It Is Finished
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
This morning, we are going to take a sobering look at the crucifixion of Jesus. It would be easy to give you all of the scientific explanations of a crucifixion, but I will not do that today.
This morning, I want you to simply see that Jesus has completed the task. As this song we have just heard says, “It is finished” and “the battle is over.”
However, you must put your faith in what Jesus did for you for that to be a reality. We must respond to these things we will hear and see today, and it is my prayer that God will open our eyes to see afresh the sacrifice of our Savior.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
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!”
30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
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.
Pray
1. He Was Stricken (vv.27-31)
1. He Was Stricken (vv.27-31)
When the verdict had been delivered, Pilate hands Jesus over and the soldiers mock Jesus
Pilate is not doing this against his will, but refuses to take responsibility
The world will also mock Jesus
They deny His claim to deity
They deny His claim to authority as King
They try to remove Him from their lives
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
2. He Was Smitten By God and Afflicted (vv.32-44)
2. He Was Smitten By God and Afflicted (vv.32-44)
32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
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.”
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.
Jesus is led away to the cross
One condemned would carry the upper cross beam to the place of execution outside the city
Jesus has been beaten so severely that He cannot carry the beam any further
Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry it. Matthew may be trying to highlight specific details so that his readers can verify the eyewitness account.
Golgotha - a place of execution outside of the city
12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
The wine they offered served as a mild narcotic and as an insult
Jesus refuses to drink it and dull His senses as He must face the full brunt of God’s wrath
They divided Jesus garments among themselves
Garments were costly and the soldiers would have sold them
It also fulfilled the Scriptures
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
Jesus hangs on the cross from 9am to 3pm
The Romans nailed the charges against Jesus over the cross - He is being charged with treason and is labeled the King of the Jews
Everyone is mocking Him, even the two criminals that are crucified with Him
These were probably the accomplices of Barabbas and the three crosses have been prepared for them, but Jesus is crucified in Barabbas’s place
The chief priests and scribes come out to mock Jesus further
Note their claim
He saved others, let Him save Himself
Jesus did in fact save others
Jesus cannot save Himself and save us at the same time from our sins
While the leaders think that Jesus is not saving anyone, He is in fact doing that very thing as He hangs on the cross
3. He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions (vv. 45-50)
3. He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions (vv. 45-50)
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?”
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.
From 12pm-3pm there is a darkness that covers the earth
It is not an eclipse because they cannot occur at full moon which is when Passover is
It is a darkness that can be felt and one that is an omen and sign for the Jew and the Gentile
They considered darkness as a sign
Darkness in the land was a plague of the Egyptians
9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Jesus cries out
Why Has God forsaken Him - Jesus is pointing out that He is not just dying at the hands of men, but is experiencing God’s punishment for our sins
There is a mystery here that we must not go to far beyond asserting what the text says without getting into theological error
There is one sense in which it is impossible for the union of the Trinity to be separated
There is another sense in which Jesus is bearing our sins and the Father turns His face away
In Jesus’s exhaustion and with His tongue clinging to the roof of His mouth, Jesus cries out this cry
It is from Psalm 22:1
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Jesus may also have been referencing the whole psalm to bring to attention what the Scripture had foretold
People thought He was crying for Elijah and wanted to see what would happen
Jesus has to yield up His spirit. His life cannot be taken from Him, He must lay it down
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.”
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
4. By His Wounds We Are Healed (vv.51-56)
4. By His Wounds We Are Healed (vv.51-56)
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.
Notice the curtain was torn from top to bottom
Signified is was God who tore it
The Temple system was now obsolete along with its sacrifices
Signified access to God is now available through Christ
Many are raised to life and come out of the tombs
We all want to know who they were and what happened to them
They were believers - saints looking forward to the Messiah
They had died
They were raised to life - this is a miracle that cannot be explained
They most likely were taken up to heaven and could have been given a glorified body
We are not privileged to every explanation and detail
God is humbling us by what we don’t know or cannot rationally harmonize in our finite human minds. Some things must be received by faith
Conclusion
Notice there are several types of responses to what happened to Jesus.
3 Responses of Faith
The Centurion - this Gentile has seen many men die and recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God
The women - they represent the faithful who have remained with Christ
Joseph of Arimathea - Even one who comes from the council that had Jesus killed can be saved and he chooses to associate with Jesus and risk everything to ask for Jesus’s body and burry Him in his own brand new tomb
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.
At the same time, there are the leaders who see all of these things and refuse to believe along with Pilate
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.
We will dive into the significance of Jesus’s burial next week, but for now simply notice there response.
They are so sure of what Jesus said would happen, they put a guard in front of the tomb. The Disciples don’t even comprehend this as a possibility.
As we close out this morning with looking at the account of the death of Christ, we must respond ourselves to it.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
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.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
So today, will you believe on Christ who died for your sins, or will you reject Him and turn away from Him.
One choice leads to eternal life for you and the other leads you into an eternal separation from the One who died to make you free.
