TRULY THIS WAS THE SON OF GOD
Have
you ever mistaken someone for another?
Mistaken identity usually does little damage, but it can create some
embarrassing situations. I hate it when
I realize that the person whose name I have just yelled out followed by a big
wave was not the right person!
Once in while, if we do not recognize
someone’s true identity, the consequences can be significant. If we make a mistake about the identity of
Jesus Christ, there are eternal consequences.
That is why He has taken so much care to establish His identity so that
we might understand who He is and know Him as He really is.
At the cross, and the events leading up
to the crucifixion, we find that there were many who rejected Jesus as God’s
Son and treated Him in an inhuman manner.
Their callous, hard-hearted treatment of the Lord simply reinforced the
fact of the sinfulness of the human race.
But even in that environment, the power
and love of God broke through to the hearts of some who recognized that in
Jesus Christ God was revealed in a way that could not be denied.
THESIS: Through the crucifixion, Jesus Christ died
in our place and made it clear in the fullness of both His power and love that
He was truly the Son of God.
I. CRUEL TREATMENT AT THE HANDS OF THE UNGODLY
--After the complete mockery of justice in the courts of Pilate, the trumped up charges from the Jewish leaders and the riotous demands of the crowd, Jesus was condemned to die by the unspeakably horrifying method of crucifixion.
--In the account by
Matthew in 27:27-44, Jesus was subjected to the kind of cruelty and torture we
have a hard time imagining.
--Cruelty at the hands of the professional soldiers who were charged with being His executioners may be understandable at some level, but the response of the others speaks of the depth of evil at work in putting Jesus to death.
--One of
the most amazing things is the cruel and abusive treatment Jesus received from
nearly everyone involved—no indication that there was a shred of compassion in
them, no suggestion of sympathy for the plight of a fellow human being!
A. MOCKED IN THE
PRAETORIUM (27:27-31)
--People
tend to feed on the vulnerable and those who appear to be weak, defenseless and
easy prey for the cruel words and actions of heartless mobs.
--As you
hear what happened in the Praetorium, a sense of righteous indignation should
rise up in you and cry out for the senseless cruelty to stop.
--Yet who
among us has not been guilty of joining the crowd in ripping up some poor
victim at one time or another—speaking mean and vicious words for the purpose
of inflicting pain, hoping that by focusing our barbs on someone else, we will
avoid being the target ourselves.
--The soldiers
soon tired of their sport and proceeded with the business at hand, serving as
Rome’s executioners.
B. INSULTS HURLED AT HIM BY PASSERS-BY (27:39-40)
--Having
forced Jesus to carry His own cross as they left the Praetorium, the soldiers
realized that in His weakened condition He would never make it all the way to
Golgotha where the crucifixion would take place.
--They
grabbed a man from Cyrene from the crowd, a man named Simon, and “pressed him
into service to bear His cross” (27:32) and were therefore able to make their
way to the site of the execution, Golgotha.
Note: Golgotha, which means Place of the Skull, was the site of the public executions by crucifixion that the Romans favored. The place was suited for their purpose because it was an elevated rock formation visible from as far away as the Mount of Olives and situated by a well-traveled road so that the executions performed there served as a public warning of the extent of the power of Rome.
--Here as
people passed by going to and from the city, the cold-heartedness of the people
was evident in the way they “hurled insults” at Jesus during this time of
intense suffering and agony…their insults spoke volumes about the nature of
their hearts!
C. MOCKED BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS (27:41-43)
--The
instigators of this crucifixion were present to add their voices to the crowd
and to remove any remaining doubts about their absolute depravity and complete
disregard and disdain for anything resembling compassion or concern for a
fellow human being.
--At some
point, should there not have been some remorse, some nagging doubt about their
murderous treatment of anyone this way, some hint of the stirring of their
consciences that this was wrong in every conceivable way?
--Instead,
their voices joined the rest—perhaps even persuading the rest—in mocking a
suffering and dying man!
--When
those who are supposed to represent the ideals and values of their faith
demonstrate blatantly wicked tendencies, the legitimacy of their beliefs cannot
help but be suspect.
Note:
Hypocrisy continues to be a hot issue for those with strong religious
convictions—even those who profess to trust and love Jesus Christ. When we continue to run into Christians
whose lives and deeds contradict their beliefs, we must not be surprised but we
cannot be tolerant of such hypocrisy as we see in those whose faith consists of
joyless words and hearts void of genuine love.
Those who persist in living
contradictory lives join the religious leaders before the cross of Christ in mocking
Him and all He lived and died for!
D. INSULTS HEAPED UPON HIM BY ROBBERS ON CROSS (27:38, 44)
--Perhaps
as hard to understand as the reaction of the religious leaders is that which we
read about the two thieves hanging on crosses on either side of Jesus.
--In
their own last hours of life, could they really afford to heap insults upon
Jesus when their own lives were nearly over?
--In
Luke’s account, one of the two woke up to the reality of his situation and
turned to Jesus:
Luke
23:39-43 39 And one of the
criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and
us!” 40 But the other
answered, and rebuking him said, “Do
you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 “And we indeed justly, for we are receiving
what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was
saying, “Jesus, remember me when You
come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly
I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
--Without question, the sinful nature of the human race was brutally evident among those present at the crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
--Should there have
been any question about the necessity for someone to die for our sins as a
people, all doubt was here removed.
II. CLEAR TESTIMONY FROM THE HEIGHTS OF HEAVEN
--But in midst of the hatred and in the very face of evil people, God bore witness from the heights of heaven to His love for sinners—“God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
--Throughout this
passage, and in the parallel accounts in the other gospels, God gave clear
testimony of His overwhelming grace by affirming that Jesus Christ was giving
His life according to a plan of eternal design—one established from the
foundation of the world—to atone for our sin, to forgive those who would trust
in Him, and to bring life to those who had once been dead in their trespasses
and sin!
--Through seven rather specific means, God affirmed what was true about Jesus, both in His character, His power, and His future through the course of these dark hours.
--Isn’t it just like
the Lord to introduce His light even in the middle of the deepest
darkness? To offer hope in the midst of
despair?
A. HIS WORDS—SEVEN LAST SAYINGS ON CROSS
--As Jesus spoke
while on the cross, His words were profound pictures of His heart:
1. Fulfillment of His Word (In Prophecy)
2. Forgiveness from His Mercy
3. Faithfulness to His Calling
--In each of the
seven times He spoke on the cross, Jesus demonstrated that His perspective was
not soured by a bitter spirit, angered by the harsh injustice, or inflamed by
an attitude of revenge.
--Instead, He proved
to be more than just another victim, more than just a man—He is responses were
consistent with the character of His Father.
B. THE ‘KING OF THE JEWS’ SIGN ON THE CROSS (27:37)
--In spite of all the
controversy concerning what Jesus had said about His identity as King of the Jews,
God overruled the objections of the religious leaders and made sure that His
Son was properly identified to all who passed by when He was on the cross.
--In fact, in an
unexplainable moment of stubbornness, Pilate refused to surrender any more
ground to the Jewish leaders and even insisted that the inscription be written
in the three dominant languages of the day for everyone to see who was being
crucified.
John 19:20-22 20Therefore this
inscription many of the Jews read, for the place where Jesus was crucified was
near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. 21 And so the chief
priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate,
“Do not write, ‘The King of the
Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of
the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I
have written I have written.”
--God wanted everyone
to know that before them hung a King—noted that day as King of the Jews, one
day as the King of glory!
c. THE DARKNESS—FROM NOON TO 3:00 PM (27:45)
--During the course
of His earthly life and ministry, Jesus had demonstrated His power over the
elements (water to wine, calming of storms, walking on water, etc.), and here
at the time of His death when He appears to be at His weakest, the power of God
is once again revealed as the skies darken in the middle of the day.
--It was as if the
heavens were in mourning clothes, weeping over the death of their Creator.
d. THE TEARING OF THE VEIL (27:51)
--In the Temple, at
the moment of His death, curtain separating the Holy of holies from the rest of
the Temple was torn from top to bottom—a testimony from the Lord that a
sanctuary made by human hands would never again be needed now that the Perfect
Lamb had been sacrificed once for all.
e. THE EARTHQUAKES (27:51)
--Again in a display
of supernatural power, not only were the heavens mourning in darkness over the
death of their Creator, but the earth itself
shuddered and trembled in grief over the death of Jesus Christ.
--The world shook and
the rocks split as the mighty power of God responded to the atrocity witnessed
on the face of the earth.
f. THE RAISING OF THE SAINTS (27:52-53)
--Then in a
surprising and baffling turn of events, “many of the bodies of the saints who
had fallen asleep” came forth from their tombs.
--Not only did their
bodies rise up from the grave, but they were obviously alive and went into the
city and appeared to many people who saw them.
--This passage is
difficult to understand but bears witness to at least a couple of important
issues:
1. Those Who Lived
and Died before the Crucifixion Were to Be Included in the Resurrection
--Some confusion
later arose about those who had died before the crucifixion, an issue Paul
addressed in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,
but attested to here by this miracle performed by God.
2. Those Who Were
Raised Up Did Not Enter the City and Appear to Many Until After the
Resurrection of Jesus.
--Jesus was to be the
first-fruit of those raised from the dead and so these whose tombs had been
opened by the earthquake did not go forth appearing to any in the city until
after Jesus was resurrected from the grave (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20).
Speculation: Those Who Came
Forth from the Graves Are Not Reported to Have Remained to Live Normal Lives
but in All Likelihood Soon Ascended to Heaven.
--Unlike the healing
of Lazarus, or the rejuvenating of Jairus’ daughter, both of whom lived normal
lives and then eventually died, these who came forth from the grave and
appeared to many in the city in all likelihood ascended on to heaven.
--Where they were,
what they did, we are not told any more than where Jesus was and what He did
after the resurrection—except that He appeared to His disciples a few times
over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3).
--Still, with all
that we do not know, what we are told is sufficient evidence that God
miraculously seized this time of the crucifixion to reaffirm His power, to tell
of His might and to give clear testimony to the life-giving life of His Son!
G. THE GUARDS PLACED AT THE TOMB (27:62-66)
--On one last point
of interest, in order to prevent a grand deception by Jesus, the Jewish leaders
asked for and received permission to station their own guards at the tomb to
make sure that no one stole the body of Jesus and then claimed that He was
resurrected—just as He had predicted, or foretold.
--In a glorious
stroke of genius, the Lord made it impossible for the resurrection to be
attributed to an act of deception—He placed guards from the Jews right by the
tomb so that they would have no excuse for not admitting what actually
happened!
--Through these seven indications of God’s sovereign power to bear witness with great clarity to His endorsement and affirmation of His Son, His vindication of the perfect sufficiency of Jesus and His testimony to His eternal identity and perfect righteousness, the Lord used the events accompanying the crucifixion to turn all eyes once again not to an emaciated failure but to an Eternal Father whose Son would rise again and reign forever!
III. CONFESSED TRUST FROM THE HEARTS OF BELIEVERS
--As people found themselves confronted with the reality of the crucifixion and the unusual and even miraculous circumstances surrounding it, they reacted in different ways—some with a gentle compassion, some with a good confession, some with a genuine concern.
A. A GOOD CONFESSION—THE CENTURION (27:54)
--From the lips of a
hardened soldier, one of the number of His mockers just hours before, came the
words which expressed truth in the midst of a tragic miscarriage of justice:
“Surely this was the
Son of God!”
--His conclusion was
based upon his own personal observation of what had taken place—the words
spoken the darkness and earthquakes, the peaceful yieldedness of One who gave
His life freely instead of having it taken from Him.
--The events
surrounding the crucifixion had convinced the centurion that Jesus was more
than just another man—“Surely this was the Son of God!”
B. A GENUINE CONCERN—THE SUPPORTIVE WOMEN (27:55-56, 61)
--Throughout His
ordeal, Jesus never lost the support and concern of the women who had followed
Him over the course of His ministry.
--They had cared for
His needs as long as they could—and now they watched and waited, filled with
sorrow born out of a genuine concern for this One who loved them and who was
loved by them.
--The dangers of
identifying with a condemned man did not turn them away, did not force them to abandon Him…they
persisted in taking their stand with Christ, even as the Twelve had run away.
--Men, we can take a
lesson from the women about remaining true to our commitments, faithful to our
convictions, loyal to those we love!
C. A GENTLE COMPASSION—JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA (27:57-60)
--One brave man came
forward, risking everything to align Himself unashamedly with Jesus—Joseph of
Arimathea was so bold that he went to Pilate himself to ask for the body of
Jesus so that he could honor his Master with a proper burial.
--Matthew tells us
that this rich man had become a disciple of Jesus, along with Nicodemus who
came to Jesus in the night as we read in John 3.
--Together these two
men who had their places on the Council of the Sanhedrin jeopardized by their
actions had clearly counted the cost and were no longer willing to remain
“secret disciples” but now were ready to pay the price—whatever it might be.
--With tender
compassion, they took the body, prepared it for burial and placed it in the
tomb.
--As others were
filled with hatred, controlled by their disdain, we find that the Lord had
placed His own nearby to make sure that we all can understand that regardless
of the cost, we can still take our stand with Jesus Christ!
Although there will
always be those who insult the name of Jesus by rejecting and denying Him, we
who have seen the glory of God in Him must never fail to recognize who He
is! Make no mistake about the identity
of Jesus Christ—He is Savior and Lord of all who trust Him and take their stand
with Him! Will you take your stand with
Christ today!
Providence Baptist Church
© David Horner 2003
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