Mocked and Forsaken

It's a real privilege for me to be able to read these verses.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters

and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

and they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him

and twisting together a crown of thorns,

they put it on his head and put a reed in his hand.

And kneeling before him, they mocked him saying,

Hail, King of the Jews!

And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

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.

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.

They compelled this man to carry his cross.

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull,

they offered him wine to drink mixed with ghoul.

But when he tasted it, he could not drink it.

And when they had crucified him,

they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

And over his head, they put a charge against him,

which read,

This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

There were two robbers.

Then two robbers were crucified with him,

one on the right and one on the left.

And those who passed by derided him,

wagging their heads 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.

So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him,

saying,

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.

He trusts in God.

Let God deliver him now,

if he desires him.

For he said,

I am the Son of God.

And the robbers who were crucified with him

also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour,

there was darkness over all the land

until the ninth hour.

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?

And some of the bystanders hearing it said,

This man is calling Elijah.

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.

But the other said,

Wait,

let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.

And Jesus cried out again,

with a loud voice,

and yielded up his spirit.

And behold,

the curtain of the temple was torn in two

from top to bottom,

and the earth shook,

and rocks were split.

The tombs also were open,

and many bodies of the saints

who had fallen asleep were raised,

and coming out of the tomb

after his resurrection,

they went into the holy city

and appeared to many.

When the centurion

and those who were with him,

keeping watch over Jesus,

saw the earthquake,

saw the earthquake,

saw the earthquake

and what took place,

they were filled with awe

and said,

Truly,

this is the Son of God.

Will you pray with me

as we come to God's word?

Father,

I ask for your spirit's power

to work through your word.

in showing us

who you are

in the face of your Son,

seen most clearly here

at the cross.

I can't break through

even in my own heart,

so I ask that

you do it

for each one of us.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Well,

a Navy SEAL,

a US Navy SEAL

named Matt Bissanetti,

he was part of the raid

to capture and kill

Osama Bin Laden,

and he wrote a book

about it,

and he said that

after Bin Laden

was shot

and killed,

they were taking his body

in the helicopter,

and one of the Navy SEALs

sat on Bin Laden's chest

as the seat

for the duration

of the flight.

He also says in the book,

apparently,

that they found

in Bin Laden's room

some just-for-men

hair dye.

Now,

I could use

some of that.

It's not great.

I get

that's an interesting story,

the capture

and end

of such

an enemy,

but why the mockery?

He's already defeated.

He's gone.

Why the mockery?

It's really...

I don't have

a real answer here.

A psychologist

in the room

might have a better answer,

but we all know

mockery,

don't we?

We all know it.

It's making sport

of a person,

using someone

for your amusement,

for other people's amusement.

It's humiliating

their very person

to their very core,

even if they're dead.

Now,

I'm guessing

you've experienced it.

We've all experienced it

to one degree

or another.

Now,

going through this passage,

one effect

that it had on me

is it convicted me

of something

I'm now

very ashamed of,

and I'll get a phone call

from my parents later

asking what that is,

but I'm not going

to share that

because it's not

the place to do it.

James 3,

8-9

addresses Christians

saying,

no human being

can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil

full of deadly poison.

With it,

we bless our Lord

and Father,

and with it,

we curse people

who are made

in the likeness

of God.

We've not all

just been

the recipients

of ridicule.

We've all been

the perpetrators.

I'm assuming

that.

Mockery of

Bin Laden

as unworthy

of any

basic dignity,

it's distasteful,

but how much

worse is it

for an innocent

teenager?

The target

of the jeering

crowd,

their person,

their worth.

Now,

please,

if that's

happening to you,

reach out

to your parents

and reach out

to teachers.

You were very

much loved

by God

and us,

but

so much

worse.

How much

worse is it

still who we

have here?

How much

worse is it

the one

who gives

all men

their life

and breath,

the one

who has

every right

to speak

into my

life and

say,

here's how

you should

think,

here's what

you should

do?

He has

the right.

He has

all right.

The one

who came

to us,

not with

an iron fist

or something,

he lowered

himself by

becoming one

of us.

He came

to serve,

he was

gentle and

lowly.

how many

people did

he restore

body and

soul through

his miracles

and teaching?

I don't

understand why

all these

people in

what happened

that day

mock.

I don't

fully get.

I don't

fully get

why I

mock.

I ridicule

human beings.

I don't

fully understand

it, but

I think what

Matthew wants

us to see

is what

all humanity

will do

to God

if given

half a chance.

If God

doesn't fight

back, here's

what humanity

will do to

him.

If you

still hold

on to a

notion that

most human

beings are

basically good

if they've

got the

right upbringing,

here's how

a survivor

of the

Soviet Union

gulag,

the atrocities

that happened

there.

He had

every right

to say

those

perpetrators

are evil

and we're

the good

ones.

And here's

what he

said,

the line

dividing

good and

evil cuts

through the

heart of

every human

being.

And we

see that

here in

our passage.

Jesus is

already condemned

by Pilate,

he's a dead

man walking,

but the

soldiers,

verse 29,

ridiculed

him.

verse 31,

Matthew

emphasises it,

after they

mocked him,

they take him

out to be

crucified.

Now,

while hanging

on the

cross,

verse 39,

the crowds

come past

and they

derided him,

they joined

in on

ridiculing

him.

And then

you've got

the chief

priests,

verse 41,

the scribes

and elders,

they mock

him.

And then

you've even

got verse

44,

the criminals

who are

hanging either

side,

they get

in on

it.

Everyone,

given half

a chance,

here's what

we will do

to God,

for insisting

that he

is God,

even if

he comes

lowly and

serving.

There's a

great

differences

between Jew

and Gentile,

they were

hostile,

but here

they are

united in

their mockery

of God.

Now,

there's two

aspects

that Matthew

wants us

to focus

on.

The first

section

focuses on

his identity,

Jesus as

king.

And then

the second

part focuses

on his

salvation,

you who

saved others,

you can't

even save

yourself.

King and

saviour.

So let's,

I just want

to feel

the weight

of it,

let's go

through the

story,

and we'll

see what we

learn.

So pilots,

these are

pilots,

soldiers,

verse 27,

the whole

company,

so 600

or so

soldiers,

whoever were

present

probably,

this was

over the

top,

let's get

the whole

company who

are present

here to

just surround

this guy.

They

humiliate him

and strip

him naked,

he's

impotent,

he can't

defend

himself,

they

imitate

Caesar's

crown,

if you see

on the

coins,

the

Caesar's

wreath

on his

head,

and so

they put

a crown

of thorns

together and

shove it on

his head

and then

they get

a staff

to symbolise

a ruler's

scepter and

they use it

to whack

him.

Avah,

Caesar,

hail,

king of

the Jews.

You can

imagine one

of the

extroverts in

the room

coming out

and being

the first

to do it.

I'm saying

that as an

introvert to

try and

kind of,

I wouldn't

have done

it of course,

spit on

him.

I remember

my dad

getting really

got me in

trouble,

I'll put it

that way,

when I

spat at

my brother.

It is

such an

offensive

thing to

do,

to spit

at someone.

It's so

unnecessary,

he's already

condemned.

They're just

making sport

of him.

So after

this,

the four

soldiers

were the

execution

squad and

make him

carry,

usually it

would just

be the

cross beam,

not the

whole cross

as usually

the pictures

say,

but take

him to

a public

place.

And now

crucifixion,

2,000 years

of Christian

tradition is

kind of

someone put

it as

domesticated

it.

Let me

read Tom

Holland's

description

now,

that's not

Spider-Man,

I'm sorry,

but something

way cooler,

he's a

historian,

way cooler,

he's not a

believer,

here's how he

describes it,

no death

was more

excruciating,

more contemptible

than crucifixion.

To be hung

naked,

long in

agony,

swelling

with ugly

wheels on

shoulders and

chests,

helpless to

beat away

the clamorous

birds,

such a fate

Roman

intellectuals

agreed was

the worst

imaginable.

This in

turn was

what rendered

it so

suitable

a punishment

for slaves.

The

corpses

of the

crucified,

once they

had first

provided

pickings for

hungry birds,

tended to be

flung into

a common

grave.

So foul

was the

reek of

their disgrace

that many

felt tainted

even by

viewing a

crucifixion.

Despite

the ubiquity

of crucifixion

across the

Roman world,

few cared

to think

much about

it.

The

surprise

is less

that we

should have

so few

detailed

descriptions

in ancient

literature

of what a

crucifixion

might actually

involve,

than we

should have

any at

all.

Even the

Roman

intellectuals

were going,

well,

we didn't

invent that,

the Assyrians

invented that.

It ended

by suffocation

usually,

or shock,

or heart

failure.

have to

lift

themselves

up on

the

wounds

to

breathe,

and then

collapse

again.

Now,

surprisingly

for Matthew,

the pain,

the pain

isn't focused

on at

all.

But I'm

hoping,

hearing from

Tom Holland,

we hear the

shame of it,

the disgrace

of it.

It's the

world rejecting

you as

lower than

human.

Roman law,

apparently,

citizens,

Roman citizens

were not

allowed to be

crucified,

unless Caesar

gave a direct

edict.

So here

we see

his world

mocking

him,

putting him

to shame,

because he's

weak,

he's a weak

king.

It's not

surprising

that the

enemies,

Gentiles,

would treat

the Son of

God that

way,

but then

verse 39

to 44,

for his

very own

people,

his own

family,

if I can

put it that

way.

But for

the Jews,

viewing the

cross,

it's not

just shame,

it's shame

from God

as well,

you're under

a curse.

Deuteronomy

21,

23,

you're

cursed by

God.

So the

leaders,

their aim

in getting

him crucified

is to

inflict as

much

public

revulsion

as possible

onto him.

He's

cursed,

cursed even

by God.

Verse 34,

the mockery

continues.

They offer

him a

drink

mixed with

gall.

Now,

possibly it's

a narcotic

to ease

the pain,

man,

but if

that's the

case,

then Jesus

is choosing

to be in

his right

mind through

this,

but more

likely,

it was part

of making

fun of

him.

Here,

let's put

something so

bitter in

his drink,

he thinks

it's going to

give him a

little bit of

comfort that

he has to

spit it out

because it's

so bitter.

And probably

naked,

they cast

lots,

they gamble

for his

sandals and

belts and

inner and

outer garment.

And the

people passing

by,

they hurl

insults as

well.

And here's

where we

turn to the

salvation

theme.

You who

are trying

to destroy

the temple

and rebuild

it in

three days,

save

yourself.

You can't

even save

yourself.

And the

Sanhedrin,

he saved

others.

that's

probably

referring to

his healing

ministry,

he saved

others.

He doesn't

even have

supernatural

power to

save himself.

What kind

of saviour

are you?

You can't

even save

yourself.

Why are

they saying

this?

He's already

condemned.

I don't

know,

it seems

to me,

let's see

what you

think,

it seems

to me,

they're

trying to

strip

him of

any

human

dignity

or worth

reputable

even as

he's

dying.

The

mockery

continues

with this

whole

Elijah

bit.

Some

Jewish

tradition

held that

Elijah would

come rescue

the righteous.

Now,

offering him

a drink,

that's

hard to

say

to

a drink,

that's

hard to

say

whether

they're

is that

compassion

or it

could be

part of

their

hey,

here,

have a

drink so

that you

survive

longer

and suffer

longer.

It could

be part

of their

mockery.

it probably

is them

sitting there

going,

all right,

let's wait

to see if

Elijah comes,

he's not

coming.

Let's

prolong his

life

because God's

not going to

rescue him.

There's no

reference to

Psalm 22.

Matthew

doesn't say

this is to

fulfill

but it

is

fulfilling

Psalm 22

written by

King David

with

precision.

The

religious

leaders,

they did

not know

that they

were

fulfilling

verse 8

of Psalm

22.

He trusts

in the

Lord,

let him

deliver him,

let him

rescue him

for he

delights

in him.

The

dogs

encompass

me,

a company

of

evildoers

encircles

me.

They

have

pierced

my hands

and feet.

For my

clothing

they

cast

lots.

This is

the one

man in

all history

whose

biography

was written

before he

existed.

weak,

king,

cursed,

king.

Psalm 22

and Isaiah

53 say,

yes,

that's right.

That's

exactly

right.

my God,

my God,

why have

you

forsaken

me?

That

verse is

the key to

understanding

this passage.

My God,

my God,

why have

you

forsaken

me?

what does

the cross

mean?

Now,

some

who

claim the

title

Christian

use the

cross as

he's our

example.

Look at

his love

laying down

his life

for others.

It is that,

but some

people claim

that's what's

the primary

meaning,

that's it,

he's an

example to

follow.

I've heard

an illustration

how strange

that idea

is.

If you

were walking

beside a

riverbank with

someone and

you said,

I want to

show my

love for

you and

the river

is in

flood.

I'm going

to show

my love

and you

just dive

in and

get swept

away and

die.

That's not

showing love.

That's why

on earth

would you

do that?

But if

that person

was in

the river

and you

jumped in

to save

them and

you were

swept away

and die,

okay,

that's love.

There must

be

some

salvation

happening

here for

it to

even be

an example

of love.

My God,

my God,

why have

you

forsaken

me?

It is

way more

than just

example.

He's doing

something for

us.

I've only

been married

12 years,

I hope

that's right.

I'm

beginning to

appreciate

older saints.

When they've

been married

and they

lose their

spouse of

30,

40,

50 years

and just

the

expressions

of

just a

massive

part of

themselves

are gone.

One

person is

like the

world is

lost its

colour.

It's just

black and

white now.

I'm

starting to

appreciate

that.

When you've

known that

love for so

long,

now that's

just 50

years,

what

agony

would it

be to

lose the

love you've

experienced

for eternity?

you've

known it

for

eternity.

Here's

his

relationship

in

Matthew

11.

No one

knows the

son except

the father

and no one

knows the

father except

the son.

But it's

worse than

just loss

and tragedy,

it's

abandonment.

It's

rejection.

It made

me think

of someone

falsely

arrested by

the police

and their

father was

against

them.

It's

abandonment.

He really

is being

forsaken,

abandoned.

We are

witnessing

hell.

that I

deserve

to receive

from God.

The darkness

is just

the darkness

in the sky

at that time

was just

this hint

at the

deep

rejection

taking place.

The

horror of

the world's

sin

laid on

him.

reading the

Bible story

with Sam

last night

and he

said it

wasn't the

nails

keeping

Jesus

there.

I was

like,

oh,

that's an

insightful

comment.

What,

what,

why did he

stay there

then?

to die

for our

sins?

We see

the love

of God

in Christ,

the whole

world

debasing

him.

His

father,

he's known

his love

for all

eternity,

abandoning

him and

he stayed.

He stayed.

that's

his love.

There's

going to

be times

in each

of our

lives

where we

feel like

we are

utterly

forsaken

by God.

He's not

answering

our

prayers.

You

feel

nothing

of his

presence.

His

word

just

doesn't

feed you

as it

once did.

there

was

a

Christian

poet,

we sing

some of

his songs,

William

Cowper,

who had

several

rounds of

suicidal

depression

and

this

lady wrote

a poem

for him

about

this

passage.

Yea,

once

Emmanuel's

orphaned

cry,

his

universe

universe

hath

shaken.

It

went up

single,

echo-less,

my God,

I am

forsaken.

It

went up

from the

Holy's

lips

amid

his

lost

creation,

that

of the

lost

no

son

should

use

those

words

of

desolation.

In

other

words,

Jesus

cry,

my God,

I am

forsaken,

you should

not use

those

words,

because you're

not,

you never

will be.

However you

feel,

you never

will be,

now or

for all

eternity.

I should

never say

I'm

forsaken,

!

He

summarizes

what the

cross is

all

about,

what the

whole

Bible

is

all

about

in

two

lines,

ready?

The

essence

of

sin

is

man

substituting

himself

in

God's

place,

the

essence

of

salvation

is

God

substituting

himself

in

my

place.

That's

what we're

seeing

here.

then in

verse 51

to 54

we see

the

victory.

He is

raining

on the

tree.

Nothing

has

shaken

up

life as

we know

it,

the world

order as

we know

it,

or

nothing

in your

life,

whatever

experiences

you've

gone

through,

nothing

has

affected

your

life,

if you're

a believer,

as

profoundly

as

this

moment,

this

moment

when he

yielded

up

his

life,

his

spirit

to

God.

Yes,

the

resurrection

confirms

and puts

into effect

Christ's

victory,

but Matthew

wants us

to see

that the

victory

was won

here,

right in

this

moment,

when he

yielded

up his

spirit

at the

cross.

I think

we're

meant to

be seeing

him

reigning,

he is

king,

in this

moment where

his body

is hanging

limp

on a

cross.

My

death is

probably

going to

be the

end of

what I

accomplish,

but see

what he

accomplishes

with his

death.

Verse 51

to 54,

there's

three world

heavenly

shaking

victories.

The

curtain

temple was

torn in

two.

The

tombs of

Old

Testament

saints

are

broken

open

and

they're

raised

and

this

Roman

centurion

confesses

faith.

If we

can go

through each

of these,

the temple,

if you

tried to

go near

God's

presence in

the temple,

you'd be

met with

get out

signs at

every stage.

If you're a

Gentile,

you couldn't

go further

than the

outer court.

If you're

not a

priest,

you couldn't

go further

than the

inner court.

if you

weren't

the high

priest,

you couldn't

go further

than the

holy place.

You couldn't

go into

the most

holy place.

He could

only go

in once

a year.

He had

to clean

vigorously

and confess

and blood.

Jesus

taking our

curse,

the curtain

is torn

top to

bottom.

open

access

to

walk

and

talk

with

God

as

your

heavenly

father

every

day,

all day,

all night.

Open

access.

I learned

from Cole

that little

storage room,

this used

to be a

Catholic

church,

that was

the

confessional.

I don't

know if I

knew that

but I've

forgotten it.

Priest comes

in the

back,

you come

in that

way,

confess

your sins,

get

forgiveness

from the

priest,

here's

what you

do for

penance.

No.

No.

You have

open

access.

There's

no place,

there's no

person except

for Christ.

He's your

high priest,

Hebrews

says.

You who

would destroy

this temple

and rebuild

it in

three days.

He is

the new

and living

way.

If you

just look

at his

dying

breath in

this moment

hanging

lifeless on

the tree,

if you

trust that

is enough,

he's

opened the

way to

the

Father.

Not only

no entry,

come in,

please.

You don't

come in

often enough.

Come.

The way

to the

Father is

open,

trusting this

very moment.

to see

him

raining

on the

tree.

Then we

have the

resurrected

saints.

Only

Matthew

records

this.

This is

unreal.

Verse 52,

53.

Matthew

seems to

jump ahead

himself.

We're

not up to

the

resurrection,

Matthew.

Hang on.

It's like

God can't

wait to

show us.

Look at

the victory.

He's

just won.

The

earthquake

is the

thing that

breaks open

the tombs,

but the

resurrection

is tied

to his

resurrection.

Matthew

ties it

to his,

Jesus'

resurrection.

So these

Old Testament

saints,

whoever they

were,

they were

Old Testament

saints,

share in

the victory

over the

curse of

sin.

As much

as you and

I today

will share

in that

victory.

And

Matthew,

I think,

places it

here so

that we

see that

the victory

was won

at the

cross.

Speaking

to a

Muslim in

Sydney after

indoor soccer,

I've lost

touch with

the guy

now,

but he

objected to

my Christian

arrogance to

say that I

know for

sure that

after judgment

we agree

there's going

to be a

judgment,

that I'm

going to

live.

Allah is

merciful,

but a

devout Muslim

cannot presume

to know the

final judgment.

There's no

assurance of

life.

A pastor

in the UK

once received

a letter in

his mailbox

from a

Roman Catholic

family who

had a sudden

tragedy.

someone died

and they

asked him

to pray for

their child

to survive

the thousands

of years

in purgatory.

Now,

it's heart

wrenching.

They're in

deep pain,

but they

had no

assurance.

They were

devout.

They had no

assurance.

Then you

got the

non-religious

poem of

Dylan Thomas

about his

dying father.

Do not

go gentle

into that

good night.

Old age

should burn

and rave

at close

of day.

Rage,