He is not here Matthew 26-28

We are going to be in Matthew 26-28 today. If you want to go ahead and turn there.

During the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy allowed for substitute soldiers. Under the Enrollment Act of 1863, a drafted man could pay $300 or hire a substitute to serve in his place.

There’s a widely shared stories possibly more legend than fact from the Civil War era of a man who was drafted, but had a friend volunteer to go in his place. Maybe because the one drafted had a large family that he was responsible for or maybe some other reason. Then the friend that volunteered died in battle. Later, when the government tried to draft the original man again, he held up the death certificate of his friend and would say, ‘I’ve already died—in the person of my substitute.’

Today we are going to see that Jesus has paid a far greater price and has died in our place. Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. But we will ask has it changed everything for you?

It was Passover. And every year the Israelites would make the trip to Jerusalem for the weeklong celebration. During Passover Israel would look back and remember how God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt. They would take a lamb remembering how God had passed over the homes of those that had believed and obeyed God. Having put the blood of the lamb on their door post. Its estimated there were as many as a million Israelites that packed into Jerusalem and the surrounding areas for that Passover. And as many as 100,000 lambs sacrificed that year. But unknown to many, another lamb would be sacrificed, once for all. He is the lamb of God!

And so even though they knew that Jesus would be coming for Passover, the chief priests and religious leaders had planed to wait until the festival was over after the crowds had started to leave and go home, to arrest Jesus. But an opportunity to take Jesus out would soon present itself from within His group.

Jesus and His 12 celebrate Passover in the upper room. Judas leaves to get the armed crowd. Jesus and the other 11 go off to the Mt of Olives. After worshiping through a song Jesus goes off to pray. The hour was late even early morning as Jesus takes his 3 closest friends to keep watch as He prays.

3 times Jesus goes and prayers, take this cup from me. If there is any other way, Father. Yet Jesus submits to God the Father’s will. Yet not as I will but as you will. As we saw last week 3 times Jesus goes and pours His heart out to God. and 3 times he come back to find his closets friends asleep. Jesus had literally the weight of the world on his shoulders but Peter, James and John couldn’t keep watch for 1 hour. But as Jesus express his disappointment, here come Judas leading the armed crowd.

They arrest Jesus and lead him the home of Caiaphas the high priest. And bring false accusations against Him. But even with all these different testimonies the angry mob can’t agree with each other. They had to make up things. Because Jesus was without sin. Even though they didn’t like Jesus and even though they wanted Jesus taken out, they couldn’t go to the people nor to Pilate with, well I don’t like Jesus… so kill him.

Jesus remains silent. So the high priest steps in. He too wanted Jesus taken down, but he knew that he couldn’t take these false reports to Pilate. So he asks Jesus point blank. Are you the Messiah the son of God? Now if Jesus answers that He is the Messiah and it turns out that He wasn’t, this would be blasphemy. Which is what the high priest will accuse Jesus of. If Jesus claimed to be equal to God. If He claimed to be the messiah, even if Pilate and the Romans didn’t care. This would be enough for the high priest to turn the people against Jesus and the crowds could force Pilate’s hand. Look at Jesus’ response.

Matthew 26:64-65

Matthew 26:64–65

At this the crowd erupts He is worthy of death! And it’s at the point the physical abuse starts. Spiting on his face, slaps, hits and mocking Jesus. The high priest has enough to stir the crowds up and an angary mob will be enough to push Pilates hand.

Its early morning now. They come knocking on Pilates door. They wanted to act quickly while they had the momentum of the crowd. The confusion was to the religious leaders advantage. They needed Pilate to do their dirty work. But Pilate would do his own investigation and trial of Jesus. They knew that Jesus’ claim to being the Messiah would mean nothing to Rome nor Pilate. Rome cared very little about what the people they controlled believed or didn’t. As long as they paid their taxes and respect to Caesar and to Rome. So, someone leading a rebellion against the throne of Rome. That would get Pilates attention.

Pilate sees through the Jewish leaders lies. And he is amazed that even with all the accusations against Him, Jesus isn’t trying to defend Himself. He isn’t fighting for His rights. Jesus was silently taking the rap for something He was clearly not guilty of. Pilate knows it. He knows that Jesus is innocent. Pilate finds no grounds to hold Jesus let alone to have Jesus killed. But in the back of Pilates mind he knew that an angry mob could quickly turn into a riot in the packed-out streets of Jerusalem. Remember there was probably a million people in Jerusalem for Passover. Jerusalem was a powder keg and it wouldn’t take much to set it off. This worked to the religious leaders’ advantage, and led to Jesus’ death. A riot would be bad news not just for the Jewish community but for Pilate too. Rome would say, see you can’t even keep back woods Jerusalem under control.

Pilate offers the crowd a choice. It was their custom to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd, maybe even the movie Gladiator style. Thumbs up or thumbs down. So Pilate ask the crowd do you want me to release Jesus to you or Barabbas. They choose Barabbas. So then Pilate puts it back on the crowd.

Matthew 27:22-25

Matthew 27:22–25

Pilate wanted to wash his hands of this. He knew that Jesus was innocent, but he didn’t want the crowd to turn into a mob and then into riot in the streets of Jerusalem with already massive amounts of people. The powder keg was already lit and ready to explode.

Not because Pilate found Jesus guilty but to appease the crowd, and keep them from turning into a rioting mob, Pilate had Jesus beat and hands Him over to be crucified.

The Roman soldiers were experts at torcher and death. This was what they were trained for. They flogged Jesus. A Roman flogging was a brutal beating that always preceded the execution of a capital punishment on male offenders, though it was also enough in it’s own as a punishment (cf. TDNT, s.v. “mastigoō,” 4:517–9). The prisoner was stripped, often tied to a post, and beaten on the back by several guards using short leather whips studded with sharp pieces of bone or metal. No limit was set on the number of blows. Often this punishment was fatal.

On top of the physical beating, they mocked Jesus. They put a crown of thorns on His head and purple robe on his shoulders. Bowing before Him “hail, king of the Jews” striking Him. Then they lead Jesus out to crucify Him.

Jesus was so weak from the beatings that He couldn’t even carry His own cross. They forced a guy from the crowd, Simon from Cyrene, there with his kids, to carry the cross for Jesus. They lead Jesus out to the place of the skull. Probably on the main road in and out of the city. And they crucified Jesus between two criminals.

Now crucifixion wasn’t just to execute people, but it was also to set an example for all who saw. This is what happens when your cross Rome. Crucifixion was a long painful death. It wasn’t the nailing them to the beams that kill them. It was a slow suffocation. Many times, it would take days. The crucified would lose strength in the arms and legs that they would need to push themselves up to be able to breath. Over time as their breathing slowed and their hearts begin to weaken, their breathing shallows, fluid starts to build up around their hearts and lungs and they will slowly suffocate. A horrendous way to die.

As Jesus was hanging there dying, people would yell insults at him and mock him. Jesus had been tried and convicted of crimes he didn’t committee and He was being executed for these crimes that He was innocent of.

It was 9 in the morning when they first hung Jesus up on the cross. At noon darkness covered the land until 3pm. Jesus had reminded silent during the trials. He wasn’t guilty but He raised no defense. Jesus knew that He wasn’t guilty but He knew that we are. On top of the physical suffering that Jesus was facing, the emotional weight of being falsely accused and ridiculed. Jesus took on the sins of the whole world once for all. Even though He was without sin in that moment He took on himself the sins of the whole world. The full wrath of God on Himself. He cry’s out “my God, My God when have you forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:50-54

Matthew 27:50–54

Jesus breathed His last breath. When Jesus died the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple a thick curtain tore from top to bottom. One of the soldiers that had overseen Jesus’ execution in that moment recognized what the religious leaders didn’t. Surely this man was the Son of God.

Joseph on Arimathea one of the religious leaders that had not conspired to kill Jesus but had believed that Jesus was the Messiah asks Pilate for his body.

Pilate is surprised that Jesus was dead so quickly. But the soldiers who were experts in executions confirmed that Jesus was dead. So he buries Jesus quickly, because the Sabbath was coming soon, and they couldn’t do any work. So he buriers Jesus quickly, but some woman were there and made plans to come back and properly prepare Jesus body after the Sabbath. But what they didn’t know then was they wouldn’t have to. Because something amazing would happen. Something that would change everything.

Matthew 28:1-6

Matthew 28:1–6

Those 7 words would change everything for everyone. He is not here, He has risen!!

Jesus was without sin, but on the cross He took on the full wrath of God. You and I we all have sinned and what we have earned because of our sin is death. You and I deserve the wrath of God. But Jesus died the death you deserve. He has taken the payment you have earn with your sin on Himself. But then Jesus proves that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one of God, God’s son, when on the 1st day of the week, that Sunday He arose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. But has it changed everything for you?

A few months later, Peter and John, who had fallen aleep in the garden are now boldly preaching the name of Jesus. One day they will heal a lame man in the name of Jesus and when they are arrested for it, Peter testifies about this Jesus whose name they had done this act of kindness.

Acts 4:8-12

Acts 4:8–12

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is

“ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ k

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Salvation is found nowhere else. Because God raised Jesus to life. Because of the resurrection, salvation is found only in Jesus. Some people say that all the world religions are the same. But friends I will tell you that no other religion teaches that God became a man, suffered and died taking our place and three days later rose from the dead concurring sin and death. Salvation is found only in Jesus!

Now maybe your listening this morning and you have recognized that there is something wrong, missing, broken within you. That’s because just like me, you have sinned. And maybe you have tied everything to get out of that brokenness. Maybe you’ve tried to get ahead, maybe you have thought if I just have some more money or stuff, or success. Maybe you’ve worked really hard, maybe you have looked to relationships with others, think maybe she will completely me, or he will be everything that I’m missing.. Maybe you tried to forget about the brokenness, or to numb the pain of it and you’ve turned to the bottle or to drugs. Anything to numb it.

I want you to know that none of those things will fix it. Get rid of it. But God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to fix what you cant. Your brokenness caused by your sins. Jesus took on the payment of your sins on the cross. Jesus did for us what we needed most and deserved least. He came to pay a debt he didn’t owe. Because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. And salvation is found only in Him. And Jesus is calling you today to put your trust in Him, repent of your sins and come and meet Jesus in baptism today!

We are going to move into our time of communion and commitment and prayer. If you are ready to be joined with Jesus in baptism today or you want to talk about that I’m going to head out to the lobby come lets talk right now!

For those of us who already have communion is a reminder of the gospel, the good news, is that even though Jesus was innocent He was counted as guilty to take your place. Jesus died to pay your debt…but God… 3 days later raised Him to life! And salvation is only found in Him. Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. But has it changed everything for you?