The Easter Story pt.ii

Intro

Good morning students,

Welcome to the second week of our Easter Story series where we look at what the Easter Story can tell us about Jesus.

Last week we looked at how Jesus was the suffering servant prophesied about in Isaiah 52.

This week we will continue to look at how Old Testament prophecy ties into the Easter Story and the character of Jesus.

The simplest meaning of Easter is that we are living in a world in which God has the last word.

Phillips Brooks (Bishop of Massachusetts)

That even in betrayal, God has the last word.

That even in suffering, God has the last word.

Even through ridicule, God has the last word.

Even after death, God has the last word.

On Easter day tomorrow has become today.

Unknown

Meaning the promises of tomorrow are fully realized on Easter Day.

The promise that victory is coming, was fulfilled on Easter Day

The promise that all pain and suffering will end was fulfilled on Easter Day

The promise that he would rebuild the temple in three days was fulfilled on Easter Day

You see, that’s all a prophecy is.

A promise made by God

A promise that WILL be kept

A prophecy that will one day be fulfilled

The Bible is littered with prophecy; from a hand writing an inscription on a wall that would be fulfilled that very night, to a prophecy written hundreds of years prior finally being fulfilled and liberating the Israelites from exile in Babylon,

Prophecy is littered throughout the Old and New Testaments.

And today we’ll diving into how some of these prophecies point to the life of Jesus and verify that he is in fact the messiah Israel had been waiting for.

More specifically, we’ll be looking at how,

Jesus was betrayed, beaten, and mocked for you.

Pray

Jesus was betrayed

This first passage we’ll be looking at comes from Matthew 26. In Matthew 26, Jesus takes his disciple up to the garden of Gethsemane.

Where Jesus prays to God his father regarding what’s about to take place, that this thing Jesus is about to do would be given to someone else.

We see Jesus nervous and stressed for the first time regarding whatever it is that’s about to take place, and actually it’s all but one disciple.

One of them is off doing something else, but he does join them eventually. Thats actually where our passage starts.

Matthew 26:47–54 CSB

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. “Friend,” Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear. Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels? How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

We see in this passage that Jesus wasn’t forced into his crucifixion.

Jesus gave Himself up willingly for us.

Yes he was betrayed, but he did nothing to stop it. He even says to Peter, don’t you think I could’ve ask my father and he’d send twelve legions of angels to protect me?

Why didn’t he?

Jesus actually tells us why he didn’t do anything to stop it, because these things needed to happen in order for the prophecies written about him as the promised messiah needed to be fulfilled so what we could come to know him and who he is.

How are we supposed to do that?

How are we supposed to come to know Christ through his willing sacrifice for us?

Firstly, we need to

Live a life worthy of the price that paid for it.

A life that honors God in all things

Honoring God in everything you say and do

Secondly, we need to,

Follow the perfect example Jesus gave us

Of what it looks like to live a God honoring life.

We do that by doing the things Jesus did

Praying for the sick and needy

Teaching others about the Kingdom of God

Laying our life down for others

Sacrificing the things that hurt the most to sacrifice

Saving Private Ryan

Captain John Miller

Special mission

Private James Francis Ryan

paratrooper

three brothers dead

Mission

Squad of eight

five make it to Ryan

Cpt dies

only two survive

6 total deaths for Ryan

“Earn this”

Cemetery Scene

Old

With his wife and family

overlooking the grave of Cpt. Miller

Asks his wife “Am I a good man?”

tears

And just like those men risked their lives for one,

Jesus laid down His life for ALL

Jesus was beaten

In the next chapter of the gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 27,

Just after we read about Jesus standing before the Jewish leaders and elders of Judea [Israel] and Peters denial of Christ three times,

We see Pontius Pilot, Roman Governor of Judea, offering to the crowd the release of either Barabbas, a rebel and murderer, or Jesus Christ, Son of God

As was tradition where during the festival Pilot would release one prisoner. And it’’s here that our passage begins,

Matthew 27:22–26 CSB

Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?” They all answered, “Crucify him!” Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!” All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.

Now I know it may not seem like this passage talks about Jesus being beaten, but there’s this weird little word here at the end of the passage that I’m not sure you picked up on. Flog.

It says Jesus was “flogged”. Now I don’t use this word in my day-to-day life and I doubt you guys do either, but to flog means…

“to beat severely with a whip or scourge; of the three levels of Roman beatings, this refers to the worst two (including the one that preceded execution)”

Now you may be asking yourself how bad is this flogging?

To answer that I have these,

Show photo, then video, then photo of flogging here

Jesus, being sinless, was beaten and crucified for our sins.

We have Pilot himself as witness to the innocence of Christ

as the crowd demands Jesus to be crucified he asks them “Why? What has this man done?”

With no response from crowd besides a continual,

“Crucify him!”

We actually learn from the gospel of Luke that both Harod (a local Jewish ruler) and Pilot (the Roman ruler) could find no truth to the accusations brought upon Jesus by the Jewish leaders and elders. With Pilot saying,

“I have no grounds to charge this man with those things you accuse him of. Neither has Harod,”

Furthermore, if we look at the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 21, we’ll see that Pilot’s act off washing his hands was traditionally Jewish.

It was performed when the Jewish elders of a city nearest to a person killed would wash their hands over a young cow as a sacrifice to atone for the sin of the murder

As to not bring the blame on the elders for the blood of the innocent that had been spilled.

Thus, by Pilot washing his hands of blame for Jesus’ death, he is proclaiming the innocence of Jesus.

Nevertheless, the Jewish rulers and elders continued yelling,

“Crucify Him!”

Jesus, being sinless, was beaten and crucified for our sins.

What are you going to do about it?

Well there’s a couple things you can do,

Firstly, you could,

Thank Him by spending time with Him.

Spend time in your word, getting to know him. That’s why Jesus did what he did for us.

John 10:14–15 CSB

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.

We are his sheep and he wants to know us, and for us to know him.

Secondly,

Put your Faith in Christ

Put your faith in Him, and what He did for you on the cross.

When someone give you a gift or does something for you outer of love,

What’s one of the worst things you can respond?

Ignoring them, or even worse outright rejecting their gift

God wants you to accept His sacrifice as a free gift of salvation.

Do not ignore Him or reject Him. Accept Him as Lord of ALL.

And for those of you in the room who may be rejecting God in your hearts I’ll tell you this,

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

- C.S. Lewis

Christ demands a response from us.

You need to either reject Him or accept Him today, and I plea with God that you will accept His free gift of salvation for your life through your faith in Christ Jesus.

There’s only three things Jesus could be. A lunatic, a liar, or our Lord.

The very words of Jesus don’t allow you to interpret him as merely a good moral teacher, or a good example to live up too.

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus demands you to see him as more that just a good teacher.

Now,

Jesus was mocked

Matthew 27:27–31 CSB

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

They stripped him, spat on him, and mocked him.

Show picture of the governors house in Israel

This is the place where they beat the crown of thorns into Jesus’ head, driving the thorns deeper and deeper into his skull,

All the while mocking him as “King of the Jews”

Earlier in the gospel of Matthew, Matthew 20, we see Jesus prophesied all these things would happen to him.

Matthew 20:18–19 CSB

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”

Jesus was mocked, just as he and scripture prophesied

What does this mean for us?

Well firstly, this means

You can trust that His Word is true

Not just some of His words, but all of his words. Every single word in this Bible is true.

Secondly, this means Jesus Knows What it’s like to be Laughed at.

He knows what its like to be made fun of, and mocked

He knows what our suffering looks like.

He knows what it feels like.

This means,

You can go to Him for comfort

You can lean into the relationship he desires to have with you,

The one that he paid his life for you to have with him,

SO THAT you can be comforted in your suffering.

The Story of William Borden

William Borden was born into one of the wealthiest families in America in 1887. Because of this he was given many pleasures in life.

One of which would come at his 16th birthday when he was given a trip around the world to see the various sights and wonders Earth has to offer.

Going to places such as Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Rather than being blown away by the various different sights of the world, William was instead filled with a burden for the worlds hurting people.

You see at a young age, Williams mother had taken him to church where he had responded to the gospel of Jesus by surrendering his life completely to Christ Jesus.

It was on this trip around the world that William would write home of his desire to be a missionary.

As you might imagine, many of his family and friends were shocked by his decision to leave behind his life of wealth in the pursuit of the mission field.

One being quoted as saying that he would be “throwing himself away as a missionary”

After graduating from Yale University, where he studied and led daily prayer groups, William turned down many high-paying jobs in obedience to the burden God had placed on his heart for the hurting people of the world.

At which point he again was questioned by many, wondering why he would throw away such a promising, stable, and safe career for the mission field.

William had identified the Muslim people in China’s Gansu region as the people he was called to reach. In his preparations to evangelize to Muslims, William went to Egypt to study Arabic.

Where within a month of contracting spinal meningitis, he died at the age of 25.

Never getting to reach the Muslim Kansu people in China.

Now some might call William Bordens untimely death, in pursuit of reaching the lost people of the world, a tragedy or a waste, but that’s not a tragedy.

I’ll tell you what is a tragedy.

Living till your 100 and having done nothing to answer the call of God on your life.

That’s a tragedy.

William Borden could have done just that. He had it all. He was wealthy beyond imagination. He had a degree from Yale.

He was set for life.

Instead, William Borden decided to answer the call of God on his life, to us the talents God had given him to reach those around him.

You see,

William’s life wasn’t a waste.

Because of his commitment to the Lord, in his freshman year of college over 150 freshman were meeting weekly for Bible Study and prayer.

By his senior year, there were over 1300 students meeting weekly for Bible Study and prayer.

But that’s not all, in his death, William gave $800,000 USD to Christian Chinese Mission groups

Which would be equivalent to over $26 million dollars in todays money when adjusted for inflation.

The Story of William Borden can be summed up in three phrases,

No Reserve.

No Retreat.

No Regrets.

I want to ask you all something,

Have you been mocked for Jesus?

Have you been mocked for your commitment to Jesus like William Borden was for rejecting his life of wealth for a life on mission?

Because, Jesus was mocked for you

Let me ask you this,

Have you rejected the call of God on your life?

Have you rejected the gifts God has given you to reach his people?

All of this was prophesied

Matthew 27:45–46 CSB

From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

(Eli, Eli, Llama, Saw-Bok-Thaw-Knee)

Why would Jesus be crying out to God here?

Is Jesus actually worried that God abandoned Him, or is there more going on here?

As it turns out Jesus is actually quoting a Psalm here. Psalm 22 to be precise.

So the question then becomes,

Why is Jesus quoting this Psalm?

What is he referring to?

And to answer that we have to go to Psalm 22.

At least 400 years

Prophecies Fulfilled

Psalm 22:1 CSB

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?

Matthew 27:46 CSB

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Psalm 22:2 CSB

My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.

Matthew 26:38–39 CSB

He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Psalm 22:7 CSB

Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads:

Matthew 27:39 CSB

Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads

Psalm 22:8 CSB

“He relies on the Lord; let him save him; let the Lord rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.”

Matthew 27:43–44 CSB

He trusts in God; let God rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.

Psalm 22:12 CSB

Many bulls surround me; strong ones of Bashan encircle me.

Matthew 27:27 CSB

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him.

Psalm 22:16 CSB

For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.

Matthew 27:31 CSB

After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Psalm 22:18 CSB

They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.

Matthew 27:35 CSB

After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots.

Jesus was betrayed, beaten, and mocked for you

Jesus gave himself up willingly for us.

Jesus, being sinless, was beaten and crucified for our sins.

Jesus was mocked, just as he and scripture prophesied.

He was sold over, crucified, and ridiculed for our sake.

Jesus was our willing sacrifice.

Jesus, knowing no sin, took on our sin on the cross.

Jesus was stripped, spat on, and mocked for our sake.

Just as it was prophesied.

Jesus suffered for us.

Jesus suffered for you.

He understands what it means to lay down your life for a friend.

He understands what it means to suffer.

He understands what it means to be mocked and ridiculed, because He was first ridiculed and mocked,

He did all these things FOR US,

SO THAT we could be saved through His sacrifice.

SO THAT we could join him in oneness with God.

SO THAT he can show his great love for us.

Jesus suffered for us.

Jesus suffered for you.

Pray