You can turn to Matthew's gospel. We're in chapter 27. We've been moving through the passion narrative in Matthew's gospel for our Lord's Supper services. Tonight, our focus is on verses 32 to 38, but I'll begin reading in Matthew 27 at verse 32, and I'll read to verse 54.
Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, 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 a skull, they gave him sour wine mingled 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 two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another 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 what 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 will 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 sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And 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? Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, this man is calling for Elijah.
Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to 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, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion 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. Amen.
Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we come to holy ground and we pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us and to lead us and to direct us as we ponder, as we meditate, as we consider the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that this was the greatest travesty in terms of justice on the manward side that ever has been. He was without sin, He was without crime, and nevertheless He was executed. But as we read in the prophet, it pleased Yahweh to bruise Him.
We know that this was the predetermined plan of God Most High, that the Son, the surety of the covenant, would take upon himself the obligations that his people had, that he would take upon himself their sin and ultimately be punished in their place. God, what a glorious truth this is, and what a blessed reality that you've included us in this redemptive plan. Forgive us now for all of our sins, wash us in that blood of Christ, and cause us to feast upon your holy scripture. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen.
Scripture Reading
Well,
Introduction
the section I read deals with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Notice in verses 32 to 38, we have the crucifixion proper. In verses 45 to 54, the mockery of Jesus while he is on the cross. I'm sorry, 39 to 44.
We have the death of Jesus in 45 to 54. And I think the apostle was right on in Hebrews 12 too. He says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. So in verses 32 to 38, we highlight or we see highlighted the visible shame.
And then in verses 39 to 44, we see the verbal shame. So there was this violence perpetrated upon the son of God, but it was accompanied by mockery, just like the soldiers mistreated him, not only with physical pain, but also with mockery. So do the children or rather the people of Israel.
The Way to the Crucifixion
So I want to look at this section, verses 32 to 38 under two broad considerations. First, the way to the crucifixion in verses 32 to 34, and then secondly, the act of crucifixion in verses 35 to 38. So we're going to just slowly move through each of these verses to see the meaning and hopefully encourage our own hearts with reference to the Savior's love on our behalf. So three things specifically with the way to the crucifixion.
We note first the bearing of the cross, verse 32. Secondly, the location of the crucifixion in verse 33. And then this offer of a drink in verse 34. Seems a bit enigmatic to us, seems a bit puzzling, but it was a fulfillment of scripture and it was the common practice at that time.
But
Bearing of the Cross
notice with reference to the bearing of the cross. Verse 32 says, now as they came out, The idea is not that they've come out of the praetorium where Pilate heard the case and where Pilate sort of made his determination concerning the execution, but rather they came out of the city. Executions occurred outside the city walls. The idea being that the blood of the criminal would defile the holy city.
And they certainly did not want that. In the Old Testament, for instance, when the blasphemer was to be stoned to death, he was to be driven outside of the city. Remember in that situation in Acts chapter 7. When they undertake to get rid of Stephen, they do the same thing.
They drive him outside of the city. But perhaps the most pointed commentary on this is found in Hebrews chapter 13. It does reflect the custom in the Old Testament of taking the victim's ashes outside the camp. And in Hebrews 13 at verse 11 or verse 10, we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate. So this was purposeful. This was in accordance with the law.
This was in accordance with what God had determined. Now notice that the Lord carries the cross beam to the gate of the city. Now the vertical pole was already at the execution site, so the victim, or rather the criminal, would have sort of the horizontal beam and it would be his responsibility to carry that to the execution site. This accords with the Greek historian Plutarch.
He said each criminal as a part of his punishment, carries his cross on his back. So he takes that to the site, and then when he gets there, the condemned criminal bore it on his shoulders to the place of execution, where the upright beam of the gibbet, you've probably seen that word before, it simply means the upright or vertical beam, was already fastened in the ground. The victim was then made to lie on his back on the ground where his arms were stretched out and either tied or nailed to the cross member. The cross member was then hoisted up along with the victim and fastened to the vertical beam.
Now, I'm going to make the point in a few moments that the gospel writers don't do what so many in the history of the church have done. They celebrate the physical torture of our Lord Jesus, or if not, celebrate, actually highlight it and rehearse it in great and vivid detail. The gospel writers don't do that, but nevertheless, it is helpful and important for us to understand Christ according to his humanity, what he went through on our behalf, not in some stations of the cross in a Roman Catholic sort of a situation, but to have at least a general idea of the significance of crucifixion. Notice as well that the soldiers compel Simon to carry the crossbeam.
Most likely that was due to the sleep deprivation of our Lord. Again, he is truly man. He got tired like we would get tired. He got thirsty like we would get thirsty.
He got hungry like we would get hungry. True humanity, everything that is true of us was true of him, except of course, the sin. And so Jesus had been sleep deprived. Remember, he's up all night, all Thursday night, all morning, early Friday morning, he's before the Sanhedrin, and then about six or seven in the morning, they take him over to Pilate.
So he had had no sleep, he had already been scourged by this time, and he had been physically abused by these soldiers as well. So they compelled this man, Simon, to carry the crossbeam at least for a while. Now Cyrene, notice in the text, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Cyrene was a Greek city on the coast of North Africa, in what is today Libya, with a Jewish population.
It's referred to in Acts 2, and as well in Acts 6. Mark 15.21 refers to his sons as Alexander and Rufus, which may indicate that they were known by the Christian community. In fact, in Romans 16.13, as Paul is sending his greetings, there is a particular fellow there by the name of Rufus. Now, France makes this observation, and I think it's fitting.
He says, Jesus' known disciples whom he had earlier told to be ready to carry their own cross after him, he says that in chapter 10, he says that in chapter 16, were nowhere to be seen now that the moment for literal obedience to the demand had come. Remember that the disciples had departed from Him. Jesus is all alone. There's no outward support.
There's no humanity. There's no assistance. There's no friend going with Him to the very final point. It's Christ and Christ alone doing what He does for the salvation of His people.
So the bearing of the cross then leads secondly to
Location of the Crucifixion
the location of the crucifixion. Notice in verse 33, and when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say place of a skull. Now the parallel in Luke's gospel at 23, 33, it simply says skull. If you're using the New King James Bible, it's translated there as calvary.
Well, that reflects the Latin word for skull, which is calva. And so in Luke's gospel, it simply refers to the place called skull. Here it says specifically the place of a skull, translating what Golgotha means. And it was probably called that because of its topography.
It may have looked like the place of a skull. As well, its use. It was the place of execution. So that would be a fitting and appropriate thing to identify it as.
But I think a careful reading of the passage, what we spoke of this morning in the Sunday school hour, not just the analogy of scripture, but the analogy of faith ought to intimate or indicate something we know about the Messiah and skulls. In Genesis chapter 3 at verse 15, the first announcement of the gospel is given. God says to the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. So it is quite fitting and appropriate that at the place of the skull, Jesus is going to deal the death blow to the devil himself.
And so this place of execution is specifically notorious in terms of the historical context, but it's also something that reeks of, or smacks of, or is reminiscent of a whole great deal of biblical revelation. Now you've got to remember, after God gives that promise in Genesis chapter 3, there's a lot of enemies of God that meet their end with fatal head wounds. There are a lot of enemies of God, as you trace through the Old Testament, that meet their end with fatal head wounds. David cut Goliath's head off.
That is the typology of the skull crushing seed of the woman. You have jail, take that tent peg and drive it through the head of Sisera, that man who was coming to do great damage to the people of Israel. You had that woman up in the tower who throws that big stone off and it deals a death blow to the man of Bimelech. You see reminiscence of this or allusions to this all throughout the Old Testament.
And so this is not a stretch. It's not allegorical. It makes perfect sense in light of that first promise concerning the mission of the Messiah that he would be crucified at the place of the skull. Now
The Offer of a Drink
notice thirdly, under the way to the crucifixion, the offer of a drink in verse 34. It says, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Now again, this was a compassionate practice during execution.
Jewish writings tell us this. When one is led out to execution, he is given a goblet of wine containing a grain of frankincense. In order to benumb his senses, for it is written, give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto the bitter of soul. It is written in the Proverbs.
And so they understood that, particularly with reference to this. And it does underscore the reality that at least to some degree, when the Jews crucified or rather executed people in their society, they showed a degree of compassion. But that compassion is gone now. That compassion is nowhere to be found.
The they, the subject of the verb, the ones giving him the drink, were the soldiers. There were four in total that actually administered the crucifixion to our Lord Jesus. We learned that from the parallel in John 19. Notice that Jesus refuses this.
What the emphasis suggests is that this was in fact nasty. They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. This basically means a substance with an unpleasant taste, something bitter, something galling. So Jesus refuses their perverse attempt at compassion.
He'd rather not have that. But as well, if you listen to the definition or you listen to the particular custom, it was to benumb the senses. It was an act of compassion, not just to satiate the desire for thirst, but to numb him to some degree so that the horrors of crucifixion wouldn't be as acute. Jesus refuses that.
Jesus does not opt for that. Jesus rather takes the very wrath of God and the wrath of man unto himself. But as I mentioned earlier, there is a scriptural allusion. While it's not given a fulfillment formula here, we have Psalm 69, 21.
They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. France says the allusion to Psalm 69 identifies Jesus as the righteous sufferer who in that psalm is ill-treated because of his loyalty to God. And that's something conspicuous as you move through each of the gospel records, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One of the things that they take pains to demonstrate is that this was in fact the fulfillment of the scripture.
You're not supposed to ever think, well, this was a plan B. You're not supposed to ever think that Jesus somehow failed and this is the alternative. You're not supposed to ever think that Jesus came and offered the kingdom to the Jews and the Jews refused it. And so Jesus turned his attention to the Gentiles.
You're not supposed to think that. There was never a plan B in the mind of God. Everything that Jesus does in terms of his life, his suffering, his death, his resurrection, had been prophesied after the giving of the first gospel promise in Genesis 3.15. You see that built upon, you see it amplified, you see it explicated, you see it applied to the coming Messiah.
And so the Lord Jesus Christ is not engaged in an afterthought, rather the Lord Jesus Christ is fulfilling scripture every jot and tittle. Now
The Act of Crucifixion
notice secondly, by way of a broad observation, the act of crucifixion. And here we have five points. First, the act of crucifixion proper, verse 35a. Secondly, the division of the garments in 35b, the observation of the guards in verse 36, the charge above his head in verse 37, and then the company of criminals in verse 38.
Again, all of these things have their taproot in the Old Testament scriptures. But notice the act of crucifixion. Verse 35a.
The Crucifixion Proper
Then they crucified him. That's it. They don't get into a celebration or a rehearsal of every jot and tittle of the physical torment perpetrated against our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, France makes the observation.
The over-enthusiastic attempts to draw out the physical horror of crucifixion, which disfigures some Christian preaching, and at least one recent movie, the movie he's referring to at the time that he wrote his commentary, would have been The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson. So he says, the over-enthusiastic attempts to draw out the physical horror of crucifixion, which disfigure some Christian preaching and at least one recent movie, find no echo in the Gospels. Perhaps the original readers were too familiar with both the torture and the shame of crucifixion to need any help in envisaging what it really meant. When you watch or rather think through these things, again, if you were not brought up Roman Catholic, you don't understand this point.
They do celebrate it. They do rehearse every jot and tittle, every step of the way, every bit of the nitty-gritty. That's not what the gospel writers do. Ritterbos, Herman Ritterbos makes the similar observation.
The New Testament has no trace of any passion mysticism oriented to the physical torture of Jesus. Now having said all that, it is imperative that we at least scratch the surface and understand what is involved in crucifixion. Remember, true humanity, true divinity. One person, two glorious natures.
Well, according to his humanity, Christ suffered, and Christ suffered severely. And I'll let D.A. Carson describe for us what crucifixion in the first century looked like. He said, in the ancient world, this most terrible of punishments is always associated with shame and horror.
It was so brutal that no Roman citizen could be crucified without the sanction of the emperor. You see that? It was so bad that you could not be crucified if you were a Roman citizen at the command of the emperor unless you were especially notorious. It was typically reserved for revolutionaries.
It was typically reserved for insurrectionists. it was typically reserved for traitors to the civil state. That's the way you crush the opposition. Again, back to Carson. He says, stripped naked and beaten to pulpy weakness, the victim could hang in the hot sun for hours, even days.
To breathe, it was necessary to push with the legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity open and functioning. Terrible muscle spasm wracked the entire body. But since collapse meant asphyxiation, the strain went on and on. This is also why the sedecula, that's a little piece of wood that you see at the feet.
I mean, you know, we've seen the art, we've seen the pictures to be sure. But when they hung a man, they had a little block of wood so that he could find purchase on that and prolong his suffering. See, asphyxiation meant you would basically strangle. You would die of no air intake, no oxygen.
But that little block of wood kept you fighting. It kept you in the fight. It kept you, you know, pushing upward and still getting gasps of air into your body. He says, this is also why the sedecula prolonged life and agony.
It partially supported the body's weight and therefore encouraged the victim to fight on. So that's why when it comes time to determine whether the subject was dead or not, if he wasn't, they would break his legs. They would break his legs in order to hasten his death, because he would no longer be able to fight. But of course, when they come to the saver, they recognize that he's already dead, so they don't have to break his legs.
Again, that is in fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. Now
Division of His Garments
notice secondly, in terms of the division of his garments, verse 35b. Then they crucified him, this is again the Roman soldiers, and divided his garments, casting lots. Now, if you're using a non-King James tradition Bible, the rest of verse 35 is not present. Verse 35 in the King James tradition says that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet.
They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. Now that is the fulfillment formula while absent in the modern translations based on a particular text type, it is present in John 19. So again, this is fulfillment of Scripture. But let's look at it for a moment.
Then they crucified him, verse 35, and divided his garments. What does that mean? It means he's naked on the cross. It means that it's not just the physical abuse and the torment, but it's the shame.
Who? Despising the shame, the apostle says in Hebrews chapter 12 at verse 2. When it comes to the crucifixion, again, we don't celebrate it with the sedations on the cross, but we must understand what happened in order to appreciate even more fully the Savior's work on our behalf. So the division of His clothes necessarily implies that Christ is naked on the cross.
And that was the common practice. That's the way they did it. And in addition to that, the division of his clothes was a perk for the Roman soldiers. They each got a portion of the clothing.
That's how we know there were four of them, because in John's gospel it says that the garment was separated into four, and they were given each to a soldier. And so this was a perk, again, the common custom at that time. But Matthew's particular purpose, John's particular purpose is to show us that this is a fulfillment of Psalm 22. Now, as far as Psalm 22 goes, Psalm 22 was written several hundred years before the crucifixion of our Savior.
Notice that it was written about the crucifixion of our Savior. At that particular time, there was no Roman Empire. At that particular time, as far as we know, there was no practice of crucifixion in Israel. And nevertheless, David, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes concerning his greater son that he will be crucified, that he will be hung on a cross.
Not in those terms, but in that concept, or in those themes, he presents that material several hundred years before it comes to pass. Now, notice thirdly the observation of the guards. Two things we ought to appreciate here. First, there's a contrast.
And secondly, Matthew might have an apologetic mindset. Notice the contrast in verse 36. Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Sitting down.
He's suffering. He's tormented. He's naked. He's the subject of mockery and brutality.
He is the subject of the grossest form of punishment that the world has ever known, and these guards sit out. There is a contrast between the suffering of the son of man and the comfort of the non-sons of men, or rather the soldiers that were just having their late leisure. But notice what Matthew says, they kept watch over him there. I believe that to be an apologetic thrust.
Why? Because there have been those who have suggested that Jesus really didn't die on the cross, that his disciples came and they pulled him down from there and they shimmied him off. And there he recovered and there he went about doing things. And it was ascribed to him that he had been raised from the dead. that can't fly in light of a passage, were guards whose job it was to make sure that very thing didn't happen, were sitting and watching and observing the whole entire situation.
The soldiers guard the scene. There was no exchange of Jesus with someone else. There was no removal of Jesus from the cross prior to his death. There was nothing out of the ordinary in this execution as far as the guards were concerned.
They put him on the cross, they divide his garments, they then sit down and there they supervise the scene. There was no monkey business. This was an ordinary crucifixion. Everything went according to plan, not just in terms of the divine plan, but in terms of man's plan.
That was what they did. If these four men supervise the execution, you better believe they had done it before. They were good at it. This was their job.
This was their task. This was their assignment. And so here they sit, they guard the scene, and nothing out of the ordinary transpires. Carson says, perhaps Matthew gives us this detail to eliminate any suggestion that Jesus was removed from the cross without dying.
But as well, there is this allusion to Psalm 22, 17. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. So even when one of these authors don't give us the exact fulfillment formula, when one of these authors don't say, this is what was spoken in the prophet whoever, that doesn't mean there's not allusion.
That doesn't mean we're not supposed to think theologically in terms of Genesis to Revelation. That doesn't mean we're not supposed to consider the implications of Psalm 22. and it's teased out and fleshed out in other parts of the passion narrative. Now,
The Charge Above His Head
notice, fourthly, the charge above his head. They put up over his head the accusation written against him. Now, they would do this as a deterrent. They would do this as a means of publishing to the body politic, if you do what he did, you're going to get what he got.
So, there was a reason that the charge was placed overhead. There was a reason that the charge was published. It was to, hopefully, de-incentivize anybody from ever going that particular route. And so, again, common custom that obtained at that particular time.
As well, notice the taunting effect that this would have had both on Jesus, the supposed criminal, and as well, the Jews themselves. This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. France says, placed over a man dying in agony and disgrace, it was both a cruel joke and a powerful deterrent. Matthew Poole, the 17th century commentator, says there was nothing more pleasing to Pilate than this, as he thought, to deride the Jews as having such a despicable person as, he judges him, their king.
So it was a dig at Jesus and it was a dig at the Jews and it was a deterrent for the body politic that they themselves should never make a claim to kingship in that empire. But one of the things that happens in the gospel narratives, one of the things that happens is a fulfillment of Psalm 76. In Psalm 76, the psalmist says that the wrath or even the wrath of man shall praise you. There are instances and times where the enemies of Christ speak much better than they know.
For instance, in Luke's gospel, chapter 15, when all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to hear Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees, they complain, they murmur, they grumble, and they say, this man receives sinners and eats with them. That was meant as a derision. That was meant as an insult. But for those of us who have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to receive, we rejoice in that.
We bless God that this man receives sinners and eats with them. There's another instance, look at John chapter 11. John chapter 11, just underscoring that at times the enemies of Christ spoke better than they knew. John chapter 11, they're wondering, this is pre-cross, pre-crucifixion, what are we gonna do with Jesus?
So in 1145, then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For this man works many signs.
If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. Now those of us who love the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, we do one of these at this point. We're very thankful that that is what Caiaphas says concerning the Lord.
It was expedient, especially for guilty, vile, helpless sinners like us, that the one would die for us. Caiaphas isn't speaking in terms of a positive commendation of substitutionary atonement. Notice in verse 51, now this he did not say on his own, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for that nation only, but also that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Here was an enemy of Christ who spoke much better than he knew.
So going back to Matthew chapter 27 at verse 37, and they put up over his head the accusation written against him, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. There is a universal testimony here, both in Luke and in John, it indicates that this was published in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. So every language at that time, in that region, not at that time, but in that region, was able to see the charge specified. As well, Pilate insisted upon this.
In John's gospel, in chapter 19, around 20 to 22, the Jews say, oh, no, no, right, this is the king of the Jews. say that he claimed to have been the King of the Jews. And Pilate insists, what I've written, I have written. And then as well, it's an accurate testimony. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Again, not meant as a commendation of his life, death, and resurrection, not meant as a commendation of his gospel, not meant as a commendation of his mission, meant rather in derision, meant rather as a deterrent meant rather as a mockery against him and against the Jews. But nevertheless, even the wrath of man shall praise you. Matthew Henry said, so Pilate, instead of accusing Christ as a criminal, proclaims him a king. And that three times in three inscriptions.
Thus God makes men to serve his purposes quite beyond their own. Another thing that you see as you move through the passion narrative, yes, the fulfillment of scripture, but always and constantly the sovereignty of God. It wasn't like this was a glitch in the system. It wasn't like for this timeframe, for this horrid and wretched day, it was as it were, God left the throne and man went to seed in terms of just how wicked and how bad he is.
No, God's sovereignty is conspicuous all throughout this And then
The Company of Criminals
notice finally, the company of criminals. Verse 38, then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. If you would have seen that, who would you have thought was the most notorious of that? Probably the one in the center.
Probably the one in the center, which would have been Barabbas if the Jews had not said, give us Barabbas. And when Pilate says, what shall I do with Jesus, your king? They said, away with him, away with him, crucify him. There was going to be three crucifixions that day.
These two robbers on either side of Jesus. Robbers, I think I've explained before, isn't just somebody who deprives another person of their goods. That would not have been a capital offense. That would not have been a crucifixion offense.
They were insurrectionists. They were traitors. Along with Barabbas, they were probably trying to overthrow the empire. There was that vein.
There was that spirit at that particular time. So these are two bad dudes. But the one in the middle, you would conclude, was the ringleader. You would conclude that he was the worst of the bunch.
Calvin says that this underscores further the indignity inflicted upon the Son of God. He says, for they assigned him the most prominent place, as if it had been, as if he had been rather, the prince of robbers. And then this again fulfills scripture. The two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left.
Again, no fulfillment formula. Mark has fulfillment formula, but the particular text is Isaiah 53. We read that at the outset. Because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
So brethren, as we walk through the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we understand that it was horrific. It was horrendous. It was such a punishment that a Roman citizen without the special permission of the emperor could not receive this as their punishment. Christ had never done anything.
The apostle celebrates that in Hebrews chapter seven. He was holy, harmless, and undefiled. This is the length to which he went in order to save us from our sins. We don't like it when somebody doesn't smile at us.
We don't like it when somebody doesn't treat us with the dignity and the respect that we feel is owed to us. We don't like it when there's a bit of shame in our life. Look at what Christ went through on behalf of guilty people like us. It truly is amazing and should underscore to us how important it is that we worship and we glorify and we honor Him.
Application
Some concluding thoughts. In the first place, the testimony of Pontius Pilate. He's a wretch. We dealt with him as a wretch as we moved through the Passion narrative.
He wasn't a minister of Christ. He wasn't set apart by the church. He wasn't one identified and qualified and given the spirit, but nevertheless, Pilate testified truly concerning our Lord Jesus. He confessed three times the guiltlessness of the Savior at the time of the trial.
And here in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, he publishes the truth that this is the King of the Jews. The testimony of Pilate, he spoke better than he knew. Secondly, the triumph of the skull-crushing seed of the woman. The promise made, as I've already rehearsed, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed.
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. I think it's good for us to rehearse this once again. This is pivotal in redemptive history. The identity of the seed of the woman.
There's a collective sense, all of the people of the of God, but there is one identifiable seed, Galatians 3.16, it is Jesus. The nature of the seed, he will be born of a woman, he will be a man. The Redeemer, the victor, the one who brings triumph to his people, isn't an angelic being, rather clothed with our humanity, he comes, he lives, he dies, he's raised again. And then the victory of the seed, he crushes the head of the serpent.
That was prophesied in Genesis 3 at verse 15. It's furthered along typologically with the death of the enemies of God all throughout the Old Testament. It comes to fruition at the place of the skull wherein Christ deals the death blow to the devil. John 12, 31 affirms that reading.
Acts 26, verse 18 affirms that understanding. Colossians 1, 13. Colossians 2, 15. Hebrews 2 at verse 14. 1 John 3, verse 8.
Revelation 12. Revelation 20. We have the skull crushing seed of the woman who delivers the death blow through his death at the cross. And then in that prophecy in Genesis chapter 315, there's even an allusion to the crucifixion.
Again, not detailed the way we get it here in Matthew's gospel, but notice what the text says. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head. He shall crush your head.
He shall destroy you. That's the prophecy. But then notice, and you shall bruise his heel. It's a comparative statement.
The head of the serpent is gonna be crushed. the heel of the Savior is going to be bruised. So we see or can conclude or infer that it will come through suffering, that this deliverer will render the death blow. But where does a serpent typically bite? The serpent typically bites at the heel, and the particular serpent in view was most likely a venomous and poisonous serpent.
Listen to Michael Reitlnick. He says, since in the context the tempter has taken the form of a serpent, it is likely that the tempter's blow would be equated with a serpent's bite. And in the case of this animal, the Hebrew generally uses it to speak of a venomous and lethal snake. Most likely, therefore, the text is speaking of two comparable death blows.
The future Redeemer will strike the head of the tempter and thereby kill it. And at the same time, the tempter will strike the heel of the Redeemer and kill him. So Genesis 3.15, the proto-gospel, contains in seed form all that the rest of the scripture is going to amplify and apply to our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would be the seed of Abraham. that he would be a man born of a woman, that he would render full and decisive victory for the people of God in conquering the devil, and that he would do that through his own suffering and his death. So Genesis 3.15, foundational to biblical revelation, and we see some practical fulfillment here that Christ is crucified at the place of the skull.
And then finally, the immeasurable love of the Savior. the immeasurable love of the Savior. You see that very clearly in the Passion. In the first place, He was stripped naked so that we might be clothed with His righteousness. He was stripped naked so that you and I might be clothed with His righteousness.
Calvin says, for the evangelists, exhibit to us the Son of God stripped of His garments in order to inform us that by this nakedness we have obtained those riches which make us honorable in the presence of God. Secondly, he was numbered among the transgressors that we might be received in glory. Brethren, if you think biblically for, oh, about a half a second, you will see that's what you deserve. That's what I deserve.
My sin, your sin against a holy God, we should be publicly shamed. We should be publicly vilified. We should be publicly crucified for our crimes against the majesty of God. But Christ takes our place.
That's the beauty of substitutionary atonement. The righteous one suffers for the unrighteous many. Caiaphas was right. It is expedient that one dies for the nation.
Only he didn't mean it the way the prophet Isaiah does in Isaiah 53. So he's numbered with the transgressors so that we might be received in glory. And then thirdly, he was crucified that we might have everlasting life. Matthew Henry says, and when we behold what manner of death he died, let us in that behold with what manner of love he loved us.
When we behold the manner in which he died, let us behold in that the manner of what love with which he loved us. That, my brothers and sisters, is a great exhibition of the love of Christ for his people. The altogether lovely one, the chief among 10,000, went to these lengths in order to save us from our sins.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for its clarity concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Thank you for these fulfillment passages that indicate and show us the consistent testimony of Holy Scripture that sets forth the scope of the whole, that demonstrates that it's God's glory and the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ.
And Lord, thank you again for including us in this plan. Thank you for your mercy and for your grace. Thank you that tonight, as we come to this supper, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Thank you for this privilege.
Thank you for the spiritual blessings that you have conveyed upon us. And God, continue with us now, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.