Matthew 27: 32-66

Today we covered Matthew 27: 32-66. For those of you who have children entering the 5^th Grade….just to bring you up to speed.  We are finishing the book of Matthew.  We will take a few weeks and cover the book of Jude.  Then we will begin in September with the Book of Romans.  We will be going through the book verse by verse.  We will walk the children through each verse asking the 5 W’s and H, plus draw Storyboards that coincide with the verses and show them how scripture interprets scripture.  We will email you an overview each week – so you know what your child is learning ….plus some additional information in case you would like to go deeper. 

Most of the kids are very familiar with Matthew 27 on the surface.  We are trying to help them see some of the deeper things going on with the culture of the day and why things happened the way they did.  Also sharing a few meanings of Greek/Hebrew/Latin words that have different meanings that what they appear to be.

Attached are pictures that your kids drew of the StoryBoards listed below.   They should be able to look at these and tell you exactly what took place in Matt. 27: 32-66.

Matthew 27:  32-66

Vs. 32-44 The Crucifixion

Who carried cross for Jesus?  _____________  of Cyrene (an area in Northern Egypt)  He was in Jerusalem for the Passover and probably didn’t know anything about Jesus.

Where did they place the cross to crucify Jesus?  A place called  _____________  (none of the gospels mention that this area is specifically on a hilltop – which is often what we think of). 

Golgotha means “skull” and Calvary is the Latin word for “skull”

Scripture tells us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour, which is 9 in the morning, the Jewish day beginning at 6AM

After Jesus was on the cross, what did they offer Him to drink?  Wine, mixed with gall

Why didn’t Jesus drink it?

What did the soldier divide by casting lots?  His garments

Why did they hang a sign over His head on the cross? 

What did the sign read?  This is Jesus the  _____________ of the Jews

Who was crucified alongside Him?  Two  _____________

Who mocked Him?  Those passing by, the chief priests, scribes, elders and the two robbers

Vs. 45-56 The Death of Jesus

How long was there darkness over the land?  3 hours  (from noon until 3pm….the middle of the day)

What did Jesus cry out to God before giving up His Spirit?  My God, My God, why have You  _____________  Me?

What events took place as soon as Jesus died?

Ø  The  _____________  of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom

§  What was behind the curtain of the temple? (ark of the covenant/mercy seat) …..Holiest of Holies

Ø  The  _____________  shook (an earthquake)

Ø  The rocks were split

Ø  The tombs were opened

Ø  Bodies of deceased saints were  _____________; they came out of their tombs and appeared to many

Ø  The centurion and those with Him were filled with awe and said “_____________  this was the Son of God!”

Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world, the righteous heavenly Father had to judge Him fully according to that sin.


·         The Father forsook the Son because the Son took upon Himself “our transgressions, our sin” (Isa. 53:5).

·         Jesus “was delivered up because of our transgression” (Rom. 4:25)

·         He “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).

·         He “who knew no sin [became] sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21)

·         He became “a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).

·         “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet. 2:24),

·         He “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet. 3:18),

·         He became “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Vs. 57-60 Jesus is buried

Who buried Jesus’ body?  _____________  of Arimathea

Read Luke 23: 50-53 (Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the  _____________  _____________)

Read John 20:38-39  Who assisted Joseph of Arimathea?   _____________  

Read John 3: 1-10 Who was Nicodemus?   A   _____________

These men risked their lives and their reputation by showing compassion and alliance to Jesus.

Where did they bury Jesus?  In Joseph’s new  _____________

What did they roll in front of the tomb?  A large  _____________

Vs. 62-66 The Guard at the Tomb

Why did the chief priests and the Pharisees ask Pilate for a guard at the tomb?  Because Jesus said “after three days I will  _____________

What did the guards do when they arrived at the tomb?  They _____________ the tomb with the stone and set guards outside.

Storyboards

1.       Simon from Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross

2.       Jesus on cross – with sign above Him “Jesus – King of the Jews”

3.       The 2 thieves on crosses on each side of Him are mocking Jesus

4.       Darkness for 3 hours from Noon until 3pm

5.       Christ cries out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

6.       Curtain torn in two

7.       Earthquake and Rocks split

8.       Tombs opened & Dead people were raised and appeared to many

9.       Centurion at foot of cross said “truly this was the Son of God”

10.    Joseph and Nicodemus take Jesus and bury Him in a tomb

11.    Guards placed in front of sealed tomb

Quotes from the John MacArthur Study Bible regarding the Gall that Christ refused and the 3 hours of darkness:

We talk about Calvary because Calvary is the Latin word for skull. They were headed to Skull Hill, a hill identified as Skull Hill probably because it looked like a skull. And they took Him there. And when they got Him there, verse 34 says, "They gave Him wine to drink, mingled with gall." Gall was a narcotic and gall was used to bring about a certain kind of restfulness on the victim of crucifixion. You say, "Was it for mercy?" No. It wasn't for mercy. It wasn't to alleviate pain. It wasn't to minimize pain. It wasn't to diminish suffering. It was for one reason, they gave it to the victim before they crucified him so that they could crucify him. Because any...any power left in the person would cause him to fight, to prevent what was happening from happening. And in order to be...in order to be able to lay that victim down and drive those nails through his hands and feet, they had to put him in some kind of a more tranquil condition. And it says there, "After tasting it, He was unwilling to drink, He spit it out."

                                                                           

And verse 37 says, "They put up above His head the charge against Him which read, 'This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.'" This was cynicism at its best, sarcasm for sure. Sarcasm directed back at the Jews. This was Pilate, and when they said, "We don't want that up there," Pilate said, "Whatever I've written, I've written, I'm not changing it." It was a blast at the Jews who had blackmailed Pilate to kill an innocent man and so Pilate identified Him as their king. They wanted him to put up, "He said he was the king," Pilate said, I'm not going to change it." There we meet the ignorant wicked.

Christ died then to satisfy the wrath of God, and therefore to proclaim God as righteous and holy and consistent, and yet gracious and merciful. But while Christ died for God, God was no indifferent bystander. No passive onlooker at the events of the cross. Rather, God was divinely active. And God manifest himself at the cross in the things that were occurring as we read starting in verse 45 of Matthew 27. Here we see God acting. Again, not a passive bystander. Not an indifferent onlooker. But divinely active. God puts on a display at the cross that can easily be missed.

First of all, there is, in verse 45, the indication that from "the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour." This is the first act of God. This is the first divine work. This is the first miracle, if you will, and it lasted, darkness, from 12 noon to 3pm. Scripture tells us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour, which is 9 in the morning, the Jewish day beginning at 6AM, three hours of light had passed until the sun was at its apex, from 9 to Noon. During those three hours, Jesus had broken his silence three times. Once he said, Father, forgive them, for they no know what they do. And then he said, to the penitent thief, truly today, you will be with me in paradise. And then he said, to his own mother, woman, behold, your son. Son, behold your mother, and put his own mother in the care of John. Each of those first three sayings on the cross are expressions of his compassion and his grace. In one, he asks the father for forgiveness for the very ones who crucified him. In the next, he welcomes a wicked man who repented into heaven. And in the third, he shows compassion to his own mother. Each showing grace. Each showing mercy, even in the midst of his suffering. But at noon, when the sun is at its zenith, an astounding miracle is done by God, and it's God's first commentary on the events. Darkness all over the Gaea in the Greek, translated it's a G and a long E, and it's a word for earth. Interestingly enough, in the annals of Roman history, it is recorded that there was darkness over the known earth at this time, as indicated by the early father origin in his writing against Celsius. We don't know the extent of it. We don't know if it covered the whole Earth. It certainly covered as far and wide as Roman history could record. This was not something totally unusual for God to do to interfere with the Sun. He had done it on several other occasions. Once, he had caused the sun to stand still from a human viewpoint, although from a scientific viewpoint, for a time, the Earth stopped revolving all together. On another occasion, he caused the sun to move backwards so that it moved backward on the sundial. On another occasion, in Egypt, he blackened the sun as a part of the horrible plagues that fell.

But on this occasion, Luke uses a word eclaipo, which means to fail utterly. It's as if he turned the sun off. This is an eclipse, some say. But an eclipse in the middle of the month, which is the time of the Passover? That's impossible, because it's full moon on the opposite side of the earth. This is supernatural darkness. This is a divine miracle, and it is God's first commentary on the events there. Darkness in the Bible is a symbol of judgment, obviously. God's salvation is spoken of as light. God's judgment is spoken of as Darkness. Hell is even called outer darkness.

And God was affirming by the darkness that the cross was judgment, the place of the severest, most comprehensive divine judgment, then and there on Jesus Christ. And since God only judges one thing, that is sin, it is a judgment on sin. God then affirms that he is judging our sins in Christ, as we heard tonight in Isaiah 53, he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement to produce our peace fell on him, and by his stripes, we are healed.

The darkness then is God's commentary, God's way of saying that his fury is unleashed on Christ. Here is judgment on sin, born by the innocent sin bearing substitute. But there is more. Verse 46, and this is something only our Lord could know. "About the ninth hour," 3:00 in the afternoon, the end of the time of darkness, "Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Only he would know that God would have forsaken him. And by the way, it says he cried out, and it is literally the Greek word for scream. After six hours of immeasurable agony, three of them in total darkness. After six hours, the feeling, the fury of the wrath of God upon him, as his sin bearing comes to a climax, he is strong enough to cry and express the sense of alienation he feels for the first time in eternity from God. And by the way, this is exactly what Psalm 22:1 says he would say. It is the fulfillment of that prophecy which says the same thing, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

There is truly a biblical famine in America – we meet and hear of so many who don’t know God’s Word or Truth for themselves.  So…. For those of you who hunger for truth and desire to be fed during the week…..below are audio Bible expositions of Matthew 27….. from Verse by Verse Bible Teachers.

Mike Fabarez – Good Friday Message:  http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=43014174181

Steve Lawson – Matthew 27  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4610219267

Charles Spurgeon – Matthew 27:45  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7310510818

John MacArthur – Matthew 27 (one of many of his sermons on this chapter)  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=325161351443

Don Green – Matthew 27  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3281612333010 

The Darkest Hour By Don Green Bible Text: Matthew 27:45-46 Preached on: Friday, March 25, 2016 Truth Community Church 4183 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road Cincinnati, OH 45255

Website: truthcommunitychurch.org  (If you have not heard Don Green …. He goes deep into expository preaching.  He was on staff at The Master’s Seminary and was a Sr. Pastor at Grace Community Church before responding to the call to start a church in Ohio.  He has a wonderful series on the Psalms – verse by verse ….. all his sermons can be accessed via their church website).

May you all have a blessed week and have the courage to share the good news!

In Christ’s Love,

Mike & Kim Armstrong