Why is It a Big Deal That Jesus Died?

Matthew 27:27–54 ESV

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 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!” 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. As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 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. 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. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 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. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 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?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 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. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 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!”

Why is Easter a big deal?

Matthew 27:27–54 ESV

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. 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. 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. 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!”

Matthew 27:27-54

Matthew 27:27-

Why did Jesus have to die on a Friday, like a criminal, on a cross?

Passover was the death of a lamb for each family to remember deliverance from the angel of death who Passed Over.

Buy on Monday, kill on Friday, place blood on the doorposts.

(1) Jesus was innocent

He did not commit a crime

He was a teacher, he advocated greater devotion to God, not less.

(2) Jesus was sinless

The substitutionary atonement of Jesus

He was God come ion the flesh

(3) Jesus was our substitute

(1) Jesus was innocent

He did not commit a crime

He died for you

He was a teacher, he advocated greater devotion to God, not less.

(2) Jesus was sinless

He was God come ion the flesh

(2) Jesus

(3) Jesus was our substitute

He died for you

When I think of important holidays I almost always think of Christmas. Who doesn't like Christmas? Food, family, gifts, decorated trees, outdoor lights, food, food, and more food. And something about a baby. You see, our culture seems to have forgotten that Jesus is the reason for the season.

But Easter is different. The world keeps trying to make Easter go away. Schools no longer call it Easter break. We no longer get a holiday on Good Friday. Stores keep trying to make it another holiday where you buy stuff that your kids don't need (and probably shouldn't eat). But make no mistake, Easter is a big deal. And why is that?

It's because when you have a baby, he can be just a baby. He's cute, he's helpless. Maybe someday he'll grow up but for now he's just a baby. And people bring him gifts. That's cute.

But Easter isn't cute. And people aren't bringing gifts. And he's no longer a baby. He's a whipped and beaten and suffering man dying on a cross. And he has a crown of thorns. And he has a sign over his head that says, "This is the King of the Jews." And there's a soldier at the foot of the cross saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."

And then he dies. But he doesn't stay dead. He said he'd rise again and on the third day the tomb is empty. And that's a really big deal.

But is it a big deal to you? Christmas is cute, Babies are cute. But babies don't tell adults how to live their lives. Move ahead thirty three years and this grown man named Jesus is expecting you to do something. He wants us to believe in him. He wants us to follow him. He wants us to pick up OUR crosses and deny ourselves and completely surrender. He wants us to make a decision that not only impacts our lives now but also our eternities. And that's a really big deal.

Do you know that Jesus died for you?

Do you know that he died to pay the righteous penalty of your rebellion and sinfulness?

Do you believe that his death was a substitutionary death, in other words, he took the punishment we deserved upon himself?

Do you believe that Jesus died, and was buried, and that God raised him from the dead?

Do you believe that he completely fulfilled every promise in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of the world?

Have you decided to become a completely committed and devoted follower of Jesus?

Have you shared this with someone?