Holy Week Devotion - Day 5 (Matthew's Gospel)

Matthew 27:32-66  - The 5th and last day of a 5-Day devotion for Holy Week (CRUCIFIXION, DEATH, and BURIAL ) 

Join Pastor Mark as he leads us through the Passion of Christ in Saint Matthew. (That is Matthew’s account of the suffering and death of Christ).  
    Each day will include five sections:
    1 – Reading the Bible passage
    2 - Reflection and teaching about background, context, and helpful insights
    3 - Responses and points to ponder (with three questions for you to consider)
    4 – A Prayer
    5 - Hearing the text again, this time with more depth 

Devotions from Pastor Mark, Advent Lutheran Church in Harleysville PA.   

Special thanks to Mr. Vince Ryan for the piano music.

For more information or to contact Pastor Mark, go to https://www.adventharleysville.org/contact

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This is the Passion of Christ according to Saint Matthew, day five. Welcome to this five-day devotions for Holy Week using Matthew chapters 26 and 27. The Passion of Christ, the account of the Last Supper, Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial of Jesus. I'm Pastor Mark from Advent Lutheran Church in Harleysville, PA, and I invite you into this Holy Week time together. I want to also thank Vince Ryan for the musical interludes and background music in these recordings. Day five, reading the final verses of Matthew chapter 27, beginning with the 32nd verse, as we hear about the crucifixion, death, and burial. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means a place of a skull, they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he tasted it he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots. Then they sat down there to keep watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him which read, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking 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. In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, He saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God, let God deliver him now if he wants to, for he said, I am God's son. The rebels who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. From noon on darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, and about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice Eli Eli Lemasabactani that is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, This man is calling for Elijah, Elijah. At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the other said, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were split, the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him who were keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, Truly this man was God's son. Many women were also there looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them 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 himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was still alive. After three days I will rise again. Therefore command the tomb be made secure until the third day, otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people he has been raised from the dead, and the last deception would 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 with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. Matthew mentions a man from Cyrene named Simon. Why state his name? We never hear about him again. Likely he was known in the early Christian community. Mark mentions that he's the father of Alexander and Rufus. Perhaps in Mark's community people would say, you know, Alex there, the head of the call committee, and Rufus, the property chair. Yeah, it was their dad who carried the cross. There's not a big theological point here, but a reminder. These were real people in real worshiping communities. The charge against Jesus is this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. It's a religious and a political charge. Religious, it has to do with Messiah, the anointed one of God, that's what he claimed. Political, he was a would-be king. That's treason against the emperor. Jesus is crucified. Again, there's very little about the physical torture, even though it was an absolutely horrible and excruciating death. In fact, Matthew doesn't even narrate the crucifixion. He doesn't say they crucified him, he speaks of it casually after the fact, when they had crucified him. But the gospel writers share the psychological pain, the emotional pain, perhaps the spiritual pain. People mock bystanders, religious leaders, even the bandits. When you're hurting, it's so easy to take that out on someone else who's hurting. Matthew connects so much of what Jesus does to the Hebrew scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. Sometimes formally, he'll say something like this happened to fulfill what was said by the prophet, but sometimes just describing it in a way that his Jewish readers would recognize. In Psalm 69 we read, They gave me poison, could be translated gall for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Matthew's readers would recognize his description of Jesus' suffering with this verse from a psalm about suffering unjustly and crying out to God. In Psalm 22 we read, All who see me mock me, they sneer at me, they shake their heads. Commit your cause to the Lord, let him deliver, let him rescue the one in whom he delights. That source sure sounds like the mocking of Jesus, doesn't it? Matthew's readers would recognize that. Quoting Psalm twenty two, this becomes a key passage for Luther and his insight on God's grace. Luther was terrified of a judging God, a condemning God, and he never could feel good enough, and when he was studying this Psalm to teach on it, he said that those words, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's how I feel, says Luther. It makes sense for me, but that's the words of Jesus on the cross. How could Jesus, the sinless son of God, say those words unless in that moment he so identified with me as sinful creature as to see himself with me over against God? And Luther talks about that being a moment when he saw Jesus not as the judge on the clouds condemning, but as the derelict on the cross forgiving. I love that phrase, the derelict on the cross forgiving. Jesus on the cross with God's grace and mercy. In Hebrew, those words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me are Eli Eli Lema Sabatani. The word Elijah, the name would be pronounced Elijah. So it would sound very similar. People say, wait, let's see if Eliha comes. There's hope. Maybe maybe this is the Messiah. Maybe something's gonna happen. Maybe Elijah's gonna come, maybe this time. And then he dies. Another would-be Messiah gone. But Matthew lets us know it's not over. With those cosmic events. Remember, Matthew at the very start, chapter two, has a star guiding the magi to the Christ child. Here, cosmic events. There's an earthquake, the curtain rips, stones break, tombs open, bodies of the saints are raised. I'll admit some of this is a really strange description, and it's on my list of things I want to ask God when I get to heaven. But the point that's being made, death is conquered. Death no longer has the final word. God is present, God has not abandoned, God has not forsaken. At the very beginning of Matthew, the foreign magi recognize Jesus and worship him. Here, the Roman centurion recognizes this man was God's son. There's an interesting detail about the women. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are there at the death of Jesus with the mother of the sons of Zebedee. They are there at the burial of Jesus, and there on Easter morning we will hear, when those two go to the tomb. In Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians he quotes what may have been the earliest Christian preaching. Christ died for our sins in accordance with Scriptures, was buried, and on the third day was raised again in accordance with the Scriptures. The two Marys are the witnesses to all three of those early Christian preaching points, and they will proclaim it to others. Remember the point about promises. The Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified, says Jesus, and it happens. Peter you will deny me three times, and it happens. Judas, you will betray me, and it happens. It all comes true. We end chapter twenty seven with the chief priests and Pharisees saying that Jesus said, After three days I will rise again. Really? Hmm Section three Your responses What did you notice? What jumped out at you? What spoke to you? What troubled you? What might God be saying to you? Pause for a moment and ponder what spoke to you. See yourself in the story. Wonder about times when you might have been like some of the people in the passion. Maybe like those mocking or questioning Jesus. Let him come down from the cross now and we will believe him. God, if you heal my aunt, I'll believe. God, how could you be a caring God if you don't help my parent? Or maybe picture yourself as the male disciples who bailed on Jesus when the going got tough. Or Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, who stayed and watched, feeling helpless? Or the centurion recognizing God was here, but not knowing what to do about it? Or Joseph of Arimathea doing what he could to help, maybe feeling like it was too little too late. Where can you picture yourself? How does this account? And of course, the Easter good news allow you to face death and the grave with hope and confidence in a risen Christ and a God who keeps promises. Loving Jesus, we pause at your grave. We know the Easter good news. We know you are not dead, you are alive. And yet, for now, we pause and reflect. We are in awe of your love and your humble serving. You didn't deserve the cross. Those people back then wronged you. Our world wronged you. We wronged you. Forgive us. Assure us of your promises. Remind us that Easter is coming. But for now, let us rest at your graveside a little longer. Amen. Hearing the reading once more, this time with a little more depth and meaning. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon. They compelled this man to carry his cross, and when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means a place of a skull, they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he tasted it he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots, then they sat down there to keep watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him which read, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking 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. In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, He saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God, let God deliver him now if he wants to, for he said, I am God's son. The rebels who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. From noon on darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, and about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice Eli Eli Lemasabactani that is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, This man is calling for Elijah, Elijah. At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the other said, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were split, the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him who were keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, Truly this man was God's son. Many women were also there looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them 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 himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting on the room. The next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was still alive. After three days I will rise again. Therefore command the tomb be made secure until the third day, otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people, He has been raised from the dead, and the last deception would 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 with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. If you've gotten this far, I want to thank you for being part of this journey together. This has been something that I have very much appreciated each year, doing the study, teaching a Bible study on it during Lent, and then putting together these podcasts, and it becomes a devotional experience for me. Being able to share that is an extra special treasure or blessing. So if it has been helpful to you, I invite you to let me know, provide any feedback, or just let me know that you listened to this. You can reach me at the pastor14 at gmail.com. That's t-h-p-a-st-or one four at gmail.com. And whether you do that or not, my prayers for you in this holy week in this Easter time as you live out your faith in a very difficult world and in trying times. God be with you and God be a blessing through you. In Christ's Amen.