“Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:32-66 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ³⁴ they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. ³⁷ And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸ At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying,⁴² “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him^[k].” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. ⁵⁶ Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

⁶² Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

Today’s text begins saying:  As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.  And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.  In just these first three short verses there are two powerful messages to us as believers. Galatians 6:1-5:  Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.   We are to help to bear the burdens of others when they struggle, even as Simon bore the weight of the cross for Jesus. Unlike with Jesus and Simon, for us it is  particularly when they are overtaken in a trespass. Here is the thing about bearing their burden though: we are to do it to help them to be restored, not to enable them to continue being overtaken by sin. Simon of Cyrene bore the cross of Jesus, when His human body was unable to carry it because of the physical violence He endured. Simon though, could only carry the cross to the place where Jesus was to be crucified. Only Jesus could bear the sins of the world, on the cross, that all those overtaken by sin could be restored. We too, when we bear the burdens of others, can only carry them to the cross. There we must lay them down. Each person must then choose whether they will leave those burdens at the cross and be restored through Christ, or continue to bear their own load. None of us can carry the weight of sin for another person, but like Simon, we can carry them to the place Christ was crucified, that they may leave their burdens there and be restored.

The text says:  When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.   Gall was commonly given to those who were to be crucified, to numb them and render them insensible to pain. Jesus was unwilling to drink this numbing tonic. He refused to lessen or reduce the price He would pay to bear the sins of the world. If He, like others were dying for His own transgressions, it would have mad sense to cater to self and eliminate the pain. But, Jesus bore the sins of the world and to pay for sin in full, He had to endure the consequence of sin in full. Romans 6:23 says:  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Jesus paid in full, dying a painful death so that we could have the gift of life.  

Later, the text continues:  Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”   Darkness fell upon the earth because Jesus, the Light of the world was being taken out. Today, we see darkness falling over much of the world. We see darkness in many places because we have taken the Light of the world out from them. Our schools are filled with violence and immorality because Jesus has been taken out. We choose violence, immorality and darkness in our entertainment, rather than Light. Darkness is falling, but Jesus the Light will return and for now He says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:14-16)  Jesus said:  “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Of all the pain and anguish that Jesus felt, with all the physical torture and trauma He endured, nothing was as difficult for Him as the anguish of being separated from God the Father, by the sin of the world. At that moment when all of the darkness of the world was placed on Jesus, God had to turn away because sin cannot be in the presence of His holiness. Jesus was forsaken for our sake.   

Again, the text continues:   And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “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 veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”  That the veil was torn from top to bottom signified that it was done by God. That it was completely torn in two signifies that there is no longer a need for separation between man and God. The text says Jesus cried out with a loud voice. John 19:30 tells us what He cried out: “It is finished!” There is nothing else we can do. Jesus paid in full. The centurian said:  “Truly this was the Son of God!”  In John 3:16 Jesus says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Finally, today’s text ends saying:  Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.   Today, as then, there are many who will go to great lengths to disprove who Jesus is; what He said and what He will do. Like the chief priests and the Pharisees, they will not be able to stop Jesus. He is the Light of the world. He has overcome the world. In John 11:25-26 Jesus says:  “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”    Do you believe this?

Heavenly Father thank You for demonstrating Your love and sending Jesus, Your Son to die and pay the price for my sin in full. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ that You endured the pain and the suffering, that for my sake You were forsaken. You died so that I could live. Thank You Holy Spirit for empowing me to help others, to bear their burdens to the cross and to be the Light of this darkened world I believe.   Amen.