sign in sign up
<<
Home , Matthew 27, The Robe

1

The According to Matthew

Lesson #31 – Ch.27

Jesus is delivered to Pilate – Matthew 27:1-2 Judas is remorseful for his sin against – Matthew 27:3-10 Jesus is examined before Pilate – Matthew 27:11-14 is freed by Pilate – Matthew 27:15-25 Jesus is scourged and delivered for – Matthew 27:26-28 Jesus is lead to Golgotha – Matthew 27:29-33 Jesus is crucified – Matthew 27:34-56 Jesus is buried – Matthew 27:57-66

This week we are entering into the last week of Christ’s life here on earth. Jesus is marching toward the cross, approaching the pentacle of His life and reason why He came to earth. Many Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and predicted hundred of years previously that the Son of David, the Messiah would come to be offered as the final sacrifice for the sins of man and He did. Jesus spent 37 years on this earth living, serving and discipling His followers. Now, it was time to finish His task of drawing all mankind to God the Father through His death on a Roman cross. Man needed a way back to relationship with God. His sin had deposited a huge chasm between himself and God the Father, so the Lord in His desire to continue a relationship with you and I made a way to be forgiven through the death of His only Son. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, communication with Him was restored once again. As we walk through these verses in Matthew Ch.27 we will relive the scourging, beating and the . These words are difficult reading. The writers of the don’t elaborate on the details of the physical pain Jesus must have suffered. I don’t know if that’s because crucifixion was a common form of punishment during that time, and it was assumed the reader would understand all the implications of the amount of physical suffering He would encounter, or if they were more fixated on the spiritual aspect of the crucifixion, but understanding the physical pain the Savior endured somehow helps us appreciate more what was Jesus did for us, so we will explore the details of the physical suffering too.

I t might be a good week to watch (or re-watch) the movie, “the Passion of the Christ”. This is such a good rendition of the pain Jesus bore. Martin Luther said, “We all carry about in our pockets His very nails.” We all owed a debt that we couldn’t pay, and for that reason, God the Father sent us His only Son to rescue us from the eternal destruction we faced due to own our sin. Because of our sin, we have all played a part in placing him upon the cross. We owe Him so much - He demands so little. As you begin this important chapter of Matthew, ask the Lord to impress upon your heart the depth of Christ’s love for every

2 one of us shown from the length of suffering He endured to prove it to us! There is no sin that you have committed that is too grotesque that the blood of Jesus isn’t able to cover. Jesus’ innocent blood was powerful enough to cover all our shame and erase all our guilt.

Jesus is delivered to Pilate – Matthew 27:1-2 (:1; Luke 22:66; 23:1; :28)

Read Matthew 27:1-2

Jesus and Peter must have had a long night. Just the day before, Jesus had celebrated the Passover but soon after that Peter’s denial was predicted, and in the late afternoon He found Himself in agony praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and by the evening He was betrayed by one of His friends and followers, Judas. By the time night fell, Jesus was surrounded by a great multitude of guards sent by the Chief Priests and Elders. They had been led there by His betrayer – Judas. Jesus was arrested before the night was over and as He looked about Him, not one of His disciples could be found – Sin and Satan seemed to be winning the victory -scripture was fulfilled in the fact that it states that “All of the disciples forsook Him and fled.” (Matt. 26:56) Peter’s night was restless. I’m sure he couldn’t believe how dreadfully he had failed His Messiah. He must have relived the previous evening over and over in his mind. Why did he choose to deny His Lord in front of His accusers? Why didn’t he stand up for Him and protect Him? Where did his loyalty go? Why didn’t he do something to stop the mob that was determined to crucify his Lord? Peter’s love for the Lord wasn’t in question – he was one of the most passionate of the twelve disciples. Remember, Peter eagerly left his business and all he owned to follow Christ and for the last three years he followed Him eagerly. He was no wimp, he was committed to the core, but when the pressure was on – he buckled. We have all wished at times that we could relive a certain moment. We know god’s way, yet fail to follow it. Have you ever kicked yourself for a quick decision that you made in the heat of the moment? Sure you have! We all have! We have all had nights when we tossed and turned as we relived the stupid decisions that we made that day, nights filled with stress and despair. We have all battled the lack of peace that plagues our minds and hearts when we chose to be part of ungodly deeds as Jesus’ name was dishonored because of our actions. Peter must have had one of the longest nights of his life as he knew the was the beginning of His death sentence and that he had a hand in making that happen. Poor Peter, he truly did love the Lord, but his fear of the mob and the desire for self-preservation, and the fear of the majority overruled his loyalty to the Messiah.

1. Jesus was in custody all night long. The religious leaders that were heading up this insurrection against Christ wanted His death to come quickly, before anything else could present a way of escape for the Jewish leader. How do we know that the Chief Scribes and Elders were in a hurry to crucify Jesus? (Matthew 27:1) *(See also, Mark 15:1) ______

3

Often “temptation” is pressured by the immediate pressure to make a decision.

2. Who did they deliver Jesus to? Matthew 27:2 ______

The Chief Priests and Elders could have Jesus punished, but they couldn’t have Jesus executed without the permission of the governor who was at the time. (John 18:31)

Let’s find out something more about this man Pontius Pilate.

3. Read the following verses and list as many facts about Pilate as you can find. a. The historian Josephus tells us that Pontius Pilate was not liked by the Jews because he did things that deliberately provoked them to anger. What did he do to here in Luke 13:1? ______

Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. This incident is in keeping with what was known about the character of Pilate. Evidently, some worshipers from were condemned by —perhaps because they were seditious zealots and were sought out and killed in the temple by Roman authorities while in the process of offering a sacrifice. Such a killing would have been the grossest sort of blasphemy. Incidents like this inflamed the Jews' hatred of Rome and finally led to rebellion, and the destruction of in A.D. 70.

b. Pilate was concerned with keeping his own position in tact through this whole trial of Jesus. He had been in trouble with the hierarchy before and he didn’t want to lose his position by allowing the Jews to riot. He was sent to the area to maintain peace, so even though he understood that Jesus was an innocent man, he allowed the mob to dictate Jesus’ fate. What does Mark 15:15 reveal about Pilate’s character? ______

Pilate looked for the easy way out. He was more concerned with getting out of this mess than he was with making sure justice was served. Even though Pilate was making decisions pertaining to Jesus’ fate, all of this was happening according to God’s working plan and according to what was predicted by God’s prophets long ago.

4. Pilate was looking for the easy way out. Isn’t that just like human nature? Have you been looking for the easy way out in a situation in your life? God’s way is not always the easy way. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you what His will is for you in that situation. It is far better to wait on God and

4 do His will rather than take the easy way out and miss the will of God or a great opportunity to be used for His service.

Read through the following verses thinking about the situations in your life at this time. What can you learn from scripture that can help you? a. 2 Samuel 22:29, 31

b. Deuteronomy 32: 4

c. Daniel 4:37 - Does somebody in your situation need humbling? Is it them or is it you?

d. Isaiah 55:8

I don’t often quote the “message version” of the but this is great - Isa 55:8 ”I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." GOD's Decree.

Judas is remorseful for his sin against Jesus – Matthew 27:3-10 (:18, 19)

Read Matthew 27:3-10

5. Let’s look back at something Jesus said in the previous chapter of Matthew. Remember, the words of Jesus always bear truth. Everything He says in the Word of God is true and will eventually prove itself out it time. What were Jesus’ words concerning Judas back in :24? ______

Wait and see what the fate of Judas will be.

6. Was Judas truly sorry for betraying Christ? Let’s examine some scriptures closely to find out. a. What does Matthew tell us about Judas and his feelings about his betrayal of Jesus in Matthew 27:3? ______b. What words does Judas use in v.4 that make it sound like he is sorry for his betrayal of the Messiah? ______

5 c. Notice closely – what was it that happened to Judas that caused him to be remorseful in Matthew 27:3a? ______

I believe Judas was sorry he made the decision to betray Christ because it meant he was condemned. The Jewish religious leaders no longer needed him. They got what they needed from him and had Jesus in their custody. The other followers of Christ hated him because in their minds he was a deceiver and liar. He fit in no where and because of this his life was difficult. He was a condemned man.

There is a huge difference between being “sorry” and being “repentful”. You can be sorry because you got caught and now you will reap hard things in your life. A truly repentant person will feel the guilt and shame of their sin and turn around and begin to change their habits and decisions from that point forward.

There are two important words here that will help us understand the heart and motives of Judas.

1. metamelomai = means regret or sorrow (includes only emotional remorse)

2. metanoeo = change of mind and will

The word scripture uses for “remorseful” there in Matthew 27:3 is the word “metamelomai”. Judas only had an emotional remorse for the sin he committed against Christ. There was no godly remorse or godly sorrow to be found in his heart.

Let me give you an example that you might be able to relate to.

If I gossiped about someone and the person I gossiped about found out that I was saying something about them that was negative and they confronted me about it, I might be sorry that I said anything at all. I could be sorry that they found out, because it was embarrassing, because we may lose a friendship or because others may think evil of me, but all those things are not godly sorrow. That is personal and emotional remorse for a sin I committed. On the other hand, if I was grieved in my heart for betraying another person and most of all sinning against the Lord, if I felt a deep regret for failing to honor Christ in the situation and was sorrowful about deeply wounding a friend and would do anything it took to make it up to them, I would be on my way to godly sorrow. Godly sorrow includes and a determination to change. It includes a dependence upon Christ to make that change happen and a willingness to suffer whatever comes in order to make it up to the person you have failed.

If Judas was truly repentent for his decision, it seems like he would have come to Jesus Christ Himself instead of the whom he knew could not forgive his sin. Judas had lived with Jesus the last three years, he knew that Jesus was the only one able to forgive the sins of mankind, but he went looking for pardon to the ones that were condemning Christ.

6

7. What does true repentance include? 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 ______

This scripture is a good “ruler” or from of a measuring stick to check and see if true godly repentance is evident in a given situation. For example, you can use this measuring stick as a guideline as you raise your children. In times of disciplining your child, ask yourself, “Does my child display real evidence of true repentance or are they just sorry for what that they have to suffer (or sacrifice) because of a bad decision? The goal we want to achieve when sin is evident is not only emotional sorrow, but godly sorrow, something that is a work of the Holy Spirit.

8. What does true godly repentance produce in a person? 2 Corinthians 7:11 ______

This might be a key to many reoccurring problems in your life or in your relationships that seem to have the same reoccurring troubles over and over. Ask yourself if you see true godly sorrow for sins committed. Is there a turning around in the person’s life and new attitudes formed? Are there different choices being made or does the person repent, act temporarily sorry for the havoc they have caused, and then make the same choices over and over again?

Pray that the Lord would lead you or this person in your life to true godly sorrow. Again, only the Holy Spirit can move a person to that place. Our part is to pray for that to happen and keep praying until we see change.

As you think about your life situations, is there someone in your life right now that needs to be moved to that place of genuine godly sorrow? Is it you? Let’s stop and ask the Lord to move us to that place where genuine transformation takes place. Take a minute…

9. What price did the Pharisees and Elders set on Jesus? I imagine they didn’t think He was worth any more than this. Matthew 27:3, 9 ______What a slap in the face to the Lord!

This was the same price as a slave in those days…

7

10. When Judas brought back the and threw it at the members of the counsel in the temple, what did the Chief Priests do with the money Judas returned? Matthew 27:7-10 ______

11. What was the end result of Judas? Matthew 27:5 and Acts 1:18 ______

John MacArthur said this about Judas, “Judas’ overpowering sense of guilt caused him to commit suicide, but death doesn’t relieve guilt, it makes it permanent and intensified beyond comprehension. Hell is a glance of eternal torment. Judas today lives out the eternal pain of his undiminished guilt.”

What a horrible tragedy, what a wasted life. Judas had the opportunity to walk with God here on earth. He had countless opportunities to give his life over to Jesus and yet he rejected the gift of salvation and ended his life in eternal torment, never again to be in the presence of God.

Jesus is examined before Pilate – Matthew 27:11-14 (Mark 15:2-5; :2-5; John 18:29-38)

12. Who took Jesus to see Pontius Pilate, the governor? Luke 23:1 ______

13. The people accused Jesus of many things. What are some of the accusations made against Him? a. Luke 23:2-5

b. In studying the do you remember Jesus ever being guilty of not paying His taxes? In fact, can you find an instance that He performed a miracle just so that He was able to pay His taxes? ______

8 c. What accusation did they accuse Him of revealed in the ? John 18:29-30 ______d. Write out Hebrews 4:15 – “______.”

It was impossible for Jesus to sin, for He was God in the flesh. e. What was Pilate’s conclusion to the accusations of the people about Jesus? Luke 23:4 ______f. Did this answer calm the people down or relieve their anger? Luke 23:5 ______g. Pilate wasn’t a stupid man, he understood the people more than they thought. What did he reason was the motive behind the multitudes desire to crucify Christ? Matthew 27:18 ______“Envy”, one of the works of the flesh was fueling the hatred for Christ. (Gal. 5:21)

Barabbas is freed by Pilate – Matthew 27:15-25 (Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:17-23; John 18:39, 40)

Read Matthew 27:15-25

Pilate tries to calm this anxious, angry crowd with the release of the notorious prisoner, Barabbas. It was the custom during Passover Feast Week to release a prisoner of the people’s choosing. Pilate thought this would be the perfect solution to his dilemma with Jesus. Hopefully the people would choose to release Jesus over a known horrific murderer and thief such as Barabbas.

The people didn’t play into Pilates plans. They were so angry at Jesus who they thought was a false Messiah that they chose to release Barabbas, even though they knew he was a threat to society.

14. Nothing seemed like it would appease this angry crowd. Even Pilate’s own wife warned him of executing this innocent man Jesus. (v.19) When Pilate saw that he couldn’t change the minds of the people, what did he do? Matthew 27:24 ______

15. What was the people’s answer to Pilate’s decision? V.25 ______

9

Can you imagine making that vow? They were literally saying, “Let the responsibility of Jesus’ death be on us and our children”!

16. In the second phase of Jesus’ political trial, Pilate sent Jesus to King Herod to see if Herod might deal with him so he wouldn’t have to. When Pilate found out that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent Him to King Herod who happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. Remember, King Herod was no friend of Christians; he was the one who beheaded . What did King Herod do to our Messiah? How did he treat Him? Luke 23:1-11 ______I think it is interesting that until this time, King Herod and Pontius Pilate were less than friends, but now they had a common goal – the execution of this trouble maker, Jesus. (Luke 23:12)

Isn’t it odd, that you can have two people like family members for instance that are at odds with each other, or more than even that, they may act like they hate each other, until something tries to come between them and then all of a sudden, they join forces and seem to be the closest allies! a. Have you ever experienced this?

Often two people in sin will join forces, making the evil even stronger. b. How do you fight with others who seem to have no regard for godliness?

Ephesians 6:12 – Sister of brother in Christ, who is your battle really with? ______

May I suggest that in all your difficult circumstances that you are facing today, that you try to remember that you are not wrestling against a physical opponent? Your fight is with rulers that govern the world of darkness.

With this in mind, pray for those who persecute you. Pray for those who rub you the wrong way and for those who persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you! If you seem to be the whipping post – know that your battle isn’t really with them, it’s with the ruler of darkness of this age.

Jesus is scourged and delivered for crucifixion – Matthew 27:26-28 (Mark 15:15-17; Luke 23:24, 25; :16)

Read Matthew 27:26-28

The Romans had a system for crucifying a prisoner. It’s been estimated that up to this time, they had executed as many as 30,000 men in Israel alone. They would have two

10 men doing the scourging, one on each side of the man with his back exposed. They had a whip made of a wooden handle, attached to it was leather throngs tipped with sharp pieces of metal or bone. They would take turns whipping the prisoner with the scourge until the flesh was torn off the bone and the muscles and organs were exposed.

This was the experience of our Lord. We know He was so weak; He couldn’t carry His own cross. (Mark 15:21) I recall the scene in the movie “Passion of Christ” where the scourging was taking place, when the bits of flesh were being ripped of Jesus’ back. I had to hide my eyes because I could hardly bear to see it. The scene was so gruesome that most people that I know had to turn their heads at least a time or two to get through it. Jesus flesh was flying off His back and Jesus’ blood spatter could be seen upon the faces of the soldiers doing the scourging.

This scourging was not just a gruesome movie. It was real blood that was pouring out of the Savior’s veins for you and me. Stop in this place of your lesson for just a moment. Pray and thank Him for what He did for you on that cross – thank Him that He took it for you when He could have called down legions of at any moment to stop the pain and the harassment, but He stayed committed to the pain of the cross, thinking of you! When He was on the cross – you were on His mind…

Jesus is lead to Golgotha – Matthew 27:29-33 (Mark 15:18-22; Luke 23:26-33; John 19:17)

Read Matthew 27:29-33

God’s redeeming work through His Son Jesus Christ was culminated on the cross.

“He hideth our unrighteousness with His righteousness, He covers our disobedience with His obedience- He shadoweth our death with His death, that the wrath of God cannot find us.” – Henry Smith

The wrath of God will never find you if you are a true child of God! You will eternally be under the umbrella of His care. Praise God! The child of God is immune from His judgment!

17. Have you ever been mocked by someone? It is such a humiliating thing. These men mocked Jesus face to face. They teased Him most of all about being a King to the Jews. They believed a true King would rise up and put an end to this mockery and yet Jesus knew His kingdom was not of this world. He understood that if He didn’t persevere through this pain – He would lose us forever.

How did the soldiers mock Jesus? Matthew 27:29-31 ______

11

18. Where and why did the first thorns on earth come? (Genesis 3:18-19) ______

Do you think there might be some significance in the fact that thorns originated because of sin. It was the sin of mockery that drove these soldiers to put a on our Savior.

Jesus is crucified – Matthew 27:34-56 (Mark 15:23-32; Luke 23:33-43; John 19:18-24)

Read Matthew 27:34-56

19. What did the Roman soldiers seem to be most angry with? (Matthew 27:37, 40b, 42) ______

20. Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t come down off that cross? That crucifixion that He endured is the thing that makes us Christians today! a. Jesus was crucified at 9:00am in the morning, and from 9 until noon, He hung in the light. But at noon, a miraculous darkness covered the land. This was a heaven-sent darkness that lasted for three hours (v.45) What did Jesus cry out at this time of darkness? Matthew 27:46 ______

21. Let’s examine Jesus’ physical pain endured by Jesus through the crucifixion and His last words during that time.

*Before Jesus ever got to Pilate – He was battered, bruised, dehydrated and worn out from a sleepless night. * Jesus was stripped of His clothing and His hands were tied to a post above His head. * The soldiers scourged Jesus until His flesh was torn from the bone and His organs were exposed. * The Roman soldiers allowed Him to slump to the floor where they threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand representing a scepter, while they mocked Him for calling himself a King. * A crown of thorns was placed upon His head and pressed into His scalp. * As a sport – they tore the robe off His back which would have been stuck to His skin due to the amount of blood from the whipping. * Jesus was thrown backward against a wooden cross, where they would pull His arms taunt and drive 3/8 in. square nails into His hands and feet. * Hanging by the arms, the pectoral muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Eventually the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and would begin to

12 crush the heart. The compressed heart would struggle to pump the thick blood and eventually the heart would be crushed.

These were Jesus’ last words in this state:

The first – looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

The Second – to the thief next to Him on the cross – “Today, you shall be with me in Paradise.”

The Third – looking down at Mary His mother – “He said, “Woman, behold your Son, and then to John, “Behold your mother.”

The fourth – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

The fifth – “I thirst”.

The sixth – in a tortured whisper – “It is finished.” The seventh and last cry – “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit”!

The crucifixion wasn’t the end of the story! We have a sequel coming next week! It will include the miracle of the resurrection – the power over death and evil – and the expectation of Easter morning!

Wrapping it up and making it personal

History says that “Christ died,” but theology declares that “Christ died for our sins.”

To the believer, more than anyone else on earth, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history. Without the crucifixion there would be no personal relationship between mankind and his creator. There would be no possibility of eternity with God in heaven. There would be no forgiveness of sin and no victory over evil and death.

The death of that sinless lamb Jesus Christ was the answer to the human dilemma, of how to restore a broken fallen man to a perfect holy God. Because of the gift of the cross through Jesus Christ, we have fellowship with the living God!

Dear Saint – don’t ever take the cross for granted. Thank your heavenly Father continuously for the gift of salvation that comes to you freely at the great cost of His Son. Bow before Him now as you think over in your mind all He endured to set you free!

Have a blessed week in your freedom! - Amen

13