Matthew 27 - April 6^th

 The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the most significant moment in history.  It is a paradox; it is both the greatest and worst event that has ever happened. It is the worst event because we find the wickedness of man on full display; evil man gets their greatest desire, to kill God. It is the greatest event because in it, we find the salvation of mankind. God will take the most horrendous act humanity has ever committed and use it for good, enabling the salvation of many. Let’s look at several aspects of what we find here in Matthew 27.

 The Hypocrisy of the Leaders

The religious leaders of Israel were to be godly leaders who led God’s nation, Israel. Rather, they were nothing but religious hypocrites. Rather than being instruments of righteousness, they were instruments of wickedness. Instead of serving God, the chief priests and elders sought to kill God. The priests, the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees, all these leaders utterly failed. Out of all men, these were to be those who knew God, but their desire to crucify Christ showed that they truly never did. The same could be said about the entire Jewish nation; listen to what Jesus says to the people in John 8:42, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.” One cannot claim to serve the Father and reject the Son, for though they are distinct in persons, they are one in essence and being; this is what Jesus means when He declares that “I and the Father are one” in John 10:30. The Father is God, and the Son is God! The God that these religious leaders claimed to worship was the very same God whom they were seeking to crucify. They did not seek to crucify Christ out of misguided zeal; rather, their motive was selfish and even quite evident to Pilate. Verse 18 says, “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” They were envious of Christ.

 However, it was not only the religious leaders who failed, but it was the governmental leader, Pilate, as well. Pilate, as the representative of the governing state, had the duty to enforce justice. However, rather than enforce justice, he perverts justice by letting a man, whom he knows to be innocent, be punished as if he were a guilty criminal.

 The Irony of the Occasion

What makes the entire narrative of Matthew 27 so ironic is that we see sinful man acting as judge and executioner of the Holy God. They judge Christ not recognizing that He is the Judge of all! Not only this, but they mock him as king. The soldiers dress him in a scarlet robe and fashion a crown of thorns for Him, but in reality, he is the King of kings. And the one who died a criminal's death and bore the whole wrath of God was the one in whom there was no sin at all (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 The Humility of Christ

At the crucifixion, we see the King of kings stoop down and take on the form of a servant and die the death of a criminal. Christ, like Joseph, did nothing worthy of his punishment. He is the spotless lamb of God, innocent of all the charges they laid against Him. However, more than this, he is God himself, King of kings and Lord of lords. Let us understand this, it is often so difficult for us to humble ourselves, to let go of our pride; we who have nothing to boast of. Christ, however, had everything to boast of, yet decided to humble himself out of love for God’s elect. Philippians 2:5-8 speaks about this best; it says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” What a God we serve!