Condemned, Mocked and Crucified

 

 

"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’" The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words."

Matthew 27:27-44

 

Good Morning my beloved,
 
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that you could be here with us today. Christian persecution is rapidly increasing in a number of countries throughout the world. 1 in 7 Christians are being persecuted worldwide for their faith. I humbly ask you would join us in praying for our brothers and sisters who are facing severe persecution, that their witness would help to turn the hardened hearts of their persecutors, leading others to Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. that their suffering would not be in vain, but glorify our Lord. Also, please continue to join me in praying for those pastors that we've been working with as they continue to point the lost to Christ in their areas. Pray for the effectiveness of their ministries.

 

Please don't forget to check out Vanessa Taylor's at Go Ye Kids children's ministry, who has graciously partnered with us in providing printable biblical resources for children, many of them free. Please be sure to thank her and let her know that you heard about her here. 

 

I believe that as believers, we should be continually aware of the importance of the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the greatest expression of human evil the world has ever known. A conspiracy involving Rome, Herod, the Gentiles, the Jewish Sanhedrin, and the people of Israel, together all of them bear the guilt. None were more or less blameworthy than the other. One thing is abundantly clear, Jesus' murder demonstrates just how wicked the wretched heart of unbelieving Christ-rejecters truly are. They were not content to just execute Jesus Christ, they had to torment and torture Him in the process.

Even though there was not one legitimate accusation against Him, throughout all the phases, Jesus is found to be without fault, the absence of any accusation speaks volumes about the perfection of Christ. Let the record stand that He was killed because of the evil in men's hearts! Even though they were all guilty, participants in the death of Christ, Scripture emphasizes that it was ordained and appointed by God Himself, for a redemptive purpose. Make no mistake, just because God's divine purposes are good, though Christ bore the full weight of retribution for human evil, He was guilty of nothing. Those involved in Jesus' murder are by no means exonerated from their evil deeds.

 

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

Many in the church have already succumbed to re-imagining, and redacting of Scripture for the sake of appealing to audiences still in love with their sin, even though Jesus made it abundantly that He did not come to abolish the moral law but to fulfill it. When we tell people that Jesus loves them just as they are, we must not neglect to inform them He expects them to repent and change their lifestyle, rather than playing fast and loose with God’s Word denying it's power to transform lives. Salvation is not by merely repeating a prayer for forgiveness, but enabling Christ’s followers to uphold the law through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus did not view sin casually, Matthew 5:29-30, "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell."

 

Jesus wasn't advocating self-mutilation, He was metaphorically illustrating how severely sin must be dealt with. Giving people a license to sin resulting in a false sense of salvation is not only useless; it's damning. Biblical love is not defined by tolerance as contemporary Christianity has defined it but obedience, as defined by God's Word. John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

 

True evangelism is speaking the Truth of God, not sharing your personal opinions.You can't preach about God's grace until people understand sin and judgement.

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,
 
Father, we thank You for Your Word that we might be acquainted with His grief, and intimately understand how great were His sufferings at the hands of wicked men. May we be grateful enough to live our lives in obedience to His teaching. We pray for those who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, that they would see He is a friend of sinners, willing to forgive, even those who crucified Him, ready to give them salvation. Salvation is a gift, that must be received. Grace is freely extended to all but it doesn't come cheap. Father, you know our heart for the lost, those deceived by false religion, we humbly ask that You would make the Truth clear to every heart that they might believe, recognizing their own sinfulness and come to Christ in repentance. All for Your glory and for Christ's sake. In His name we ask and pray

Amen

 

Today's Message:  Condemned, Mocked and Crucified

 

The wickedness of a man's heart, runs as deep as the pit of Hell. The wickedness of this world has been increasing for thousands of years, our society is wrought with hatred, violence and crime against humanity. In 2020, there was a tsunami of violent crime resulting in bloodshed rose by nearly 30 percent, the largest increase on record, after years of steady decline. Studies reveal that the increase in murders closely correspond to the protests over the summer of 2020, beginning with the death of George Floyd.  

The stress and anxiety because of lost jobs, sick relatives, being forced into close quarters may have also played a role because more people were at home due to the many schools and businesses that were closed during the pandemic, combined with law-enforcement officers policing less directly due to social distancing requirements and an attempt to respond to political pressures to de-legitimize the police in the public’s eyes. People not only took justice into their own hands, carrying more guns, both legally and illegally, they were encouraged not to report crimes they witnessed. As drug arrests decreased, drug overdoses reached a staggering record of more than 93,000.

 

We are in a war, the war we are facing is not of human origins, but a spiritual one, Satan and the same kingdom of darkness is working in the hearts of wicked men. They're not mocking Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindus, or any other false religion the kingdom of darkness owns. Only the One True Living God and biblical Christianity are being mocked, persecuted by the irreligious. Gay male strippers are not pawing all over a mock image of Muhammad, Buddha or Vishnu because Satan can’t be divided against himself.

 

Mockery has been around since the beginning of mankind. Today, the wicked men still have the audacity to openly mock Christ in every part of the world, many even going out of their way. I won't belabor the point, but I'm sure you've all heard about deeply offensive antics of  Bud Light, Target, Kohl's, Burger King and the L.A. Dodgers. It seems to have become increasingly popular openly mock anyone who professes belief in God, portraying us as bigoted, narrow-minded hatemongers. 

 

Proverbs 1:22, says "Scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge."

Even professing Christians have set aside their Bibles and sound teaching to appease an ungodly society, energized by Satan, that can't control itself.  Psalm 1:1, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!"

 

Jesus said in John 8:44-45, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me."

 

The world is Satan's playground. Though Satan works through flesh and blood, relentlessly attacking and deceiving innocent children, influencing them through his human agents in the medical profession, media and social media, school systems and even many churches, which would have been condemned just a few decades ago. He is not just trying to silence the next generation, he is seeking to wipe them out, declaring an all-out war on our children. Nevertheless, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." 

 

Isaiah 5:20, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" 

 

Open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Matthew chapter twenty-seven. Matthew 27:27-44. I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. Let's open our hearts and our minds to see what the Spirit of God has to say us today.  

 

"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

 

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’" The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words."

 

Let's begin with verse 27, "Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him." Pilate knew He was innocent, he repeatedly pronounced Him not guilty, I suppose that he held off as long as he could, but ultimately he sold out his integrity to the mounting pressure of the Jewish religious leaders and screaming crowds, who were demanding that He be crucified, for fear of losing his job. Jesus had already endured being punched and slapped by soldiers at Caiaphas’ place, He has already suffered the scourging, hoping to satisfy the angry mob. By now, Jesus was a bloody mess, weak and quivering in pain. So Pilate's soldiers took Jesus back outside into the Praetorium, which was the governor’s residence, to show them just how ridiculous it was to think of Him as a threat.

Remember, the Jews refused to go inside to keep from defiling themselves at the Passover. We've noted before a Roman cohort was typically 600 soldiers. By the way, they weren't Roman soldiers, they weren’t normally stationed in Jerusalem. So they were most likely Syrians, who could speak Aramaic, recruited by the Roman Empire. Just imagine, they were all surrounding like a pack of wild animals.

 

Verse 28, tells us they thought they would have a some fun humiliating Him, mocking Him as a king, "They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him." Remember, Jesus was accused by the Jewish leaders of claiming to be king. The scarlet robe was to represent power and royalty. They were all having a good laugh at Jesus expense, making Him the object of ridicule. That robe would have become fused to His exposed bloody back, as it dried and coagulated. They had no concern for His pain, His suffering, they seemed to find pleasure in adding to His agony.

 

Verse 29, "And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" The soldiers having Jesus to themselves, put an imitation wreath on His head, like the royal wreath worn by Caesar to further carry out their mockery, a king would have held a scepter in his right hand, so they put a reed in His right hand, to add insult to injury they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  It's difficult to even grasp the degree of intense suffering and humiliation that Jesus endured on our behalf. I pray this will cause you to reflect on just how much He loves you!

 

Verse 30, "They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head." To spit on someone is the ultimate expression of disgust and humility. Then they beat Him. In the Greek tense, it is that they kept on beating Him, repeatedly, using that same rod to inflict heartless torture, they're doing exactly what they've trained to do, inflict torture and kill. They have no idea Who He was, nor did they care, only that He was a fool for their amusement. Eventually, Pilate had enough, he finally put a stop to their fun and paraded Him out before the people, as if to say "Look at Him, you call this pathetic looking man a king?" When it comes to Jesus, neutrality is an impossibility. If you don't take a stand for Christ, you're taking a stand against Him.

 

John 19 tells us Pilate came out again and *said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him." Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate *said to them, "Behold, the Man!" So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, "Crucify, crucify!" Pilate *said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God." Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid." Though Pilate was reluctant to execute Jesus, tradition has it that years after the crucifixion, Pilate was still frantically washing his hands trying to cleanse his conscience from the blood of Christ. No matter how hard Pilate scrubbed, there was no way for him to wash away his guilt. Pilate was later ordered back to Rome to stand trial for cruelty and oppression, particularly on the charge that he had executed men without proper trial. According to Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History, Pilate killed himself on orders from the emperor Caligula.

 

Verse 31, "After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him." Stripping of the robe is not just one of mockery, but also one of great pain. I imagine as they tore that robe off His back, it reopened the bloody wounds. 

 

Verse 32 says, "As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross." Considering all that Jesus had already endured, it's a wonder that He was able to carry the cross any distance. As they made their way from the Praetorium, toward the hill of Golgotha, an Aramaic word that means a Place of a skull, apparently, because its form resembled a skull, which was just outside the city gates of Jerusalem. Along the way, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, a Jewish man from North Africa who was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Simon of Cyrene became famous for carrying either the whole cross or the crosspiece. Notice Matthew says "whom they pressed into service to bear His cross." It's the verb "aggareuó," meaning they forced him by authority to carry it.

Verse 33, "And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull." Often referred to as Calvary, which is the Latin word for skull. Inspired by God, the New Testament was written in Greek. Verse 34 says, when they got Him there, "they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink." Gall was a bitter-tasting bile like substance, believed to have a narcotic effect, on crucified victims. Job 20:14 refers to it as the "gall of an asp." It was said to dull the sense of pain, which Jesus refused, since He had come to bear the full weight of God’s wrath against sin. The prophetic mention of gall is found in Psalm 69, which says "They also gave me gall for my food
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." He wasn't going to resist, He was going as a lamb to a slaughter, for the sins of all who would ever believe. By the way, it wasn't given in mercy for the victim, as some have suggested, the Roman soldiers were ruthless, they had absolutely no concern for their pain and agony, it was to keep them from resisting while the nails were mercilessly being driven through their hands hands and feet. Crucifixions were done on the main road so the rotting corpses could be easily seen as a warning against crimes perpetrated on the Roman power.

Verse 35, "And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots." Notice that Matthew doesn't tell us about the process of the nails, big enough to be able to sustain the entire weight of a man, ripping through His hands and feet. Due to all the blood loss, there's a lack of oxygenation, so you actually need to lift yourself up in order to breathe, at the expense of great pain. His raw bloody back rubbing against that rough wooden cross behind Him would have been extremely painful in and of itself. Still, these are not the total sufferings of Jesus. He not only physical pain, but great emotional and psychological pain.

 

Matthew doesn't spend a lot of time talking about the crucifixion itself, he spends most of his time speaking about what happens before and after it and how others react to the events surrounding it. This is prophesied in Psalm 22, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." It was common practice for them to divide the garments among themselves. Every Jew had five articles of clothing: shoes, a head covering, a sash, or belt to tie around the middle, an inner garment, and an outer cloak. There must have only been four soldiers present for crucifixion process, because Matthew says they "cast lots," or gambled for the seamless inner garment to see who got it.

 

Verse 36, "And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.^" What an testimony to the cruelty and wickedness of their hearts, they just sat there and observed Him, watching as He hung on the cross, like a common criminal, publicly humiliated, to make sure that nobody came to take Him down off the cross. Verse 37 says "And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." The Jews protested the sign, they didn't want it up there, they wanted it to read, "He said he was the king!" Pilate refused, saying "What I’ve written, I’ve written, I’m not changing it." Pilate was no doubt motivated by being backed into a corner, forced to kill an innocent man.

 

As we study the Scriptures, we often think to ourselves, "How could they possibly reject Jesus, crucify the Son of God, the evidence was overwhelming, they should have known better." The truth is, there are many just like them today, who reject Christ in ignorance of the Truth. Paul writes in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." 

 

Verse 38, "At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left."  Matthew identifies them as "lēstai," meaning an unscrupulous bandit, a thief that exploited the vulnerable, even at the cost of violence. They were possibly guilty of the very crimes, of which Barabbas was guilty of. Jesus, the innocent Son of God, hanging between two criminals was another form of mockery.

 

Verses 39 and 40, "And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Theses are people just going along the road, they knew He said that He was the Son of God, they weren't ignorant of the Truth, they mocked Him with having knowledge of Who He was. They may well have even been among the same people who hailed Him as Son of David on Monday. Look at Him now, surely He's not the Messiah Who would overthrow the Romans. He's nothing more than a laughing stock! 

 

How quickly the world turns against Him when He doesn't live up to "their" expectations. There are still many people like that today. They forget all the stripes, the ribbons of bleeding flesh, the nails driven through His hands and feet. I believe the church, the religious wicked, is responsible for presenting a false image of Christ, just waiting to make all of your wishes come true. The moment suffering comes, they bail out, saying "Why we should we believe in Him, He let us down." That's the problem with trying to invent your own Jesus. Oh, the blasphemy coming from the mouths of those who had no reason to believe He was someone other than Who He said He was! They don’t care about Jesus, they only care about what they can get from Him. They want prosperity, fame and fortune, not forgiveness and salvation. There’s only one Jesus and that’s the Jesus of the Scripture. 

Verses 41 and 42, "In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him." In the same way the passersby had mocked Him, the religious leaders join in. 

 

That brings us to verses 43 and 44, "He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’" The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words."

 

The thieves mocked Him, the passers-by mocked Him, the priest, the religious leaders mocked Him, the soldiers mocked Him. Maybe you have never really quite understood or appreciated what Jesus suffered for you, the horrendous pain, the great shame He endured, just to prove that He really is the Son of God, Who came to seek and save the lost, and give His life, as a ransom for many. You know something, it’s not nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was love that kept Jesus on the cross. Yet, even today, there are many who say, "Prove that You exist, that You are Who You claim to be." If they would just open their hearts to the truth.

 

In Closing..

 

God is not going to close one eye with regards to sin. All sin must be dealt with. The Good News is, Jesus suffered greatly so you don't have to, not just the crucifixion, but the mockery, the spitting, the shame. Not because you are worthy, because you are worthy of all the punishment He endured. He did it because He loves You. But He won't force you to love Him back, or believe He is who He days He is. 

 

Having the Truth of the Gospel, I pray today you would see the grace of God, turn away from your sin and come to Jesus and embrace Him as Lord and Savior. The alternative is, that you must pay the price that Jesus did.

 

John 12:25-26, "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

 

 

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
 
 
 
                                                        Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved