The Walk to Life

Psalm 22; Matthew 21-27

Intro:

We began on Sunday to walk with Jesus through this last week before the Cross. This evening we continue that walk.  So much has happened since Sunday!

A.    Monday

1.    Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Bethany and went into the Temple

a)    At the Temple He drove out the money changers declaring the House of God to be a place of prayer (Matthew 21:12-19)

b)    When we forget who God is and why we worship, worship can become mercenary.

B.    Tuesday

1.    He returned from Bethany again – the fruitless fig tree withered immediately foretelling the coming condition of Israel after they rejected the Messiah. Jesus used this as an occasion to teach on the power of prayer. (Mt. 21:18-22)

2.    Jesus’ authority is challenged by the Sanhedrin, the Sadducees and the Pharisees

a)    He answers with parables of the two sons, wicked tenants and the marriage feast each showing Israel’s hardness in rejecting the Messiah

3.    He preaches His last sermon (Mt. 23:1-39), watches the widow deposit her mite in the Temple treasury (Mark 12:41-44)

4.    He then gave the date of the crucifixion: after two days when Passover begins (Friday) (Mt. 26:2)

5.    On this day Judas contracts with the chief priests to betray Jesus (Mt. 26:14-18)

6.    Jesus has returned to Bethany

C.   Wednesday – nothing is recorded

D.   Thursday

1.    The Passover is prepared and eaten in a borrowed room (Mark’s father’s house?) in Jerusalem (Mt. 26:17-20)

a)    Judas is revealed as the betrayer

b)    Jesus’ feet are washed

c)    Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper – revealing the meaning of the symbols of Passover as fulfilled in Him

E.    Friday

1.    Late Thursday – early Friday, Jesus goes out to the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James and John

a)    After three seasons of prayer the scene is set

2.    Judas arrives and betrays Jesus with a kiss

3.    Jesus is arrested, tried by Annas, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin in each case the process and condemnation was illegal according to Jewish Law

4.    Peter denies Jesus three times and weeps bitterly at his own failure to own Jesus (Mt. 26:69-75)

5.    Judas, seeing no hope of redemption for his acts commits suicide

6.    Jesus is taken to Pilate, then Herod, then Pilate again – no guilt found yet He is condemned to death (Mt. 27:11-26)

7.    The soldiers scourge Him, place a crown of thorns on His head and a purple robe on Him,  mock Him, and place the cross upon Him leading Him out the Way of Pain to Golgotha

8.    Jesus is upon the Cross for six hours

>This brings us to the time of our focus this evening

II.    Through all the reality of death we find Jesus leading us to life. Walk with us now through the eyes of Scripture and then participating in communion to relive for us the death of Jesus.

>Easter Liturgy

Easter Liturgy

By Sean R. Gaffney

JESUS: In the beginning was the Word . . .

PSALM: A reading from the book of Psalms.

PROPHET: A reading from the books of the Prophets.

GOSPEL: A reading from the Holy Gospels.

JESUS: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46)

PSALM: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? (Ps. 22:1)

JESUS: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

PROPHET: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isa. 53:3)

PSALM: But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. (Ps. 22:6)

JESUS: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. (John 17:1)

GOSPEL: For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.” (Luke 23:22)

PSALM: Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. (Ps. 22:16)

GOSPEL: But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” (John 19:15)

PROPHET: I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. (Isa. 50:6)

GOSPEL: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. (John 19:1)

NEW: Jesus said,

JESUS: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

GOSPEL: And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:34)

PSALM: They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Ps 22:18)

GOSPEL: When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was

seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to

one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” (John 19:23-24)

PSALM: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my

mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. (Ps. 22:15)

GOSPEL: Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,

JESUS: “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)

PSALM: They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. (Ps. 69:21)

GOSPEL: A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19:29)

PSALM: All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. (Ps. 22:7)

GOSPEL: The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. (Luke 22:63)

PSALM: All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” (Ps. 22:7-8)

GOSPEL: The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” (Luke 23:35)

JESUS: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

GOSPEL: Peter asked,

PETER: “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37)

GOSPEL: Then Jesus answered,

JESUS: “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster

crows, you will disown me three times!” (John 13:38)

GOSPEL: But Peter said,

PETER: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matt. 26:35)

PSALM: Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Ps. 41:9)

GOSPEL: But he denied it.

PETER: “Woman, I don’t know him.” (Luke 22:57)

JESUS: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the

truth; your word is truth. (John 17:15-17)

GOSPEL: As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying,

PETER: “I am not.” (John 18:25)

GOSPEL: Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them,

JESUS: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

GOSPEL: They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

JESUS: “But what about you? Who do you say I am? (Luke 9:18-20)

PETER: I don’t know this man you’re talking about! (Mark 14:71)

GOSPEL: Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him . . . And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:61-62)

(Pause)

GOSPEL: Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: “JESUS OF

NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (John 19:19)

PROPHET: Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (Isa. 53:4)

JESUS: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?  No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” (John 12:27)

PROPHET: On that day, the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (Zech. 12:11)

PSALM: I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. (Ps. 22:14)

GOSPEL: Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. (John 19:18)

PROPHET: “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zech. 12:10)

PETER: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1

Pet. 1:18-19)

PSALM: I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. (Ps. 22:17)

PROPHET: On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. (Zech. 14:6)

GOSPEL: When he had received the drink, Jesus said,

JESUS: “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

PROPHET: “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zech. 13:1)

JESUS: “This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:28)

PROPHET: On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. (Zech. 14:8)

JESUS: On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:20)

GOSPEL: Jesus called out with a loud voice,

JESUS: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Lk. 23:46)

GOSPEL: And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)

(Pause)

GOSPEL: “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” (Matt. 27:65)

PSALM: Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. (Ps. 16:10)

(Blackout)

>Communion in Five Senses

III.   God orchestrated six events verifying the deity of Jesus and the purpose of His death (Matthew 27:32-54)

A.    Nearly 1,000 years before Jesus was crucified King David wrote a Psalm expressing his pain at betrayal and attacks – Psalm 22. This Psalm prophetically depicts some of the aspects of the crucifixion of Jesus.

1.    (Matthew 27:35; John 19:23-24) While He hung on he cross His clothes were divided among the soldiers fulfilling prophecy

2.    Nearby, watching with hearts in pain stood four women: His mother, His aunt, Mary, wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene

they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.  Psalm 22:18 ESV

B.    (Matthew 27:45) Darkness from noon to three p.m.

1.    Even nature was in mourning for the Creator

2.    Jesus is Lord over nature

C.   (:51) The Temple Curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holiest Place was torn

1.    These next events happened the moment Jesus died

2.    This curtain was 60 feet long and 30 feet high and the thickness of a palm

3.    Yet it was torn from top to bottom – only God could have done it

4.    The death of Jesus removed the barrier preventing access to God

5.    That is why Jesus said He is the Door. It is only through His death that anyone can get to God.

D.   (:51) The earth shook

1.    This earth shook under the judgment of God. It was sin that corrupted God’s creation. As man’s sin was judged so the earth felt the weight of it.

2.    The earth is not permanent. Someday God will replace it with a new heaven and new earth.

E.    (:52-53) The tombs of dead believers broke open

1.    Death no longer had any power

2.    This predicted the coming resurrection of Jesus to die no more

F.    (:54) The Centurion declared his faith in Jesus as the Son of God

1.    He was the illustration of the opening of the gospel to the Gentiles that would be seen later in Acts.

Concl:

The focus of all this is Jesus, God’s Son, on the cross.  This was God’s plan.  It was the only way that the righteousness of God could be satisfied while the rescue of mankind was effected. 

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

Friday ends in a borrowed tomb.  Hope is uncertain without the knowledge that Sunday is coming.