Despised and Rejected - Matthew 27:26-44

Hill City Reformed Baptist Church iconHill City Reformed Baptist Church

0 views

Despised and Rejected Matthew 27:26-44 Sermon by Reed Kerr Hill City Reformed Baptist Church Lynchburg, Virginia

0 comments

00:01
Good morning beloved and welcome We are in the book of Matthew again and here we have
00:13
Finally come to the passion of our Lord across the very focal point of our faith
00:23
And all of Scripture lies before us We're in chapter 27
00:29
Of Matthew's account of the gospel We've seen Jesus is escalating conflict with the
00:37
Jewish leaders of his day Has finally come to its climax After repeated attempts to catch him in a trap or to divert his course
00:50
In a sense or at least in their perspective the religious leaders of his day have finally succeeded
00:57
They have with the help of Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of our
01:02
Lord they have arrested Jesus and Delivered him over to the
01:09
Romans for crucifixion They've incited this mob to turn against him and here now he is in the hands of his captors
01:20
In short Satan the accuser the adversary seems to have achieved his goal
01:29
For he believes that the death of the Son of God will mean the victory of his rebellion
01:36
This dark scene unfolds throughout the remainder of chapter 27 where Matthew will recount lots of details in these final moments of our
01:47
Lord's life For the most part Matthew gives little commentary
01:55
On these details that he records. He just relays them to us. He makes some connections for us, but We're left here to make some connections and most of them are pretty clear pretty obvious we could spend quite a lot of time in this chapter, but my aim is to strike a balance between Slowing down and and observing the details and making the connections set before us
02:22
Without Getting lost in the details and losing sight of the whole
02:28
Lord willing. I Will be teaching this week and the two Sundays after over which time
02:35
I intend To bring us to the end of chapter 27 those of you who
02:43
Who know me? Well likely no, I I'm not one to really plan things out very far in advance
02:49
I'm more of a one step at a time kind of person, but my plan tentatively is this week to focus on our
02:55
Lord's sufferings Next week to focus on our Lord's death and then the week after to focus on his burial
03:06
What this means is there will be truths relating to the The death and the passion of our
03:12
Lord that I will not be focusing on this morning as we look at his suffering leading up to his death this week my primary focus is on that suffering the abuse the reviling the
03:26
Hatred the mocking and the shame that he endured on our behalf
03:31
I think as we look at this text, we will see the implications this has
03:40
What it reveals about the world What it reveals about us and ultimately what it reveals about the
03:48
Lord of Glory So let us read now I'm gonna Back up just one verse two.
03:54
I'm gonna start in verse 26 and I'm gonna read down to verse 44 So Matthew chapter 27 starting in verse 26.
04:02
Let us hear the word of the Lord Then he released Barabbas to them and when he had scourged
04:10
Jesus He Pilate delivered him to be crucified then the soldiers of the governor
04:18
Took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around him
04:25
And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him When they had twisted a crown of thorns
04:32
They put it on his head at a reed in his right hand And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying hail king of the
04:43
Jews Then they spat on him and Took the reed and struck him on the head and when they had mocked him
04:53
They took the robe off him and put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified
05:02
Now as they came out they found a man of Cyrene Simon by name him they compelled to bear his cross and When they had come to a place called
05:14
Golgotha that is to say place of a skull They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink
05:23
But when he had tasted it, he would not drink it Then they crucified him and Divided his garments casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
05:36
Prophet They divided my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots
05:43
Sitting down they kept watch over him there and they put up over his head the
05:49
Accusation written against him. This is Jesus the king of the
05:55
Jews then two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and the other on the left and Those who passed by blasphemed him
06:06
Wagging their heads and saying you who destroyed the temple and build it in three days.
06:13
Save yourself If you are the Son of God come down from the cross likewise the chief priests also
06:24
Mocking with the scribes and elders said he saved others Himself, he cannot save if he is the king of Israel Let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him
06:38
He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said
06:45
I am the Son of God Even the robbers who were crucified with him
06:52
Reviled him with the same thing our
06:59
Father in heaven. We Approach your word with trembling hands
07:07
Because of the immensity of this that lies before us Father as we consider this text, may we
07:18
Rightly esteem our Savior And the shame that he bore those sinless
07:27
Though the spotless Lamb of God may we esteem him rightly and worship him and Find here in this text the hope that we have
07:41
To be called sons and daughters of yours In Christ, we pray.
07:48
Amen. This passage I assume is very familiar to all of us
07:57
There are a couple ways that I believe the Bible would have us consider these details these truths before us
08:05
And as we talk through the things that Matthew details here, I want to make Appropriate applications for us
08:15
And mainly they're gonna fall under these three headings first the wickedness of man
08:20
That such evil could be done to the King of Glory Second we have to consider that that he bore our shame all the the mocking and the abuse that he bore that we as vile sinners rightly deserve that shame and Third that even his sufferings even the the mocking
08:53
The the accusations that were levied against him that the specifics of the suffering that he endured
09:01
Point to the truth that he is the Son of God that he is the promised
09:07
Messiah that he is the one Foretold in that psalm that we read this morning That none of this was an accident or a surprise.
09:14
This was the predetermined plan of God that the Son of God Willingly subjected himself to so as we work through this
09:26
There are two primary texts that serve as the necessary prophetic background for us one.
09:31
We read this morning psalm 22 and the other is again a familiar passage
09:37
Isaiah 53 both of these provide striking detail of what our
09:43
Lord endured in this scene as a brief apologetic side note, it's worth mentioning specifically
09:51
Isaiah 53 From for a long time critical scholars claimed that Isaiah 53 must have been a late addition to the scriptures
10:04
They claimed that the details recorded here in Isaiah 53
10:11
Had to have been added after the crucifixion of Christ because it described his sufferings in such detail
10:19
The unbelieving heart of man could not believe that Prophecy could predict in such detail could could lay bare the specifics of our
10:30
Lord's sufferings on the cross And so it was it was commonly thought by critical
10:36
Unbelieving scholars that Isaiah 53 was not original to the Old Testament text
10:42
This was the prevailing view among unbelieving scholars of scripture Until the discovery of the
10:50
Dead Sea Scrolls Which confirmed that Isaiah 53 was written sent many centuries before the death of our
10:58
Lord? Some of the the copies of scriptures that they discovered in that archaeological find dated back to the fourth century before Christ Completely debunking their theory that Isaiah 53 was a late addition
11:14
Now I don't appeal to this to establish the authority of God's Word for God's Word stands on its own it testifies to itself that God has spoken and it is true and Every regenerated heart knows
11:30
God's Word to be true And so I don't set that before you to try to convince you with evidence that God has spoken truth but rather we see this as further evidence that we can use
11:48
To put to shame the accusations of the foolish unbelieving heart their view is perpetually untenable
12:02
Because God has spoken and his word speaks for itself so Here in our text to consider his sufferings first.
12:14
We see that Jesus was scourged A Roman scourge was a whip used for flogging
12:21
It was made of a of nine strands of leather that had bits of sharp bone or Stone or even glass embedded into the leather and at the end of the nine strands they would tie a leather ball
12:36
Sorry a lead ball to add weight and so when they would strike the back of the victim
12:42
It would tear the flesh off his back exposing muscle and bone
12:50
Many would die from scourging alone. And so if the Romans desired to Crucify a particular prisoner.
12:59
They had to show some measure of restraint with the flogging not out of mercy But out of cruelty because they wanted this person
13:08
To live long enough to suffer even more under their crucifixion
13:15
This is the first of many punishments that we will see in this chapter that were meticulously designed by the
13:22
Romans to inflict maximum suffering agony on their most despised criminals
13:31
This was intended for rebels and usurpers traitors and murderers
13:36
Those who were the most hated political enemies of Caesar and the kingdom
13:42
Those who posed a threat to Caesar's rule and Here we see the first signs of the irony that Matthew is laying out for us first of all
13:55
Christ was absolutely guiltless before God's holy law as Isaiah says he had done no violence nor was any deceit found in his mouth but truly
14:11
We are the guilty ones we are the rebels we are the ones who have transgressed
14:18
God's law we are the ones who have engaged in this this cosmic treason of Defying the
14:26
God who gives us life and breath the one who made us who made us for his purposes not our own we have rebelled and yet he bore the the animosity the suffering that we rightly deserve
14:49
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our
14:54
Iniquities the chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes
15:01
We are healed But here also we do see
15:07
One aspect of truth in what is being levied against our Lord I pointed out that that it was for those who were a threat to Caesar's rule that this suffering this this penalty was levied against Caesar and the
15:26
Romans have no idea The immensity of the threat to their rule that he is
15:33
In fact, it's not merely a threat for the Prophet Daniel foretold the kingdom of Christ as a stone cut without human hands
15:41
Would strike the kingdoms of men reducing them to a mere powder that would be carried away by the wind
15:49
The kingdom of Christ will grow Daniel described it as this great mountain that would grow that would fill the whole earth all things will be brought under his dominion
16:00
We saw that in the psalm again that we read this morning Psalm 22 and even
16:06
Caesar himself who claims to be divine Will bow the knee to the
16:12
Lord of Glory our text continues that the soldiers of the governor took
16:19
Jesus into the praetorium and They gathered the whole garrison around him The praetorium was most likely that a courtyard of the governor's palace where the the
16:29
Roman guards were were to be stationed Saying here that it was a whole garrison most scholars
16:37
Interpret this to be about 600 men 600 soldiers gathered around and they encircle the the bloody and beating
16:46
Lord beaten Lord They strip him of his clothes this act of humiliation
16:51
Nakedness in the scriptures is it's always associated with shame and humility They put a scarlet robe on him
17:00
They place a twisted crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his right hand
17:06
Now I want to I want to draw our attention to Psalm 45 this morning briefly
17:18
Psalm 45 starting in verse 6 says Your throne
17:23
O Lord is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom You love righteousness and hate wickedness
17:31
Therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions
17:37
All your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces by which they have made you glad Kings daughters are among your honorable women at your right hand stands the
17:50
Queen of in gold from a fear Listen daughter incline Consider and incline your ear forget your own people in your father's house
18:00
So the king will greatly desire your beauty Because he is your
18:05
Lord worship him And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift the rich among the people will seek your favor this this passage describes
18:19
The king of glory with the scepter of righteousness in his hands in his right hand
18:27
Wearing a crown and enrobed in beautiful Arraignment of a king and here we see in this scene they
18:41
They put a robe on him They put a crown on his head. They put a scepter in his hand as an act of mockery
18:49
But little did they know that he is the king of glory That he does possess the scepter of sovereignty over all nations
18:59
This scepter represents his his power and authority to rule He is arrayed in glory and beauty that they do not see or know their act of mockery
19:15
Betrays the truth of who he is and the glory that he possesses this this encircling of him and Calling to him hail
19:29
King of the Jews as they they bow down in Ridicule and mock this dying man.
19:36
This this is a truly unfathomable act of wickedness
19:43
It's a direct fulfillment of what Jesus already told his disciples back in Matthew chapter 20
19:50
I'm gonna read just a couple verses Matthew chapter 20 Starting in verse 17. He says now
19:56
Jesus Going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them behold
20:02
We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes
20:08
And they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify
20:17
And the third day he will rise again The point is beloved none of this is a surprise to our
20:25
Lord None of this is a surprise because it was all according to God's plan.
20:33
The scene is so horrific Psalm 22 we read it this morning said he says my strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue clings to my
20:46
Jaws you have brought me to the dust of death for dogs have surrounded me
20:53
Scripture often speaks of these these wicked Gentiles as dogs Those outside the camp of God's God's people they've surrounded him and that's what we see here in the praetorium
21:05
He in his suffering is surrounded by these mocking wicked men we must recognize as Offensive as it is to us that they mock the
21:23
Lord of Glory in this way that this same sin is In our own hearts when we fail to submit to Christ's Lordship When we choose our own glory or our own pleasure or our own comfort over complete submission to the will of God and Obedience to Christ when we choose our sin over obedience
21:52
We're not we are not demonstrating that the same That we see portrayed here, but the root is the same it is a root of rebellion it is a root that would seek to put
22:08
Christ off of his throne and make us the determiner of Right and wrong
22:15
What we see the Romans doing here is The the the root of this wicked rebellion that is in our own hearts gone to seed the full
22:26
Act of it is on display here But we have to recognize this own sin.
22:31
This same sin is in our own hearts Again, there's irony here and truth in their mockings
22:41
For he is the king of glory as They said here he is the king of the
22:48
Jews Our text goes on say that they spit on him
22:55
This this is a contrast Psalm 2 Commands the nation's the
23:01
Gentiles to to kiss the Sun lest he be angry Here instead of kissing him.
23:08
They they use their mouth to spit on him. This is a a personal offense
23:15
They have to get close enough to him to spit on him And when they had mocked him they took the robe off him put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified
23:29
And then in verse 32 we see the Roman soldiers
23:34
Conscript this man Simon this man of Cyrene to carry
23:40
Jesus's cross now the parallel accounts Matt mark even gives us the names of Simon's sons
23:48
Who we find apparently mentioned later in Romans chapter 16 Now there's some assumptions we're making here, but they they appear to be members prominent members of the church in Rome So we can't be certain but it seems likely that the reason
24:04
Matthew included this man by name It's because he was known to the early church. He was known as a member of the church so this this moment here where he is conscripted and Forced compelled by the
24:17
Romans to carry the cross of our Lord. I Suspect this was a transformative experience in his life where he saw the suffering
24:28
Savior and God used this in his life. He he left a changed man his children to Coming into the church becoming followers of Christ Now I can't be positive if this is an intentional illusion that were to make or not
24:50
But at the very least I see a beautiful picture here that we as Christians are called to carry our cross and to follow
24:58
Christ To take upon ourselves The the reproach that he bore
25:06
Willingly we willingly identify with Christ in his sufferings
25:13
We are to willingly follow in his footsteps knowing that the world hated
25:18
Christ and will also hate his followers We must not be ashamed to take up our cross and follow him
25:27
The text then continues that they came to a place called Golgotha that is to say place of a skull
25:35
Now there's some uncertainty here again, but it seems most likely that it was called
25:40
Golgotha It was called the skull or the place of a skull merely to incite fear the whole this whole display of brutality and cruelty and suffering that they
25:54
They Inflicted on these victims of crucifixion was to deter others from these actions
26:01
And so even the very place where they committed these brutal executions, they called it a place of the skull.
26:14
I Believe it's it's to communicate this this graphic macabre
26:20
Scene of execution that had become so common in Roman culture
26:26
And then here it says they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink that he refused some commentators speculate that perhaps there there was some medicinal or Anesthetic properties to this and it was being offered to Christ as a mercy.
26:43
I Tend to agree with DA Carson who thinks this was not a mercy, but a further insult a mockery
26:51
Gall is another word for bile Now there were there were several
26:58
Bitter herbs that were also referred to as gall but the name itself comes from from bile that that bitter compound secreted by the gallbladder
27:09
The point here I think is that they gave him this this Repulsive drink they they knew he was thirsty desperately thirsty as again as as The Old Testament tells us that he he thirsts and later on the cross
27:24
He would say I thirst and what do they offer up to him vinegar mixed with gall?
27:31
It's it's repulsive. It's disgusting. They're they're they're adding insult and cruelty and malice.
27:41
I Think Matthew's point in including this is to remind the reader of Psalm 69
27:47
That described that he has gall for food and vinegar for drink again, it's it's further suffering
27:56
Psalm 69 says this You know my reproach my shame my dishonor.
28:02
My adversaries are all before me Reproach has broken my heart and I am full of heaviness
28:08
I looked for someone to take pity and there was none and for comforters But I found none.
28:14
They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst. They gave me vinegar to drink Then here in verse 35, it simply states that they crucified him
28:27
Again this is something we've grown accustomed to thinking of and and and seeing But the brutality here is unparalleled.
28:36
He was nailed to a cross of wood Rough hewn wood they drove great spikes through his wrists and his feet
28:48
Attaching him to this cross knowing that this is where he would die. They had no intention of taking him down alive while on the cross
29:00
Experiencing extreme physical trauma the victim would struggle and fight for every breath in agonizing pain we've grown
29:10
Accustomed to seeing crosses as jewelry and adornments everywhere but when reading this text we have to consider how bloody and Cruel and graphic and violent this was in the first century people people would not wear crosses as jewelry this is
29:30
Far worse than than an electric chair, right? Only a sicko would would wear an electric chair around his neck, but this was far more agonizing
29:42
The way that we do executions today is is nothing compared to what the Romans did
29:51
Matthew then tells us that in fulfillment of Psalm 22 they divided his garments casting lots again
29:57
Make no mistake beloved the crucifixion the savage slaughter of the sinless
30:03
Son of God was no accident All of this was according to plan the prophets described what would happen in great detail
30:11
The father ordained it and the son willingly went to the cross knowing the details as they would unfold
30:20
We've talked before about how John particularly in his gospel account makes it explicitly clear multiple times that the
30:27
Son of God Came to do the will of the father. That was his purpose
30:33
That covenant of redemption made within the Godhead between the father and the son from all eternity
30:39
This was no surprise to him He entered into covenant with his father to do this very act for the redemption of his people
30:49
He knew and still he willingly went Matthew then tells us that they they put up over his head the accusation written against him
30:58
This is Jesus the king of the Jews This is
31:05
Jesus the king of the Jews Pilate means this as an insult Particularly to the
31:10
Jews. But again, we see here the the truth within the mockings and the scoffing
31:19
This points to the truth that he is indeed the king of the Jews. He is indeed the king of Israel the king of all men
31:27
And yet we see here that he was crucified between two robbers again commentators
31:35
Point out that this word here translated in most of our Bibles as robbers Josephus gives a little bit more kind of ancient
31:43
Jewish historian gives a little bit more context to this word. It really It did not have in view just like a thief a common petty thief
31:53
These were these were usurpers. These were rebels. These were insurrectionists and Here the
32:01
Lord of Glory the spotless sinless Son of God is Crucified with them again.
32:08
Isaiah 53 says he was numbered with the transgressors And then we have the passerbys
32:17
Who wag their heads at him in derision and mocking they say you who destroy the temple save yourself
32:25
If you are the Son of God come down The Irony, of course is the fact that it's his submission to the
32:33
Father as the righteous Son that is keeping him on the cross He could come down, but he chooses not to Because he is the
32:46
Son of God. He is obedient. He is obedient to the Father That's the ridicule from the general public
32:55
But then we see we have the ridicule from the chief priests together with the scribes Pharisees and elders
33:03
You can picture this there. They're there in their robes adorned so conspicuously as they so like that they can be seen as as as Greater than everyone else there
33:19
He's they say he saved others Himself, he cannot save if he is the king of Israel.
33:26
Let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said
33:35
I am the Son of God Again, Christ could save himself.
33:41
What's striking here? Is that if Jesus did? miraculously in this great show of power come down from the cross and end the suffering and obliterate his his persecutors here as he could
33:58
They would still not believe they say they would But these are the men who have seen his mighty acts of one his wonders how he has raised the dead
34:08
How he has given sight to the blind They've seen his wonders and they still do not believe
34:16
Nothing will change that because of the hard stony hearts of unbelief
34:22
That refuse him if he performed this wonder that they are calling upon him in mockery to perform
34:31
Their hearts would only grow harder in unbelief. He Trusted in God let him deliver him now.
34:38
He will be indeed be delivered He will be indeed delivered from the grave from death itself for the bands of death cannot hold him this
34:51
Deliverance will be far greater than they can even imagine Again, psalm 22.
34:59
We read it this morning all those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip They wag the head saying he
35:07
Trusted in the Lord let him rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him
35:14
Ironic that these chief priests who know their Old Testament so well Use almost verbatim this these same words in their mockery
35:25
And then the text ends with Matthew's comment about the two robbers Even they are mocking and reviling our
35:32
Lord Now we know of course from the other gospel accounts that the hearts of one of these two men was indeed softened and he does repent and trust in Christ and Receive mercy
35:45
This reminds us that that mercy can often be found even at the last hour, but do not presume upon this
35:53
For the other criminal does die and perish in his sins
35:59
So that's the text laid before us. Those are the the details that Matthew records for us
36:08
We have to see here the wickedness of sin the rebellion of mankind how the world hates
36:19
Christ and hates his authority and hates who he is
36:27
We see here the full display of the The mature fruit that sin bears in reviling the one
36:40
Alone who is worthy of all worship that such evil could be done to the king of glory these these
36:51
Interactions show the depth of wickedness that resides in the human heart
36:57
Beloved we are no better hardened sinful hearts by nature
37:05
Do not submit to Christ the same rebellion is in our own hearts
37:14
Would if God would not restrain our evil we would be guilty of these same acts second
37:28
Bearing in mind that the depth of our guilt We have to reflect on this fact that he bore our shame
37:40
He bore our shame all the the mocking and the abuse that he bore was what we as vile sinners
37:47
Rightly deserve and so if you are trusting in Christ dear one.
37:54
No You have been released from your shame Because Christ took it for you the devil loves to accuse the brethren
38:09
Those who are trusting in Christ to remind us of our sin To shame us and to silence us
38:18
But no beloved That Christ bore our shame. He took it upon himself
38:28
And so we can say yes, we are guilty we are worthy of the worst cruelty imaginable
38:39
That is what we deserve But he took it for us and then finally
38:49
Even his sufferings in the words of his mockers Point to the truth that he is the king of kings and that he came willingly knowingly to redeem his people as he said he would
39:07
None of this was a surprise It was the will of the father to crush the son
39:12
And it even was the delight of the son to obey and submit to his father in this way
39:19
To humble himself that we might be redeemed from the curse of the law
39:24
Why did he do this? Why did he endure this? Because the father sent him in love
39:34
To make us his own I'll end with Philippians 2 which gives us a taste of where we will be heading the next two weeks as we
39:45
Further look into his death on the cross and the atonement that he secured for us
39:53
I'm going to read from Philippians 2 starting in verse 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God But made himself of no reputation
40:11
Taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man
40:18
He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross
40:28
Therefore God Also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name
40:36
That in the name of Jesus every knee would bow of those in heaven of those on the earth and of those under the earth
40:48
That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
40:54
Lord to the glory of God the Father There is purpose here
41:04
There is love here There is justice here
41:11
And there is mercy here This is the gospel. This is the only gospel that saves
41:18
So dear one if your hope is not in This cursed abused mocked reviled broken man this bleeding lamb led to the slaughter
41:36
Your hope is in vain for he bore this wrath
41:46
He was despised and rejected because this is the only way of salvation
41:54
This is the will of the Father to redeem himself a bride a spotless bride by the blood of Christ Let us pray
42:10
Father in heaven we we thank you for Christ We thank you that he has done what we could not do
42:23
That he humbled himself That he bore the shame He took upon himself the reviling that I deserve father
42:41
We don't know the depths of our sin, but Christ endured all
42:53
That we might be redeemed Father we thank you that you have glorified your son in this way even through humiliation that he might be
43:07
Exalted as the king of kings as the Lord of glory as the Lamb of God Who sits even now on the throne as one?
43:19
slain yet alive forever Glory be to Christ.