“The Crucifixion of the Christ”
(Matthew 27:27-44)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
November 29, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 27:27-44
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. 28 They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. 31 After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
32 As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), 34 they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35 After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and were guarding him there. 37 Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
38 Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking 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 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, 42 “He saved others, but 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 rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.
Introductory Comments:
There have been numerous examples in history of prisoners or those who have committed a crime who are put through humiliation or torture. In the book The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is forced to wear the letter A on her shirt to signify that she has committed the sin of adultery. Joe Arpaio was made famous as a sheriff in Arizona, among other reasons, for having his detainees wear pink undergarments. In one of my favorite movies, Braveheart, the hero William Wallace is condemned to death for treason against England. During the procession to his execution, he is spat upon and has rotten food thrown at him.
History is full of other examples of those punished for crimes who have further punishment and heartache cast upon them as they face their crime. In many cases, this treatment is accepted as deserved punishment and humiliation equal to the crime that was committed. However, in today’s passage, as we learn of the crucifixion of Jesus, we see that the Son of God suffered unjustly and was unfairly humiliated as part of what He had to endure in order that we might know God.
Before we get into this heavy passage, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
Last week, we learned that the Jewish leaders tried everything within their power to have Jesus condemned to death. Pilate became rattled and tired and gave up on trying to have Jesus released. Instead, Pilate handed Jesus over to the Jewish leaders with his authority to do what they wanted with Him. So, Jesus is condemned to death. That brings us to today’s passage.
Today, we will look at three agonizing experiences that Jesus went through on this terrible, yet significant, day in history.
First, let us see . . .
I. The humiliation (vv. 27-31) [on screen]
Remember, Jesus has already suffered injustice and humiliation at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Now, Jesus is in the hands of the Romans. This is a whole different ballgame. The Romans are the ones with power and authority in Israel.
Let’s look at the passage to see the picture Matthew paints of Jesus’ experience here.
Look at verses 27-31:
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. 28 They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. 31 After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
We are told that a company of the governor’s soldiers gathered around him at the governor’s residence (also called the Praetorium in some translations).
Of course, this governor is Pontius Pilate. Also, his soldiers are Roman soldiers. They are professional pain-inducing soldiers. This would have been a horrifying experience for Jesus.
A company of Roman soldiers would have been hundreds of soldiers. Imagine hundreds of soldiers around Jesus, intimidating Him, provoking Him, mocking Him, and humiliating Him. How tragic this moment is.
Central to the soldiers’ humiliation of Jesus is their mocking Him as a king.
Remember, Jesus was accused of claiming to be the king of the Jewish people. As we know from last week’s passage, Jesus didn’t deny this charge.
Well, the Roman soldiers thought they would have a little fun with this.
They stripped Jesus of His clothes and put a scarlet robe on Him, which was the color to represent power and royalty.
Further, they twisted together a crown of thorns to put on His head as a substitute for a true kingly crown.
Next, they put a staff in His right hand. This staff was meant to make fun of the fact that a king would have held a scepter in his right hand. Later, they used that same staff to beat Jesus over the head.
Finally, they mockingly kneeled before Him and shouted, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
In the midst of all of this humiliation, the Roman soldiers added insult to injury by spitting on Jesus and hitting Him further.
What a terrible experience this was. Church, we must grasp the degree of the humiliation that Jesus endured on our behalf.
Understanding this experience that Jesus endured should cause us to reflect upon the great love that Jesus demonstrated towards us and to revere the great majesty of our King. Let this moment cause you to reflect and revere. He who suffered great humiliation is worthy of great exaltation.
When the Roman soldiers had finished having their fun with Jesus, they stripped the robe off of Him, put His own clothes back on Him, and led Him away to His death.
That takes us to our next section:
II. The crucifixion (vv. 32-38) [on screen]
The crucifixion is at the heart of Christianity. Yet, Matthew spends very little time writing about the crucifixion itself. He spends most of his time speaking about what happens before and after it and how others react to events surrounding it.
Let’s see what Matthew has to say. Look at verses 32-38:
32 As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), 34 they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. 35 After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and were guarding him there. 37 Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
38 Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
We know that before Jesus was even crucified He had already suffered a tremendous beating.
Traditionally, the Roman soldiers made the condemned criminal carry the crossbeam of the crucifixion cross, which would later be attached to the cross. In Jesus’ case, it very well may not have been the entire cross that He had to carry; it may have just been the crossbeam, like in this illustration. [show picture on screen]However, Jesus was probably so weak from the events leading up to His crucifixion that He couldn’t even carry the crossbeam. So, the Roman soldiers forced this man named Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.
They led Jesus to this place called Golgotha, meaning “Place of the Skull.” We don’t know for certain where this is today. I’ve been to two places that claim to be the place of the crucifixion, but we’re really not exactly sure where it is. The place is not as significant as what happened at the place. The Son of God, the Messiah, would die for the sins of others. He was innocent, yet He would suffer greatly as a criminal.
As they were crucifying Jesus, they offered Him wine mixed with gall, which was more than likely intended to dull Jesus’ pain. Perhaps Jesus refused to drink it because it had a horrible taste. However, many scholars believe that Jesus didn’t drink it because He didn’t want to dull the experience of the crucifixion. He chose to suffer as a human and endure the full pain of the cross for my sins and for your sins.
Of the crucifixion, Matthew simply says, “After crucifying him . . .” Just like that, Jesus is crucified. The reason why Jesus came to the earth was now partially complete.
Of course, we know that the crucifixion was not the end of the story for Jesus. Nevertheless, this tragic moment was a monumental ingredient in the story of the Gospel of Jesus. Without Jesus’ suffering, there is no salvation. Without Jesus’ pain, there is no pardon for our sins. Without Jesus’ crucifixion, there is no Christianity.
As with so much of Jesus’ life and ministry, this moment was prophesied as well. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.” [on screen]
The Roman soldiers present seemingly had no idea whom they were crucifying. Roman law allowed the executioners to negotiate the distribution of the criminal’s belongings. So, the soldiers further humiliated Jesus by essentially rolling dice to see who got His belongings. This was again a fulfillment of prophecy, accomplishing the prophecy of Psalm 22:18, which says, “They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.” [on screen]
Finally, the soldiers were stationed there to guard His body from being tampered with or taken by His followers. While there, they indicated what His charge was: they put up a sign that said, “This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
We further learn that Jesus was not crucified alone. He had two criminals crucified with Him, further adding to the disgrace shown towards Him.
Because Jesus was beaten so badly, we don’t know exactly how He died. Sometimes criminals would hang on a cross for hours, even into the next day, eventually dying from being unable to breathe. We’ll learn in the next passage about what time He died, and we can learn from the other Gospels that He died much sooner than the soldiers expected.
This was a moment of terrible suffering for Jesus. This is the crucifixion. Even in His dying moments, Jesus continued to suffer unjust treatment.
That leads to our last section:
III. The insults (vv. 39-44) [on screen]
As Jesus hung dying on the cross, people continued to revile Him and insult Him.
Notice what Matthew says in verses 39-44:
39 Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking 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 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, 42 “He saved others, but 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 rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.
In just these few verses there are multiple insults hurled at Jesus.
Those who passed by sarcastically said that Jesus claimed to be able to destroy the temple and raise it back up but He surely can’t do so now that He is about to die. Little did they know that Jesus was actually prophesying about raising up His own body, which He would do in a few days.
They said if He was the Son of God, He should come off of the cross. Little did they know that it was because He was the Son of God that He was willing to be hung on the cross.
The Jewish leaders mocked Him by saying that He said He could save others, yet He couldn’t even save Himself. Little did they know that it was because He was saving others that He was not willing to save Himself in this moment.
They dismissed His claim to be King of Israel and said that if He came off the cross they would believe in Him. Little did they know that later the words of Philippians 2:10-11 would ring true: “10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [on screen]
They said that if He trusted in God that He should ask God to rescue Him from the cross. Little did they know that it was only because of His intimate trust in God the Father that He was willing to be obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Even the criminals that were crucified beside Him insulted Him, not knowing who He truly was.
Those leveling the insults at Jesus had no idea that they really were insulting the Messiah, the Son of God. In fact, we read in Luke 23:34 that Jesus said of those crucifying Him, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” [on screen]
Jesus was insulted and mocked as one who couldn’t save Himself, much less others. However, we know that this was all part of God’s plan. Jesus would later save Himself. He would rise from the dead and He would be elevated to great glory, the likes of which no human being will ever experience, because He is, in fact, God the Son, worthy of all glory, honor, and power. Before the glory, however, would come the suffering. It is in this moment that Jesus is humiliated, crucified, and insulted.
Concluding Thoughts:
It was necessary for Jesus to be humiliated, crucified, and insulted so that we could experience salvation.
That leads to our bottom line for today:
Bottom Line: The awful crucifixion of the Christ brought about the awesome salvation of sinners. [on screen]
(repeat)
This moment was part of God’s plan and Jesus’ willing sacrifice. No one forced Jesus to be crucified.
Jesus didn’t have to stay on the cross; He had the power to get off. New Testament scholar Robert Mounce beautifully said, “It was the power of love, not nails, that kept him there.”
It was because of faithfulness that Jesus endured humiliation. It was out of obedience to the Father that Jesus would suffer the insults of man. It was because of love that Jesus laid down His life.
Church, Jesus’ sacrifice made your salvation possible.
Challenge yourself to live differently this week after hearing the Word of God. Challenge yourself in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Reflect upon the awful crucifixion. [on screen]
Former pastor J. Vernon McGee said, “If He were to save you and me, He would have to die on that cross. If he had come down from the cross, you and I would have to be executed for our sins.”
We just celebrated a day where we express thanksgiving for all of our blessings. Well, spend some time this week thanking Jesus for the awful suffering He endured on your behalf.
Also, remind yourself when you suffer for the cause of Christ, that you are sharing in the suffering of your Lord.
After all, Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” [on screen]
2. Share the awesome salvation. [on screen]
The awful crucifixion made the awesome salvation of sinners possible. How tragic if that awesome salvation is never offered to those who need it. Will you share it with them?
Will you share in the suffering of Jesus and about the suffering of Jesus so that others may experience the awesome salvation found only in Jesus our Lord?
Challenge yourself to do so this week.
Closing:
This is the moment that Matthew has been leading us to for several weeks. Jesus laid down His life to make us right with God.
Have you been made right with God? Are you living as one who has been changed by the great love and sacrifice of Jesus?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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