Matthew27

1 When the morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death: 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. 3 Then Judas, who had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented, and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned; I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? You see to that. 5 And he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, and left, and went and hanged himself.

• Jesus was the only man who ever lived who never sinned, not even once.
• He loved God with all His heart all the time.
• He always loved those around Him as Himself.
• He always put others first.
• He kept every tiny single part of the law.
• He pleased God the Father in every way.

• Matthew 3:17 And behold a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (This is said by the Almighty God 6 times in the New Testament)

• Mark 14:21 The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would be good for that man if he had never been born.

6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury foreigners. 8 Therefore that field was called, The field of blood until this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price at which he was valued by the sons of Israel. 10 And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.

• They were careful to observe the letter of the law while they murdered God Himself.
• Thirty pieces of silver is the price of a slave that had been gored by a bull.
• They didn’t value Him very highly, whose value is so great that it cannot be measured.

• Zechariah 11:12 And I said to them, If you think it good, give me my wages; and if not, don’t. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, Throw it to the potter: a princely price at which they values me. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Jesus the King of Kings suffered execution in our place

11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say. 12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear how many things they witness against you? 14 And he answered him not a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.

• Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15 Now at that feast the governor would release to the people a prisoner, whom they chose. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? 18 For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him. 19 When he sat down on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, Have you nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

• The word ‘Christ’ means the anointed one. It means the one God sent to be our deliverer. The One promised in Genesis 3:15.
• Barabas was the top criminal on the most wanted list.

• Proverbs 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

• Isaiah 45:21 Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no God beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me.

20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, Which of these two will you have me release to you? They said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate said to them, What am I to do then with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said to him, Crucify him! 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil has he done? But they cried out more saying, Crucify. 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail but that rather that an uproar was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: you see to it. 25 Then all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

• God granted this request of the people 40 years later, as Christ had foretold (Matthew 24).
• Titus and the Roman legions stormed the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed it completely.
• The horror of the invasion was nearly without equal in history.

26 Then he released Barabbas to them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered to him the whole band of soldiers. 28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29 And when they had braided a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

• He wore a crown of thorns that He might crown us with His glory.
• This crown of thorns connects His death with the curse Adam brought on the human race by disobeying God and eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 
• This robe was a king’s robe.
• They were mocking the eternal King of Kings, Who at that very moment was showing His total worthiness to rule all heaven and earth by being more concerned about His creatures than Himself.
• The scourge was a small whip with many leather thongs on it that had pieces of metal imbedding in the leather. It ripped the skin off the back, exposing tendons and bones.

• Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field

30 And they spit on him, and took the reed, and struck him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked him they took the robe off him and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. 32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they forced him to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34 They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink. 35 And they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my robe they cast lots.

• It is no accident that this place was called the place of the skull.
• Jesus, in that place, was reversing the curse of death that man brought on himself.
• It should have been you and me every step of the way.
• It was our shame and punishment He was taking for we have been criminals against God’s holiness.

• Isaiah 52:14-15 As many were astonished at you; his appearance was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So he will sprinkle many nations; the kings will shut their mouths at him: for they will see that which they had not been told; and they will consider that which they had not heard.

• The Almighty Father poured His full wrath against sin on His Holy Son in our place

36 And sitting down they watched him there; 37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Then two thieves were crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. 39 And those that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40 And saying, You that destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others; he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

• The people passing by yelled insults and made obscene gestures.
• A witness for all time and eternity, recorded by four eyewitnesses—usually one good witness is all that is needed in court today, two under Jewish law—that Christ died to save sinners.
• The God of glory bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

44 The thieves that were crucified with him, also reviled him saying the same. 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

• The verb tenses here tell that though very weak and dehydrated, He was screaming for the three hours while darkness covered the land— not just once.
• He had been silent while mocked, beaten, tortured, and hanged on a cross.
• But when the guilt, suffering, and full wrath of God against the sins of all mankind through out all history was poured out on Him for us, He screamed at length from the horror and pain of it.
• The full and just payment for our sins was something only the infinite strength of God could bear.

• 2Corinthians 5:21 For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calls for Elias. 48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. 50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

God tore the temple veil; the way into His presence was forever open

51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks split; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared to many.

• This veil was 60 feet tall and as thick as a stack of telephone books.
• Only God could tear it in half from top to bottom. And He did.
• The sacrifice that all the animals of the Old Testament foreshadowed had now been completed.
• God had provided Himself as the sacrifice.
• His infinite love for us had been poured out.
• God celebrated the ultimate victory by resurrecting his saints.

54 Now when the centurion, and those that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. 55 And many women were there watching afar off, who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him: 56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. 57 When the evening came, a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple, came: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the grave, and departed.

• Scholars estimate that a slab of rock large enough to cover the standard tomb entrance would be about three feet by five feet weighing approximately one ton.

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave. 62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate, 63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Therefore command that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error will be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said to them, You have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as you can. 66 So they went and secured the grave, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

• Matthew 28:1-8 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the grave. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the guards shook and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said to the women, Do not fear: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him: behold, I have told you. 8 And they left quickly from the grave with fear and great joy; and ran to bring his disciples word.

                                            Matthew 28

God raised Jesus from death

1 In the end of all sabbaths, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the grave. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the guards shook and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said to the women, Don’t be afraid: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

• 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit

• Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him: behold, I have told you. 8 And they left the grave quickly with fear and great joy; and ran to bring his disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

• He went ahead of us through death.
• He goes ahead of us, always, as well as going with us.
• His resurrection reversed the result of death at man’s fall in Genesis 2:17.

10 Then Jesus said to them, Don’t be afraid: go tell my brothers that they go into Galilee, and there they will see me. 11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and showed to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had consulted, they gave large money to the soldiers, 13 saying, say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14 And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and keep you from blame. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews to this day.

• Breaking the Roman seal on the tomb carried the death penalty and the guards were seasoned Roman soldiers.
• For the disciples to break the seal would have required an army or a miracle.
• However, no one was arrested and executed for breaking the seal. By this, they revealed their own lie.

He has all power in heaven and earth

He is with us always

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had commanded them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.

• This was God’s intention from the beginning—to be with us always.
• Sin got in the way and by Jesus death and resurrection was fully defeated.

• Hebrews 13:5Let your way of life be without covetousness; and be content with what things you have: for he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

Proofs of Christ’s resurrection:

1)    Christ staked His whole ministry on the statement that He would rise from the dead.

2)    Blood and water-the human body must be dead 1 hour before the white and red corpuscles begin to separate. When the soldier pierced Jesus side, out came blood and water.

3)    The guards lives were on the line for to fail meant death.

4)    Pilates career was on the line.

5)    Nicodemus spent 1 years pay on the spices to embalm Jesus. No Jew spends that kind of money on someone He doesn’t believe in. 1 inch strips of linen were soaked in this hundred pounds of spices. After 24 hours myrrh hardens like shellac. A separate cloth was laid across the face. John saw the empty, mummy shaped grave clothes with no foldings or rips, stained with the Lord’s blood.

6)    Nicodemus and Joseph would not have wrapped Jesus in the strips if they had seen any signs of life.

7)    The disciples weren’t vicious liars like the priests. They were hiding, in fear of their lives. No one would die a martyrs death for a lie. Had they approached the tomb to take Jesus dead body away, the soldiers would have slaughtered them. It was their job.

8)    The guards never would have left their post at the tomb had the tomb not been empty. Penalty for failure was immediate execution. These soldiers trained for five years to secure 1 8x8 foot plot of ground. They were so good that the Romans only sent 1 soldier for every 10 of the enemy. They carried the 12 inch machaira, the most lethal weapon known up to that time. There were 16 of these soldiers.

9)    The grave had a trough-like groove before it into which the 2 ton slab of solid rock fit. Moving made a loud grating sound. Had the soldiers been asleep, the sound would have awakened them. Their leaders were to torch the clothes of any soldier found sleeping on duty. They weren’t sleeping.

10)The seal of Tiberius Caesar was on both surfaces, the tomb and the stone slab with a thread stretched between. To break that thread was to be pursued by all the resources of Rome until crucified. Were the disciples that brave?

11)The greatest proof of resurrection is that the religious leaders themselves would have taken Jesus dead body and paraded it on the third day if His body had been in the tomb.

12)The swoon theory—in near dead state He would have had to move the 2 1/2 ton stone so quietly as not to be noticed by the 16 Roman soldiers, sneak away without notice while 16 soldiers were right there watching the door of the tomb, and then convince His disciples that He had conquered death so that they would go over the whole world telling of it until their deaths, and bodily ascend up into the clouds to start such a force in motion in Christianity that none have every been able to stop it. (I am unsure of the origin of this quote)

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SUMMARY: Matthew 27-28

• Jesus the King of Kings suffered execution in our place
• The Almighty Father poured His full wrath against sin on His Holy Son in our place
• He tore the temple veil; opening the way into His presence was forever
• He has all power in heaven and earth
• He is with us always