Good Friday 2011

Matthew 27:47-66 (Click title for audio access)

"Words From A Cross, pt. 2"  •  4.22.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Good Friday Service

Intro.

- We have been stationed on a hill, just outside of Jerusalem, called "Golgotha," which in our language is "Skull Hill."

- In between two thieves is a man who has been wrongfully accused, brutally assaulted by those who hated Him, and viciously beaten by Romans dedicated to the art of pain.

- He has been nailed to a Roman cross for roughly 5 hours. In that time, He has forgiven His tormentors, welcomed a sinner into His Kingdom and made a family out of two disciples.

- At noon, the world went dark and Jesus Christ went from being an Apostle and Priest, to the High Priest. He called out with these words, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"

- In that moment and for the next 2 hours, Jesus the Son, transacted a dealing with the Father that would change fulfill history, as well as alter the course of our lives.

- Tonight, we will look at the final three statements that Jesus made from the cross, in what is the last hour of His life. We'll begin where we left off.

Text

•  Matthew 27:47-49  :  "Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, 'This Man is calling for Elijah!' Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, 'Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.'"  : Those who stood there. Why continue to stand there?

- They stood there because they were fascinated by Him, enough so to stay and watch, and hateful of Him, hoping for new ways to mock the Lord.

- When they spoke of Jesus calling for Elijah, they were referring to Jesus' call for "Eli" which is Hebrew for "God." "Elia" is Hebrew for Elijah, which would be phonetically close.

- They were using the prophecy of Elijah's coming before the Messiah as a way to mock Him now. They knew that He had called out to God, but they chose to use the occasion for their purpose.

- "Let's see if Elijah will come," they taunted and mocked. "Let's see if the forerunner comes to His aid!" They laughed and congratulated each other.

- Turn with me to John 19. It was during this time that Jesus called out with the 5th statement uttered from the cross. John lets us in on the details.

•  John 19:28  :  "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!'"  : Jesus knew what time it was. He knew exactly what was to take place in order for you and I to be redeemed.

- The transaction has taken place. All things were accomplished, completed or fulfilled, save one scripture. Jesus spoke these words: "I thirst."

- The scripture that Jesus fulfilled is found in Psalm 69:21 which says that the Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. That is what Matthew here terms sour wine, which they offered to Him.

- The act of crucifixion would leave Him or any man in an extreme state of dehydration.

- His thirst would have been naturally occuring, but supernaturally directed.

•  John 19:29  :  "Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth." : This corresponds with what Matthew calls the sponge. Do notice that John says that they put it on hyssop.

- Hyssop was a reed like stick with a bushy end. Where else is hyssop found in scripture? You'll remember that the book of Exodus that the people were to dip hyssop into the lamb's blood.

- Then they were to take the hyssop and apply the blood to their doorposts. Now, this vinegar is delivered via the vehicle of hyssop. God is meticulous in His work.

• Matthew 27:50a  :  "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice,"  :  Matthew does not let us know what He said, but records what happened. We will note again that Jesus was able to speak with a loud, authoritative voice, minutes before His death.

- It's notable because Jesus, though silent before His accusers, was not lacking in the power to speak. Matthew doesn't record His actual words, but they are powerful.

- Jesus yelled out one profound word which we discover in John 19:30.

• John 19:30a  :   "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!'..."  :  What we read as three words in English is actually one word in the Greek language. It's the word "tetelestai." This was a very common word, but widespread in it's application.

- There were three ways that the Greeks used this word. It was used by a servant to report to his master when a job was performed.

- It was used in the temple when a sacrifice was examined and found to be without blemish. It was therefore deemed perfect for sacrfice.

- This word was used by artists who had come to the end of the creative process. It was the "finito" of it's time.

- Most importantly, this word was used in the marketplace when a debt was paid finally and in full! Archeologists have found receipts with this word stamped upon it. "Tetelestai!"

- Whoever was standing there and whatever station they held in society, they knew this powerful word. They might not have understood it's significance but we cannot ignore it.

- Jesus declares in one word that He had finished the redeeming work that His Father gave Him to do.  His vicarious penal substitutionary sacrifice was perfect before God

- His death on the cross pays our sin debt in full, forever and finally! I say "finally" because of the way that this is written in the original language.

- According to one commentator, this word is conveyed in what is called the "perfect tense." It
would be understood in this way: "It has been and will always be accomplished!

 - Both John and Matthew omit the final phrase that Christ uttered, but it happened at this moment. He has declared that His work is finished, now we hear His final words from the cross.

•  Matthew 27:50b  :  "...and yielded up His spirit."

- Matthew tells us that Jesus yielded up His spirit. John says that He gave up His spirit. It's Luke who tells us how He performed this.

•  Luke 23:46  :  "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last."  :  When the Lord spoke this out, He did what nobody else on earth has ever been able to do. He chose the very moment that He would die.

- He knew that He was His Father's. He knew that He had done what was set out for Him and now He goes peacefully into the hands that sent Him.

- The Lord had complete authority over the length of His life.  Jesus was not a victim of death.

- His death was entirely sacrificial. I would go so far as to say that if Jesus had not yielded His spirit, that He would still be standing on that cross today!

- Nobody took His life and death could not claim Him because He was perfect, yet He tasted death and in so doing, conquered death for our sakes.

•  Matthew 27:51-54  :  "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'"  : This veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. The veil itself was a very large and ornate curtain.

- In Herod's Temple, it was over 60 ft long and 30 ft wide. There is a variance when it comes to exactly how thick it was. I have heard anywhere between 10 and 18 inches thick!

- According to several sources, the veil was so heavy that it took 300 priests to manipulate it!

- This veil hid the Holy Of Holies from sight. It formed an imposing physical barrier reminiscent of the spiritual barrier between God and Man. When Jesus died, God said no more!

- He tore it from top to bottom. Only God could tear this barrier, the veil which had been represented in Christ's flesh. He opened the Holy Of Holies and said "Open House!"

- From there, an incredible set of circumstances opened up. Nothing can quite explain what happened here, except that Christ's death brought the world to attention.

- I'm of the opinion that the earth celebrated the signal of redemption!

- The earth, the rocks and graves all responded to our Lord's death! Matthew takes us into the near future, as saints who had died were awakened and walked again in Jerusalem post resurrection!

- The centurions looked around and saw all that had happened and came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Son of God! It had to be! This was normal barnyard logic!

- At the end of the day, these soldiers, no doubt ones who had mocked Jesus as the King just hours earlier, now confessed that Jesus was who He said He was!

•  Matthew 27:55-61  :  "And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb."  :  After the Lord's death, these women came and ministered to the Lord's body.

- Usually, the crucifed dead were thrown into the valley of Hinnom and burned along with the trash or allowed to be eaten by the wild animals.

- Nobody had really thought of what to do with the Lord's body, except for these ladies and a secret disciple, Joseph of Arimathea.

- He was a rich man and likely a member of the Sanhedrin had been waiting around and now had gone to Pilate to ask for the care of the Lord's body.

- He had become a disciple and we know very little of him. Depending on his faith, he might have been giving Jesus a loaner for the weekend!

- His tomb, like many of that day, had been cut out of the side of a rock. It was large enough for a few bodies to be laid, which is not unusual. Most tombs accomodated an entire family.

- The family would place the bodies in these tombs until the decaying process left only enough remains that could be placed in what is called an "ossuary."

- That little box would be placed in the tomb along with any new relatives that would arrive.

- Most of these tombs would have a stone groove carved out before the entrance. A heavy circular stone, called the "Golal," could then be pushed into place by several strong men.

- This tomb had been unused and was now the resting place of the Lord's body.

•  Matthew 27:62-66  :  "On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, 'Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.' Pilate said to them, 'You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard."  :  Matthew gives us the record of what happened on Saturday. The Day of Preparation was the day when you would gather and prepare food for the Sabbath.

- It was on this day when the religious ones traveled to see Pilate. Remember how they had scolded the Lord for breaking the Sabbath? Well, here they are with a Gentile procurator!

- One can only imagine Pilate's face when they came to see him. "Oh not these guys again!"

- The religious leaders knew the substance of what Jesus had said, even though they had twisted His words to suit their own meaning and purpose.

- They want to make sure that nothing would happen with the tomb. Pilate told them to use the guard that the Romans had given them for such things.

- They made sure that nobody could mess with the tomb, sealing the stone and setting the guard. Nobody on earth could disturb the Lord's body. Not His disciples or the zealots. Nobody.

- The stone was a large stone which could have weighed a ton. The guards were generally arranged in fours. They were manly men.

- It's as if God is saying, "Let's make this as hard as possible!"

Conclusion

- A few words as we close tonight. First, we must consider the theological. Jesus Christ died on this cross to fulfill scripture, to satisfy wrath and to pay a redemption price for you and I.

- He said "It is finished." Is it? Or are you still trying to finish it? Do not blaspheme the love of God or the righteousness of Christ by trying to add your religion to Him.

- You are either paid for and loved completely or you are not! There are no other options.

- Second, we consider the personal. For years, the church has ended their good Friday service with this statement: "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!"

- I believe that this is a perfect encouragement for us tonight.

- In the darkest moments of our history, that which is hidden behind a veil, or buried under a rock, is soon to come forth in a most surprising way!

- That is the reality that this Passion week is meant to emboss upon our hearts. That dark moment that you might be facing is only the precursor to what God intends to do.

- God delights to do this: In Christ's darkest hour, there was a victory that was about to emerge, that would shine for millenia to come! That is His Work. That is Redemption!