How can Jesus possibly win after His body has been buried?

“Buried”

(Matthew 27:57-66, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 30, 2008)

Matthew 27:57-66 ⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He 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 shroud ⁶⁰ and 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. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. ⁶² Next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' ⁶⁴ Therefore 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." ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Introduction – The body of Christ

The Lord has given us each a very wonderful gift in His provision of a body for us. Knowing that He has a plan for us that includes resurrection bodies helps us to recognize the importance even of the mortal bodies that we have now. These mortal bodies are not perfect, but they have this: They can be temples of the Holy Spirit. From the bodies of Adam and Eve, to the sound of the final resurrection trumpet, our God’s plans for us involve physical life.

We use the words “the body of Christ” to refer to three things: The Lord’s Supper, the church, and the physical body of Jesus. When God sent His Son to save us, He gave Him a true body and a real soul. Jesus of Nazareth, though conceived by the Holy Spirit, had an actual body from the beginning. He grew in the womb of His mother Mary just as any child would. He had to learn how to use His body. His obedience to the Law of God was not just a spiritual thing. It never could be. Out of the purity of a perfectly holy soul, He lived out the way of goodness through the use of His mind, His words, and His body. This was necessary in order for Him to fulfill His great mission.

The body of Jesus (57-58)

Toward the conclusion of His earthly ministry something horrible began to happen. His body began to be very seriously damaged. This started in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the severe strain of what was before Him caused His capillary vessels to dilate and burst, mixing sweat and blood. Then after His arrest, Jesus was very badly beaten. Isaiah apparently prophesies about our Lord’s appearance saying that He was “marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” The New Testament tells us that He was not only beaten with a rod, and punched, but that He was also scourged, a brutal form of punishment that could cause very serious injury. Then He faced the external and internal trauma associated with a death on a cross, until finally He gave up His Spirit. His body, the body of the Christ, the body of Jesus of Nazareth, our Savior, died.

The death of the cross is inescapably brutal, with the goal of public exposure in order to show the greatest disrespect. Though our Lord faced the hatred of many enemies, there were some who wanted to treat His body in a different way. They wanted to show appropriate honor to Him, even though He was dead. It is right to care for our bodies while they are alive, and to continue to care for them even after they are dead. It is a way of saying that we believe that God still has a good plan for these bodies, and that we want to show our love for a person by treating them kindly even after they cannot feel anything anymore. For this reason Joseph of Arimathea, a rich disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate that evening and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate did not refuse his request.

A burial (59-61)

It was part of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the body of Jesus that He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb. Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the ruling council who, Luke tells us, did not consent to the actions of the council in condemning Jesus. He also says that this Joseph was looking for the kingdom of God. This kingdom, which Christ preached, though having its beginning in the events of His own death and resurrection, is ultimately a kingdom of resurrected beings. Today that is expressed in the spiritual life granted to us through faith in Christ, and through our life of obedience and service to Him. When we die, we know the kingdom of God from a different vantage point. We see it from the place of the residence of the Lord and His angels together with all those who have gone to be with Him. Our mortal bodies rest in the grave, but we are given an existence in heaven that must have room for physical beings, since Christ is physical, and He is in that present heaven now. There are many things that we are said to do there that make the most sense if understood in some kind of physical way. Yet we are waiting for the complete fulfillment of the Lord’s resurrection promises in the age to come, when bodies that now rest in graves are given an immortal existence, just as Christ received an immortal human body so long ago.

This is apparently what Joseph of Arimathea believed in: The resurrection of the dead which will happen at the Judgment Day. This belief is consistent with that expectation of the kingdom which Jesus clearly preached. Joseph sought to treat the body of Jesus with the respect that says to anyone who would want to know, “The Lord is not finished with this man yet.” Many surely believed in a coming resurrection, yet no one thought He would rise soon.

The women who were witnesses to the death of Jesus were also witnesses to His burial. The burial of Jesus was not only a statement of faith in the resurrection to come, it was also a certification by men like Joseph of Arimathea and also Nicodemus, another ruler of the Jews mentioned in John’s gospel, that Jesus was in fact reliably dead. They handled the body of the Lord. They had certain burial rituals which they supervised, an important point of evidence as we look forward to the surprising resurrection of Christ within three days, according to His promise. Skeptics have raised the question: Did Jesus actually die? Of course the Word of God tells us that He did, and we should be wary of making ourselves judges of God when God will judge us one day. Nonetheless there is something here that should give skeptics pause. Were these important leaders of the Jews, who handled the body of Jesus sufficiently to have Him buried in a tomb, confused concerning the death of Jesus? Is it remotely possible that these men were wrong when they, the centurion, and the governor understood so clearly that our Savior was dead that they were able to actually bury Him? Of course He certainly was dead, and it should cause us to wonder why people would want to deny that obvious fact in the light of such reliable testimony. The answer must have something to do with the resurrection. If you want to remain unconvinced about the resurrection of Jesus, one way to do this is to deny his death. His burial is a troubling fact that stands between the skeptic and his hope to deny the resurrection.

As secure as you can (62-66)

In fact, the death of Christ was so obvious to all, and his body must have been in such a horrible condition, that there is no record of anyone anywhere who actually expected him to be able to be true to his word to rise from the dead on the third dead. It was hard to believe in the resurrection when you were burying Jesus. While Jesus was alive you could almost believe in resurrection, because a credible performer of resurrections was there with you. But can a clearly dead man raise His own body from the dead? There is no evidence that anyone expected that the answer to that question would actually be Yes, even though Jesus had stated in John’s gospel (10:18) that He had the authority to lay down His life, and the authority to take it up again. At this point no one believed that.

What some people were concerned about was that there would be some trick or confusion whereby people would try to claim that Jesus had risen, though He had not. Even His enemies knew about His claim that He would rise in three days. The chief priests and Pharisees hoped they were finished with Jesus. They took one last action to keep this case closed. They went to Pilate and mentioned their understanding of His claim that He would rise. They asked that the tomb be made secure until the third day because of the fear that the disciples would steal the body and then claim that He had risen. They were given permission to use a military guard in order to see to this, and they did so. The stone was securely in place and they put a seal on it of some kind and then set a guard there.

What now?

What more can be said at this point? The Savior died. However amazing some of the manifestations of that death were, He was still dead. There was no argument concerning that. Reliable men among the leaders had seen to His burial. Where was Jesus? His body was in the grave of Joseph of Arimathea. But His Spirit was with the Father. We know this because in Luke 23:46, Jesus said these words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Earlier in Luke 23:43 He had assured the one repentant thief on the cross, “Today, You will be with me in Paradise.” Amazingly, Jesus did what all believers do. He spent time in the present heaven prior to His resurrection while His body was resting in the grave. That was better than an instantaneous resurrection. It warms the heart of mourners and gives us hope that it is not a powerless thing to be in heaven prior to the final resurrection that is surely coming.

Back to Jerusalem and the tomb of Joseph: The battle is at hand. There is only watching and waiting now. Jesus said He would rise, but He is dead. His enemies are going to make sure that no one steals His body. They have a guard there to guarantee that. The question is this: Who is stronger to work out their will? Shall Jesus who is with the Father in the present heaven be stronger than the chief priests and the Pharisees with their military guard on earth at the tomb of Joseph? The answer should be obvious. Heaven rules earth. The contest is not between the dead flesh of Jesus and powerful people that are alive on earth. The contest is between the heavenly Son of God in Paradise with angels and His Father versus a few people who don’t even believe in the Lord’s promises in Jerusalem. What now? The unstoppable will of God now! The same Jesus who died for your sins, will rise for your justification, and will enter into heaven as the resurrection man, the sure guarantee of the coming age of resurrection. Please don’t forget that heaven rules, and let us then pray with a confident expectation, even as we may bury our dead with true mourning, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What is the significance of Isaiah 53 for understanding the death and burial of the Messiah?

2. Identify the various individuals and groups mentioned in this passage.

3. What perspective does each one have on the burial of Christ?

4. What is the significance of the burial of our Lord to the story of His saving work?

Why did Jesus cry out from the cross, "My God... "

“Dead”

(Matthew 27:45-56, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 23, 2008)

Matthew 27:45-56 ⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And 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?" ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah." ⁴⁸ And 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. ⁴⁹ But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also 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 went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ When 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 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Introduction – Things that God lets us see and things that He does not let us see

In these few weeks that we have at the end of Matthew’s gospel, we are largely following the ancient creeds of the church in examining that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, before we move on to the glorious fact that on the third day He rose again from the dead. You may have wondered why these doctrinal statements speak of the crucifixion of Jesus as a separate article of faith from the death of our Lord. These two things are actually very different. Crucifixion was by design a very public event. The point was to expose the criminal to the open viewing of others as a societal disgrace and a warning to others. It was only to be used in the case of those who were deemed to be the worst and most dangerous offenders against public order.

There is a sense in which death, on the other hand, is a very mysterious and even private thing. It is measured in part by the absence of what are called vital signs, signs of life. A body once had a pulse and respiration. Now these things are gone. The Lord gives life and takes it away. There is something about it that we definitely cannot measure at all, since it involves the separation of the mortal body and the immortal soul. Where does that soul go? What exactly happens to that part of the person? The Lord certainly knows, and He has told us some of that story. What is amazing is that He came Himself and went through the mystery and horror of this thing called death. He had a mortal body and a soul. The two were together, and then they were not. The body was dead. The soul was alive.

Smitten by God (45-46)

There are many things about the Lord’s death that we could not know unless God chose to reveal these to us. We could not know what He was thinking and feeling, and what was happening in His death in the unseen realm of the soul and the spirit. We also could not know what the purpose and future impact of His death would be unless the Lord condescended to reveal these things to us. What is most remarkable is that God has revealed so much to us about the death of Christ, and He has done this especially through our Lord’s concise quotation of a portion of just one verse of the Bible which Jesus spoke while on the cross itself, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

This is part of the first verse of Psalm 22. Most people do not think about that fact. They only think about the words themselves as if they had no context. They are very powerful and mysterious words, words of a horrible trial, of rejection by God, haunting words that come in the form of a question, words that many have found strangely comforting and validating as they have faced the mystery of suffering in their own lives, and remembered that Christ faced deep suffering for us. There is something very right and powerful about letting these words stand by themselves, but we are left with a suspicion that there must be more to it all. We rightly suspect that our Lord would never have misused God’s Word by quoting it out of context. (Read Psalm 22.)

This Psalm is a vow psalm, where the worshipper is crying out to God for help, and promising to make some specified payment to God. We notice that while the Psalm starts out with a very low point, the question that Jesus quotes, it ends with an amazing high point. That high point is part of the payment section of the vow. What does Christ promise to pay? The suffering Servant who was smitten by God, expressing complete confidence that He has been heard by the Lord, promises to bring Him praise, not just personal praise, but the praise of an amazing congregation, the praise of people who lived so long ago that they are presently just dust in the grave, and the praise even of a mighty host of people who were yet to be born. We can immediately conclude that David could never have fulfilled the promise of this Psalm, but we also should conclude that this is exactly what Christ came to do. At just the right time He will deliver a temple of people up to the Father, people from all places and times, people who will live in the resurrection praise of God as obedient servants and sons of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are persuaded that this Psalm is much more about Jesus than it is about David, since it describes the suffering of death by crucifixion, and some of the other particulars of the death of Christ, despite the fact that it was written centuries before that death, and even centuries before we have any knowledge of the use of this particular kind of capital punishment. Some of these details include the treatment our Lord received from those who were near him, some of the actual words that were said, the description of the bodily condition of someone who dies on a cross, the fact that cruel Gentiles would be there at his death, the disposition of His clothing, and especially the piercing of His hands and feet. There is no other known form of torture or execution fitting that description, yet this was written long before ancient empires apparently started crucifying enemies and before the Romans took up the practice and expanded its use. But God knew, and the Son of God knew, and thus He spoke through David in Psalm 22.

Here also we learn of not only the physical anguish of Christ, but the emotional and spiritual turmoil of His death. We hear His sense of being surrounded by wild animals, the extreme hatred of the people around Him, His remembrance of His Father’s history of faithfulness, the urgency of His petition for help from His Father, but especially the conviction that somehow He was suffering at the hand of His Father.

Confusion (47-49)

The depth of misery at the hand of the Almighty in this Psalm combined with the heights of assurance of the coming eternal praise of the Almighty in the very same Psalm creates a great mystery, a mystery that could only be solved by understanding what the Father and the Son were doing in this death which is at the center of the entire human story. The crowd that observed this wretched man crying out these words had absolutely no understanding of what was happening. After three hours of darkness that was over all the land, this brutalized and mocked Healer and Teacher shouts out words. They do not recognize the Aramaic word for “My God,” and make the completely mistaken conclusion that Jesus is calling out to Elijah. They do something to lift up a drink to Him, an action that makes little sense except as a fulfillment of a phrase in Psalm 69, and then they wait to see if Elijah comes to help.

Power (50-54)

Out of the darkness of human confusion, something immensely powerful happens. Jesus dies. He yielded up His spirit. The picture is of a willingness to do what absolutely needed to be done. The mysterious event has just taken place. He’s dead. He’s gone. Where did He go? We are given no answer immediately, but we can see that there is power in this death. First, God apparently tore the curtain in the temple that protected people from the danger of the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. A way has been made of access to God through the death of Jesus Christ. Second, an earthquake shakes the land, and tombs are opened as rocks that sealed them are pushed away. Bodies were later raised and were seen coming out of the tombs. An entire age of resurrection is coming through the death of Jesus Christ. Even before His coming again in glory, the story of the victory of the death of Christ is being told by the Father in this glimpse from heaven as the spirits of some number of people are reunited with bodies in such a way that they physically appear to many. Third, a Gentile soldier comes to the conclusion that millions would later come to over the centuries ahead. He considers what happened, and he says, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Witnesses (55-56)

This is not a myth. This is an historical account of the events surrounding the death of Jesus. The citation of Psalm 22 for our benefit, the curtain in the temple torn from top to bottom, the resurrection appearance of people out of their tombs, and the profession of faith by a Roman centurion that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is surely the Son of God... There were observers who could testify to these facts.

We have not even reached Matthew 28, and there is already much here that is indicating that the plan of God to save sinners has actually worked, and we indeed have peace with God and a hope of resurrection through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no better news that that, but only through the gift of the Holy Spirit can this news be yours today. Do you have any sense of your own personal need for a Savior? Are you able to see that something happened to Jesus that you deserved, and that He didn’t deserve? Are you able to see that there is power here for you?

The death of Christ was not accidental, impulsive, or coincidental. Psalm 22 makes that undeniably clear. The only way to explain the deep low of abandonment and the great height of eternal resurrection praise is to recognize that there was an agreement between the Father and the Son. The Son would come to live a life that was perfectly good according to the Law of God, and then He would die a death for people like us who are evil according to the Law of God. This is what the Son of God came from heaven to do, and He did it. And it was powerful. It gave every repentant sinner access to the Father, it secured for us a life of blessing beyond the grave, and it gave us something very worthwhile to believe in. This is a love that was costly. It is a love that calls you to a new life.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What is the significance of Christ’s citation of Psalm 22 from the cross?

2. What are some of the signs that something very powerful happened in the death of Jesus?

3. What are some of the things that the witnesses could have seen that day that would be worth remembering?

4. What are some of the things that the witnesses could not have observed that they might need to know?

What do you think of this man Jesus?

“Crucified”
(Matthew 27:1-44, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 16, 2008)

Matthew 27:1-44 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. 3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me." 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so." 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, 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 it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream." 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again 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 has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!" 24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." 25 And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. 32 , As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging 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 So 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. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Introduction – The story of the Bible and the story of God and man
My last class in comparative religion was in high school. I am very far from being an expert in other belief systems. I have never read the holy texts of Confucianism. I cannot quite pronounce the Bhagavad Gita, one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. I have never even read the Jewish Talmud, except when it is quoted in commentaries or study bibles. The only exposure that I have to the Koran came as a result of 9/11, and I am sure that many Islamic scholars would say that my thoughts on that are taken out of context. They might be right. The other day was the first time that I heard of the existence of the Tao-te-chin; a text of Taoism that means “The Way and Its Power.” Frankly, I don’t know that I will ever really study any of these documents. I am just not interested in religion, and I have about as much aptitude for understanding Hinduism or Buddhism as I do for fixing a lawn mower, which means I have almost no aptitude at all for it. A good friend of mine wrote a book called Beyond Buddhism which I read some years ago. I was impressed with his scholarship in documenting the various schools of Buddhism, and in demonstrating that the message of Christianity was so different than the religion of his Japanese ancestors.

My knowledge of the Bible mostly comes from reading it over and over and over again, especially in the pursuit of answers. I have found that to be very fruitful, life-engaging, and even life-saving. I am utterly convinced that Jesus Christ is the living center of the Old and New Testaments, and I am devoted to Him as my Savior, my Lord, and my only hope. I have found nothing else in economics, politics, art, sociology, or any other field of study that captivates my heart like Jesus Christ, the cross, the resurrection, and the promise of the life to come. It is in this one and only Messiah that we see the story of the Bible, the story of stories, the story of God and humanity.

The story of Judas (1-10)
As we enter into Matthew’s account of the cross and resurrection, we see some of the story of Judas, of Pontius Pilate, and of course, of Jesus. There are other figures here, the chief priests and elders, the people in general, Barrabbas, Simon of Cyrene, and others, but we will focus on Judas, Pilate, and Jesus. Judas’ story is not a happy one. It is horrible to think of a life that is marked by a horrific act of treachery, a life summarized with the words, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” But these most memorable things about Judas are not what Matthew has written for us in this passage. Here we learn that Judas changed his mind.

This close friend of Jesus is full of distress. He says, “I have sinned.” He is the only one of the twelve who actually goes to the chief priests and the elders and proclaims Jesus’ innocence, as well as his own guilt as a betrayer. When everyone has scattered, and when everyone else is saying nothing, when even Peter has denied Jesus three times, who makes the boldest defense of Jesus, going right up to the men who have just condemned our Lord? Surprisingly, it is Judas. He says, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” He tries to return the money, and when he is rebuffed, he throws it into the temple. The leaders don’t want to hear what Judas has to say about his guilt or about the innocence of Jesus. They say, “What is that to us?” And then they add these words, “See to it yourself.” The literal words are, “You will see.” The point is that his guilt will prove to be something that he will see to himself, and not something they consider to be their concern. He is overwhelmed by the enormity of his own part in what has taken place, and he executes judgment against himself by sending his own body to the grave.

The story of Pilate (11-31)
The story of the Roman governor Pilate is entirely different. It ends, not with any statement of his own guilt, but with the words, “I am innocent of this man's blood.” Pilate has no real history with Jesus. He is interested in the claims of His kingship, and asks Him if He is the King of the Jews. The only words of Christ to Pilate recorded by Matthew come in the simple response: “You say,” translated here, “You have said so.” The governor is amazed at Jesus’ silence concerning the accusations against Him. Pilate seems determined to get out of the middle of this situation. He knows that Jesus has done nothing deserving of death. He is aware that the Jewish leaders envy Jesus, and that this is the reason that Jesus stands before him. He also receives word that his wife has been greatly troubled by a dream concerning Jesus, who she refers to as “that righteous man.” He thinks that he has a clear way out of this situation through his custom of releasing a prisoner in connection with the Passover. Surely the people will demand Jesus if the choice is between Him and a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. Pilate seems unprepared for the vehement and unified insistence among the people that Barabbas be released and that Jesus be crucified.

The crowd is on the verge of a riot. Pilate puts on a show for them to indicate that he does not agree with what is happening. He washes his hands of it all. He says, “I am innocent of this man's blood.” He then adds these words, very much like the words of the chief priests and elders to Judas: “See to it yourselves.” Like the earlier statement from verse 4, it literally says, “You will see.” The reaction of the crowd to this is vehement and surprising. There is no way that they want to allow Pilate to stop this crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They insist that his blood is on their heads, and on the heads of their descendants. The governor steps away. First he personally sees that Jesus is brutally whipped, and then hands him over to those who are to follow his orders. He is the man in charge. His soldiers strip Jesus, push a crown of thorns into his head, mock him, beat him, and spit on him. Pilate knows that Jesus does not deserve this. While Judas spoke of his personal guilt, Pilate insists on his own innocence.

The story of Jesus and the cross (32-44)
Now we come to our Savior’s story, a very big story, a very wonderful story. It is a story with the cross at its very center, so much so that in another place we hear the Apostle Paul speak of boasting in the cross. But now we see the events of the cross itself, and they make us grieve more than rejoice.

Here is our King, the God/Man, truly God, but also truly man. He was so weakened by the sufferings that He received by Pilate’s order that the soldiers needed to press someone else into service in order to carry the cross to the place where He would die. We are told some of the details that may seem incidental to us, the name of the place, the drink they gave to Him, what they did with His clothes, the words that they placed above His head, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” This man is our hope, and He has two robbers crucified with Him, one on each side. People all around them are showing their hatred of Him. There is so much here that we more observe and feel than understand. We can say this: Jesus Christ, the righteous Son of God, through His suffering, is embracing us.

I love this man. He captivates my heart. I have no time to study Confucius because I spend all my useful moments searching for Jesus in the Bible and finding Him. Judas was right about Him. The blood of Jesus Christ was innocent blood, yet He bore our guilty stains in His work on the cross. He is our Savior. He is our King. I am happy to be an Israelite if this Man is King of the Jews. He gave up the temple of His body willingly for us that day, and now we are raised in Him, for He is the new Temple of God, and we are a part of that glorious temple. I have a theoretical interest in the religions of the world, but they are full of ideas that I frankly cannot relate to at all. But this Man, who died for us, He is not a religion, a philosophy, or even a mystical experience. He is an unstoppable fact, a Savior, and a King. He is the Son of God, and He did not come down from the cross. He was crucified.

Questions for meditation and discussion:
1. If all that you knew about Judas were these verses, what could you say about Him?
2. How do you evaluate Pilate’s claim that he was innocent of the blood of Jesus Christ?
3. This passage does not really tell us about the meaning of the cross. What is the purpose of this text?
4. What makes Christianity so different from other religious systems?

It's not about your strength or mine...

“Disowned”

(Matthew 26:69-75, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 9, 2008)

Matthew 26:69-75 ⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." ⁷¹ And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man." ⁷³ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." ⁷⁴ Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

Introduction – Do you have any regrets?

I am always amazed when I hear people claim that they have no regrets. It is especially surprising when those who hold to a biblical understanding of sin make that kind of statement. There is not a lot of good that can come from beating yourself up over your past errors or from continual 20-20 contemplations of former days. Yet it is a healthy thing to have an honest recognition that our sins are so frequent and serious that a day cannot go by without us thinking, saying, and doing many things that we should regret. Maybe we can’t do all that much about it. Maybe we should just press ahead in the freedom, grace, and joy that we have in Christ. Nonetheless, it’s foolish and inconsistent to pretend that we have no regrets. These few verses in Matthew 26 form the documentation of what must have been one of the biggest regrets in the life of one of the greatest leaders of the Christian church.

Now Peter…

The Apostle Peter was under a lot of pressure. He had committed to the Lord that even if everyone else abandoned Him, that he absolutely would never abandon Jesus. He even said that he was ready to die with Him if necessary. That pronouncement was made just hours before, but it must have seemed to him like a lifetime ago. Since that point Peter had been unable to stay away with Jesus at his darkest hour. As Peter woke up, Judas came with an armed mob that would capture Jesus. Peter stabbed a man. Jesus corrected Peter about this, and then willingly gave Himself into the hands of those who were arresting Him. Peter followed Jesus at some distance, first to one location and then to another, near the proceedings of a religious hearing designed to gather evidence that would justify the death of Jesus. There were all kinds of false accusations against his Lord that night, and Peter was nearby.

It was there that Jesus made the definitive statement that all would one day see Him at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of glory. This came in response to the vehement demand of the high priest, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” The effect of the Lord’s response was to indicate that He would come to judge them for what they were doing, and that they were in no position to judge Him. Throughout all of this we have every indication that Jesus was resolved to do His Father’s will, and to go to the cross as the Lamb of God who would take away our sins. We also have every reason to believe that Peter was still very much resolved to stay with Jesus to the end. One would keep His resolve; the other could not.

I do not know what you mean.

Earlier that night Peter had insisted that even if all the rest fell away, He would remain with Jesus through it all. Jesus had very pointedly told Him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” That had not happened yet, but now His time of testing was to begin. A servant girl came up to him who must have observed Peter with Jesus. She said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”

Of course he had been with Jesus that very night. More than that, he had been with Him almost continually throughout the last three years. It all began when his brother Andrew came to him with this outrageous claim: “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew brought him to Jesus, and Jesus gave this man who had been called Simon the new name of Cephas or Peter. Somewhere along the way, Jesus came upon these two men, Andrew and Simon Peter, and we are told that they were fishing. And He said, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They did follow him. We are told that immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

Since that point Peter was one of His key followers. It was Peter who was frightened when he went out on the water at the command of Jesus and started to sink. He cried out, “Lord save me!” Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him. Peter heard Jesus teach parables, and had the privilege of asking the Lord to explain the parable only because he was indeed with Jesus in a very close way. Peter was the one who said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and then almost immediately tried to convince the Lord that this dying on a cross must never be. Peter was also with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and He saw the Lord with Moses and Elijah in some kind of heavenly glory. He suggested that He could put up tents for them when a voice came from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Peter knew the privileges of being close to Jesus. But now when a servant girl asked, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” he says, “I do not know what you mean.” What did she mean? She didn’t mean that Peter was with Jesus incidentally or anonymously as so many thousands had been when they followed Him during His days of teaching and healing. She meant that Peter was with Jesus as someone who knew Him closely and was somehow related to Him as a true follower. Peter said in front of everyone there, “I do not know what you mean.”

I do not know the man.

Another servant girl challenged him. “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” He denied it with an oath. That means that he solemnly swore using the Name of God. Of course Peter was with Jesus, especially in this critically important week in Jerusalem. He was there when they came into Jerusalem. He heard the words of the children praising Jesus, and He knew about the anger of the religious leaders. He heard the final messages of Jesus against the scribes and the Pharisees and he knew what Jesus had later taught about the destruction of the temple and about His coming again. He knew about all of the private events of which so few were aware. He knew that Jesus had washed his feet. He would have remembered what that was like, and how he had objected to it. He would have still had those words in his mind when Jesus said, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” He would have remembered that Jesus had said that one of them would betray Him, because he was the one that signaled to young John to find out who it was who would do that. He saw Judas go out into the night and He saw him come through the darkness later with a group of armed men. He would have seen Judas kiss Jesus and remembered the words that Jesus had earlier said around the table: “This is My body.… This is My blood.” Peter had most definitely been with Jesus. Therefore it is a horrible shock when we hear him answer the servant girl, “I do not know the man.”

“I do not know the man.” That’s a big thing to say; a complete denial of His association with Jesus in any way. Not only is he not His friend, not only is he not His associate for the building of the church, he does not even know Him. He claims this entire lack of connection with the Lord of glory, the Savior of the world. After being challenged again by some bystanders based on his accent, he calls down curses upon himself to show how serious he is about this. He says something like this: “May God Himself strike me dead if I am lying about this, I do not know the man.” What Christ suffered for us included this: that He heard His friend say these words: “I do not know the man.”

Bitter tears

Then it happened. The rooster crowed. And Peter remembered. When the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times,” He used a phrase that often referred to the earliest part of the new day, the time when the rooster would be crowing. What better way to bring this prophecy to mind than to have the actual crowing of a rooster come to the ears of Peter. Up to this point, Peter may have actually thought that he was being faithful to the Lord, though somewhat secretive. But now we are told that he abruptly went out from there. He would not be there anymore. And he wept bitterly.

Why was he weeping? Was it because Jesus had been accused of all kinds of things and Peter was so close to it all? Was it because the Lord was in the hands of evil men that hated him, men that were spitting on him, mocking him, punching him, and slapping him? Or was it a moment of deep and profound regret? He had said those words: “I do not know what you mean.” “I do not know the man.” “I do not know the man.” Perhaps it was that he had been so wrong in his pride, and he had failed so badly. He remembered the earlier conversation with Jesus. Part of that was recorded in Luke’s gospel when Jesus said to Peter, “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

That could have been an encouraging thought in the midst of regret and bitter tears. The Lord who would die for sinners had prayed for him. He had denied the Lord he loved, just as Jesus had said he would. You may have done the same in your life. You did not want people to associate you with the man Jesus of Nazareth and with his church. You did not want people to think that you were saying that you knew Jesus. It just sounded too wild a thing, too unbelievable, so you were content to leave others with the impression that there was no connection at all between this man Jesus Christ and you. You disowned Him. If you have done that, than you did what I did for years, and I deeply regret it. Our Lord’s words to Peter give us hope. He who knows the beginning from the end knew not only that Peter would deny Him, He also knew that Peter would ultimately make it through that big mistake. Though Satan wanted to use all this as an eternal accusation against Peter, Jesus had prayed for him, and Peter would be useful in strengthening others when He returned again to feed the Lord’s sheep.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What was Peter’s assessment of the coming trial of this night when this matter was discussed earlier?

2. How was the night different than what he might have expected?

3. Why would Jesus have allowed one of His foremost disciples to go through this horrible experience?

4. What evidence do we have concerning how this experience might have changed Peter’s life?

Why didn't Jesus defend Himself?

“Convicted: Blasphemy”

(Matthew 26:57-68, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 2, 2008)

Matthew 26:57-68 ⁵⁷ Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰ but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward ⁶¹ and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.'" ⁶² And the high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." ⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death." ⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸ saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?"

Introduction – A time to keep silence, and a time to speak

Ecclesiastes 3:7 informs us that there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” It is not always the right thing to speak. One of the striking things about the hours that remain before our Lord’s death on the cross is that He says so little. He has spent three years teaching His disciples. Now He will speak through His willingness to suffer and die for us. Judas has led a band of armed men to Jesus. The time has come for our Savior to be in the hands of those who seek His death. He says only a few words in these verses, but what He says is so powerful.

A gathering (57)

Jesus did not have to be taken away by force. He was willing to go, though He understood as no one else could have understood what He was about to face. What other man was as aware of the holiness of God? What other person could have understood the consequences coming upon Him as the Sin-bearer?

The ones who seized Him took Jesus to Caiaphas the High Priest. There the scribes and elders had gathered. This was an assembly of those to whom God has given a special responsibility for His covenant community. We live in one small corner of the world, and in that corner we have certain people who have civil authority. There are those who gather in assemblies in the halls of power in order to consider the important matters that are before our government day by day. Within this world there are also many assemblies of religious leaders. In the days of Jesus, the ultimate civil rulers were the Romans, but there were other men of authority who were religious rulers. The high priest, the scribes, and the elders were in this group.

Such religious authorities have their own matters to consider and to discuss. Their job is not an easy one. We are told in Hebrews that those who have these positions will have to answer to God for the way that they have shepherded souls, for the decisions they have made, and the actions they have taken. Have they done what God would do, or have they gone in the wrong direction? Are they helping people in the way of life, or are they leading the weak in the way of death?

There was a gathering of religious rulers that night in Jerusalem under the leadership of the man that some people considered to be one of the key religious figures of the day, Caiaphas the High Priest. They had assembled to make a very important decision. Was Jesus of Nazareth a guilty man who deserved to die?

Peter’s dilemma (58)

There was another great religious leader there that day. He would have been easily ignored by many, but his name is now far better known than that of Caiaphas. He did not take the place of a famous person. He sat with the guards as one who had a great dilemma. Peter had been with Jesus for three years as His closest associate. Now all of his hopes seemed to be gone. He may have wanted to flee like so many of the others. Yet he had given his life for these many months in following Jesus. He decided to see what the end of all of this would be.

Peter knew that Jesus had done nothing deserving of death. Should he come forward and defend him more publicly? Should he run away to a place of greater safety? He chose a middle path, staying close enough to observe the end of the affairs of that night, but hopefully staying anonymous enough to steer clear of any trouble himself.

The evidence against Him (59-61)

He could have given excellent testimony before any court regarding the teaching and activities of Jesus. If this assembly of religious leaders had really wanted to know the truth about Jesus, about what kind of man Jesus was, or about His danger to the stability of the world they lived in, Peter could have told them many things. The account that Peter could have related to them that night was not the kind of testimony they were looking for. He could have spoken of the miracles he had observed and of the predictions that our Lord had given that had been accurately fulfilled right before his eyes. He could have spoken even of resurrections that He had seen from the hands and voice of Jesus. He was not called upon to tell those stories. As he hid himself among the crowd, he observed a very irregular trial. The religious judges that assembled were seeking false testimony rather than the truth. They were seeking words that would only be against Jesus and not anything that might have been said for Him. They were seeking something that would show that the Author of life was worthy of death.

It should be obvious that this was not a fair trial, which is itself evidence of how interested these leaders were in convicting Jesus of something that would justify His death. Finally they were able to bring two men forward who would make a claim regarding the temple. Jesus mentioned the destruction of the temple building early in his ministry to allude to the raising of His own body in three days as the temple of the Holy Spirit. (See John 2:13-22). This evidence of His words was used to prove that Christ was a danger to Jerusalem, and particularly to the existing temple. Instead it was a testimony to the Lord’s prior knowledge of His coming death and resurrection, evidence that came from the mouths of two men who were speaking against Him. As such this accusation was an interesting piece of evidence that showed that there were those who heard what Christ had said about these things, even though they tried to twist His words to make Him sound dangerous to society or to the order of Jewish life in Jerusalem.

His own testimony (62-64)

Our Lord did not answer their charges until the High Priest commanded in the Name of God that Jesus answer a very important question that was really at the center of all the controversy concerning Jesus of Nazareth. “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Suddenly all of the false testimony seemed to recede from view in this one dramatic moment, as Jesus lets the words of the High Priest stand. “You have said so.” A suggestion was given from the lips of the High Priest connecting Jesus of Nazareth with some concept of Messiah. Jesus could have answered with an emphatic “Yes” or He could have vehemently denied that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, or He could have just let the words of the High Priest Himself hang their in the air, quietly admitting the truth of the statement by saying almost nothing. He chose the third option.

He had more to say immediately; words that would have been so striking and bold, not only because of the content of His message, but also because He had said virtually nothing up to this point. “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This was an amazing assertion. The “you” here is plural in the Greek, meaning “all of you.” There is coming a day when mankind will see Jesus again. They might kill Him now, or have others kill Him, so that there hands would not get dirty. But one day they would see Him seated at the right hand of Almighty God. That alone was amazing. It was a statement of life and sight beyond the grave, as well as a statement that the Father and the Son would be together in power. The phrase that followed was even more amazing: “You will see Him coming on the clouds of heaven.” Jesus is the unique Messiah, seen in a vision by Daniel, bringing heaven to earth in the final day. He is that Son of God, and you will see Him.

The verdict, the indignity, and the willing victim (65-68)

Before we see the victorious Son of Man from Daniel, He first had to be the dying Servant of the Lord from Isaiah 53. That would begin even now with the assertion of the High Priest that Jesus had uttered blasphemy. Blasphemy is an insulting word against God Himself. Jesus had identified Himself as the unique God/Man Savior. If it were not true, it would have been a horrible attack against the Name of God. There was one other possibility which would prove to be the case through His resurrection and ascension, something that will be proven even more obviously when He comes again: that Jesus was telling the truth. This is the possibility they would not investigate.

What is your reaction to this tremendous revelation in these few well-chosen words of Jesus before the High Priest? If He is not who He says He is, then You can tare your robes, accuse him of blasphemy, and sentence him to death according to the Old Testament Law as a blasphemer. What is your judgment? What do you think? Is there anyone who has ever honored the Name of God more than Jesus? Is He rightly convicted of blasphemy against God?

Consider the One who they spit at, who they punch and slap. Consider the One they decide to make fun of. But then consider what Peter knew, what he could have testified to. This is the One who turned water into wine and who made the blind see. This is the One who calmed the storm with a word and who called Lazarus forth from the grave. This is the One who taught with authority in the face of great opposition. This is the One who knew of His own death for sinners, and continued with the plan of your salvation. He didn’t defend Himself, because He is the One.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What was the nature and purpose of this gathering?

2. What was the accusation made against Jesus regarding the temple, and how does this relate to his true ministry?

3. What was the key question of the High Priest for Jesus, and why might He have asked this question?

4. What do you think of Jesus answer to this question and the reaction of the High Priest and the assembly?