JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED

Matthew 27:1-56
Key Verse: 27:46

    "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi,
     Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why
     have you forsaken me?'"

     In this chapter, we find Matthew's account of Jesus' crucifixion
and death. In this passage, the cross of Jesus reveals something of the
deep meaning of his death. Let's think about how Jesus suffered and
died on the cross. Especially, let's think about why he had to die.

First, the tragic end of Judas Iscariot (1-10). Before describing
Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, Matthew records the tragic end
of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. It was the time when the Jewish
religious leaders had already decided through their overnight meeting
to put Jesus to death. But they had no authority in their own country
to pronounce a death sentence on criminals (Jn 18:31). So they bound
him and handed him over to Pilate to try him quickly and hand down a
death sentence (2).

     Judas Iscariot had not imagined that the religious leaders would
kill Jesus. When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with
remorse. He regretted what he had done and wanted to undo it. So he
returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.
"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood" (3,4a).
What was their response? "'What is that to us?' they replied. 'That's
your responsibility'" (4b). Judas wanted to undo what he had done and
escape the responsibility of betraying innocent blood. But it was too
late. What had been done could not be undone. Judas didn't mean to do
so. But history attests that he is the one responsible for betraying
the innocent blood of Jesus. Judas was one of the twelve disciples. How
did he become a betrayer? It was because he did not follow Jesus to
become a disciple, but to get some benefit from Jesus. He had lived a
common life together with Jesus. But he had never learned anything from
Jesus. Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray him. He tried hard to
help him repent and come back to him (Jn 13:22-29). But Judas did not
realize Jesus' great love because his motive was money, not Jesus.

     Judas took the money back to the religious leaders in order to
escape his guilty feelings. But it didn't work as he had wished. So
Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Finally, he hanged
himself.  Judas' death was tragic. But the greater tragedy for him was
that he was responsible for betraying innocent blood. We must make
money for daily bread, but we must not be lovers of money. Otherwise,
there is a danger for each of us to be like Judas Iscariot. It's not
good to die in remorse like Judas Iscariot. The chief priests picked up
the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the
treasury, since it is blood money" (6). So they decided to buy the
potter's field as a burial place for foreigners (7). This small event
appeared to be another mischief of the chief priests. But it was not.
It was to fulfill what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet: "They took
the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel,
and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me"
(9b,10).  Man only commits many sins; but God does his work all by
himself.

Second, Jesus was tried by Pilate (11-26). Usually, a criminal is
tracked down, and if he is arrested, he is tried. At that time, trial
was a very shameful thing. They brought in a criminal and dashed him
down on the floor to kneel down before a judge to be tried. He was at
the mercy of the judge who was in charge of his case. Jesus is the Son
of God. He is the Judge of the living and the dead. But he was tried in
our place.

     What was the charge? Look at verse 11. "Meanwhile Jesus stood
before the governor, and the governor asked him, 'Are you the king of
the Jews?' 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." The charge was
rebellion against the Roman Emperor--claiming himself to be the king of
the Jews.  If Jesus answered, "No," it would have been a denial of his
kingship as the Son of God. If he said, "Yes," he would be charged with
insurrection against the Roman Emperor. What did Jesus say? He said,
"Yes, it is as you say." Jesus said nothing but the truth. His answer
would cause him the death penalty, but he said, "Yes." Then the chief
priests and the elders continued to accuse him, but he gave no answer
(12). Verse 14 says, "But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single
charge...." Usually, people try to defend themselves in times of trial.
But Jesus didn't defend himself at all.  How was it possible for him?
Isaiah 53:6b,7 says, "...and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of
us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Jesus bore the trial
silently in our places.

     Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and that their accusation was
out of envy (18). Besides, his wife sent word to him concerning her
terrible suffering in a dream because of Jesus (19). Nevertheless,
Pilate did not follow the truth, but decided to compromise. At the
Feast, it was customary for the governor to release one prisoner chosen
by the crowd. Pilate asked the crowd to choose between Barabbas--a
notorious prisoner--and Jesus, hoping to make use of that custom to set
Jesus free. But it didn't work. The chief priests stirred up the crowd,
and the mob became irrational. They chose Barabbas. In his
helplessness, Pilate asked, "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is
called Christ?" They all shouted, "Crucify him!" (22) Finally, Pilate
became a victim of public opinion. Now, all he could do was escape the
responsibility of shedding the innocent blood of Jesus. So he performed
an obnoxious hand-washing ceremony before the crowd and said, "I am
innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility!" (24) History
attests that Pilate is responsible for it. The Apostles' Creed says,
"...Jesus Christ, His only Son...suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified...."

     How did the crowd respond? Verse 25 says, "All the people
answered, 'Let his blood be on us and on our children!'" Pilate could
not stand against the mob, so he could not but surrender Jesus to
them.  According to custom, before handing him over, Pilate had Jesus
flogged.  At that time, Roman flogging was terrible torture. The victim
was stripped and his hands were tied behind his back. They say that the
lash was studded at intervals with sharpened pieces of bone and lead.
Finally, Jesus was handed over to the soldiers.

Third, Jesus was mocked by the soldiers (27-31). We might shudder at
what the soldiers did. They had no idea of who Jesus was; they indulged
in soldiers' cruelty against Jesus. They made sport of his kingship.
They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted
together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in
his right hand, knelt in front of him and mocked him, saying, "Hail,
king of the Jews!" They spit on him and took the staff and struck him
on the head again and again. They struck Jesus again and again. What a
humiliating mockery it was for him! After they had mocked him, they
took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him
away to crucify him (27-31). We are the ones who should have been
mocked, due to our shame and guilt. But Jesus took upon himself all our
transgressions and iniquities (Isa 53:5).

Fourth, Jesus was crucified (32-44). After that, Jesus was again handed
over to the soldiers while the cross was being prepared. Crucifixion is
the most terrible and cruel death man has ever devised for taking
vengeance on his fellow man. Physically, Jesus was too weak to carry
his own cross.  So they forced Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him. At
this time, when his physical body was weak, he refused the drugged
drink that would lessen his pain because he had decided to take all the
suffering to the fullest (32-34). The soldiers fastened Jesus to the
cross, his body already bleeding from the flogging. They drove nails
through his hands and feet with hammers. Then they lifted him up to
hang between heaven and earth, to die of pain and thirst. His lifeblood
was oozing out of his wounds.

     Why did he have to be so wounded and crushed? It was for our
sins.  Isaiah 53:10 says, "Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and
cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt
offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will
of the Lord will prosper in his hand." He was hanging there as a guilt
offering. The Holy Son of God was hanging there like a criminal because
of our sins. He was hanging there in our place. Peter also learned the
meaning of Jesus' cross and said, "He himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Pe 2:24). In verse 54 there is a
Roman centurion. He must have been trained to be a tough soldier. He
must have conquered many cities and killed many people ruthlessly. This
Roman centurion hardened his heart and was executing Jesus of Nazareth.
But when he looked at the cross of Jesus, he could not harden his heart
anymore. He could see God in Jesus. At the moment he looked at the
cross of Jesus, the light of God smeared into his heart, and he said,
"Surely he was the Son of God!"

Fifth, Jesus did not save himself (38-44). We know well that everyone
wants to save himself. In order to save himself, a person cannot but be
selfish. But Jesus did not save himself; instead, he saved his people
(38-44). What happened when he did not save himself? He became an
object of scorn. He was crucified between two robbers. Look at verse
39. "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their
heads...." It was to fulfill the prophecy concerning the suffering
Messiah in Psalm 22:7,8. Look at verse 40. "...and saying, 'You who are
going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!
Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!'" They challenged
him to come down from the cross and prove that he was the Son of God.
It was a great temptation to Jesus. But he did not come down from the
cross. We are tempted to come down from the cross many times a day.

     The chief priests and their friends also mocked him, saying, "He's
the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will
believe in him" (42b). They continued to tempt him, saying, "He trusts
in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the
Son of God'" (43). They were saying to Jesus, "God doesn't love you. If
he did, why would he let you suffer like this? If you were really his
Son, he would rescue you, wouldn't he? God doesn't want you." The
robbers who were crucified with him also joined in the insults. The
religious leaders played the role of Satan to make Jesus doubt God's
love. But in the extreme anguish and pain of the cross, Jesus did not
doubt the love of God. Jesus could have called more than twelve legions
of angels to come and rescue him (Mt 26:53). But he did not try to save
himself.

     Jesus was God, but he was also fully human. So crucifixion was too
hard for him to endure. In his humanness, he wanted to come down from
the cross to escape the bleeding and the pain of the nails. He wanted
to come down from the cross to wipe the tears from the eyes of his
mother and from the eyes of the other women standing beneath the cross
crying.  But Jesus remained as a man of sorrow to the end. Jesus did
not save himself so that he might save all his people from their sins.

Sixth, before his death Jesus suffered great agony of soul (45-48).
Look at verses 45,46. As he hung on the cross, the whole world became
dark.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in his native language, in
great agony of soul, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" His
physical pain was great, but his greatest pain was the momentary
separation from God (Isa 59:2; 53:6b,12b,c). Jesus had already suffered
so much during the time of his earthly ministry, but these sufferings
never mattered to him, because he had a personal love-relationship with
God. But when he had to die on the cross, his love-relationship with
God had to be cut momentarily because of the sins of the world. It was
really unbearable punishment for him. So he cried out, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?" He was utterly alone at the time of his
greatest agony. Jesus suffered unbearable loneliness for us. Praise
Jesus!

Seventh, Jesus gave his life for us (50-53). Look at verse 50. "And
when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit."
After crying out in such a way in great loneliness of soul, he gave up
his spirit.  To give up one's spirit means to die. But Jesus did not
die for himself; he died for the sins of the world. He died to fulfill
God's will for world salvation. There have been many who have died
miserably and selfishly. A Russian novelist died after saying as his
last words, "Tragedies, trage dies!" An American novelist died after
saying a most sorrowful last word, "It might have been." They all died
selfishly. But Jesus died unselfishly.  Jesus died not for himself, but
for the sin of the world. But it was not the end. It was just the
beginning of a new era. At that moment the curtain of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom (51). Now, people do not need to go to
the temple to make animal sacrifices. Through the death of Jesus as the
Passover Lamb (Heb 9:7,25,26), each of us can go to God directly (1 Ti
2:5).

     Look at verses 52,53. "The tombs broke open and the bodies of many
holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the
tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and
appeared to many people." The tombs opened. The tomb lost its power,
and the grave its terror. Through Jesus' death we can see a prelude of
his glorious resurrection.

Eighth, Jesus died on the cross to obey the will of God. These days,
many people don't like to hear the word "obedience." No one seems to be
happy to obey. But Jesus was happy to obey God's will for him to die as
the Passover Lamb. In order to obey, Jesus gave up the power and glory
of the kingdom of heaven. The first condition of obedience is
humbleness. So Jesus humbled himself and made himself nothing. His
obedience was not superficial; he humbled himself and became obedient
to death--even death on a cross! (Php 2:6-8). His obedience was a
bloodshedding one. The ancestor of our human race, Adam, disobeyed God,
and sin and death entered the world. But Jesus obeyed God even to death
on a cross and became the source of salvation for those who believe in
him (Heb 5:8,9).

     Let's remember that the cross of Jesus is for the sin of the
     world.




STUDY QUESTIONS

1.   Read verses 1-2. What was the decision of the religious leaders?
     Why did they send Jesus to Pilate? (Compare Jn 18:31) Read verses
     3-10. How and why did Judas try to undo what he had done? How was
     scripture fulfilled?

2.   Read verses 11-26. How did Jesus answer Pilate? How did he answer
     the charges brought against him? Why did Pilate want to release
     Jesus? (18,19) How and why did he compromise the truth and avoid
     responsibility?

3.   Read verses 27-31 What kind of men were the soldiers? (35) How did
     the soldiers' mockery fulfill scripture? (Isa 53:3)

4.   Read verses 32-44. What shows Jesus' physical weakness? His
     resolve? How did passers-by taunt and tempt him? What truth was
     hidden in the taunts of the religious leaders? What is the meaning
     of his suffering to us? (Isa 53:4-5,10; 1Pe 2:24)

5.   Read verses 45-56. What does it mean that the world became dark?
     What did Jesus cry out? What was his deepest agony? (Isa 59:2;
     53:6b,12b,c)

6.   What happened at the moment of Jesus' death? What was the
     testimony of the centurion? What is the meaning to us and to the
     world of Jesus' death? (Heb 9:7,25,26; 1Ti 2:5; Php 2:6-8; Heb
     5:8,9)