What Did Christ Accomplish? Matthew 27:32-56;28:1-10;16-20

Intro

Hey Y’all? How are you doing? How was spring break? Everyone get good and rested or do you need a break from spring break? Anyone do anything cool?

Cool.

So, question for you, how many of you are car people? Like you like to work on cars, or you like to learn about cars. You want to know what makes the car work.

Before I moved here, I used to work for Advance Auto, slingin car parts, and I worked at Advance in New Orleans for 5 years, i got the job as soon as I got to seminary, it was a good job, pretty simple, just sell car stuff.

The funny thing is, if you sell car parts you should know what they do, you should know what an alternator or starter or exhaust manifold does, me not really being a car person had no clue what any of that stuff did. Like for me I knew that if i changed the oil and put gas in the car, the car would move faster than I could walk. push the gas, car go fast.

That was he extent of my car knowledge when I started at advance, I had no really clue what i was selling, like some things i could figure out, like brake pads, I was pretty sure what those did, helps stop the car, — but i’d get really confused when my manager was like, “so when you sell brake pads, try to sell them some brake lubricant.” Which in my mind seems like that wouldn’t help, friction, no friction, confusion.

Idk. When I started working there it would have been like a vegan working at 5 guys, you just don’t know. “how are your burgers?” People order them, but I’m not sure, fries are good, thats about all I can do.

So while I worked there, i really did learn about cars, i started to understand what did what in a car, what made the car go fast thing.

I had to, it helped me sell car parts. It helped me understand what I did.

So that is where i want to be tonight, looking at the nuts a bolts of what we believe. I think for us, a lot of the time, when we are asked, “What did jesus do” we say He saved us, we aren’t wrong, but that is really surface level, he saved us, but what did jesus do?

We have been looking at who Jesus is during this study, what his heart is like, who He was and is, The Life of Jesus.

So tonight, we are going to wrap this study up, and ask the question, What did Jesus Accomplish, What did Christ Accomplish? What did His life, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection accomplish?

So thats the question, What did Christ Accomplish?

Context

So to answer that question we are going to have to cover a good bit of scripture and really press in here, try not to get distracted but really focus, we are going to cover a lot, and we are going to move kinda all over the place. So to get where we want to go, we are going to look at the last bit of Matthew in chunks.

This will feel a little different than we normally do things. So stick with me, try not to get lost. Just stay with me and we’ll all get where we are going.

So if you have a bible go ahead and turn over to Matthew 27, and you’re are going to need a bible tonight, so if you have a bible, great, if you don’t have a bible go ahead and throw a hand up and we’ll get you one, anyone need a bible? It will really help tonight to see the text, to be able to follow along on the text.

So last call for bibles?

Okay cool, so flip over to Matthew 27, we are going to look at part of 27 and most of 28. So stick with me.

and now before we do anything else, let me pray for our time in the word, y’all pray with me.

pray

Okay cool,

So in looking at the question What did Christ Accomplish, let me do a little review and catch up to where we are in the story.

So before spring break we looked at Jesus’s conversation with Pilate, basically telling Pilate who He is, and why he has come. What the Kingdom is, how the Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is telling Pilate His purpose in this world.

After this conversation Pilate gives the Jewish people a choice, to free a prisoner, Barabbas or Jesus, Barabbas was a murderer, the crowd resoundingly choses Barabbas. Then Pilate has Jesus handed over to be crucified. and that is where we are going to start tonight.

The Cross

The Cross. What is the cross, and what happened on the cross.

So lets read this first chunk together here, Matthew 27:32-44

Matthew 27:32–44 ESV

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.

Okay, so let’s talk about crucifixion, because this passage just says, “and they crucified him” which doesn’t explain exactly what is happening physically and what is happening from a theological stand point.

So physically, crucifixion is brutal. We all can sort of conceptualize what is happening, but in a real sense we can’t. No one has seen a crucifixion in a long time. It is hard to wrap your mind around what it is a crucifixion is.

It was one of the most brutal ways to die, as a way to kill some one Crucifixion had been around since Persian times, but the Romans had perfected it. The Romans were the masters of it, they did this pretty much all the time, as a way to deter people from breaking the law, or rebelling against the Empire, what ever, it was how they put people to death. And they were good at it. it is important to note that the Romans were good at killing people in this method. Because there are some people who will try to explain the resurrection that Jesus was not actually dead when they took him off the cross. And that is just not possible with a roman execution. the Romans were efficient killers.

They beat Jesus almost to death, whipped him almost to death, then put a crown made of thorns on his head, they mocked him and probably beat him again. And that is the easy part of the ordeal, after that, they would have given you a a cross, which is super heavy, and made you carry it to where they were going to kill you.

So think about that, sit there for a second and try to put yourself in that place, because it was your place. It was the path you were walking, in a world that was purely based on justice it should have been you. So imagine you are walking down the road, bloody, barely standing, beat to an inch of your life, and that is the easy part. Then they are going to take that cross, and lay it down, and then nail you to it. basically the size of a railroad spike, they’re gonna drive that through your wrist, and both legs. Then they’re gonna then raise that cross up, stick it in a hole and let you suffocate to death. That is actually what kills you, you suffocate to death, and kinda drown in your own blood.

So what is going on here?

Physically the brutality of the cross is showing us on a small scale what should have happened to us, to the 1st century people, this probably one of the worst ways you could die, it was one of the worst things that could happen to you. This is saying this hell is what you were destined for had Christ not stepped in, had God not made a way for us.

From a Theological standpoint, Christ is taking our place, if you study theology there is a phrase that tells you what is going on. Penal Substitutionary Atonement. That is a 10 dollar word for Christ took your place, it should have been you.

Look at the next couple verses, Matthew 27:45-46

Matthew 27:45–46 ESV

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?”

The wrath of God is being poured out on Christ, all sins of all time is being put on Christ, The Father is pouring out the fullness of his wrath on Christ.

This is what should have been ours, we should have recieved the wrath of God.

So what is be accomplished by the brutality of the Cross? Christ is taking our sins upon himself, every bad thing, every sinful thought, it has been nailed to the cross and taken care of. It has been atoned for. Christ took your place, Christ took my place. He took our place on the cross and was the sacrifice.

His Death

So let’s keep going, look at the next few verses, Matt. 27:50-53

Matthew 27:50–53 ESV

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.

Okay, so we just looked at the cross, now we are looking at the death of Christ. Christ dies in this passage.

IF we are looking at this with this week in mind, what we have looked at so far is Good Friday. This coming friday is Good Friday.

So what is happening, when Christ dies, earthquakes happen, some people come back alive for a second, so wild stuff is going on, but what has the most significance in this story is the curtain. We might gloss over that, because earthquakes and dead people walking around kinda grabs your eye. but the curtain in the temple is torn in two. and this isn’t just any curtain, it is the temple curtain. This isn’t your grandma’s curtains this is a super thick, wool, serious curtain, you would need a big sharp knife to cut this. It was meant to be a barrier that you couldn’t see through, it was the curtain that separated the holy of holies in the temple, from the rest of the temple. In the holy of holies is where God dwelled in the temple.

In the sacrificial system this is where only the chief high priest could go. and he had to be ritualistically cleaned and have done so many things to step in to this room, because this is where God was, God dwelled here. If you stepped in to that room with out properly following the steps and rites and what not you would die. You would be struck dead.

The high Priest would wear a rope around his leg with a bell on it, so that the other priests could hear him moving around, if the bell stopped moving, that means he goofed and was dead, they could then drag him out.

So this Curtain is what separated the people from God, they had to rely on a priest to make sacrifices.

When Christ dies, the curtain comes down, it is torn in two, it is no longer needed, the world now has access to God just like the Priests.

SO what did Christ’s death accomplish, the sacrifice for all sins of all time is made, the veil is torn in two in the temple, God is now accessible, the relationship is restored.

All the way back in Genesis, Adam and Eve used to walk with God, Adam was referred to as son of God, he was with God. But then they sinned, and a sacrifice was made, they were given animal skins and kicked out of the garden, they no longer walked with God, the relationship was severed because of our sin.

The Cross and Death take this away, what did Christ’s death accomplish? The sacrifice is completed, the wrath is satisfied, sin has been atoned for.

Resurrection

So let’s keep going, skip a head a little bit to Matt. 28:1-10

Matthew 28:1–10 ESV

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

So, Christ has died, he was crucified and he died, the veil was torn in two, he has now been buried, they rolled a giant stone in front of the tomb, it had roman guards put around it to make sure no one stole the body. and now we see this scene.

Both Marys went to the tomb, see they thought this was all over, Christ died, they watched it happen. But then when they get there, the stone is rolled away, and Christ appears to them. Famously the angel says to them “He is not here, he is risen.”

This is what we celebrate on Easter, this is why we have the Christian faith, with out this, we have nothing. If Christ doesn’t rise then all of this is for nothing. So what does the resurrection accomplish? Death is defeated, the last enemy is defeated by Christ.

Think back to the Garden, death was not meant to be in this world. Adam and Eve let sin and death seep in to the world. They let death and sin in and corrupt the world. The rest of scripture is God’s unfolding plan to restore the world to what it was, to restore things to perfect order.

Christ rising from the dead is the culmination of God’s plan, death is defeated. Christ has made the way. Christ is victorious over death. Sin had been conquered once and for all, Christ has come to make all things new.

So what did Christ’s resurrection accomplish? It is the victory over death, defeating the grave makes the way through Christ for us to have life eternal.

Great Commission (application)

So what did Christ accomplish? What did the Life of Jesus accomplish here? When someone asks you what did Christ do? You can tell them, on the cross, Christ took our place, my place, your place, our place. The wrath of God that was for us, was poured out on Him. he died the death we should have died, all of our sins were atoned for. In his death, the sacrifice was made, the relationship between man and God is restored, in rising again death is defeated and we are given his life, we are given life everlasting through Him.

This Sunday is easter and this is what we celebrate, Christ dying and rising again, creating a way for us to have relationship with God.

So what do we do with this? We are one day closer to heaven, but what do we do now that we know heaven is on it’s way?

What doe the Church do now? Look at Matt. 28:16-20, I want Christs words to be what ytells us how to take this from here. These are the last words we have from Christ in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is the great commission, because of what Christ Accomplished, this is what we are to do, we are to go and be apart of the mission, to spread this good news, because that is what the Easter story is, it’s the Gospel, it is what Christ has done, it is what Christ has accomplished.

So what do we do? Tell people this is what Christ has done, make disciples. If you are a follower Christ, you are supposed to show people how to follow Christ.

Jesus’s last words should be our first priority. Show other how to follow Jesus. Make other disciples of Christ.

If you are a follower of Christ these texts are calling you to see what Christ has done for you. This should increase how we worship, this should embolden us with sharing the Gospel. IF you are a follower of Christ this changes how you see people, not as enemies but potential brothers and sisters in Christ, potential co laborers in Christ. If Christ did this for you He can do this for them. See Christ as Christ the Victor, Christ that took your place. Christ in your stead.

If you are not a follower of Christ, this is the Gospel. This is what Christ did for you. This is what Christ came to do, to make a way for you to have relationship with Him. To have eternal life, and life now that brings a Joy that cannot be taken away. IF you aren’t a follower of Christ, or you don’t know what you believe this would be the perfect night to figure that out. If you have questions or need to talk, i’ll be right over there, if you don’t want to talk to me, talk to one of the adults, or one of you’re friends but talk to someone. Come see Christ as Lord, Come see Christ as King.

Y’all pray with me

pray