Death and Resurrection, Purpose Fulfilled

Matthew 27:32-28:10

³²As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰and 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.” ⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴²“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. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. ⁵¹And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ⁵⁵ here were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, ⁵⁶among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. ⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

^28:1Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

During Holy Week, I think we should give some serious time to reading the story of what Jesus has done for us. I’m certain you’re read it numerous times already in your life. That’s okay. Read it again, for each time we avail ourselves of this message, we are transformed. Our faith deepens and we are even more convinced of the love of God for a people who don’t deserve it. As I read through the story of the crucifixion, I am struck by the almost clinical accounting of absolutely horrific events. A mere telling of the facts. A weather report might be delivered with more passion! But these verses contain so much necessary information for us, for they are filled with prophecy fulfillment. The Old Testament prophets tell us all of these details are going to happen.

While this passage lacks emotional descriptors they aren't really necessary. We already know that the Pharisees were smug; the Roman soldiers were complacent (for the most part), just doing their job; the disciples were scared; the women were heartbroken; and Jesus was resolute. As we read this passage what needs to be asked is, how do YOU feel about it? Are you moved by the knowledge that your sin is what held Jesus onto that cross? Are you willing to embrace His salvation work for your own life? What impact do these details have on your day? Since I can only answer those questions for myself, I'll leave you to your own answers.

Jesus has suffered betrayal by His friends, unjust trials, scourging, crucifixion, and now the taunts of by-passers. The One who gave up everything for all of us now faces the pompous ridicule of people who have no idea who they mock. What is it about human nature that wants to further abuse the weak? Jesus, of course, was by no means weak. But He appeared to be so and those who stood beneath the cross felt the need to further His pain with their words. It was unnecessary and only serves to further the humiliation that has been heaped upon Jesus. Not mankind's finest hour. Despite this continued torture Jesus does nothing to combat His assailants. He just hangs there and completes the work that is before Him; our salvation.

The Christian faith is filled with mysteries and concepts that are difficult to grab onto mentally. How Jesus and the Father could be separated such that Jesus would feel utterly forsaken is beyond my ability to grasp. They are two parts of the Trinity, One God in three parts. How could they be separated? I don't know, so like many aspects of the faith this even must be taken at face value and we know that somehow, during those hours Jesus hung on the cross He was "forsaken" by the Father. And then when the time was perfect and the full payment for our sins had been made He surrendered His life and died. It was over. The sacrifice was complete and our salvation had been purchased.
It is important that we keep the proper perspective. Jesus' life wasn't taken from Him, it was given by Him. He  paid this tragic price because He loves us. He willingly surrendered Himself into the sorrow because the Trinity is Love. God is Love and Jesus is God. These are "no-brainer" observations. But we must make them on a regular basis for it is there that our salvation lies and we need to be reminded often of His sacrifice.

The work of Jesus is complete; along with it the greatest miracle that mankind has ever known. The price for our sin is paid and our salvation is won. To mark this event other things take place that show us the victory is won. First, the curtain in the temple is torn in two. This is the curtain the separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. No one entered the Holy of Holies except the High Priest and that only once a year on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). Now that curtain that had for so long separated God and man is destroyed by God Himself and mankind is now able to approach the holy God of the Universe of his own accord. Sin is no longer an issue and we can now talk to God on our own. This is huge.

Then those who had died believing in Jesus as Messiah rise from the dead and walk around in Jerusalem! The first resurrections begin! How could you have any doubt left after witnessing that? Since then the miracles continue to abound. Every time a person comes to know that Jesus is Lord of Lords and the Savior of their souls we witness a miracle. It is an amazing time. We do well to celebrate and give God the praise He deserves every time.

The Pharisees have gotten what they wanted. Jesus is dead. One of Jesus’ followers, Joseph of Arimathea, asks Pilate for the body and buries Jesus in the tomb he had made for his own family. The women who were numbered among Jesus’ followers faithfully remain by the tomb and watch the burial. They sit vigil for as long as Jewish laws allow being forced to return home before dark because it was the Sabbath. The Pharisees, in the meantime, continue their obsession with Jesus and ask Pilate to seal the tomb and place a guard. Pilate makes them do it themselves. I think he’s done with these guys and their persistent need to deal with this Jesus.

Many have speculated throughout the last 2,000 years that Jesus and His disciples perpetrated a huge ruse and faked His death and resurrection. The person most recently famous to do that was Hugh Schonfield in his book The Passover Plot. He speculates that Jesus purposely, throughout His life, sought to make it look like He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy so that it would look like He was the Messiah. For Schonfield, Jesus was the master deceiver. Schonfield has been discredited although there are still many who see him as a genius. He is certainly not the first to posit such a theory. As we can see from our reading for today, the Pharisees were already afraid of that possibility and sought to make sure no such deception could be happening to them. The word “impostor” in verse 63 gives them away.

Jesus was not an impostor. C.S. Lewis first offered up what he called a “trilemma”. Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. He could not be all three. Only a lunatic would allow himself to be treated the way Jesus was treated. It would be insane to allow yourself to be tortured and crucified just for fun. No one would follow such a person; at least not for long. Only a liar would perpetrate such an outlandish ruse just to make a point. No one would follow such a person; at least not for long. Only a Lord could suffer and die after fulfilling all of the Old Testament prophecies thus securing our salvation for eternity. Millions have followed Him for over 2,000 years. Which of the three choices do you find most appealing?

Everything about the life of Jesus was miraculous beginning with His virgin birth and ending with His resurrection from the grave. With His Ascension (40 days after the resurrection) He is returned to the glory that was His before His birth and our own resurrection is assured as well. This is important. There is no other world religion that is based on the fact that God has conquered death for us.