The Centerpiece Of All History And The Determinant Of Our Eternity

Pilate's guilt then leads us to the soldiers: stripping, scourging, mocking, beating, and spitting on the Son of God. They took the dreaded whip, which was full of bone or lead bound into leather thongs, and lashed Jesus' body to a bloody pulp. After that, they twisted a crown of thorns into His head, put a scepter in His hand and a robe around His naked body, and bowed down in mockery, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." Then they spit in His face and led Him away to a cross (vv. 27-31). Crucifixion was the most degrading of all ways to die. One writer described it this way:

The authorities dealt with Jesus cruelly, but we shouldn't get the impression that it was only the Roman and Jewish leadership, along with the Roman soldiers, who were responsible for Christ's crucifixion. See also the response of the crowds: ridiculing, reviling, and shouting at the Son of God. Those passing by shook their heads derisively, saying, "The One who would demolish the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" (27:40). We shouldn't comfort ourselves by thinking that we wouldn't respond like those in power, for no one responded to Jesus rightly. He was ridiculed by the average person on the street.

In the middle of all of the rejection, what was potentially most disheartening was the reaction of the disciples: betraying, denying, disobeying, scattering, and deserting the Son of God. Among Judas (26:47-50), Peter (26:69-75), and the other disciples (26:55-56), no one proved faithful. After three years of walking with Jesus, His closest companions deserted Him at His darkest hour.

Having seen the rejection of Jesus by different groups of people in Matthew's account, including Jesus' own disciples, we might be tempted to see the problem of sin and wickedness as being a problem in the lives of other people. However, we need to tremble at the horror of wickedness in our own lives as well. The characters in this story embody the same sin and rebellion that exists in our hearts, and like us, they need God's grace. Consider, then, which character you most identify with in the passion narrative. Would it be

C. J. Mahaney's response is perhaps most appropriate:

When you read Matthew 26-27, tremble at the horror of wickedness in your own heart.

On the surface, Matthew 26-27 is about the horror of wickedness in the crucifixion of Christ. We're taken aback by the sin of those who rejected Christ, and this is a reminder of the darkness of our own hearts. However, below the surface, another theme emerges: the humility of Jesus Christ. The cross is significant not ultimately because of all the physical suffering that comes to mind, though Christ's physical and bodily death are obviously essential to our salvation; the cross is ultimately significant because of the spiritual realities that converged in this one moment in history. There are depths of truth to be explored and uncovered in this scene, and I have highlighted three key words aimed at probing these depths. These three words are based on three significant events in these chapters: the Lord's Supper (26:26-29), the garden of Gethsemane (26:36-46), and Jesus' cry from the cross (27:45-50).

First, the humility of Christ is evident in His substitution: Jesus died our death. Scripture is clear that the payment for sin is death (Rom 6:23), but Jesus had no sin, so why are we reading a story about His death? Because He is our substitute. When we read of Christ's death in these chapters, we are seeing Him die in our place.

Beginning in verse 17, Jesus is celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, a meal they ate every year to remember God's deliverance from Egypt (see Exod 12). For Passover, the Israelite homes were instructed to slaughter a spotless lamb and then put its blood above349 their doorposts. When God came in judgment on the homes of the Israelites and the Egyptians, He would put to death the firstborn son in any home that did not have blood over the doorpost. God provided the blood of a lamb, a substitute sacrifice, to save His people from the payment of sin. God's people would celebrate this meal every year, taking these lambs to be slaughtered. The Israelites would gather together in their homes and remember the original Passover night in Egypt. With that backdrop, Jesus refers to the cup in the Last Supper as signifying "My blood," which is "shed for many for the forgiveness of sins" (26:28; emphasis added). He is the Passover lamb (Exod 12) who saves us with His blood. When God's wrath and judgment come, we hide under the blood of a substitute sacrifice, Jesus the Lamb of God, and we are saved.

The account of the Last Supper also connects Jesus' death with the law God gave to His people. He is the covenant keeper (Exod 24) who seals us with His blood. Jesus refers to "My blood that establishes the covenant" in Matthew 26:28, and this is the only time the word "covenant" is used in Matthew's Gospel. Jesus is alluding to Exodus 24, when the law-covenant that God had given His people at Mount Sinai was confirmed. In Exodus 24:8 Moses sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words." This was a picture not only of God's forgiveness, but also of His binding of the people to Himself in relationship. Now, with Jesus' death, we have a new covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:25-27) sealed not with the blood of an animal sacrifice, but with the blood of the Son of God Himself (Heb 10:1-18). He is our substitute sacrifice, and He has died the death we deserved to die.

The truth of Christ's substitutionary death is good news for sinners. Before the cross, we were headed to eternal death; because of the cross, we now have eternal life. At the Last Supper, Jesus promised His disciples that they would again drink of the fruit of the vine in His Father's kingdom (Matt 26:29). Those who trust in the substitute sacrifice of Jesus will live forever! We even see a foretaste of this promise of new life following Jesus' death and resurrection. Matthew tells us about the bodies of saints being raised (vv. 52-53), and while there is disagreement over how to understand this event, it is clear that Matthew portrays the death of Christ as that which makes resurrection to life possible for all who trust in Him.350

The second key word in this scene is propitiation: Jesus endured our condemnation. This word "propitiation" appears in Romans 3:25, where we read that God "presented [Christ] as a propitiation." A propitiation refers to something (in this case Someone) who turns aside wrath by taking away sin. This idea of propitiation only makes sense when we understand the character of God. It is because of God's holiness that His wrath must be satisfied. When Jesus went to the cross, He endured the wrath that we deserve; He is our propitiation. This point comes through clearly as Jesus cried out to God in prayer in Gethsemane. One commentator has called this a passage that we must "approach upon our knees" (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, 406). Similarly, D. A. Carson writes, "As Jesus' death was unique, so also was his anguish; and our best response to it is hushed worship" (Carson, Matthew, 543).

In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus prayed to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane. He was preparing to be betrayed, arrested, and eventually crucified. In His anguish, He cried out, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will" (v. 39). It's important to understand what Jesus means when He refers to this "cup." The cup of the cross is not primarily physical suffering; it is predominantly spiritual suffering. What is causing Jesus such anguish here is not the prospect of what is about to happen to Him physically, but the prospect of what is about to happen to Him spiritually. We know this because of the way Scripture talks about the cup:

In the Old Testament, the cup is a metaphor for God's wrath. This same imagery is picked up in the New Testament in Revelation 14:10, where John speaks of the judgment coming to those who have worshiped the beast, for they will "drink the wine of God's wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger." Realize, then, that Jesus was not a coward about to face Roman soldiers; He was a Savior about to experience divine wrath. When Jesus went to the cross, the full cup of the wrath of God due our sin was poured out upon His Son. Jesus was enduring our condemnation. Behold the wonder and the beauty of the cross:

Before the cross, we were afraid of God; because of the cross, we are now friends of God. And all of this is because of the propitiation of Christ's death. He endured the wrath of the Father that we might experience the love of the Father.

The third word that helps us explain the cross is reconciliation: Jesus suffered our separation. When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?" in verse 46, He was suffering separation from God for our reconciliation. The cry on the cross is not a cry of unbelief, confusion, or despair. Jesus was not doubting the Father, and He wasn't confused about what was happening to Him. We shouldn't understand His cry from the cross as if He were saying to His Father, "Why are You doing this to Me?" He knew everything that was going on at that moment; in fact, He had foretold this moment (Matt 17:22-23; Mark 9:31), and He had willingly submitted Himself to it (John 10:17-18). He was confident in the Father even as He experienced abandonment.

Jesus' cry on the cross was a cry of physical agony, spiritual anguish, and relational alienation. He quoted from Psalm 22, and understanding that psalm is key to understanding this cry. Much could be said about the themes in this psalm and their relation to the crucifixion, but for352 now we should note that this was a cry of physical agony as Jesus physically hung on the cross. Psalm 22:14-16 captures this physical anguish:

Jesus' physical anguish was very real and His suffering was intense. However, as we noted earlier, Jesus' cry on the cross was also a cry of spiritual anguish. Jesus experienced the wrath of God, and not just for a moment, but for hours. Shrouded by darkness and seared with pain, He experienced the cup of God's wrath. In addition, this was also a cry of relational alienation. In a mysterious way, Christ was alienated not only from His friends, but also from the Father. This is the curse of the cross (see also Gal 3:13). As He came under the sentence of sin, Jesus was cut off from the Father's favorable presence. God's presence was real at the cross, but it was His presence in judgment and wrath toward sin.62 Jesus was given the full recompense of our disobedience. This is what Paul speaks to in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Martin Luther spoke of this exchange:

Jesus experienced the separation that we as sinners deserve, so that we might receive reconciliation. That is the effect of the cross for all353 who trust in Jesus. Before the cross, we were cast out of God's presence; because of the cross, we are now invited into God's presence. This entrance into God's presence is why, right after Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (27:51). The barrier separating man from God was ripped away by God so that hell-deserving sinners could be welcomed safely into the presence of the infinitely holy God of the universe. Do you see now why the cross is so significant? What happened on the cross was so much more than a naked man dying on a wooden post on the side of the road in a nondescript part of the world. This was the holy God of the universe giving His Son to die our death, endure our condemnation, and suffer our separation so that we could be declared righteous and welcomed into His presence.

All history revolves around this scene in Matthew 26-27, and all our lives are determined by what we do in response to this scene. At least two responses are appropriate as we think about the cross. First, surrender your heart to God. If you are an unbeliever, turn from sin and trust in Christ. Do not seek to add to His infinitely gracious and worthy sacrifice, but instead repent and embrace this free gift of salvation. If you are a believer, continue daily to trust in Christ, your substitute. Stop toying with sin and pursue the One who died to set you free from it.

Second, the cross ought to compel us to proclaim the hope of the gospel. The gospel is the greatest news in all the world. Many people know that Jesus died, but they don't know why. They don't know why the cross is the centerpiece of all history and the determinant of our eternity; but you do! So tell them, and pray for their salvation. Let everyone know that the Son of God has come to save sinners, and that He has given His life on the cross for those who deserve His wrath. This is the good news, and it is our great privilege to proclaim it.