Old Town Christian Fellowship
Matthew 27
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  • Matthew 27

    Good morning church. We are picking up our study this morning in the 27th chapter of the gospel of Matthew. We left off with Jesus in custody, at the home of the Chief Priest Caiaphas, they are having an illegal nighttime trial, they have spit in His face, punched Him, slapped Him, and our chapter ended with the denial of Peter even having known Him. This all began with Jesus laboring through the night in prayer in the garden, and doing so as others with Him had slept. That is where we are...
    And look, I understand if you are new here it may seem like you are jumping in at the end of a story, so it’s tough to get the context and maybe you are scared you’re not tracking with everyone else in the room. So, just to put everyone else in the room in the same place as you, I want to jump ahead of this scene, and then jump backwards by about 700 years. And I’m really not doing this to confuse everyone, but because I believe it is important for us to see that this book is about Jesus from cover to cover. I was so excited last Sunday to see where Pastor Jim took us as he reviewed some of what I had skipped over concerning the Passover mentioned in chapter 26 and how all of that was established back in the book of Exodus. As I had already planned on doing the same concerning the crucifixion.
    The reason that this is so important guys, is to show you that when we encourage you to have faith, or to believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God, we’re not asking you to believe in some made up fantasy that we have all agreed to call truth. Some of you have been taught that science is real, history is real, religion is a man made crutch for the weak. That is a lie from Hell.
    What Pastor Jim wanted to show you last week, and I hope you can see as we go through chapter 27 this morning, is that what we place our faith in is truth, based in fact. Based on prophecy, that was then fulfilled precisely as it was foretold and proved in history at the time of its fulfillment. Faith is not exclusive of reason. God does not ask us to believe in the unreasonable, or the ridiculous.
    So jumping ahead. Jesus has been crucified, He defeats death, rises from the tomb, but before He ascends into Heaven, Dr. Luke fills us in on on this encounter that two of the disciples have as Jesus appears to them on the road to Emmaus. It is Luke chapter 24, I encourage you to read the whole thing, I won’t his morning in the interest of time. But these guys are talking about all kinds of Jesus stuff, all that they had seen and what He had done, and He appears, only they don’t recognize Him.
    In their conversation, they are just amazed at all that went down, don’t really know what to make of it all and Jesus says this beginning in verse 25 of Luke 24,
    Luke 24:25–27 LSB
    25 And He said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
    If you keep reading in that chapter He then appears to the 11 Disciples and He says to them...
    Luke 24:44–48 LSB
    44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things.
    Let’s pray...Father thank you...open our minds to understand the Scriptures...in Jesus name, amen.
    OK we jumped ahead, we are now going to jump back. We don’t have time this morning to look at all of what was said of Jesus in the OT, if you are interested in that, take our next SOM class Christology. But I do want to look at one passage from the book of Isaiah, and we will be in chapter 53 if you want to turn there with me this morning.
    Now if you have been with us on our Wednesday evening OT studies, you are familiar with Isaiah, but if you haven’t been, just briefly, Isaiah was a prophet to the nation of Israel, 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Israel was divided during the ministry of Isaiah and his ministry was primarily to the Kingdom of Judah, and they experienced both rebellion and revival during his time.
    The focus of His message from God was that salvation will come through the Messiah. There are other OT passages that promise that from the line of David there would never fail to be one sitting on the throne of Israel, so many, including the disciples of Jesus, were anticipating Jesus setting up His Kingdom on earth at this first appearing, yet Isaiah tells us that Messiah will come as a suffering Savior, to pay the penalty for our sins, and would be numbered among the transgressors, although He is without sin.
    Why does this matter? Because we live in a day when our faith is mocked, when Christians are ridiculed for their belief in what some think to be a fantasy. Well, as Christians you guys should know that our faith, is based in truth. Our faith is put in Truth, Jesus is the Way, The Truth, The Life. Having faith does not mean you blindly believe what is otherwise ridiculous. The very definition of faith, implies your putting your belief, your trust, a strong confidence in something, not nothing, that would be stupid, so I want to give you more of the evidence that validates that everything that Jesus did and said was truth, and that He is who He says He is.
    So, I just want to read through this passage, so you can see the detail in which this is fulfilled, that which was written 700 years before His crucifixion. Let’s look at
    Isaiah 53, just one of the places that Jesus was talking about with His disciples in Luke 24.
    Isaiah 53:1–3 LSB
    1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
    Despised, not loved and accepted by all. Not a talking head, or a social media influencer embraced by all, but a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...verse 4
    Isaiah 53:4–8 LSB
    4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?
    Written 700 years before the cross, and I could pause at every verse and add, remember that, remember that...as we read the account in Matthew...now verse 9
    Isaiah 53:9–12 LSB
    9 So His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10 But Yahweh was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If You would place His soul as a guilt offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, And He will divide the spoil with the strong; Because He poured out His soul to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
    What we will read today is a direct fulfillment of this passage. Take note especially of Isaiah’s declaration that He was numbered with the transgressors…counted among the sinners. That not only will He come, but He will also die, and in that death will bear the sins of many and intercede for the transgressors. Now critics claim that this has somehow been manipulated by Christians in making this their own Christian manual, but you have to remember that the Scroll of Isaiah was not a Christian book. It was written before Christ, it’s a Jewish book written about their promised Messiah 700 years before Jesus showed up.
    Now looking at our text in Matthew chapter 27...
    Matthew 27:1–2 LSB
    1 Now -when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus to put Him to death; 2 and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.
    The decision had been made, in the illegal nighttime trial, but they had to regather in the morning for appearances and to give them the legal authority to do what they had already decided to do, so they take Jesus before the Roman governor...and had to attempt to find a criminal charge against Jesus, because the Roman’s would not have cared about Him declaring Himself to be God.
    So they had to make accusations about something that would have been a threat to Rome, a violation of the laws of Rome. Matthew doesn’t tell us here the specifics of that, but Luke tips us off. He tells us.
    Luke 23:2 LSB
    2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
    A revolutionary insurrectionist against Rome, and an even greater offense, interfering with the theft of Washington, I mean discouraging the payment of taxes to Caesar.
    But prior to this trial, Matthew gives us this note….
    Matthew 27:3 LSB
    3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
    When we read about the Passion of Christ, His trial, His suffering, and ultimately His resurrection it is so easy to miss this part of His suffering, His betrayal. That He was bound, and led away as they sought His death, because someone very close to Him betrayed Him. Have you ever been betrayed? I believe that this is actually a sin, or an offense that is ever on the rise. It seems to have become so much a part of the human experience, that it has become something that we all know, or we have all experienced, been wounded by.
    Someone that we love or care deeply about, someone we esteemed highly and trusted, has chosen selfishness, or thoughtlessness, and they’ve placed themselves before what they committed to us. It is a tool our enemy uses to then create distance, mistrust, a denial of love and intimacy as your fear of betrayal keeps you from experiencing the depths of love available to you. The pain, the baggage, can stay with you forever. So Jesus is in this place, experiencing far more than you or I have ever had to face, and in the middle of it all, He suffers the wound of a friend’s betrayal.
    Notice the rest of the verse…Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned and he felt remorse, now don’t mistaken that with repentance. Judas was remorseful, we could even say he was sorry.
    Matthew 27:4–5 LSB
    4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
    Again Judas was sorry, he was sad, he regretted the consequences of his sin, not necessarily the act of his sin, but all of that is different from repentance. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of direction. We stop running toward our sin and we run away from it to God. See that is the missing piece in Judas. Repentance. When you and I are convicted of our sin, we might me sorry, remorseful, feel bad about the stupid thing that we did that hurt someone else, but it doesn’t end there with us wallowing in self pity, we turn to Jesus. We don’t see that in Judas. Matthew will tell us now about his attempts to mitigate his sin by his own actions. Verse 6...
    Matthew 27:6–8 LSB
    6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” 7 And taking counsel together, they bought with the money the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
    kjbjk
    Matthew 27:9–10 LSB
    9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”
    Again, another fulfillment of prophecy, and notice again, this was not something His disciples were doing to try to prove He was Messiah, these are the enemies of the Lord, who knew the Scriptures, paying the exact amount, and doing what the Bible said they would do.
    But how appropriate that the blood money used to betray Jesus was used to buy a field where His blood would give them final rest.
    Matthew 27:11–14 LSB
    11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “You yourself say it.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor marveled greatly.
    Consider the men that had stood before pilot and argued their case, or pled for mercy. Jesus remained silent. He sent him to Herod, Herod sent Him back.
    Matthew 27:15–18 LSB
    15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him over.
    It was the custom to release a prisoner of their choice, but he only gave them the choice of Jesus or Barabbas.
    Matthew 27:19–20 LSB
    19 Now while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.
    kjhjk
    Matthew 27:21–23 LSB
    21 But the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then, what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why, what evil did He do?” But they were crying out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”
    Imagine being Barabbas in his cell listening to the crowd. Literally Jesus died in his place and on his cross, He was numbered with the transgressors.
    Matthew 27:24–25 LSB
    24 Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
    You guys know that’s not how that works right? You can’t just wash your hands of things. Pilot was the governor, he couldn’t just say, not my fault! Husbands that don’t have control of your homes, can’t wash your hands of it...what has the Lord charged you with?
    Matthew 27:26 LSB
    26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.
    Another gospel tells us that Jesus was then presented to the crowd. Behold, the Man.
    Matthew 27:27–31 LSB
    27 Then when the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, they gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 When they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
    Why not just kill Him, why did Jesus endure all of this?
    Matthew 27:32–34 LSB
    32 And as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He did not want to drink.
    Simon was not enlisted due to mercy, but rather need. Jesus could not go on. When you can’t go any further, when you feel like you’re not going to make it, reach out to your Savior who gets it.
    Matthew 27:35 LSB
    35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.
    All of the gospels have this kind of account. They crucified Him, no horrific detail. At the time this was written the readers would have been very familiar with the torture and horror.
    Matthew 27:36–37 LSB
    36 And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
    Notice, no charge listed. None of the false accusations, only truth.
    Matthew 27:38–44 LSB
    38 At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were blaspheming Him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the sanctuary 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 also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.
    Again, literally numbered with the transgressors and that includes us as He was there for us.
    Matthew 27:45 LSB
    45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
    Noon to 3
    Matthew 27:46 LSB
    46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
    Psalm 22, First line from a song of David
    Psalm 22:1 LSB
    1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my groaning.
    Let me go through some of this song that the people around the cross would have been familiar with...
    Psalm 22:2–5 LSB
    2 O my God, I call by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. 3 Yet You are holy, Enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You rescued them. 5 To You they cried out and were granted escape; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.
    Psalm 22:6–9 LSB
    6 But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; They smack their lip, they wag their head, saying, 8 “Commit yourself to Yahweh; let Him rescue him; Let Him deliver him, because He delights in him.” 9 Yet You are He who brought me out of the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
    Psalm 22:10–14 LSB
    10 Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb. 11 Be not far from me, for distress is near; For there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a lion that tears and roars. 14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.
    Psalm 22:15–19 LSB
    15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. 19 But You, O Yahweh, be not far off; O my Strength, hasten to my help.
    Imagine standing there and being reminded of this song and realizing that is what I just saw here, that is what is happening before my very eyes.
    He who knew not sin, became sin for us, so that we could experience the righteousness of God. In that moment that Jesus expressed those words, He experienced the loss of the intimate pleasure of the favor of God and experienced the full wrath of God on our behalf. His separation is what allowed for our communion with God.
    Matthew 27:47–49 LSB
    47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them were saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”
    jkhkj
    Matthew 27:50 LSB
    50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
    jkhk
    Matthew 27:51–56 LSB
    51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was God’s Son!” 55 And many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. 56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
    Now there is no other teaching about this, so we don’t make a huge deal out of it, but it says it, so it is so. Hadas, that place of the dead is emptied out. Apparently, some took a little hike around Jerusalem before going to Heaven.
    Matthew 27:57–61 LSB
    57 Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
    jkhj
    Matthew 27:62–63 LSB
    62 Now on the next day, the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’
    This interests me as they didn’t pay attention to anything else that He said… why do these guys know and the Disciples forgot?
    Matthew 27:64–66 LSB
    64 “Therefore, order for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
    Next week we will begin with the resurrection.
    Grace and Peace

        • Luke 24:25–27NKJV

        • Luke 24:44–48NKJV

        • Isaiah 53:1–3NKJV

        • Isaiah 53:4–8NKJV

        • Isaiah 53:9–12NKJV

        • Matthew 27:1–2NKJV

        • Luke 23:2NKJV

        • Matthew 27:3NKJV

        • Matthew 27:4–5NKJV

        • Matthew 27:6–8NKJV

        • Matthew 27:9–10NKJV

        • Matthew 27:11–14NKJV

        • Matthew 27:15–18NKJV

        • Matthew 27:19–20NKJV

        • Matthew 27:21–23NKJV

        • Matthew 27:24–25NKJV

        • Matthew 27:26NKJV

        • Matthew 27:27–31NKJV

        • Matthew 27:32–34NKJV

        • Matthew 27:35NKJV

        • Matthew 27:36–37NKJV

        • Matthew 27:38–44NKJV

        • Matthew 27:45NKJV

        • Matthew 27:46NKJV

        • Psalm 22:1NKJV

        • Psalm 22:2–5NKJV

        • Psalm 22:6–9NKJV

        • Psalm 22:10–14NKJV

        • Psalm 22:15–19NKJV

        • Matthew 27:47–49NKJV

        • Matthew 27:50NKJV

        • Matthew 27:51–56NKJV

        • Matthew 27:57–61NKJV

        • Matthew 27:62–63NKJV

        • Matthew 27:64–66NKJV

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