SCRIPTURE BY Doug Smith
Scripture Lesson text: Matthew 27:38-54
Related Scriptures: Psalms 22: 1-18; Isaiah 53: 3-12; Luke 23: 32-47
Hallelujah! In this lesson we find ourselves at the place of Jesus’ crucifixion, on a hill called Golgotha,(Calvary). In these scriptures we find ourselves intertwined in the conversations that were taking place, the behavior of the people that witnessed this event, and the mockery of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Even though they had witnessed the miracles, signs, and wonders that Jesus had already performed, they refuse to believe that he was the Christ! This event gave evidence that the scriptures were being fulfilled concerning His ministry and purpose, our salvation was being secured by His shed blood, and the chasm between us and God had been filled for believers. His crucifixion allowed all who believed in Him, to go to God for themselves.
Psalms 22:1-18 begins with, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”. Even though this psalm was written hundreds of years before the arrival of Christ, Jesus uttered these very words before yielding up His spirit. The structure of this prayer are prophecies of the suffering of the Messiah.
In Isaiah 53:3-12, these verses speak of the Messiah, who would suffer for the sins of all the people. The Prophet Isaiah gives us more detail of the things that our Christ would suffer. And it also gives us reference to the fact that Christ would become the sacrifice for our sins, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”(vs.5). In Luke23:32-47, we find Luke’s account of the scene at the place where Jesus was being crucified. In Luke’s narrative, we received a little more detailed information which includes, the superscription that was posted on the cross stating, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”.
SYNOPSIS BY Janice Hall
Today we look at Matthew’s account of the Crucifixion, which was to present Jesus as a teacher even greater than Moses. Matthew’s story is parallel to the gospel of Mark, but offers deeper descriptions. There were two criminals, one on the left, one on the right, as Jesus was right in the center of sinful humanity, thus fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12. In order to bring salvation, Jesus on the cross had to withhold His power as Son of God. If he chose to save himself, we would have lost our chance to be saved.
Jesus is mocked by a battalion of soldiers and taken to be crucified, and is mocked for not being able to save Himself. They mocked Him as the Son of God, as a believer who trusted in God, and as a King and Saviour. Jesus last words in Matthew 27:46, and Mark 15:31 were the same, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”. In Luke 23:46, “ Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and in John we read…” It is finished “. After three hours of darkness, Jesus dies.
At the moment of His death, the veil of the temple ripped and there was an earthquake, which opened the tombs of the dead saints who arose after Jesus resurrection. Jesus bore indignity, cruelty, ridicule, mockery, humiliation, torture, rejection, and our sin, so we could stand before God without blemish, holy, clean and pure. He withheld salvation for Himself, so He could offer it for you and I.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION BY Charlene Brown
Here we are approaching Holy Week once again and most of us, whether believer or non believer, will hear, see, or engage in some type of conversation, see an advertisement or watch a movie or docuseries around The Passion of Christ. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for believers is tangible evidence of not only God’s love for us, but also the love of Christ to humbly submit Himself as a sacrificial offering for us sinners.
We all were brought forth in iniquity and in sin did our mothers conceive us. For we are all sinners by nature and deserving of the consequences for our sins. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus bore it ALL for us that we may be right with God. That alone is an unfathomable display of unmeasurable love, a love that should drive us to our knees with such a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving coupled with praise on our lips and worship in our hearts for such a selfless act of redemption.
Not only did Jesus pay the ultimate price for our sins, He made a way for our redemption, a way to be reconciled with God. Just imagine if you will, the visual of that moment when the priest witnessed the veil being torn from the top to bottom. My God, what a sight! This metaphor was used by God to allow us to visually wrap our minds around the access that was granted unto us, not only to God but to eternal life. Don’t you just love how God has made it so accessible for us to grab hold of His unchanging hand and we can boldly go before His throne of grace ON OUR OWN? Let us never lose sight of what our Savior did for us. Let us always remember we are loved and we are worth Jesus dying on a cross between two sinners for our salvation.
