TODAY OUR study for the Sunday of the Passion embraces the
Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Using the text supplied, we begin reading
that the arrest of Jesus had already been accomplished. The lesson begins with
our Lord standing subject to legal charges before authorities within Israel and Rome. The reading ends with his death and burial. Noting our Lord’s trial as a miscarriage of true
justice, therefore, the text reads…
Now Jesus stood
before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the
Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so." But when he was accused
by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him,
"Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a
single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly.
Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed
to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a
notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to
them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is
called Christ?" For he knew that it was out of envy that they had
delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife
sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have
suffered much over him today in a dream."
Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded
the people to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to
them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they
said, "Barabbas."
Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I
do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be
crucified." And he said, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they
shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified." So when Pilate saw that
he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and
washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's
blood; see to it yourselves." And all the people answered, "His blood
be upon us and on our children!" Then he released for them Barabbas, and
having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they
stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns
they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before
him they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat upon him, and took the reed and
struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the
robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
As they went out,
they came upon a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. And when they came
to a place called Golgotha (which means the
place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when
he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they
divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept
watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which
read, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews."
Then two robbers were crucified with him, one
on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging
their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in
three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the
cross."
So also the chief priests, with the scribes
and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.
He is the King of Israel;
let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in
God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, 'I am the Son of
God.'" And the robbers who were
crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness
over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani?" that is, "My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This man is calling
Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with
vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others
said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."
And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and
yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two,
from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also
were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city
and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping
watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with
awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
There were also many women there, looking on
from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him; among whom
were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of
the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea,
named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for
the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took
the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had
hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.
Next day, that is, after the day of
Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and
said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive,
'After three days I will rise again.'
Therefore order the sepulchre to be made secure until the third day,
lest his disciples go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has risen
from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard
of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the
sepulchre secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (Matthew 27:11-66)
Knowing and Willing…
In this witness as told by the church of Matthew, a thread
of identity was clearly made manifest. The story of Jesus both as the Christ of
God and the knowing Lamb of God began with his genealogy. The story continued in
that theme, in that Jesus was the willing sacrifice of God. According to
Matthew, the offering that was made by Jesus was not one made by sinful people who
would put an actual lamb without blemish on an altar as a helpless pawn. This atonement
sacrifice historically made, was made voluntarily… and was made once for all
time by Jesus the Christ. This saving act was done by God to redeem those who
would believe in the Messiah as sin offering. The theme of sacrifice becomes very
clear in Matthew as we note the very first line of today’s lesson. Among those
gospels that bear witness to our Lord’s presence before Pilate, we read only here
that Jesus was not kneeling at the trial. He was not helplessly bowing. He was
not cringing, begging, nor penitent. Jesus was stated as “standing”
deliberately, though other gospels do not stress this fact.
To make this claim of
deliberate, passionate strength… even more evident, we offer Jesus' reply to
Pilate when the governor asked about his being “The King of the Jews". He replied
affirmatively, “You have said so". There was no admission, but also there was no
denial! That this last is important to the gospel writer was attested by its
presence stated in all gospel witnesses. The heart of faith views this statement
made by Jesus as equivalent to a declaration that he indeed was exactly what
Pilate said. However, he did not have to profess it... his death would declare it!
We also note here
that when dealing with the religious authorities that had brought him there,
Jesus also fell silent. They had their chance just then. Earlier in the text they had
spewed forth their judgment. In zealous ignorance, they had largely ignored the
prophetic words that the pure and unblemished Lamb of God would go innocently
to be the sacrifice made for the forgiveness of sin.
Subsequently, we see
that Pilate's testimony was to the innocence of Jesus. According to
Roman law our Lord was condemned unjustly by the raucous people gathered. The gospel of
Matthew highlights this. Thus Matthew builds the case that the Roman
authorities had little to do directly with the unfolding events.
According to
Matthew, Pilate’s reluctance to condemn came by way of his wife. The message had
been cast as a warning. She had said that he should not do an abominable thing
which the Lord hated, and therefore would punish the innocent. I offer here that I
personally wonder whether the “dream” warning came about as planted from a
Christian follower of Jesus, possibly an employee in the house of the
governor’s wife? Did she herself know, through that same servant… much more
about the professed divinity and innocence of our Lord?
Though we cannot know
for sure, we note that there was no mention of sending Jesus to
appear before Herod. Thus, in Matthew there was no Herodian side-stepping granted
in the glare of scriptural spotlight. Yes, Pilate tried
political maneuvering to sidestep. He tried to “do the right thing”, therefore
risking receiving a future smack on the knuckles from Caesar for not prosecuting
a “would be” challenger to Imperial authority.
Pilate looked desperately for an
out. He offered a choice in honor of the Jewish Passover Festival. It would be
a festival indeed if demons took the bait. But here was a time wherein Pilate
would be “amazed” (in the Greek = thaumazein).
We have read that Pontius
Pilate offered to pardon and release just one prisoner, as was customary during
the Festival days. Being deceptively magnanimous, he suggested that Jesus could
be released rather than the rebellious, troublesome Barabbas. Pilate seemed to figure
that the Jewish authorities would not want a violent insurrectionist freed and be
casting about. They would allow him to free Jesus. But he was wrong. Such was
the religious hate worked up.
This points to the theory
that the religious established powers obviously felt threatened. To them, Jesus
was far more dangerous. The crowd stirred up became emphatic. They yelled
repeatedly, “Crucify!” (in the Greek = staurothieto).
Politically, literally
and symbolically, Pilate had no choice. He yielded to the outcry and will of
the Sanhedrin. He visibly washed his hands of the matter and turned Jesus over
to death upon a cross. Being overruled by the priests and the rabble, he publically
acknowledged that the people had made the choice. He freed Barabbas.
From times long past,
we note that multitudes have frequently chosen to please the world rather than
God in like manner. They chase their own delusions. The Jews in power were bent
upon the death of Christ to retain their station, and Pilate thought it would
be dangerous to refuse. He chose to protect his own station.
Note, however, that Matthew
stressed here that all was so ordered historically from the beginning… to make
it very evident in this telling that Christ suffered for no fault of his own,
but for the sins of his people. And we today quickly note how vain it was for
Pilate to expect to free himself so easily from the guilt of a killing an innocent
man. Like Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, he washed his hands but could not get rid
of the blood. Thus he is eternally branded as a wishy, washy politician. Jesus
was an innocent person who Pilate by office was bound to protect. The trouble
is… like abortionists who murder unborn children, we wash… and we sanitize, but
our sin goes deep into the depths of the heart and soul.
Consequently, lest we
judge Pilate too harshly, we acknowledge that we too are deceived sinners. We
too share the plight that some will reject salvation. We sinners try to retain favorite
sins… and keep our earned positions. We too would rob God of glory. We share
the governor’s guilt. Thanks only be to God that the blood of Christ is upon those
who believe.
You see, we are much
like Barabbas who was pardoned by Pilate’s cowardly choice. We are also Pilate
trying to purify our deeds. Finally, we are too much like the people who voiced
the very rejection of Jesus, though the blood poured out by Christ saved us.
Please note here that
not only Herod was dissed a bit by Matthew’s scribe. Very little discourse
occurred in Matthew’s witness concerning Jesus’ walk to the cross. Other than
an almost casual note that someone named Simon helped to carry the cross, it is
more importantly stressed that Jesus retained consciousness unto the painful end.
Reading Matthew thus reveals to us more than casually that this was not a
drug-fogged helpless unfolding.
According to this
gospel account, the walk to the cross was a deliberate act. Matthew told of no conversation with women on
the way. Jesus went deliberately… straight to his death. The “Lamb of God” was foretold
by the prophets to be the atonement… payment unto death… for human sin. God’s
redemptive plan unfolded according to divine desire. Jesus accomplished this
deed knowing fully what was happening. He refused to sip the pain-numbing narcotic
drink.
We know that crucifixion
was a very public death used by the Romans. The doing of it was very terrible
and miserable. The weight of the crucified body hung on nails until the
sufferer died in agony. Christ thus answered the call in the type of the prophetic
bronze serpent fastened and raised on a pole, set up so that others would not
perish. (see Numbers 21:1-9).
Jesus, by prophetic declaration, was therefore
sent according to scripture as to his clothing (Psalm 22:18), and in a state
which was foretold (Psalm 22:1)
Indeed, Jesus the Christ
underwent all of the misery and shame of crucifixion that he might purchase for
us everlasting life and joy. Christ was willingly led by the Father as a Lamb
to the slaughter. He was the divine Sacrifice.
Note that while the
inscription on the Cross is recorded differently by the various evangelists,
this does not imply a contradiction. The inscription was simply stated in three
different languages, each involving a different arrangement of the words. Jesus
is indeed King. Jesus is indeed Lord. It is consistent with the strictest view
of inspiration of the original autographs, that the Holy Spirit may have had a
purpose to bring out in relief the charges made against Jesus in various
languages. The charges were the strongest testimony to Jesus as being the Messiah!
Pilate had asked it, and Jesus affirmed it at the cross. The divine warrior of
God, the Christ… the Messiah… was offered up deliberately. He volunteered to do
it, to reconcile us with his Father!
The final proof that
the unfolding events occurred just as planned from the beginning of time, are noted
in that the words "he yielded up his spirit". This should not be overlooked.
They mean that he himself "dismissed” or “released” his spirit. This
implies that Jesus, as the Christ… saw that he had overcome. Sin, evil, death
and the Devil were conquered. He accomplished undergoing his crucifixion as an
act of his own will. He was not a victim; such as would be a Satan deceived
sinner.
Remember! Christ did
not die like other men who could not help themselves. Therefore he willingly accomplished
that work for which he had come into the world. Matthew makes testimony to the
sacrificial character of Jesus’ death.
Indeed, Jesus Christ had
spoken many times about his death, before its occurrence, to show that his life was
not going to be taken from him. He would give it freely into his Father's
hands. By the power of the eternal Holy Spirit he offered himself up, being both
Priest and the sacrificial “Lamb of God”.
As he died, the veil
of the temple was torn in two. It had previously separated the Holy Place and the
Most Holy. The blood of the atonement lamb, previously offered to God as needed
once a year by the High Priest alone… was now forever poured out (Exodus 26:31
and Leviticus 16). Surely a new living, lasting atonement fulfillment had been
made for believers.
Upon our Lord’s death
on the cross prophetic signs occurred. Rocks split, graves opened, and dead persons
were said to revive. Thus Jesus’ sacrifice was a mighty, divine work attested to
here by Matthean witness centered in the church at Antioch of Syria.
The message went from there on into the Greek and Roman world… and even comes to us today.
The crucifixion they testified about concerns the eternal love of Christ and the
divinity of his work.
Now, we know that some
have asked whether the bodies of the risen saintsin Matthew returned to their graves later. We
cannot say for sure. Speculation offers that they may have ascended to heaven
with Jesus when he had "led captivity captive" (Eph. 4:8-10).
Irregardless, please know that they are saints, I rest that they are secure. I personally
believe here and now that we need to kneel before the cross on Good Friday and
consider our own meek standing before the eternal judgment of God. Ask
yourselves, “Can we accept the gift that the Lamb of God sacrificed himself for
those in Matthew’s church? Can we also consider whether he offered himself for those
also of the church of today? If your answer is "Yes" … from that place we personally may ask, “Did he not then offer
himself for me?
Ultimately, his
offering before God means that he sacrificed himself unto death so that any poor,
waffling, and stubbornly miserable sinner like me may be reconciled with God.
I say, "Surely it is so; surely it includes me."
If your answer echoes my
thoughts in the witness here, I say to you… “Rejoice then!” Join with others who by the power of the Holy
Spirit, believe his holy gift was made by his Crucifixion. Hear about the
blessed Resurrection. Hear it said once more… “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John
1:29b)
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