Matthew 27:27-44 "The Crucifixion of the King"

Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 27. Today, we are looking at verses 27-44… a most sober section of scripture… for it pertains to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

These verses are of the most significant in the Bible for they are the capstone to mankind’s redemption.

As Peter said in Acts 4:11-12 “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders [speaking to the Sanhedrin], which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Being saved eternally, only happens by looking to Jesus… believing in Him… and His finished work on the cross… paying for our sins by His blood.

That’s what we are looking at today.

As a recap… the last two weeks, we looked at the 6 trials of Jesus. Three trials before the Jewish religious leaders, and three trials before the Roman officials.

The last week of Jesus Christ is highly documented by the four Gospel writers- and, each writer has a different style and writes to a different audience.

Matthew writes specifically to the Jews to demonstrate that Jesus is the awaited Messiah… and the King of the Jews.

Now, I’m feeling a little slow, because we been in Matthew since June 28, 2020… over a year and a half… and I just last week realized that I struggle a bit with Matthew’s thematic writing style.

Matthew often breaks from writing chronologically, for ex. he writes of Pilate washing his hands earlier then the event occured… as compared to the other Gospel writers.

So, I went through the four Gospels, studying the order of the Passion events thus far (I did this more for me then you), and here’s a a quick overview:

During the trials, Pilate had Jesus scourged.

Then the Roman soldiers mocked Him and placed the crown of thorns on him, which is where we pick up today.

Pilate presents the bloodied and tortured Jesus to the Jews… who were not satisfied by His torturous scourging… they wanted death…

They shout, “Crucify Him!”… and the Jews accept the fallout, “His blood be on us and on our children.”…

Then, Pilate washes his hands, and Jesus was led out to be crucified.

Big Picture: This was Passover. The feast day looking back to Exodus 12, where a lamb without blemish was sacrificed, and it’s blood was applied to the lintel and two doorposts.

Exo 12:23 reads, “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.”

The lintel and doorposts formed two crosses, with the blood of the lamb central and covering it all.

All pointing forward to this event today, as Jesus will hang between two other crosses, and His blood will be our covering.

In 1 Cor 5:7, Paul wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

This is what He did for us in love. Sin is our destroyer, but Jesus’ blood covered our sin.

What we read here is NOT just some story.

Understand the gravity, as we look at “The Crucifixion of the King”… our sermon title for today.

Let’s Pray!

Matt 27:27-28 “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison [a cohort- 600 men] around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.”

Luke says it’s a gorgeous robe… insinuating a king’s robe as a form of mockery.

It’s a scarlet robe. Isa 1:18 states sins are like scarlet. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

Appropriately symbolic for exactly what Jesus did for us… He clothed Himself with our sins, and clothed us with His righteousness.

2 Cor 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The Great Exchange.

Matt 27:29 “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.”

Jesus was beaten during the religious trials, but once in the hands of the Romans… true torture began…

He was brutally scourged under Pilate, and now the Roman soldiers play their brutal games with Him.

Hardened and trained Roman Soldiers… trained killers. Elite at the administration of pain.

We often think Jesus was killed by the Jews, but truly both Jews and Gentiles had their part. God’s whole creation is guilty for the death of His Son.

They twist a crown of thorns… which is not easy.

In the Philippines, Ethan and I came across a gnarly sticker bush, and we made a dozen crowns of thorns. I stuck myself 40x twisting those crowns.

The thorns were not small rosebud thorns, but long thorns… similar to what was native in Israel…

They may have been palm spines… interesting if so…

Palm branches were waived at Jesus in honor during His triumphal entry…

Perhaps now the same branches the Romans use to mock Him.

Whether this plant… or another thorn laced plant…

Thorns were pressed into Jesus’ already battered head. The Roman soldiers mocked Him, spit on Him… which is disgusting… (and the religious leaders already spat on Him as well, so He is covered in their filth), and they struck Him with the reed/ the staff which they were using as a mock king’s scepter.

He could have called down 12 Legions of Angels, but He endured to redeem us.

Thorns were introduced as a result of sin. During the fall, God said to Adam… Gen 3:17 “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…”

Again, appropriately symbolic for what Jesus did for us… He crowned Himself with our sins, and and will crown His faithful with…

The Crown of Life (Jas 1:12)

The Crown of Glory (1 Pet 5:4)

The Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim 4:8)

The Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thes 2:19)

By all rights, we should be wearing the Crown of Thorns, but He wore it for us...

Now turn to John 19… the next scene… that shows Pilate’s attempts to release Jesus, but being he is under tremendous pressure to keep order… he caves… as the Jews become increasingly hostile…

John 19:4-15 “Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.” 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

Another of Pilate’s statements that has become widely known and immortal as it stands here in scripture.

Was Pilate sincere? Impressed that Jesus took the beatings and did not confess, nor give up accomplices?… which would have lightened the beatings.

Did Pilate have sympathy for this innocent Man who was brutalized… who was handed over because of envy?

Or, was this a statement of mockery… even apathy?

After all, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” But, didn’t stick around for the answer.

V6 “Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

Which they couldn’t do, because the right to capital punishment was revoked… though they did sneak in a stoning here or there…

Have you ever considered, “Why didn’t the Jews stone Jesus?” They stoned Stephen in Acts 7.

It was God’s sovereign will for Jesus to be crucified.

Prophetically, it was written around 1000 B.C.... 1000 years prior to Christs’ birth… when David penned Psalm 22-

A Psalm about a righteous man… put to death by the wicked.

A Psalm that contains not a single word of confession from that righteous man.

A Psalm the speaks about the pierced hands and feet of the just man.

Crucifixion wasn’t even systematically used.... possibly not even invented until around 550 B.C. by the Persians.

If you let all that sink in… it should blow your mind… God, in every generation has been in control.

V7 “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”

Referring to Lev 24:16 which states, “And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death.”

Again, why didn’t they stone Jesus? They follow their law half-way, and when they find it convenient.

Religious hypocrites… white-washed tombs.

I said it last week… Scripture does not yield to us, we yield to Scripture.

Many who claim Christianity today bend Scripture to fit their ideology.

They have placed themselves on the throne… they are guilty of idolatry… just like these Jewish religious leaders.

V8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,

Pilate was terrified… Romans were highly superstitious holding beliefs of gods who visited mankind.

V9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

How arrogant? Pilate lords his authority over THE LORD.

V11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

Pilate, like all people, answers to God for what has been entrusted to them.

And, Jesus shows degrees of judgment here… Pilate was in sin… but, the one who gave Christ over (perhaps Caiaphas… maybe Judas… even Satan himself)… had a higher degree of sin.

V12 “From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

A new tactic… reasoning releasing Jesus indicates disloyalty to Caesar.

They could send an accusation against Pilate to the Roman Emperor- Tiberius Caesar Augustus…

… who was known for suspicion and violence…

… who was reportedly displeased with Pilate’s ability to keep order in Judea…

… a report like this would not shine favorably on Pilate and now he must choose...

Be a “friend to Caesar”… remain loyal to Rome…

Or be a “friend to Jesus”… and side with truth…

The Jews can now say, “check-mate.” They’ve got him.

V13 “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat [bēma seat] in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour [either 6 am or 12 noon depending on how time was reckoned] And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

I sense Pilate’s defeat with this statement… perhaps him delaying the inevitable judgement… and expressing his contempt for the Jews.

I think his heart is heavy, for he knows he is perverting justice, and is about to betray innocent blood.

Pilate’s wife said, “Have nothing to do with that just Man.” But, Pilate didn’t heed her words.

V15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

WOW! And, with that statement… the chief priests… the Sanhedrin committed blasphemy.

If they wanted to be true to their law, they should have immediately picked up rocks and began stoning one another.

Their words have been etched in eternity… they betrayed God, and sided with the pagan emperor.

This is the conclusion to the process spoken in John 1:11, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

And it would seem that at this point, Pilate washes his hands, which only Matthew records… Matt 27:24-25 “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it. 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

Then we read in Luke 23:24-25 “So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. 25 And he released to them the one they requested [Barabbas], who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.”

Mark tells us Pilate released Barabbas “wanting to gratify the crowd...”

Now turn back to Matthew 27…

As you are turning there, I mentioned last week my love of the inductive bible study method… observation, interpretation, and application.

And, how difficult it is with the gravity of these scriptures to find applications…

Except this… praise the name of Jesus.

Gal 3:13 states, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…”

Jesus took our punishment… redeeming us… we never need to hang on a tree… He did it for us.

Like a parent who asks their child, “How much do you love me?” And, the child stretches out their arms wide, and says, “This much!”

That’s what Jesus did for us. He stretched out His arms wide, demonstrating… “I love you this much!” as they nailed Him to the cross.

Matt 27:31-32 “And when they [the Roman soldiers] had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. 32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.”

It’s interesting when obscure Bible characters are named… like Malchus or blind Bartimaeus. It would not shock me that we see many of these people in heaven.

How else do the gospel writers know their names unless they had additional interactions with them?… only now as disciples.

In the case of Simon of Cyrene, we know a little more about him… Mark 15:21 “Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.”

Mark knows the names of his children!

In Rom 16:13, Paul wrote, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.”

We cannot absolutely say, but is this the same Rufus?

For you and I, and anyone who calls on Jesus, John 10:3 states, “… the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Believers know His voice, and you could be living a relatively obscure life, but YOU ARE NOT obscure to Jesus Christ. He knows you by name.

What else do we know about Simon of Cyrene?

Well… he’s from Cyrene… obviously. This was a city in North Africa (modern day Libya)… a city populated by many Jews.

Simon was a Jewish name, so he is likely a Jew who traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts… his vacation certainly took a twist.

Here’s Simon… on feast day and the Romans compelled him… pressed him into service.

There was a Roman practice where soldiers would command Jewish civilians to carry their personal gear for up to a mile… one Roman mile.

You may recall Jesus taught in Matt 5:41 “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

On this day, Simon was forced to carry the cross of Christ… specifically the cross beam.

Jesus… after all the torture He endured may not have had the physical strength to bear the cross.

But, I think there is something more.

The one who carried the cross was guilty. But, Jesus was innocent… It was not appropriate for Jesus to bear the cross.

It would have been appropriate for any one of us to carry the cross, but not Jesus.

On the way to Calvary, Luke records this scene...

Luke 23:27-31 “And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ [Quoting Hos 10:8] 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

Green wood… picturesque of Jesus/ green and innocent… and the dry… symbolic of Israel who was barren from sin.

Just imagine… if Rome committed these atrocities against innocent Jesus… Just imagine what they will do to guilty Israel.

70 A.D. seems best pictured here, when Rome indeed ravaged Israel and her people.

And, certainly, there could be a far fulfillment out to the Tribulation.

Back in Matthew...

Matt 27:33 “And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull,”

Luke tells us, “There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.”

The Romans, and no doubt a mob of Jews, lead innocent Jesus and two legitimate criminals to Golgotha… the Place of a Skull.

Golgotha is an Aramaic word for Skull.

Luke calls this same place “Calvary” which is an English word based on the Latin word Calvaria…

In Gk., the word is kranion… the basis for “cranium” / skull.

So, Golgotha, Calvary, or Kranion… however you want to say it… they all mean skull.

There is some dispute as to the location of Calvary.

It’s so difficult to know where the actual site is because Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., and in the past 2000 years many of the original sites have been built over. Jerusalem today looks far different than 1st century Jerusalem.

What we know is John 19:20 says Jesus was crucified "near the city" / Jerusalem.

Hebrews 13:12 states Jesus “suffered outside the gate.”

Matthew 27:39 and Mark 15:29 indicate the location was accessible to people who “passed by”… as they mocked Jesus…

This indicates Jesus was not up on a hill, as often pictured, but near a common road where people “passed by”, and could read the sign Pilate posted “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

So, the legitimate location must meet these criteria… and there are several proposed places… here are just two possibilities, and I’ve been to both…

The traditional site is called, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (or Church of the Resurrection).

If you can get past what it has become today… a shrine of orthodox idolatry… perhaps this is the place.

But, there is another site… also very popular called “Gordon’s Calvary”…

Named after the British Major-General, Charles George Gordon, who in 1882 endorsed the view of two biblical scholars that this was the authentic site.

They did the research, he got the credit.

Regardless, what I like about this site is that it looks and feels authentic.

Golgotha is the Place of the Skull, and at Gordon’s Calvary there is a rocky knoll that looks like a skull!

And, just around the corner… there is a garden and a tomb.

Jn 19:41 states, “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.”

Today, you can visit “The Garden Tomb” which is just next to Gordon’s Calvary.

If that’s not the actual site, certainly it gives you a closer a feel than the traditional sites.

I posted a video of the Garden Tomb on Facebook for you all to check out.

Matt 27:34 “… they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall [or myrrh as Mark writes] to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.”

Just prior to being crucified, the Romans attempt to give Jesus a concoction of wine and myrrh or gall.

This was thought a stupefying potion that would dull the senses, making it easier for the Romans to have less resistance in nailing the condemned to the cross.

Ps 69:21 prophesied this 1000 years prior… “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Myrrh was a spice… a product of Arabia… obtained from a tree.

It was multi-purposed… used in embalming… mixed with wine… also a fragrance.

It often symbolized bitterness, suffering and affliction.

The wise men presented gifts to the child Jesus, ‘gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’

Gold for the divine King… Frankincense for the fragrance of His perfect and sinless life… Myrrh pointing to His sufferings and death.

But, Jesus did not drink this mind-numbing mix of wine and myrrh…

With a clear head, He faced the cross and took the punishment of our sin.

Sin is against God. To God, David wrote, “Against You, You only, have I sinned...” (Ps 51)

And, Jesus would not lessen the intensity of the punishment against sin by drinking the wine and myrrh. He took ALL of God’s wrath on sin.

Matt 27:35 “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet [David Ps 22:18]: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” 36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.”

Crucifixion was of the worst ways to die in history. The Romans perfected this death to inflict maximum pain that could last for up to 4 days.

Scourging often preceded crucifixion, and the loss of blood led to dehydration and shock.

This was an embarrassing and shameful death as the condemned were often stripped naked on the cross. That’s why the soldiers had Jesus’ clothes.

Victims often suffered cardiac arrest or progressive asphyxiation by impaired respiratory movement from hanging on the cross… leading to unconsciousness and death.

“My bones are out of joint” Psalm 22.

To catch a breath, the victim would need to lift themselves up, by the spikes through their wrists right near the radial and ulnar nerves… causing a painful jolt with each breath.

There are many more painful details to why crucifixion was so bad, but just trust me… it was a terrible death.

Romans kept watch until the condemned died, and were granted the right to keep the personal effects of the condemned.

John tells us there were five personal effects of Jesus… typically four soldiers were present, so each got one garment, but the fifth was a tunic without a seam. To divide it would make it worthless, so they cast lots, and one winner got the tunic.

This was a very natural thing to do… what they didn’t realize is they were fulfilling the prophecy of Ps 22:18.

And, God often weaves the supernatural into the natural. He accomplished His divine sovereign will in very natural ways not seen to the natural eye.

Psalm 22 is an incredible Psalm that vividly describes crucifixion about 500 hundred years prior to the Persians used this practice, and 1000 years predating Jesus.

Listen to how exact this Psalm is to Jesus’ experience at Calvary…

Ps 22:12-18 “Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. [Israelites] 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint [from hanging}; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. [cardiac arrest?] 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. [dehydration] 16 For dogs [Romans] have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet [crucifixion]; 17 I can count all My bones. [no bones broken] They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”

If that doesn’t give you confidence in the word of God, I’m not sure what will.

Amazingly prophetic… amazingly accurate. Studying though Ps 22 is a good side study.

Matt 27:37 “And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

There were several types of crosses… a single beam, a T-shaped cross, and the traditional cross that we think of.

The fact that a sign was hung above Jesus’ head gives weight to the traditional cross being authentic.

Pilate ordered this sign to be written in three languages (according to John) for all to read: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Hebrew meaning Aramaic- the local Jewish language, Greek- the common language of the world, and Latin- for the Roman officials.

This was Pilate’s subtle revenge for the Jews forcing his hand. They object as we read in John 19:21-22, “Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Finally, Pilate puts his foot down, but he was far beyond innocence. The man who walked away from “THE Truth.”

Matt 27:38-44 “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.

Jesus between two crosses.

As we read in Exodus…The blood of the lamb between the crosses of the two doorposts and the lintel.

No Judgment to those who trusted in the blood.

V39 “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! [Mocking Jesus’ words in John 2] If You are the Son of God [THE SAME WORDS as Satan during Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness], come down from the cross. Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.”

Prior they accused Him of blasphemy, now they admit the truth… He saved others.

“If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”

If He came down, He couldn’t have saved others.

Because He didn’t come down, I am saved… and I believe in Him.

V43 “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.”

Just as Psalm 22 said, “They gape at Me with their mouths.”

Mark 15:28 reads, “So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

Isaiah… who wrote that prophecy… also wrote, Isa 53:12, “And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

And, He never stopped. Heb 7:25 reads, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Right now… Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father praying for us. He always lives to make intercession for you.

Let’s close with this final detail in Luke 23:39-43…

Luke 23:39-43 “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Even as Jesus was dying on the cross, He had the power to save.

This condemned thief, in His dying hour, turned to Jesus in faith… and the same day was with Him in Paradise… Heaven.

But, how much more joyful to say ‘yes’ to Him now… to be filled with His Holy Spirit… and to have the privilege of walking with Him the rest of this life.

Let’s Pray!

To see the one we know and love suffer so is not easy.

But, we rejoice, for death was simply something He conquered… and He is alive… "He always lives to make intercession for [you].”

If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior, don’t wait until your dying breath… today can be your day of salvation.

We’d love to pray with you right after service.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

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