It is customary for a good sermon to begin with an introduction of sorts, an attempt to orient the hearer to the text or topic about to be studied. However, there are some passages of Scripture that simply require no introduction. These are sections of God’s word so momentous, so profound, so dramatic, and so captivating that they demand attention with little outside help.
SERMON MANUSCRIPT
I typically begin a sermon with an introduction, an attempt to orient us to what we’re about to study. However, there are some passages of Scripture that need no introduction, sections of God’s word so momentous and profound that they demand attention all on their own. Such is the case with Matthew’s account of the crucifixion of the King.
I want to begin by reading the whole account and, though many of us know it well, I pray we’ll be struck anew with its brutality, severity, and necessity.
What Was Endured
Let’s review what was endured by Jesus. To what did our Lord subject himself? What agony did he face? What was endured?
Humiliation has to be mentioned. Right away, in verse 27, Jesus is surrounded by sadistic guards. In fact, it says the whole Roman cohort is there; that’s upwards of six hundred gathered for the show (vv. 28–29).
The indignity continues when he’s on the cross (v. 35). That his clothes are being looted points to his nakedness. This is part of the genius of crucifixion—it’s not just execution, it’s humiliation. Add to it all sarcastic signage (v. 37), criminal company (v. 38), public ridicule (vv. 39–4),, and religious taunting (vv. 41–43). And you know you’re being mocked when two dying guys join in (v. 44). What was endured? Humiliation, for one.
Secondly, and even more obviously, Jesus endured affliction; physical anguish and torture. That group of guards (v. 29) push a crown of thorns onto his scalp. “Thorns in this region … could be two to three inches long” (Glasscock, Matthew, 531). And then, “they spat on him, and took the reed and began to beat him on the head” (v. 30), that is the head already covered with open wounds.
In verse 35, Matthew simply reports, “And when they had crucified him.” But let me elaborate: “The crucifixion process was brutal and devastating for the human body, involving twelve-to-fourteen-inch spikes being driven into the hands and feet to secure the victim. Not the palm, but probably the wrist or carpus bone area was used to hold the hand spike. Even with this, ropes were often used to help hold the weight of the body so the spike would not tear loose. The feet were placed together on a small, wedge-shaped lip built near the bottom of the cross, and another spike was driven through both feet to hold them in place” (Glasscock, 533).
I could go on to describe the hours of tearing, whipping, piercing, bleeding, gasping, and scrapping. But, suffice it to say, the Romans were savants when it came to dragging out death, and the cross was their Mona Lisa. Jesus endured affliction.
He also endured isolation. When, in verse 27 he’s taken into the Praetorium, an open space in the Herodian palace, he’s alone with his torturers. No friends. No family. In fact, he’s so alone that, he needs help (v. 32). The only aid Jesus gets en route to Golgotha is from a stranger forced to help.
Fast-forward and we see more evidence of his isolation (vv. 55–61). They are his supporters, those who love him, but they can’t get close. They’re at a distance while he’s enduring humiliation and affliction.
And we can’t talk about Jesus’s isolation without highlighting the mystery of verse 46. At this moment, Jesus is carrying the sins of the world (see, for example, 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24). Bearing our sins, in some way that we won’t understand, the man Jesus experienced a broken communion with his Father, like what David was expressing in Psalm 22, the psalm Jesus quotes. To Christ, in his human awareness, God had abandoned him. He felt the curse of sin (see Gal 3:13). He endured isolation.
Finally, Jesus endured expiration. That is, he died (v. 50). Notice that Jesus is in control, even in his death. He released his spirit. He laid down his life. But lay down his life he did. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the anointing and awaited King, died.
If you were to study methods of human torture, you would find that, in general, they fall into four categories: existential shame, physical pain, sustained seclusion, and looming death. When we read the account of what Jesus endured—check, check, check, check. Humiliation, affliction, isolation, and expiration. Jesus got it all, got it all at once, and got it all to the extreme.
What Was Shown
Now, let’s shift from what was endured to what was shown by what was endured. More specifically, Jesus’s identity is revealed by what and how he suffered and died. Remember, Matthew’s purpose in writing this gospel was to prove to those doubting that Jesus is the promised messianic King and these final scenes are the climactic in that purpose.
Matthew accomplishes this paradoxically or ironically. For example, how do the soldiers mock the Lord (vv. 28–29)? They’re unwittingly but rightly identifying Jesus. For 26-chapters Matthew has been declaring Jesus’s kingship and, now, on the doorstep of the cross, readers are reminded again, albeit ironically. Similarly, in verse 37. An attempt to shame him is actually announcing him. In fact, this proclamation nailed above the head of a dying man is the summary statement of the entire book. And the ironic declarations don’t stop there (vv. 40, 42–43).
Also, while not ironic but surely interesting, see verses 47 and 49. Whether his agonizing cries of Eli, Eli were misheard as Elijah, Elijah or whether people are thinking he’s calling for the prophet that Malachi said would reappear before the Day of the Lord, it’s not clear. But it seems Matthew uses it to show Jesus’s identity, the one who would bring the Day of the Lord.
You see, littered throughout this passage are statements showing us, reminding us, of who it is that is enduring such anguish.
And while some of what is shown is shown paradoxically, much of it is shown prophetically. Matthew weaves OT allusions throughout this passage, practically screaming that Jesus is the Messiah. Let’s see if these sound familiar: Pss 69:21; 22:18; Isa 53:12; Pss 22:7–8; 22:1a.
Matthew’s original audience was mainly Jewish people. They would have recognized all of this. They know what the author is saying. This guy dying on the cross, he’s the suffering Servant, the One we’ve been waiting for, the Son of God, the davidic King. That’s what was shown.
And in case the paradoxical and prophetic hints were too subtle, God gets providential (vv. 45, 50–53). What was shown? That the sun went dark at noon illustrates the awfulness of the crucifixion. That the heavy curtain in the temple was torn in half from top to bottom like tissue paper declares unprecedented access to the Almighty provided by the Almighty. That the earth itself trembled testifies that he who created all things and through whom all things hold together had just laid down his life. That people of God who had died came back to life after Jesus’s did shouts the power of he who has victory over death.
This passage describes what was endured but it also declares what was shown through what was endured. His enemies paradoxically say it, the Scriptures prophetically say it, and God himself providentially says it: This is Jesus the King of the Jews, the Messiah, the Son of God.
Many of you have experienced the process of immigration. Others have applied for a passport, opened a bank account, or had to reset an important password online. All of these activities require identity verification. And, usually, one piece of evidence isn’t enough. We may need an I.D. that’s government issue, one that has a picture, maybe a birth certificate, a character reference, a tax receipt, a password, or to answer security questions. In the movies, to get into those high-tech safes, they need the combination and voice recognition and eyeball scans. All of these steps are put in place so we can prove that we really are who we’re claiming to be and, thus, have the right and authority to do what we’re trying to do.
Matthew, through what Jesus endured, has shown that Jesus is who he claimed to be and, thus, has the right and authority to do what he’s claiming to do. And he’s given us multiple pieces of I.D. The masses repeatedly but unwittingly declared his identity as messianic King. The Scriptures attest to his identity as messianic King. And God the Father gave the greatest reference letter ever given: “This is your messianic King!”
What Is Demanded
So, we’ve seen what was endured by Jesus—humiliation, affliction, isolation, and expiration—and what was shown by what was endured—that is, his identity as messianic King. That brings us to the point of this passage. Now we see what is demanded of each of us because of what was shown. Essentially, we’re all put to a binary choice. Two options regarding Jesus between which we are all forced to pick.
Choice #1: Jesus is a deceiver to be discarded. He’s a liar to be ignored. And there are those in this text who give precedent for that choice (vv. 61–66). These hypocrites violate their own law of Sabbath observance to track down the governor. They aren’t scared Jesus is actually going to make good on his promise of resurrection—he’s a deceiver, after all. They’re scared that his disciples are going to fake a resurrection.
They heard the paradoxical declarations. In fact, they made many of them. They know the OT prophecies that had been fulfilled in their sight. And, in case they could ignore and explain away those two things, they experienced the darkness, they felt the earthquake, they’ve already called someone to sew up the temple veil on Monday. They’ve already seen the identity verification and they’ve discarded Jesus as a deceiver. Done deal.
And we can do that too. God, in his perfect wisdom and power, has given his creatures the freedom to reject his love, his provision, his life. It’s our choice.
Choice #2: Jesus is the King to be claimed. He’s the Lord and Messiah he said he is and the Scriptures announce. As unbelievable as that might be to our simple minds, that’s the only other choice. And while the chief priests and Pharisees in this passage are making choice #1, we find an unexpected individual making choice #2 (v. 54).
While Israel’s leaders reject Jesus, a gentile military man—who knows, maybe he was in the pratorium mocking and beating Jesus merely hours ago—he now looks up at Jesus, sees what’s going on around him, and glances up at the declaration hanging above his now lifeless body: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (v. 37). And this man makes choice #2. He’s the King, the messiah, the Son of God, the Redeemer and Judge.
This is what is demanded of all who read this book, brothers and sisters. It is demanded that we all make a choice. Choice #1 or choice #2. Messiah or misleader? Sovereign or swindler? Lord or liar? We all must make a choice and to not make a choice is to make a choice. It’s like how the only available responses to the question “Will you marry me?” are an emphatic “Yes!” or anything else including “Nos,” “Umms,” “Maybes,” and “Let me think about its.”
There are only two choices that Matthew puts before us. And we all need to make it. For those of us who are Christians, we’re challenged here to make this same choice every day. We are subjects of the coming King and future inhabitants of his perfect kingdom. Do we live like it? Do we serve him faithfully? Do we suffer like him? Do we give him our full attention and full access to our devotion? Do we speak with him? Listen to him? Talk about him? Anticipate him? Is he my Lord and growing daily as my Lord?
Make the choice afresh today. Maybe you’ve strayed from the Lord, fallen into sin, wandered from the flock. Make the choice today. Is he the King? If so, then come back to him as his subject.
Some of you, however, have never trusted Jesus, have never responded like the centurion. You’ve made choice #1 and have discarded Jesus as a deceiver. It’s not too late to change your mind! Make the choice today. Claim him as your Saviour, your Redeemer, and your coming King.
Josiah has served the Oakridge Bible Chapel family as one of its elders and one of its pastoral staff members since September 2018, before which he ministered as an associate pastor to a local congregation in the Canadian prairies. Josiah's desire is to be used by God to help equip the church for ministry, both while gathered (edification) and while scattered (evangelization). He is married to Patricia, and together they have five children—Jonah, Henry, Nathaniel, Josephine, and Benjamin.
