Victory over death part 7

April 10, 2020

Today is “Good Friday.” On the time line of the final week of Jesus’ earthly life, it is the day on which He is crucified. It is a dark, horrific, and insane day. I’m going to look at the event from Matthew 27:41 – 54.

In fact, today is the most spiritually insane day in the history of the world. How so? I’m glad you asked!!! Let's take a look at it.

The people who should have known were the instigators. “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.” [Matthew 27:41 NIV] The "chief priests" were what the Old Testament called the “High Priest.” Here it is plural because the Romans had put term limitations on the office for political reasons, so there was more than one that had occupied that office. He was responsible for the spiritual health of the people. He was the one who entered the "holy of holies" once a year on the Day of Atonement. If the nation was spiritually pure he was allowed to live.

The “teachers of the law” were the Biblical scholars of Jesus' time. It was their responsibility to know and teach the Old Testament. They were the lawyers and judges of the day, giving decisive answers to matters of religion. This class of Levites was set up by Ezra in a national revival at the end of the Babylonian captivity. The “elders” were the political leaders of the day.

Despite all this responsibility and knowledge, they mocked Jesus, “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God” [Matthew 27:43 NIV] This mockery had been prophesied by King David. “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." [Psalm 22:7 -8 NIV]

Jesus gave witness to this prophecy when He quoted the first line of Psalm 22. Their minds would have known the rest of the text, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out joint. My heart has turned to wax: it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd (a broken piece of pottery), and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” [Psalm 22:14 – 18 NIV]

• Verse 14 describes the effect of crucifixion on the heart. When Jesus' side was pierced with the spear, water and blood flowed out. 
• Verse 15 describes the dehydration experienced by someone on the cross. The soldiers gave him vinegar to drink. This was a drink called “Posca,” cheap wine that had gone bad. Roman soldiers mixed it with water, salt and something to flavor it for an ancient version of Gatorade. One idea of crucifixion was to keep the victim alive as long as possible, to insure the greatest amount of misery, suffering, and despair.
• Verse 16 describes “the dogs” that “have pierced my hands and my feet.”  The term "dogs" was a way some Jews referred to Romans. Crucifixion involved Romans nailing Jesus' hands and feet to the cross.
• Verse 17 describes the effect of having the cross set up, more likely dropped into place dislocating many joints. Isaiah writes 700 years before Jesus, “...his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” [Isaiah 52:14 NIV] Basically, a casual observer would only have seen tattered skin, meat, and an assortment of disjointed bones hanging on the middle cross.
• Verse 18 refers to the Roman soldiers who cast lots for Jesus clothing.

As usual, there is a “twist” in the story. The people who could not have known figured it out! "When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, 'Surely he was the Son of God!"' [Matthew 27:54 NIV] Imagine, those with no prior knowledge of Scripture came to the correct conclusion. These were professional solders, one was a high ranking officer. In other words, this conclusion was made by intelligent, not superstitious, cowardly men.

Everyone now has a choice to make for themselves. It’s not dependent on prior knowledge. In fact, what we THINK we know can mislead us. We can be blinded by defending territory and theology. The choice is dependent on experiencing Jesus personally. Jesus is not a philosophy, theology, or mystical experience. Our decision cannot be accurately based on culture, training, world-view, or what we want our theology to be… It is experiencing the love of God (the Father), through Jesus (God the Son).

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” [Romans 5:8 – 11 NIV]

All the human misery is our choice. We inflict them on others for our own reasons. I cannot stress this enough. God does NOT send people to Hell. Eternity in Hell is chosen by each person over the love, forgiveness, and grace of God demonstrated by Jesus on the cross. God has offered victory over death… but that’s a story for another day.