The Centerpoint Of All History | Chris Osburn

After sitting down there, I noticed that I have my chapters

wrong on the board. It should say chapters 26 and 27

and not 27 and 28. So for a reading this morning,

we're going to go ahead and read both of those chapters, the most

important event ever known to mankind that we could read

about. And I want us to understand the

gravity of what we're going to be reading about this morning

and studying. So if you would please follow

along in your Bible or have your phone or a device, that's fine.

But I want to make sure that we are reading this together as a

congregation, starting in Matthew 26.

Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these things

that he said to his disciples. You know that after two days in

the is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to

be crucified. Then the chief priests, the

scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace

of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to

take Jesus by trickery and kill him.

But they said not during the feast, lest there be an uproar

among the people. And when Jesus was in Bethany at

the House of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him having an

alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, And she poured it

on his head. And he sat at the table as he

sat at the table. But when his disciples saw it,

they were indignant, saying, why waste this?

For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to

the poor. But when Jesus was aware of it,

he said to them, Why do you trouble the woman?

For she has done a good work for me.

For you have the poor with you always.

But me you do not have always, For in pouring this fragrant oil

on my body she did it for my burial.

Assuredly I say to you, whoever this gospel is preached in the

world, in the whole world, what is what this woman has done will

also be told as a memorial to her.

Then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot went to the chief

priests and said, what are you willing to give me if I deliver

him to you? And they counted out to him 30

pieces of silver. So from that time he sought

opportunity to betray him. Now on the first day of the

Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus,

saying to him, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the

Passover? And he said, go into the city to

a certain man and say to him, The teacher says, my time is at

hand, I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.

So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they

prepared the Passover. When evening had come, he sat

down with the 12 Now as they were eating, he said.

Assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me.

And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

And each of them began to say to him, Lord, is it I?

He answered, and said, he who dipped his hand with me in the

dish, will betray me. The Son of Man, indeed goes just

as is written of him. But woe to the man by whom the

Son of Man is betrayed? It would have been good for that

man if he had not been born. Then Judas, who was betraying

him, answered and said, Rabbi, Is it I?

He said to him, You have said it.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread blessed and and broke

it, and gave it to his to the disciples, and said, take, eat

this, this is my body. Then he took the cup and gave

thanks, and gave it to them, saying, drink from it all of

you, For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for

many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not

drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when

I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom.

And when they had sung A hymn, and they went out to the Mount

of Olives, then Jesus said to them, All of you will be made to

stumble because of me this night.

For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of

the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I

will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered and said to him,

Even if all were made to stumble because of you, I will never be

made to stumble. Jesus said to him, assuredly, I

say to you that this night before the rooster crows, you

will deny me three times. Peter said to him, Even if I die

with you, I will not deny you. And so said all the disciples.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called the Gethsemane, and

said to them to the disciples, Sit here while I go and pray

over there. And he took with him Peter and

the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply

distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is

exceedingly sorrowful even to death.

Stay here and watch with me. He went a little further and

fell on his face, and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if it is

possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, not as I will,

but as you will. Then he came to the disciples,

and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, what could you

not watch with me? One hour?

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak again.

A second time he went away and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if

this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will

be done. And he came and found them

asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

So we left them and went away and prayed the third time,

saying the same words. Then he came to his disciples

and said to them. Are you still sleeping and

resting? Behold the hours at hand, and

the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.

And while he was still speaking, behold Judas, one of the 12 with

a great multitude was swords and clubs, came to the chief priests

and elders of the people. Now his betrayer had given them

a sign saying whoever who whomever I kiss he is, the one

sees him. Immediately he went up to Jesus

and said greetings Rabbi, and kissed him.

But Jesus said to him, friend, why have you come?

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

And suddenly one of those who were with Jesus stretched out

his hand and grew his sword, and struck the servant of the high

priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, Put your

sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by

the sword. Or do you think that I cannot

now pray to my Father, and he will provide me with more than

12 legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be

fulfilled that it must happen to us in that hour?

Jesus said to the multitudes. Have you come out as against a

robber with swords and clubs to take me?

I sat with you daily. I sat daily with you teaching in

the temple, and you did not seize me.

But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might

be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook

him and fled, and those who had laid hands on Jesus led him away

to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders

were assembled. But Peter followed him at a

distance with to the high priest's courtyard, and when and

he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council

sought false testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but

found none. Even though many false witnesses

came forward, they found none. But at least two false witnesses

came forward and said. This fellow said, I am able to

destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.

And the high priest arose and said to him, Do you answer

nothing? What is it?

These men's tends to testify against you.

But Jesus kept silent, And the high priest answered and said to

him, I put you underoath by the living God, tell us, if you were

the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said to him, It is as you

said. Nevertheless, I say to you,

hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand

of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying he has spoken

blasphemy. What further need do we have of

witnesses? Look now to you have heard his

blasphemy. What do you think?

They answered. His said he is deserving of

death. Then they spat on his face and

beat him, and others struck him with the palms of their hands,

saying, prophecy to us. Christ, who was the one who

struck you? Now Peter sat outside in the

courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying you were

also were with Jesus of Galilee, but he denied it before them

all, saying, I do not know what you were saying.

And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him

and said to those who were with them, who who were there.

This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth, but again he denied

with an oath. I do not know the man.

A little later those who stood up stood by, came up, and said

to Peter, surely you are also one of them, for your speech

betrays you. Then he began to curse and

swear, saying, I do not know the man.

Immediately the roaster crowed, rooster crowed, and Peter

remembered the word of Jesus, who had said to him before.

The rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

So he went out and wept bitterly when the morning came.

All the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted

against Jesus to put him to death, And when they had bound

him, they led him away to deliver him to Pontius Pilate,

the governor. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing

that he had been condemned, was remorseful, and brought back the

30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I

have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

And they said, what is that to us?

You see to it, Then he threw, then that he threw down the

pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and

hanged himself. But the chief priest took the

silver pieces and said it is not lawful to put them in the

treasury, because they are not. They are the price of blood.

And they consulted together and bought with him the Potter's

field to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been

called the field of blood to this day.

Then was fulfilled what the spoken by the by Jeremiah the

prophet saying, And they took the 30 pieces of silver, the

value of him who was pierced, whom they of the children of

Israel Christ, and gave them for the Potters field as the Lord

directed me. Now Jesus stood before the

governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the king of

the Jews? Jesus said to him it is as you

say, and while he was being accused by the chief priests and

the elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, do you

not hear how many things they testify against you?

But he answered him not one word, so that the governor

marvelled greatly. Now the feast of the governor

was accustomed to releasing the multitude 1 prisoner whom they

wished, and at that time they had notorious prisoner called

Barabbas. Therefore when they had gathered

together, Pilate said to them, who do you want me to release to

you, Barabbas or Jesus, who was called Christ?

For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy, while

he was sitting on the judgment seat his wife sent to him,

saying, have nothing to do with that just man.

For I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes

that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

The governor answered and said to them, Which of the two do you

want me to release to you? They said, Barabbas.

Pilate said to them, What then shall I do with Jesus, who was

called Christ? They all said to him, let him be

crucified. Then the governor said, why?

What evil has he done? But they cried out all the more,

saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could

not prevail at all, but rather that atonement was rising, he

took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I

am innocent of the blood of this just person, you see to it.

And all the people answered and said, He is blood beyond us and

on on our children. Then he released Barabbas to the

to them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him

to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the

governor took Jesus into into the praetorium and gathered him

and gathered the whole Garrison around him, and they stripped

him and put a scarlet robe on him.

When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head

and a Reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before

him and mocked him, saying Hail king of the Jews.

Then they spat on him, and they took a Reed and struck him on

the head. 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. Now as they came out, they found

a man of Siren Simon by name him They compelled to bear his

cross, and when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is

to say place of the school skull, they gave him a sour

wine, mingle with Gall to drink, but when he had tasted it, he

would not drink. Then they crucified him and

divided his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled,

which was spoken by the Prophet. They divided my garments among

them, and for my clothing they cast lots sitting down.

They kept watch over him there, and they put up over his head

the accusation written against him.

This is Jesus the king of the Jews.

Then the two rob. Then two robbers were crucified

with him, one on the right and. One on the left and those who

passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying,

You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save

yourself, If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Likewise the chief priests, also 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'll believe him.

He trusted in God, Let him deliver him now if he will have

him. For he said, I am the Son of

God. Even the robbers who were

crucified with him reviled him with the same thing.

Now from the 6th hour until the 9th hour there was darkness over

the land. And about the 9th hour Jesus

cried out with a loud voice saying Eli Eli, lama Sabakthani.

That is to say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, this

man is calling for Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and

took sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on the Reed,

and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, Leave him, let

him alone, let us see if Elijah will come and save him.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his

spirit. Then behold, the veil of the

temple was torn in two from top to bottom the earth quaked, and

the rocks were split, and the graves were open, and many

bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep were raised and

coming out of the brick, the graves.

After his resurrection they went into the holy city, and appeared

to many. So the centurion that, and those

with him who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake, and

the things that had happened they feared greatly saying,

Truly this was the Son of God, and many women who followed

Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, were there looking on

from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of

James and and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's son.

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea

named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him, when Joseph

had taken the body and wrapped it and clean linen cloth and

laid it out in in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the

rock. And he rolled a large stone

against the door of the tomb and departed.

And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary sitting up

opposite the tomb. On the next day, which followed

the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees

gathered together to Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember while

he was still alive. How?

How that deceiver said, after three days I will rise.

Therefore command that the tomb may be secure until the third

day, unless his disciples come by night and steal him away and

say to the people, he has risen from the dead.

So the last deception will be worse than the first, Pilate

said to them. You have a guard go your way,

make it as secure as you know. So they went and made the tomb

secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

We're going to look at the cross of Jesus Christ today, the

center point of all history, all of mankind, as we said.

And understanding the cross is really understanding the key to

everything that we do in our life and how we understand the

Bible. And so the question I want to

ask is why? Why is this event?

Why is this event? So significant that happened

2000 years ago. Why is it so significant, so

significant? And if you were to ask me, what

is the significance of the cross, Why is the cross so

important? I think that we need to really

understand what the holiness of God is first to to start

understanding what the cross is about, to remember the holiness

of of God. It's critical to understanding

the importance of the cross. Until we see God for who he is

and ourselves for who we are, we'll never see the cross for

what it means. But when we see God for who He

is, and when we see ourselves for who we are, then the

necessity and the wonder of the cross becomes so obvious to us

that we can't deny it, and we're astonished by it, and we just

center our lives around what Jesus has done for us.

So the character of God, basically an overview of His

Holiness, His glorious uniqueness. #1 He is sovereign

over all, He is sovereign over all psalms. 24 verses one

through 2 says the earth is the Lord's and everything in it the

world and all who live in it. For he founded it upon the seas,

and established it upon the waters.

God created all things. God knows all things.

God sustains all things. God owns all things.

Sovereignty means authority. God is the author of all things

which mean which means that he has authority over all things.

He has authority to govern the world that we live in.

He has the authority to govern our lives.

He has all the rights. We belong to him, however.

Humanity has rebelled against God and the authority of God,

and this is what we see in Genesis chapter three of the

Great Fall. Even though God said not to eat

from that tree, well, we're going to go ahead and do it

anyway. We have rejected humanity, has

rejected the the authority of God in that way.

Secondly, he is righteous above all.

He is right in all that he does. We look at Genesis and Psalms.

In Genesis 1825 it says Will not the judge of all the earth do

right? And also in Psalms 145 verse 17

Psalms 145:17

says the Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward

all He has made. God is right.

He's righteous in all of His ways.

He has never had a wrong thought, never done a wrong

deed. He has never had a wrong motive,

never said a wrong thing. He is totally and completely

right all the time, and humanity has despised his righteousness.

Romans 3 verses 10 through 12. As it is written, there is none

Romans 3:10–12

righteous, no, not one. There is no one who understands.

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside. They have all together become

unprofitable. There is none who does good.

No, not one. Our humanity, our human nature

tends to be completely opposite of what God is.

We have wrong thoughts, we do wrong things, we possess wrong

motives, We say the wrong things.

God is totally right and we have despised His righteousness,

rebelled against His righteousness.

Thirdly, He is just in all of his wrath.

He is just in all of his wrath. Because God is holy and

righteous, He cannot stand sin. His justice flows from his

righteousness with God. A wrathful response to sin and

evil is not just a possibility, it is an inevitability.

Scripture uses more than 20 different words to describe

God's wrath, and there are over 580 different references to

God's wrath in the Bible. In the Old Testament, it makes

it clear that God's wrath is real and it is personal.

It is intense and it is constant.

God's wrath is not mysterious or irrational.

It's not unpredictable. It is always predictable because

the evil provokes the wrath of God every time, and this is the

consistent response of a holy and righteous God.

His His wrath is pure and his wrath is also loving.

It is good for God to hate that which destroys you and I, and

the New Testament only deepens that picture of God's wrath,

making it clear that His wrath is continual.

It is coming. We see that in Matthew 3, John

the Baptist announcing the King is coming with a winnowing fork

in his hand, Jesus comes into a world under the wrath of God.

In John 336 it says He who believes in the Son has

everlasting life and he who does not believe the Son shall not

see life. But the wrath of God abides on

him. God's wrath is deserving.

It's dreadful, it's final, and it's eternal.

The reality is because God is holy and righteous and

infinitely honorable and infinitely worthy, one sin

against him is an infinite offense and an infinite dishonor

deserving of infinite punishment.

I want to remind us, and we all know this, that one sin alone,

just one sin led to the curse of God that affects all of us

today, the entire world. One sin eating a piece of fruit

in the in the disobedience of God.

That one sin, we have all the effects that we see throughout

history. We see wars, Holocaust, cancer,

diseases, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes,

terrorism, pain, suffering, all because of 1 sin that we saw in

Genesis. Chapter 3, Romans 5 says that

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

one sin brought condemnation to all men.

That was one sin and you and I have thousands of sins in our

lives. We have so many.

Which is why Romans 3 verses 5 through 6 makes it clear that

Romans 3:5–6

God is just and bringing His wrath on us.

He is just in all of His wrath and we have disregarded His

wrath. Fourthly, He is loving toward

His creation In John First John 4 verse 16, it says and if and

1 John 4:16

we have known and believe the love that our that God has for

us, God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and

God in him. God is love and we have denied

His love, meaning we have turned from his love and we have, as it

says in Romans 2 verse four, shown contempt for the riches of

his kindness, tolerance and patience towards us.

So how can a righteous God be loving to rebellious sinners who

are due His wrath? That is the question at the

center of the Bible. If all this is true, if God is

sovereign and we have denounced His sovereignty, if God is

righteous and we as humanity have despised His righteousness,

If God is just in all His wrath and we have now disregarded His

wrath, if God is loving toward all His creation and we have

denied His love, then how can a righteous God be loving to

rebellious sinners who are due His wrath?

And if we're ever going to understand the cross, we must

feel the the intensity and the weight of that question.

It's the question that Scripture ultimately is concerned with and

deals with. How can sinful man be righteous

before God? Proverbs, if you have your

Bible, if you want to go to Proverbs 17 verse 15, it's an

Proverbs 17:15

interesting verse. This verse helps us kind of have

a better understanding. It says in Proverbs chapter 17,

Proverbs 17:15

verse 15, He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the

righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

He who justifies the wicked and condemns the righteous, they are

both an abomination to the Lord. So if a judge says to a wicked

person you are right, you're innocent, we would.

No, that's not correct. That's an abomination.

If a judge says to a righteous person you are wrong, you're

condemned. That is an abomination to the

Lord. That makes no sense to us.

We understand that now if we apply this to God and to us, if

God were to look at you and I and our wickedness and say

you're right or you're innocent, that would not be understanding

at all. We, we can't fathom that That

would be an abomination to the Lord, and that's a problem.

And as soon as God tells rebellious sinners that they are

right before him, God becomes He has that problem.

He has that conflict there. So we see the tension.

How can a righteous God be loving toward rebellious sinners

who will rightfully do his wrath?

That's the fundamental problem that we see.

Dealt with in the Bible, in the Scripture.

But it's not the problem that we actually normally identify it.

You know, if we think about it, you know, not many people in our

culture are worried about how God can be just and kind to

sinners at the same time. There's not a whole lot, not

many, if any at all. How many people are losing sleep

at night because God is being kind to sinners?

No, that's what we want. We want God to be kind to

sinners, right? We're so wrapped up in thinking

that we can point the finger to God and people start saying, how

can God punish sinners? How can you let people go to

hell? How can God being so good, let

people go to hell? But the question of the Bible is

quite opposite. But the question of the God how

can you be just and right and let rebels into heaven?

Romans 325 is saying the purpose of the cross was to show the

righteousness of God because of in his divine forbearance

patience, God has passed over former sins.

That's the whole picture of the Bible.

God is passing over sins. In Second Samuel 12 we remember

David, a man after God's own heart, but he was he was guilty

of adultery, he was guilty of murder and lying.

And the prophet Nathan confronts him.

And in Second Samuel 12 and verse 13, David says to Nathan,

I have sinned against the Lord, Nathan replied.

The Lord has taken your sin, you are not going to die.

Adultery, murder just passed over.

Is that justice? I don't think so.

I don't think that's justice. If a judge were to look at this

case today and say he puts murder and adultery and just

you're innocent, we would want that judge removed from the bar

immediately and never be able to sit on the bench again.

That judge is not right. God's forgiveness of our sin.

God's forgiveness of your sin is a problem for God.

I know I'm saying a lot, but I'm going to wrap this up.

I'm going to bring this all together.

God cannot be just and yet acquit you and I and our sin and

our rebellion and our belittling, belittling over his

glory. He just can't Passover sin.

It's against his nature. If God were to overlook sin, His

justice, His Holiness would be completely compromised and he

would no longer be God. And this is where we realized

that before the cross is for anyone's sake, the cross, the

cross was really for God's sake. This is God showing and

displaying His justice and His righteousness towards sin.

Who did Christ die for? Me and you, Yes.

But I don't think that's the complete answer.

I don't think that's the full answer.

Did He die for all the nations and all the people?

Yes, but with there's still more that he died for than that

ultimately, Christ died for God. We have heard the gospel

presented as God's answer to human problems, and it is.

It absolutely is. But first and foremost, it is

God's answer to a divine problem.

It's God's vindication and declaration of his glory, God

demonstrating his justice and his righteousness.

And this is what drove Jesus to the cross.

The glory of God drove Jesus to the cross.

John 12, verse 27 and 28 says, This is Jesus speaking.

John 12:27

Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say, Father?

Save me from this hour. No, it was for this very reason

I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.

So why did Jesus go to the cross?

To save you and I from our sins, Yes.

We say things like you and I were on the Savior's mind when

we went to the cross, and I believe that's part of it.

Absolutely. The Father was on the Savior's

mind while he was on the cross, and that is good news for us.

Christ died for God, and us remember the holiness of God.

Otherwise we'll never grasp that significance of the cross.

Second key to understanding the magnitude of Matthew 26 and 27.

We must remember the holiness of God, and we also must tremble at

the horror of the wickedness at that time.

We see that here, one writer said.

And I've tried to summarize the wickedness.

I'm sorry. I've tried to summarize the

wickedness of man on display and different people at different

times during this scene, doing different things to the Son of

God. So during this scene we see the

Jewish leaders rejecting, arresting, accusing and judging

the Son of God and they crucify him.

Maybe one of the most telling sentences in all that we just

read is in Matthew 26 verse 63. It says this is where the high

Matthew 26:63

priest is sitting on judgment upon Jesus.

And he says, I put you underoath by the living God.

Tell us if you were the Christ of the Son of God.

Jesus said, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you,

hereafter you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand

of power and coming on clouds of heaven.

That is quite a statement from Jesus.

Jesus is saying you're sitting in a judgment seat right now

judging me, but there will be a time where I'm going to be

judging you. And that pushed that high priest

over the edge. He tore his robes and said he

has uttered blasphemy. What is his judgment?

And the Jewish leaders answer and said he deserves death and

they spit in his face and they struck him.

Jewish leaders judging the very Son of God.

Additionally, Roman leaders sentencing and crucifying the

Son of God. He is taken to Roman leaders,

the pilot, where he is where we see them sentencing and

crucifying the Son of God. Pilate tries Jesus.

In a response the crowds. He gives the crowd the option of

either releasing Barabbas, a murderer, or Jesus to them.

And the crowds want Barabbas released and they want Jesus

crucified. Pilate, of course tried as we

read, tried to absolve himself from the responsibility.

But there's no question that Responsibly was on his hands, as

well as the Jewish leaders hands as he released them for them.

Barabbas and having scourge Jesus delivered him to be

crucified. The soldiers, the Roman

soldiers, stripping, scourging, mocking, beating and spitting on

the Son of God. Which leads to one of the most

horrible scenes that we can picture in our mind.

Taking the dreaded whip of bone and or lead bound into leather

thongs, lashing the victim's body into a bloody pulp.

The horror of wickedness as they twist a crown of thorns into his

head, put a scepter in his hand and a robe around his neck,

around his naked body and bowing down a mockery, saying this is

the king of the Jews. Then they spit in his face more

and they led him away to the cross, the most degrading way to

die, one writer said. The crucifixion was unspeakably

painful and degrading. Whether tied or nailed to the

cross. The victim endured countless

peroxiums as he pulled with his arms and pushed with his legs to

keep his chest cavity open for breathing, and then collapsed in

exhaustion until the demand for oxygen demanded renewed.

Peroxiums, the scourging, the loss of blood, the shock from

the pain all produced agony that could go on for days, ending at

last by suffocation, cardiac arrest or loss of blood.

When there was no reason to hasten to death, the execution

squad would smash the victims legs.

Death followed. Almost.

Immediately, either from shock or from the collapse that cut

off breeding, the crowds ridiculing, reviling and

shouting at the Son of God, all this was taking place.

The clap, the the the crowds were doing this, They were

saying, and you should destroy the temple and bring it down in

three days. You need to save yourself if you

are the Son of God. Come down from the cross.

They derided him. They were wagging their heads

and yelling at him, the text says.

But sadly it wasn't of course, just the crowds.

It was also the disciples we see in the middle of all this.

What was potentially the most disheartening were the disciples

betraying, denying, disobeying, scattering, and deserting The

Son of God, Judas, Peter and others, after three years of

walking in with him, are now just walking away from him,

deserting him. When you think of this scene of

Jesus and everybody just turning their back on him, who do you,

who do you identify with the most?

Do you identify with being Peter, weeping as you realize

the magnitude of your denial of Christ, Simon of Sirene, caring

in Jesus cross for him? Were you the women who stood at

a distance watching those things?

Were you Mary standing at the cross looking up at her son, the

thief, asking Jesus to remember him and his Kingdom?

The centurion who, after Jesus died, shouted out truly this man

was the Son of God. I think I would identify most

with the crowd shouting crucify him.

The old spiritual asked, Were you there when they crucified my

Lord? And the answer is yes.

We were not as spectators but as participants, guilty

participants, plotting, scheming, betraying, bargaining,

and handing him over to be crucified, another writer said.

Until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will

never appreciate that it is done for you.

A Scottish hymn writer wrote, twas I that shed, shed the

sacred blood. I nailed him to the tree.

I crucified Christ of God. I join the mockery of all that

shouting multitude. I feel that I am one, and in

that den of rude voices, rude, I recognize my own.

Around the cross the throne I see mocking the sufferers groan,

yet still my voice. It seems to be as if I'm mocked

alone. When we read Matthew 26 and 27,

we have reverence for the humility that Christ had, the

most humble man in the most humble situation.

In those verses, in those two chapters, we need to understand

actually what is happening below the surface with what Jesus is

dealing with internally. Spiritually.

We got images of the cross that we may have seen in our minds.

You know, we have pictures in our minds of what the cross is.

But what makes the cross significant is not ultimately

the physical things that come to our mind.

What makes the cross significant is the spiritual realities that

are are all coming together to this point, the most important

point in all of history. And if we think and there are

depths that we're, you know, they're to be explored and

uncovered. And if we've tried to depict the

depth of what's happening here, there's there's three words

based around these key events that we just read about the

Lord's Supper. We read about the Garden of

Gethsemane and Jesus's cry from the cross.

And there's three words that I want to go over that deal with

this. The first one is substitution.

Jesus died are death. The first keyword is

substitution. Scripture is clear from the

start. The payment for sin is death.

Yet Jesus had no sin. So why are we reading about

Jesus's death if he had no sin? We see him dying in our place

there in chapters 26 and 27. And he tells his disciples this

when he institutes the Lord's Supper, Matthew, 2626, through

29. And as they were eating, Jesus

took bread blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples,

and said, take ye, this is my body.

Then he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them,

saying, drink from it, all of you, For this is my blood of the

new covenant, which is shed for many of the remission, remission

of sins. But I say to you, I will not

drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I

drink it new with you and my Father's Kingdom.

Jesus is celebrating the Passover feast meal with his

disciples. A meal that was every year

remembering the day in Egypt when the all the Israelites

homes took an innocent lamb and slaughtered it.

They put the blood of the lamb above the doorposts at each

house when they were where they were doing this Passover meal so

that when God, in a judgment and sin came to each Israelite, each

Egyptian home, any home that did not have the blood over the

doorpost would see the first born son in that home die.

It was the night when God provided the lamb, provided the

blood of a lamb, a substitute sacrifice to save his people

from the payment of sin. And every year they would

celebrate this meal. Every year that's the Passover

meal. They would take the lambs to the

temple. They were to be slaughtered and

the blood would spill out and they would gather together in

their homes. Remember that night, and it's a

backdrop. Jesus says my blood will be

poured out for many. For the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is the Passover lamb. We see that in Exodus 12 who

saves us with his blood, so that when God had in His wrath and

judgment comes free to you and me.

If we hide under the blood of a substitute sacrifice, which is

Jesus, the Lamb of God, we are saved.

He is the Passover lamb who saves us with his blood, and he

is the covenant keeper. And we see that in Exodus 24,

who seals us with His blood, Jesus says, this is my blood of

the covenant. And this is the only time in the

entire book of Matthew that we see the word covenant.

So what does that word covenant mean?

We go all the way back to Exodus 24, where God had given his

people, which were the Israelites, his law on the mount

on Mount Sinai, and he entered a covenant with those with the

Israelites through blood. Exodus 24 verse 8 says Moses

Exodus 24:8

took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said this is the

blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in

accordance with all these words, and is the picture not only of

God's forgiveness of his people, but his binding of his people to

himself in a relationship with Him.

So that's the picture here in the New Covenant, sealed not

with the blood of an animal, but sealed with the blood of the Son

of God Himself, Jesus himself. He is our substitute sacrifice.

He died the death we deserve to die so that before the cross

we're we're headed to eternal death.

Before Jesus died, that's where our destination was.

But because of the cross, we now have the opportunity for eternal

life. Substitution.

Jesus died our death. Second word, propitiation.

We read it earlier in Romans 325.

God put forward Christ Jesus as a propitiation by His blood.

So what does that mean? The word propitiation literally

means one who turns aside wrath by taking away sin.

And that word only makes sense when we understand all the

things we have already covered. God is holy just in all of His

wrath, and we are sinful, deserving of His wrath.

And so when Jesus went to the cross, he endured that wrath

that we all deserve. That is the key to understanding

the cross. What is happening to Jesus here

is what we deserve. We go to.

If you go to Matthew 26 and verse 39, Jesus is in the garden

of Gethsemane, Gethsemane preparing to be betrayed,

arrested, and eventually eventually crucified.

And what does he pray? He prays.

Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me

nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

So that begs the question, what is this cup?

In that passage? We need to realize that the cup

of the cross is not primarily physical suffering that Jesus

went through. It's really comes down to

spiritual suffering that Jesus is going through at this time.

Psalm 75, verse 8 says In the hand of the Lord is a cup filled

Psalms 75:8

full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours it out and all the wicked of the earth drink it

down to its very dregs. Isaiah 51, verse 17 says, Awake,

Isaiah 51:17

awake, Rise up. O Jerusalem, you have drunk from

the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath, you who have drained

to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.

Also you get down to verse 20 through 23 of Isaiah 51.

They are filled with the wrath of the Lord and the and the

rebuke of God. Therefore hear this You

afflicted one make drug, but not with wine.

This is what your sovereign Lord says, your God who defends His

people. See, I have taken out my out of

your hand, the cup that made you stagger from the cup, the goblet

of my wrath. You will never drink again.

Also in Jeremiah 20. Five Verse 15 This is what the

Lord of the God of Israel said to me.

Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my

wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.

When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because the

sword I will send among them, the cup in Scripture here is a

reference to God's wrath, the wrath of God.

We see that later also in Revelations 14 verse 10.

Revelation 14:10

It talks about those who drink the wine of God's fury, which is

poured full strength into the cup of His wrath.

When we see Jesus is when he's sorrowful here or troubled here

in the garden, we need to realize that Jesus is not being

a coward towards the Roman soldiers at all.

He is not worried about the Roman soldiers one single bit.

He was actually worried about experiencing the divine wrath

that God the Father was going to bestow upon him to take on our

sins. And when Jesus went to the

cross, that full cup of wrath of God do your sin and mine was

poured out upon the Son of God. And at the cross God expressed

his full judgment upon sin. At the cross God endures himself

his full judgment against sin. And at the cross God enables

free salvation for sinners throughout all human mankind,

all because of His propitiation. He endured the wrath of the

Father that we might experience the love of the Father.

Third word here reconciliation. This one is based on Matthew 27

Matthew 27:46

verse 46. It says now from the 6th hour

until the 9th hour there was darkness over the all the land.

And about the 9th hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice

saying Eli Eli Lama Sabatani that is my God, my God, why have

you forsaken me? What does it mean when when

Jesus cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

It means reconciliation. And follow this with me.

I'll get to my point here. This is not a cry of unbelief or

confusion or despair that Jesus has on his mind.

Jesus is not doubting God the Father.

He is not confused about what is happening.

Jesus is not asking why is this happening to me, God, why are

you doing this to me? As if he doesn't understand.

Jesus understands everything that is happening.

At that point. He knows what's going on.

He actually foretold that moment when he was will.

At that end he was willing instead.

This cry is physical agony, spiritual anguish, relational

alienation. It's a quote from Psalms 22 and

understanding that Psalm is the key to understanding that cry.

We don't have time to to read everything there, but we'll just

quote some of the verses to you in verse 14 of Psalms 22.

It says I am poured out like water and all my bones are out

of joint. My heart has turned to wax.

It is melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a

pot shirt and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You lay me in dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me and

band. A band of evil man has encircled

me. They have pierced my hands and

my feet. It's also a cry of spiritual

anguish, just like we were talking about.

Jesus is not is not now not anticipating God's wrath.

He's now experiencing God's wrath.

At this moment, it's also a cry of relational alienation.

God is Jesus is experience experiencing in a way that I

don't fully understand, Alienation from not only his

friends, but from God the Father as well.

It's the curse of the cross. 2nd Corinthians 521 says God made

him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might

become the righteousness of God. Before the cross, we were cast

out of God's presence, cut off from his favorable presence,

separated from his love and his mercy and his goodness.

We were alienated from God. But now, because of the cross,

because of what happened on that day, that event, we are now

invited into the presence of God through only Jesus.

Because what he did on that day, right after the cry on the cross

that Jesus let out, Matthew writes that the curtain of the

temple was torn into top to bottom, not a single thread left

connecting the two, and that is absolutely significant.

The barrier separating man from God was ripped away by God so

that all the deserving sinners of hell could be welcomed safely

into the presence of God through Jesus.

So do we see how why the cross, what Jesus did on the cross is

so significant? You and I can't dream that stuff

up. Smartest man in the world can't

dream that stuff up. Yet the God of the universe

provided a way for you and I to have a relationship with him, to

be have a hope of heaven with Jesus one of these days.

What is happening here is so much more than just a nearly

naked man dying on a wooden post on the side of the road in a

nondescript part of the world. This is the holy God of the

universe giving his Son to die our death, endure our

condemnation, and suffer our separation.

That is so that that us wicked sinners can be declared

righteous when we come into God's presence.

All of history revolves around this scene.

We count time by what happened on that day.

Around that time, our year 2023, we counted because of that event

in time. So surrender our hearts to God.

Follow Him. Turn from turn from our sinful

ways. Believe what Jesus has done for

us. Believe in His gospel.

Repent, change our path. Confess Jesus as the Son of God

and be baptized for the remission of your sins.

We thank you for listening to our podcast put on by the Church

of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in Bakersfield.

If you would like any additional information or you would like to

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