the vocative tense - meaning that he is making a direct address to God - Like “Hey God!”

So what Jesus is saying is literally “Hey God, where are you?”

“Why did you suddenly leave me?”

He is quoting the Psalm 22

Psalm 22:1–2 ESV

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Can you relate to that feeling?

Did you know that Jesus can relate to you?

He felt that separation from God.

He knows what it feels like to be all alone in the universe.

Sometimes God seems absent and we feel all alone.

God himself knows that feeling.

But it is just a feeling....

At those times He is most present.

Psalm 139:7–12 ESV

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

God is present, even when we don’t feel His presence.

When we are alone or suffering - God is especially present at those times!

But it is also at those time that we may not feel it, we have to just know it.

When we cant see it or feel it, we take it on faith.

What happens next illustrates God’s presence, even in the darkness...

Matthew 27:51–56 ESV

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” 55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Do you get it?

In the darkest moment in history, the curtain in the temple - the symbol of separation between God and man - is ripped from top to bottom.

From top to bottom, meaning God did it.

God removed the barrier to His presence.

This was an earth-shattering event - literally, the earth shook.

Rocks - immovable objects - were split.

There is not barrier sufficient to stand between God and His people.

Not even death itself.

Dead people are seen walking around.

Decomposed bodies are seen walking into town.

Time and matter no longer matter.

The invisible realm is no longer invisible.

We don’t have to ask where people go after they die.

They’re still here - they have been all along, we just couldn’t see them.

Reality just became real!

How do we know?

Well, you have the testimony of a roman soldier.

A man who believes in power.

Who lives by the sword and by what he can see.

He is calling the man on the cross “a son of the gods.”

A helpless man who is dying is more powerful that a roman soldier.

Why? Because death is irrelevant!

Power and status means nothing.

The natural world is only a fraction of reality.

When you realize who Jesus is - it changes the way you see everything.

Like this guy - you just stand there in awe.

Sometimes the best way to say what needs to be said is to say nothing at all.

Sitting in silence

Matthew 27:57–61 ESV

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Joseph is a well connected individual who obtains the body of Jesus and puts it in his own tomb.

Wealthy families had tombs which were essentially caves.

There was a slab or two where recently deceased bodies were laid.

After the primary decomposition had taken place - about a year or so later.

The bones were gathered up and put in a box an placed in another chamber - that was the second burial - that is when your mourning is finally over.

When someone dies in Jewish tradition - there are several phases of mourning.

In the first phase, you “sit shiva”

Shiva means seven, its a period of time, a few days or up to a week where you just sit in silence.

You go to the persons house and just sit - not to talk, but just to be there.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus are sitting silently across from the tomb - sitting shiva.

It is what you do when you think you are down that matters most.

Remember, at this point in the story, nobody (except Jesus) knew about resurrection.

Nobody knew how the story was going to end, but that doesn’t mean that the story is over.

Sometimes we have to just trust God with what we don’t know and can’t see.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.

Why does God allow suffering - we usually don’t know.

But what we do know is that God is not asking us to go through anything that he has not already faced.

Think about what He allowed His own Son to suffer - for us!

Some of the most compelling evidence for Jesus’ divinity is the remarkable way in which He conducted Himself - like no human would - when faced with death.

And some of the most compelling evidence for the authenticity of the gospel is the way Jesus’ followers have conducted themselves.

When persecuted.

When tortured and harassed.

When they, like Jesus have faced their own mortality.

True Jesus-followers continue to amaze and astound the world by living like Jesus in their darkest hour.

Throughout history, countless believers have endured persecution but have remained steadfast in their faith. One notable example is Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned for his faith in Communist Romania. Despite brutal torture, he preached to fellow inmates and even his captors. Wurmbrand was one of the co-founders of “Voice of the Martyrs.” Now this organization tells the stories of thousands of Christians all over the world who demonstrate Christ’s love and sacrifice in the most difficult circumstances.

If you read the stories, you have to ask, “how do they do it?”

How do people endure under such conditions?

Just like Jesus, they have their sights set on something different.

This life is not all there is… there is so much more!

Even death is not final.

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The disciples never expected the resurrection, but the Pharisees suspected that they might attempt to fake it.

It’s good that they suspected that - because they just became the best proof of the real resurrection.

The tomb was secure.

Nobody could open it.

Soldiers were guarding it.

They thought they were putting a seal on death, but they were sealing Christ’s victory.

I know that this has been a difficult message.

Jesus is in the tomb.

The women are weeping.

The disciples are scattered.

Soldiers are guarding the tomb.

Things are looking pretty dark, both literally and metaphorically.

This is where the episode ends and the words “to be continued...” come across the screen.

But first, lets reflect on what we have learned.

Questions for reflection:

1. What is your cross that you are bearing? Can you face it voluntarily, following Jesus’ example? Is it possible that something that you are going through could be an opportunity for God to be glorified through you?

2. Has God ever seemed absent to you? What do you see looking back on that time? where has God shown Himself in that situation? Perhaps you are still in that situation. What can you know to be true?

3. Perhaps the best reflection is one without words. Take a moment to sit in silence. Where is God in this moment? What can you know instinctively without seeing anything? What does the intensity of this moment tell you about the reality of your faith?