Matthew 27:45-54 "Truly This "Was" the Son of God?"

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Good Friday. What makes this Good Friday good?

Is it candy? Certainly plenty of that to come.

Not that. Maybe it's people.

Maybe it's the focus.

But more than that, it's the cross of Christ.

This is good in the purest sense of the word.

Not an enjoyment sense, but a holiness.

The cross.

The vertical relationship between man and God,

which changes every relationship that we have here on earth.

If one is right, the other is affected.

So we have an opportunity to focus tonight.

So let's do that.

Let's look at Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 through 54.

Matthew 27:45–54

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, lama sagbaktani?

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,

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 the rocks were split.

The tombs also were opened,

and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

And coming out of the tombs 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 and what took place,

they were filled with awe and said,

Truly, this was the Son of God.

darkness,

cries,

mocking,

waiting,

doubt,

innocence,

betrayal,

pain,

unimaginable pain,

fear,

hope,

death,

earthquakes,

open tombs,

peace,

this was a day like no other.

What would it have been like to be there?

To see the darkness

in the middle of the day?

To hear the cries of Jesus on the cross?

To hear those mocking one you loved,

or perhaps to be the one mocking

that you doubted?

To see the innocence,

to know he was innocent and he was betrayed,

and to see his pain and his screams.

He's looking up and screaming.

And to see fear and hope and then death.

The words of the centurion,

they,

in verse 54,

they,

and the people that were with him,

they sum it up,

what it would have been like.

Truly,

this was the Son of God,

he said.

Now,

this was a man who had the respect

and commanded so many.

We don't know if he really believed.

Some translations say,

a son of God,

but he was in shock.

Utter shock.

Imagine,

if you're there,

you see this,

you turn and you see the temple curtain torn,

this massive thick curtain

that no man could rip,

but it's torn straight down the middle.

And what used to separate you

from going into God,

where you had one go on your behalf,

you could now see straight through.

It would definitely mess with your mind.

Here's the truth.

We remember that Jesus said,

these things had to happen.

Right?

There's no life

if there's no payment for sin.

There's no payment for sin

if there's no bloodshed

and there's no forgiveness of sins,

past,

present,

and future,

unless the bloodshed

is of one greater than time itself.

And there is no one greater than time itself

except for the author of time.

Truly this was

the Son of God?

Is Jesus

just a was

to you today?

Or as Revelation says,

is he a was

and is

and is to come?

He was there.

He was here.

He did die.

And it was

so that we will be with him forever.

But for now,

if we were there,

silence.

The disciples,

we would see them scatter.

We would see the fear in their eyes.

We would see them weeping.

We would see them hiding.

We would see them trying to comfort.

We would see some hope.

And today,

in our silence,

in our hearts,

don't we scatter?

Don't we fear?

Don't we weep

if we admit it?

Don't we hide

and we comfort

and we're just clinging on

to find some hope?

Do we really understand

the meaning of this cross?

We have an opportunity

to focus on that.

One of my friends

texted me a few weeks ago

that they saw

that Hershey's was selling

a chocolate cross.

He said,

is this sacrilegious?

You know,

we can't sugarcoat this.

I'm not trying to knock Hershey's,

but do we really get

what's going on here?

Dan Doriani writes

that the cross

was originally an emblem

of pain,

shame,

criminality,

and death.

R.C. Sproul says

that the cross

is tragedy and victory

in the same moment.

It's scandal

and honor,

defeat and triumph,

shame and esteem.

The cross represents

the great suffering

of Christ

and the suffering

far transcends

physical pain.

It's more than

a human death.

It's an atonement.

Atonement.

What does that mean?

It's,

in Christian thought,

an atonement

is that act

by which God

and man

are brought together

in a personal relationship.

The term was originally

from an Anglo-Saxon word,

meaning making at one.

So, hence,

at one-ment.

So,

it presupposes

that there's a separation

that has occurred

between God

and man

and that human beings,

if we're to know God,

to have fellowship

with God,

there has to be

an atonement

to make us one,

an at-one-ment.

This was the most

torturous instrument

of death

and punishment

that existed.

Think electric chair.

Okay?

This was, though,

the only way

for the way.

And it was our sin

that nailed him there.

My sin,

your sin,

made God the Son

bleed and die.

Our sin

caused the death.

Our disobedience

split his side.

Our brokenness

crowned him

with thorns.

Our darkness

crucified the light,

the one who is life.

In him was the life.

And the life

was the light

of men,

but the light

shines in the darkness

and the darkness

has not overcome it.

Verse 45 says that,

tells us about

this darkness.

From the sixth hour

there was darkness

over all the land

until the ninth hour.

This was not

a normal darkness.

It wasn't like a storm.

This would have been

understood as

dark in daylight.

Imagine the sun

went out.

And this would have

meant that it was

dark from noon

until three o'clock.

The Jews and the Greeks

would have understood

this darkness

as an omen.

It was an omen

of judgment.

Jesus here

was enduring

God the Father's

judgment on sin.

His cries of anguish,

they were true

because he was

separated

from God the Father

in this moment

in outer darkness

so that we may be

welcomed into the

Father's arms

in eternal light.

Verse 46

says that,

Jesus cried out

with a loud voice

saying,

Eli, Eli,

lama sagwaktani.

That is my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

Why have you

forsaken me?

Forsaken.

What does that mean?

It means to abandon.

It means to leave.

It means to reject.

The innocent one

who has known

nothing but intimacy

with his Father

is for a moment

completely rejected.

And it's because of us.

God can't look upon sin

and smile.

A righteous judge

cannot not punish

or he is no longer righteous.

Yet Jesus chose

to do this

to do this

for us.

Dr. Doriani writes

that at the moment

when Jesus bore our sin,

the Father was distant

because he was too pure

to look upon sin.

So for those moments,

Jesus was forsaken,

abandoned,

rejected.

Yet the Father

did not forsake him

absolutely

or forever.

We know this.

He still loved his son.

He never forgot

his plan

to reconcile

our lost race

to himself.

As soon as Jesus

finished bearing our sin,

fellowship would be restored

perfectly

and forever.

After that cry,

my God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Why me?

He had pain.

But after that moment

came the death,

that eerie

silence of death.

If you've ever been around it,

you know it

and you never forget it.

Christ's body

was lifeless

and still.

And in these moments,

when it seems

that God is gone,

he's very present.

He's overcoming death

and killing it

and allowing a relationship

to take place

between us

and him.

He's killing

and conquering death.

And in three days,

everybody will see.

But for now,

silence,

darkness,

grief.

But in the silence,

God is working.

In the darkness,

God is working.

In Jesus' cries,

God is working.

In Jesus' unimaginable pain,

God is working.

And in Jesus' death,

God is alive.

But why?

Why that death?

Again,

atonement.

Somebody had to take

the wrath of God.

Blood must be shed

to forgive the offense.

Light cannot exist

in darkness.

So he died.

So that your sins

can be forgiven.

So that you may know

the love of Christ.

That you may know

the love of God

through faith in Jesus Christ.

So that you can be certain

that in your darkness,

God is working.

And in your cries,

God is working.

And in your pain,

right now,

God is working.

And in your death,

if you have faith in Christ,

you may be alive

forever

with him.

But don't miss the good

in this Good Friday

because sometimes

in the darkness,

it's hard to see

the beauty,

isn't it?

One time I was driving

down 431

over the mountain

and on one side

of the mountain,

there was light

and sunlight

coming down.

It was beautiful.

I could see every detail

of the trees.

But on this side,

it was dark

and everything was blurry.

The same beauty existed,

but the darkness clouded it.

Well, in this darkness

is light.

In this darkness

is beauty.

Because the light

was conquering the darkness

and in the darkness,

God is shining.

And here's the beauty.

That you, sinner,

me, sinner,

are guilty of killing

the Son of God

with our sins.

Yet,

you are offered freedom

from the punishment

that you deserve.

Why?

Because it is finished.

To tell us die.

It is finished.

Every drop of blood

has paid

for every sin

that you can possibly commit

or conceive

or think about.

But,

only if you receive

that payment.

You do have to take it.

And that's called faith.

Verse 50,

you see that Jesus

cried out again

with a loud voice

that says

he yielded up

his spirit.

That means that he died.

He was still in control.

He had authority

to give up his spirit.

But you were worth it.

But what did that accomplish?

Two things.

Two big words.

Propitiation

and expiation.

That's what the atonement

accomplished.

The death of Christ,

as R.C. Sproul writes,

was both a propitiation

and an expiation.

Propitiation refers

to the turning away

of wrath

by an offering.

God's wrath

is now satisfied.

His justice

is met

by the sacrifice

and the blood

of Jesus Christ.

Expiation refers

to the covering

of sins.

By the atonement,

the at-one-ment,

our sins

are now removed

from us.

The atonement

satisfies both

the demands

of God the Father

and the needs

of Christ's people.

That such a double

transaction

can be achieved

by one person

and one event,

R.C. Sproul says,

is a matter

of eternal glory.

This was no

ordinary death.

This was a payment.

This was a mission.

And the mission

was accomplished.

Paid in full.

Completely successful.

It is finished,

as Dan Doriani writes,

means that God's

displeasure with us

is finished.

If you have faith,

acknowledging

your need

for forgiveness

and your inability

to achieve it

on your own,

if you believe

that He died for you,

and you have

certainty in the things

not seen,

the eternal things,

then He promises

to adopt you

into His family

as brothers,

as sisters,

as daughters,

as sons of the

Most High God,

Yahweh,

heirs of His kingdom.

Do you believe

this?

Do you believe

in Jesus Christ?

Maybe you're here

and you have

and you've forgotten

your way.

Maybe you're here

and you never have.

it's never too late

to turn to Christ

until we don't have

the opportunity anymore.

You know,

knowing someone

who knows about Jesus

is not the same thing

as knowing Jesus.

Reading a book

is not the same thing

as knowing the author.

I was with a man

this week,

a dear man,

and I asked him

when he came to know Jesus

and he said,

well,

later in life,

but he realized

that he was religious

for so long

that he had no relationship.

Are you religious?

America is very religious.

There's a difference

between religion

and a relationship

with the creator

of the universe.

For me,

I sat at 16 years old

not knowing anything

about Jesus

in a room of people

who prayed to him

for an hour

and I realized,

I have no idea

who you're talking to.

I started asking questions

and I've been different

ever since.

Do you believe

that if you just read

the medicine bottle

that tells how

it's going to cure you,

that it's the same

as taking the pill?

Well,

Christianity

is the difference,

the difference

between Christianity

and every other religion.

I've heard it said

it's the difference

between two words,

doing and done.

What are you doing

to try to make

that relationship

right with God

because Jesus

has already done it.

This is the only religion

that offers

true relationship

with God

on your behalf,

asking nothing of you

but to believe it.

that we may be

children of light

shining as stars

in this dark world.

Do you believe that?

Do you believe

that you can shine

the love and the redemption

and forgiveness of Jesus

everywhere you go?

That's why he died.

That you have a purpose

right now.

Whatever you do,

wherever you work,

he will use you

to change this world.

It can be a smile,

it can be a hug,

it can be a listening ear,

it can be a shoulder

to cry on

but he's using you.

I'll tell you what,

it's not a paycheck.

You don't have to work

for God's love.

This father loves you perfectly

and the only time

that he had that wrath

against you,

his son took it

for you.

If you've ever held

a baby in your hands

and think how beautiful it is,

that's what God thinks of you

if you have faith

in Jesus Christ

and it's all because

of what happened

on that cross.

You're free

to love

and to be loved.

And to hurt

and to be healed

and to hope.

After Jesus died,

three significant things

happened.

The curtain temple

was torn

from top to bottom.

This meant that now

we can approach

the throne of grace

with confidence

because there is one

who is both man

and God,

whose sacrifice

paid for the sins

of the people

temporarily

and eternally

forever.

And he reigns

in heaven

guaranteeing

that that is true.

And the temple

being torn

shows that you can

walk straight to God.

Now,

you don't need anybody

but the great high priest

Jesus Christ.

Then there was

an earthquake

because the foundation

of the entire cosmos

was shaken.

Sin has been forgiven

and now Jesus

is going to make

all things new.

All of them.

You ever thought

about that?

I want to visit

another planet

with Jesus one day.

I can.

You can.

He controls

everything.

And then the tombs

were opened.

People really walked

out of the grave.

Christians who had

fallen asleep

as they call it.

This was a

cataclysmic

event.

God is Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

and Jesus is God

and his death

offers us

cleansing

forever.

Relationship

with God.

He really is

who he said he was.

And he's not just a was.

He's the son of God.

Not a son

or a God.

He offers you

eternal life

and he paid

the death penalty

for your sins.

And he offers you

his perfect righteousness.

I don't want to

sugar coat this cross.

I don't want to

put chocolate on it.

On this cross,

this instrument of death

and destruction,

Jesus absorbed

the wrath of God

that you deserve,

that I deserve,

and he offers you

eternal life.

This is serious,

y'all.

It's serious.

Do you know Jesus

as your Savior?

Know him.

Does he know you?

If you don't,

remember the Passover?

There was the angel

of destruction

and it passed over

all of those

who had the blood

of the lamb

on their doorposts.

If you don't

know Jesus,

you're saying,

I don't want you

to pass over my sins.

I think I can do it better.

I think that

wasn't enough.

I'll take it from here.

And the wrath

that you will absorb

is in a place

called hell

that is a very real place.

I don't want anybody

to go there.

Jesus spent more time

talking about that

than any other place.

And I don't say that

to scare you.

I say that to let you know

that Jesus is the only way.

And I don't want you

to choose to pass over that.

The free gift

offered to you

because it would be

payable at your death.

Hell is also

what he took

on the cross

so that you don't have to.

Did you know that

John Calvin,

the great theologian,

he struggled

with the Apostles'

Creed phrase,

he descended into hell.

Not the accuracy of it,

but where it was placed

in the actual creed.

Rather than

the traditional order

which says,

who suffered under

Pontius Pilate,

was crucified,

dead,

and buried,

he descended into hell.

Calvin wanted it

to be reordered

to say,

who suffered under

Pontius Pilate,

was crucified,

descended into hell,

dead,

and buried.

Why?

Because Jesus received

the punishment of hell

while he was on the cross.

The punishment

that he saves us from.

But he saves us

for something great,

to renew the world

until he renews

the entire cosmos.

On the cross

in the silence,

God was reconciling

sinners to himself

as he absorbed

the wrath of God,

suffered the hell

that we deserve,

and now offers us

the eternal life

that only he could hurt.

But now death is dead.

Love has won.

Christ has conquered.

Is Jesus just a was,

as the centurion

and those looking on said,

or is he your Savior

who was,

and is,

and is to come.

There's no more payment

necessary because it is finished.

And if you let Jesus

pay the debt,

you are free.

Free to have a relationship

with God.

Free to have purpose

and meaning in life

like no other.

And free to live forever.

How do you accept that gift?

You simply ask,

help me,

Lord.

ask him to give you that gift.

I love you.

You're not alone.

You have a purpose.

You have a place

to belong

in God's people.

Don't wait to ask.

It's never too late.

Let me pray for us.

Father,

you're real.

And people in here

need you

in so many different ways.

I don't know where they are,

but I know they hurt

because they're human.

And Lord Jesus,

I pray

that if anyone in here

does not know you,

that they would simply

right now

ask,

come into my life.

thank you for dying for me.

Give me the purpose

and meaning

I'm looking for

in everything besides you.

And if they're here

and they've known you

for a lifetime,

give them the fervor

that only you can give

of the Holy Spirit.

Remind them

of who you've called them to be

and fill them,

Lord Jesus,

with the power

that we will hear about

on Sunday.

We love you

and we lift these things to you

only in the name

of the atoning one himself,

Jesus Christ,

who we believe.

Thank you for paying our debt.

It is in his name

that I walk straight

into the Holy of Holies

and say,

I love you, Dad.

Amen.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.