Matt 27:32-50: The Power of the Cross
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· 100 viewsJesus endures the pre-ordained punishment of God for sin.
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Irony
Irony
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Its doesnt make sense to most people that Christ death on the cross was necessary
“There must have been another way that he could have gone about it”
My response is if there was another possible way, wouldnt you think an omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God would have done so and spared himself immeasurable agony of death and shame of the cross?
But yet in the cross we see a power that overcomes the curse of sin
Its piece of jewelry and a good luck charm for others
But
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
So today, the cross will either be point of contention for you or it will be the source of your redemption
Let read in our text today beginning in Matt 27:32
Vs 32- Jesus has been condemned to die
-the scourging has occurred already and now the cross await
-However Jesus unable to carry his cross like most people would
-His scourging left him to weak to do carry the T-bar that would be tied to him
-the Vertical beam would have been at the site and the T-bar would be attached to it
-Simon of Cyrene- Modern day Libya(North Africa) was selected to carry the beam for him
-Simon probably there for the Passover is now carrying the Passover Lambs death apparatus
Vs33- the place they were heading was Golgotha- just outside of city walls
So Jesus is paraded through the streets as a criminal for all to see and then be put up outside the city for public spectacle
Golgotha got its name, “Place of the Skull” most likely because of its shape but also because it was a place of execution
The irony flows deep through out this passage- Jesus is taken to the place of the skull to bring life to those who believe
Vs34- Jesus offered wine with gall in it but upon tasting it, he refuses it
Gall was a bitter tasting mixture that would help deaden the pain
Irony once again- Jesus chooses to reject the cup from man so he can fully consume the cup of Gods wrath
Vs 35-36 Matthew quickly moves through the details of the crucifixion- the early readers of the book would have clearly understood the horrifying details
So as Jesus hung, hands and feet nailed to the cross - the body begins to struggle to breath
Sometimes it took days to day- as the body grew weaker and weaker and eventually you would suffocate
For Jesus, the time it took for this to occur was much quicker due to the massive amount of blood loss and trauma he has endured already
So as Jesus hangs, gasping for air the- the soldiers gamble for his clothes and keep watch over the execution
We see much of this being fulfilled according to Psalm 22 as it prophesies the death of Jesus.
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
Vs 37- The sentence of every person was put on a placard above the head of the perpetrator
Jesus’s placard read “ Jesus, the King of the Jews”
In what was meant to be a mark of insult, was actually a declaration of truth
Vs38- Even the robbers- condemned to die beside him reject Jesus as he is crucified between the thieves
What we see is that every where Jesus looks, there is scorn and judgement all around
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
Vs 39-40 continue the public ridicule fulfilling
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
They take the words that Jesus said, twist it and use it against him
-The same way Satan did when he tempted Jesus in Matt 4- “If your the Son of God, turn the stones into bread
-That temptation was issued under 40 days of fasting and he remained faithful
But this one- this one was a temptation of a whole different caliber
The great power of the cross wasnt that Jesus couldnt come down from the cross but that he deliberately choose not too
Vs 41-42- The RL crowd join in- you saved others, save your self then if come down from the cross- we will believe you
Im not certain there was a greater temptation ever placed on the life of Jesus than to remain on the cross
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 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.”
But what we see is that Jesus greater desire was to glorify the Father and bring about the perfect plan of God
In doing so, He loved our heart to death- literally
If there ever was a more opportune time for tempting of Jesus- it was now
Vs 43- Listen to remarks here- “he trust in God, Let God deliver him”
-Make no doubt they realized Jesus made it clear he was the Son of God
-you can clearly see they did not believe him at all
-they hated him
It was the sovereign plan and restraint of the Father that keep the multitudes of angels from eradicating the people and getting his son
Matthew 1. Passion and Crucifixion (26:1–27:66)
Mounce rightly observed, “It was the power of love, not nails, that kept him there.”
Vs44- The thieves continue to ridicule Jesus the same way
From priest to prisoner- the hatred is the same
Vs 45- the supernatural darkness appears
Many people have tried to say this was a eclipse and give natural reasonings why this occured
But I dont think that is necessary
We see Jesus becoming the divine target of Gods wrath and that very act is physically displayed by way of the natural processes of creation set forth from the beginning of time come unglued at this moment
Not a sin from Gods people is left unaccounted for
The sins we have done, thought about and havent done yet- all put on Jesus at one moment as he steps in place of sinners
For a 3 hour span the world sat at cosmic odds as the creator of the cosmos dies
Macarthur said- during Jesus birth Bethlehems night sky was filled with supernatural light (Luke 2:9) but at his death the world was filled with dreaded darkness
Vs 46- this verse has plagued people and theologians for years
-there has never been a time in Jesus physical life that he was not fully man and fully God
-Many different aspects of his glory of heaven were either left behind, veiled in his humanity or just deliberately not exercised
But one thing he has always had was an intimate connection with the Father
At this moment, there was a separation of which he had never experienced before as he became accursed in the place of His people
Jesus quotes verbatim
Macarthur notes this interesting moment was the only time Jesus didnt refer to God as Father
As Jesus became the guilt offering for sin, no shortcuts were allowed
In the depths of Gods sovereignty and in a way too deep for me to grasp (for a period of time) the God-man was separated from the Father
“Jesus didn’t die as martyr to a righteous cause or simply as an innocent man wrongly accused and condemned. Nor as some suggest, did He die as a heroic gesture against man’s inhumanity to man. The Father could have looked favorably on such selfless deaths as those. But Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world, the righteous heavenly Father had to judge Him fully according to that sin.”
This doesnt mean Jesus ceased to be in any way, shape or form for that three hour span
But there was a separation in intimate fellowship that had never been before
The anguish of the cross isnt understood without this truth
Its not the cross that brought the agony on Jesus- Its the Father who satisfied all of His wrath at this moment upin the Son on the cross
Is 53:10- reminds us that it was the will and joy of God to crush Jesus
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Took the cross joyfully even if it was the most agonizing experience ever inflicted upon a being
Vs 47- the people around continue their sadistic mockery
Vs48- Could be an act of kindness but that doesnt fit the bill
Drink would have only prolonged the suffering
Which fits with the antagonism of next verse
Vs 49- lets see if Elijah is coming to get him
The supernatural darkness never fazed the people
The RL always demands more signs
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
This was their sign and they were missing it
He will rise again from the grave and they will miss it to as Jews are still waiting on a Messiah who already came
Vs 50- Matthew quietly writes down the death of the King of the Jews
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Gives us account of the greatest words every uttered
“It is finished.” so his people can hear “Welcome, home good and faithful servant”
Done by the hands of men but preordained by God
-Judas is guilty, Caiphas is guilty, Pilate is guilty, Peter is guilty- all have accountable actions
-All made choices, all followed the desire of their heart
-God worked inside all of those actions to bring about his perfect plan of redemption
-The cross isnt mass chaos
-The cross is Gods cross
-Its a divinely orchestrated
-Every action carefully fulfilling the law and the prophets and also fulfilling every requirement for the remission of sins
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Peter makes it clear- it was Gods plan and foreknowledge-making plain the purpose of God in Christ first coming
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
2. Salvation is a gift
-this isnt something that people just blindly stumbled upon
-the cross wasnt a game of odds to hopefully to win people to himself
-But every believer was a divine pursuit of God
-the old song - “When he was on the cross, I was on his mind”
-Gifts are not merited, earned or persuaded- they are the divine prerogative of God
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So, far from offering us flattery, the cross undermines our self-righteousness. We can stand before it only with a bowed head and a broken spirit. And there we remain until the Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts his word of pardon and acceptance, and we, gripped by his love and brimful of thanksgiving, go out into the world to live our lives in his service. (John R. W. Stott in "The Cross of Christ")