I invite you to turn tonight to Matthew chapter 27. Just a few sermons left in the Gospel of Matthew. And tonight we come to the crucifixion of Christ. And we'll be reading at verses 32 through 44. And I will have you also turn to page 216 in the Forms and Prayers book, just two question answers I would like to say together tonight, actually three. Again, I'd like to just say together, Lord, stay 15, as it's so crucial to what we're considering tonight. This is page 216 in the forms and prayers, question 37, 38, and 39. I'll ask the question, what do you understand by the word suffered that during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race this he did in order that by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice he might deliver us body and soul from eternal condemnation and gain for us God's grace righteousness and eternal life why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate as judge so that he though innocent might be condemned by an earthly judge and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us is it significant that he was crucified instead of dying some other way yes by this death I am convinced that he shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death was, crucifixion was a curse by God. And let's just do number 40. Why did Christ have to suffer death? Because God's justice and truth require it. Nothing else could pay for our sins except the death of the Son of God. And now our text tonight from verse 32 in Matthew chapter 27. As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall. and when he tasted it he would not drink it and when they had crucified him they divided his garments among them by casting lots then they sat down and kept watch over him there and over his head they put the charge against him which read this is jesus the king of the jews then two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and one on the left and those who passed by derided him wagging their heads 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 so also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him saying 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 he trusts in God let God deliver him now if he desires him for he said I am the son of God and the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way there will end the reading of God's word tonight well years ago I had somebody write in from abounding grace and and said, can you explain to me the death of Christ? And I thought that was an interesting request, because so often we use in Christian language that Jesus died for us. Jesus died for us without a lot of thought as to precisely what that means, and what he actually went through. And that's why looking at the crucifixion of Christ, and studying it, and constantly setting it in front of us, as you saw in the Heidelberg Catechism, it is a great blessing to us to study what he went through so that we would know that we have been released from, did you notice that language, the severe judgment of God. Severe judgment of God. And though we can't comprehend what he suffered in soul, the scriptures give us very graphic detail in what he suffered in body so that we have an understanding that he is enduring the judgment of God for us in our place. So that's why I always like to encourage the flock and say, when it comes to the judgment of God, this is your judgment. This is your judgment day. He doesn't come on the last day and then repunish his people for their sins when he put his son through this kind of death. That's why faith in him that connects us with him and brings us into union with Him is so important because we receive all these benefits by faith. We are, as we saw in the psalm this morning, covered and sheltered in Him so that we are in God's favor and in His love. To have some understanding of it here tonight is what the simple goal is to describe it because death by crucifixion was utterly humiliating in Roman culture. It was one of the most degrading forms of capital punishment that Rome, the Romans had ever come up with. It had the effect of providing the greatest deterrent against any crime or rebellion. You did not want to go and face this. So it was a deliberate choice. If you went out and did something worthy of it, you did this knowing this may happen to you. You didn't want to die this way. This was an awful way of dying. That's important because Matthew is capturing for us that Jesus has been numbered specifically here with the insurrectionists. You'll remember that that was the great basis upon which the Jews were trying to capture Jesus, was to pitch him as an insurrectionist and to charge him with that as against the imperial crown of Rome, against the emperor. This matters because even though Jesus suffered a cruel death of the cross, with the charge of being an insurrectionist, the larger truth is shown to us here that Jesus took a death and chose a death and received a death that was a curse by God. What you'll see in this passage is one of the great things that's being shown as you study the passion narratives is how much scripture is being fulfilled none of this is sort of uh caught off guard none of what he's facing is just something uh willy -nilly happening even in roman law all of this fulfills the scriptures death was always on a tree a curse by god from the old old covenant so even though he was delivered by malicious intent out of envy we looked at last time he was crucified as a criminal for something he didn't do what we see worked out in this is that god was was in the background working out the greater plan to save people through this death imagine being on the cross and being mocked the way that he's mock. Come down if you're the Son of God, then we'll believe. And yet he's going through all of this precisely to save us. So he's calling us to faith. Matthew wants us to believe this is the Messiah, this is the King who has come and stepped in your place to become the cursed one for you. what our lord has endured here in in chapter 27 is is really shocking they have taken him they have scourged him this was a way of causing and speeding up the death on the cross so that they didn't hang there so long they put big whips with bone attached to the end to scourge him to the point of splitting open the back to speed up this death the imagery that we had last time was that they had mocked him in the worst sort of mockery. They have twisted a crown of thorns. They have put a reed, and think of Psalm 2, his scepter, his glory. This is the king. Psalm 110. Here's the reed they have put in his hand to mock him. A purple robe of mockery for a king. Royalty is put over him, hangs over his body to ridicule his supposed kingship. The soldiers of Rome have all taken turns when they took him into custody to give him blows to the face. So this is a graphic description of what Jesus is going through. He is bloody, he is whipped, he is beaten he is bruised yet when presented an opportunity to free him after he had received all of this which when do you say that would be enough the masses cry out crucify him crucify him and then they instead when given the proposition to release the thug, the true insurrectionist, Barabbas, right? To, do you want me to release Jesus or Barabbas? They say Barabbas. What had he done to, what did he do to earn this kind of hatred? And then Pilate had taken his judgment seat to render the judgment. The only thing that the Jews needed to say to Pilate to make this happen is he's a seditious rebel against Caesar, and if Pilate did nothing about it, Pilate would be ousted himself. Pilate was not a good man. Pilate was a coward. Remember last time his own conscience testified not to do this. His wife testified not to do this, and he knew over and over Jesus did nothing deserving of this. The scriptures keep driving that home to us. Well, we read here tonight that they let him out, and we read those little ominous words, and they crucified him. They crucified him. Verse, you'll notice here, is it what, 20? Simon carries the cross, and they head out, and then in verse 38, then two of the robbers were crucified with him one on his right and one on his left they bring him to Golgotha this is the the place of the skull this this this place was a place of dead people this is where crucifixions happened this is where bodies were outside the camp so you'll notice the imagery that they have laid the heavy cross on his back he is bleeding he's full of dehydration he has to go about a half mile we know that he gets to the gate his physical capacities are exhausted and he stumbles and he just falls he is wearied to the point of total exhaustion in his humanity the soldiers want to get this done and so they call this man simon of cyrene to carry the cross I'll come back to that here in a minute. But he's gone to this place of the dead, Golgotha, the place of the skull, full of bones, full of corpses. It was known from the earliest writers this way as a place of the skull because the whole hill looked like a skull. It was outside the Jerusalem gate. So passersby would see this heading to the Passover. you read you read details here that you might think well why the inclusion that sour wine is given to him with gall mixed with gall to drink that is because typically what would happen is they would offer some sort of drink with herbs as a moment of last compassion to those hanging on the cross as a sort of medicine and painkiller but here they don't do that for him they mingle it up with gall to drink he is so thirsty it was one of the cruelest things you could do to make his thirst all the worse so that he couldn't even drink it and that was done to fulfill psalm 69 you see this is why i keep saying you have these details and they keep showing us the fulfilling of scripture in the intent here he's fulfilling psalm 69 they gave him wine mixed with gall all prophesied he's brought here and we read this ominous word they crucified him crucifixion was a terrible death putting together their description of what we know they did the romans did they the soldiers took him they pushed him backward against the cross they drive a square iron nail 18 centimeters long through his forearm right into the wood both of them they take his left foot and push it backwards against the right foot both facing downward and they drive another one of these nails through both that in both cases it's done to leave enough flexibility for the body to move up and down the criminal then is said to be crucified. How does he die? He hangs there. And the purpose of that was to feel the most excruciating amount of pain that the more you drop with the nails in, the more you have to push yourself back up by stretching to raise yourself up for air. This goes on for hours until you are asphyxiated and your heart compressed until you have so little air you finally die out of out after hours of this in exhaustion you'll notice here other things are added that they divided his garments in roman executions the victims were left hanging naked it on the cross. It was meant to totally degrade and shame people. Now think about that. Jesus, the Jews would ask for some dignity and appeal for a loincloth. John would tell us that the soldiers even stripped that too to fulfill Psalm 22. So our King, our Lord, is crucified in utter shame total mockery then in every place of crucifixion they would they would write the reason for the crucifixion over the cross so so so they would do this so that it was very clear why this person was being crucified but pilot what pilot does here and you'll notice this he doesn't write this man claimed to be the king of the jews this is jesus king of the jews you see the mockery in that can hear the mockery in that it was offensive to the jews you'll remember the jews complained about this don't say that he's not our king and in the providence of god pilate puts this is jesus the king of the jews this is their king he's nailed next to two common criminals most likely these are the very ones that were in the insurrection with barabbas so barabbas should have been in the middle and these criminals that followed in the insurrection with who are accomplices with barabbas jesus instead is put in the middle and then comes the mockery people who were false witnesses in his trial you notice this language they're wagging their heads they're wagging their heads at him they're scoffing at him they're mocking him you who you who said that you would destroy this temple and rebuild it in three days come down now and save yourself if you're that powerful look at the unbelief of people let's see if you have any power to get out of this chief priests come along with the scribes he saves others but he can't save himself let the messiah the king of israel descend now from the cross then we'll believe they laugh they mock they scorn what a scene of your savior enduring all of this and for what reason spurgeon who said believer in christ can you gaze upon him without tears as he stands before you in the mirror of agonizing love he is at once fair as the lily for innocence and red as the rose with the crimson of his own blood. As we feel the sure and blessed healing which his stripes have wrought in us, does not our heart meld at once with love and grief? If we've ever loved our Lord Jesus, surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our bosom. See how the patient Jesus stands, insulted in his lowest case. Sinners have bound the Almighty's hands and spit in the Creator's face. with thorns, his temples gored and gashed, send streams of blood from every part, his back with knotted scourges lashed, but sharper scourges tear his heart. Well, that's the crucifixion. And I think then we stand back from all this and think about the greater picture of this, the greater meaning of all of this. Jesus doesn't want us to feel sorry for him. That's what the women did that day when they saw him and began to weep. And he said, do not do that in the sense of, I want you to believe. Repent and believe was his emphasis. This was all done by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. There's a greater story here that Matthew wants to impress upon us. In the midst of this, what Matthew is doing is he's thinking about the greater story. This is outside of the wicked display of sinners and the awful things that sinners can do in this life. This is a testimony to the evil of the human heart and what it can do to crucify the Lord of glory, which when he had done nothing deserving of it. And yet the whole message of scripture is in the council of redemption, covenant of redemption, the father and the son were fulfilling that covenant and working out everything for your good it's the ultimate moment of understanding i think what satan meant for evil and destroying the son of god at the cross thinking he won god meant it all for your good and triumphed in the resurrection the story is is important to think about in the big picture the bigger picture as was said in the heidelberg catechism that as he was put under pontius pilate as judge it is teaching us that he was put under god as judge to face the severe judgment of god for us the true judge of heaven and earth had presided. God had taken his seed. His son is in our place. The story is told everywhere. Abraham, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and he split the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off and Abraham said to his young men stay here with the donkey the lad and I will go yonder and worship and we will come back so Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and he lifts up the knife over his son. Would any of you do this? There's a ram. Take your son off and put the ram in that place. Abraham, you didn't spare your son, your only son. You see? It's all over. He was afflicted. He was numbered with the transgressors. The father did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How shall he not freely give us everything in him? He had a crown of thorns put on his head. He became the curse. He became the curse. It's what thorns represent. He would put enmity between the devil's seed and her seed. He shall bruise or heal. The seed would crush his head. He's become the curse. He's wearing the sign of the curse, and yet he goes to the place of the skull, the place where the head of the serpent would be crushed. This is just biblical theology. They strip him naked, and you know what that means. Have you ever thought about having your sins exposed? You ever thought about coming to the last day, and everything's dragged out? You ever thought of the horror of that? That's what's happening. That's what the removal of clothes is signifying. I don't know. When Adam and Eve sinned, we read that he and his wife were both naked and felt no shame. And after they sinned, this was before they sinned, after they sinned, they became aware of their sin, and what did they do? they went and tried to cover it's it's it's a it's the thread running through of good biblical theology to see these themes connect the first thing they do is try to cover their shame with clothing all of it exposed the outward physical experience of covering our nakedness is really a testimony that we're all trying to cover we're all trying to cover shame and the bigger issue is we're all trying to cover our shame before god but god did something beautiful for adam and eve he killed an animal remember he shed blood without the shedding of blood there's no remission of sins and he covered them in the garden and he covered their shame with the blood judgment in the scriptures is often represented as the lord making bare someone's shame uncovering someone's nakedness everything is naked and open to the one to whom we must give an account judgment day is the uncovering of everything hidden hidden everything exposed every thought every word every deed and here he's stripped why would he go through that to teach us something he's taking on the full measure of our guilt in adam and the corruption and the shame he who had no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him, and then open before the judgment seat without a covering, he bears the wrath and the judgment of God, as the old children's catechism says. Thereby, Heidelberg 38, delivering us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed, and the mockery, the mockery, he takes it all. um psalm 22 this is why when you read the psalms you should think of christ they shoot out the lip they shake the head they wag the head see they're wagging their heads they wag their heads he trusted in the lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he delights in him they gape at me with their mouths like a raging and roaring lion i am poured out like water. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. That was written how many years previous? You can't make this up. Psalm 109, I have become a reproach to them. When they look at me, they whack their heads. This is the story. this is the narrative a vicious challenge at the very end to abandon the will of the father and come down from the cross you see what that is this is what satan was trying to prevent the whole time when he was tempted you don't have to do this you don't have to do this don't you hear satan here get off the cross now get off the cross you you cannot save yourself now when you saved others? What mockery! But there he stays, and there he dies. Why? You struggle with your sin? Of course you do. You doubt God's love? Do you see what's happening here? The Lamb of God, given for the sin of the world, you can't add to it? You can't make yourself more righteous before God by anything that you do? You've only made the problem worse, by the way. you are loved by God. That's why he did it. The Father loved his Son, and the Father loves you. The love with which he loved us, so he gave his Son. This is the gospel. This is him atoning. This is him as the propitiation. What did Simon do? Well, Simon carried the cross. I've often wondered why was that allowed? Typically that wasn't the case. Criminals had to carry their own crosses. It's typically said Jesus couldn't do it for exhaustion sake. I'm not so sure that's the case. What he's been through is awful, but I believe there's even more to that. That was a little gift at that moment to his people, to you. It's the cross we deserve, but it's not the cross we're going on. We're not hung on. He is, but we're identified with it. You see? In other words, this is your identification. You are a people of the cross. what jesus had been saying the entire time to his followers is you're going to take up your cross this is a visual of your identification hebrews says so jesus suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood therefore we follow him therefore let us go outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured that's going to be your life yes you're going to bear reproaches but you never have to atone for your sins because that's what he did we need this they're on the cross jesus paid through his sufferings we partake in them we have an identity you are a disciple and i close with this question then do you believe that jesus died for you what are your options to deal with your sin there's no other option he's calling you to faith to trust him to believe that this was done you don't make up a story like this you don't have the scriptures that reveal the single story through all of the many hundreds of years of christ and him crucified to free you from the severe judgment of God. You have a complete Savior, not half a Savior, a complete Savior, and He wants you to receive it today by faith. Marvel at the gift, see His love, believe it, and live in light of it. And then to bring it all together, go back and read Psalm 139, which our girls so beautifully sung tonight. Go back and read Psalm 39 this week and realize that's the benefit of the life of someone covered in the blood and the righteousness of jesus christ let's pray heavenly father thank you for this indescribable gift thank you for what has been done to atone for sin we see how great sin is and what it deserves we just see it play out in society it's a sick society hearts are sick our hearts are apart from redeeming grace and we are so grateful and thankful to you that you gave your son to become the propitiation to save us to deliver us, to justify us and cleanse us so that we might have peace with God tonight we give you our sincere praise and ask that our lives would then be led in the way everlasting for your praise and glory and response. In Jesus' name, amen.