WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:39.439 In 1773, a group of people named the Sons of Liberty rebelled against the authority of the British Parliament to tax the tea coming into the Boston Harbor. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:49.920 That act, that we know as the Boston Tea Party, is often connected to the beginning of the American Revolution. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.479 I want you to use your imagination with me for a moment. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.719 I know it's early, but we can do this. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:10.879 I want you to imagine for a moment that the British King and the British Parliament were right and that the colonies were wrong. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:26.480 What should the king and his government do toward rebellious colonies mocking their authority? 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:53.359 Again, we're imagining, no matter which side of the isle you're on, or isles, imagining that the king of the British colonies and his parliament were right, and the colonies rebelling against their authority were wrong, in that case, what should the king and his government do toward rebellious people and their mocking action? 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:07.439 Of course, we're not here this morning to talk about a parliament or a human ruler. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.080 Our subject is Jesus. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:24.719 The king in all his beauty and his rebellious creation. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.439 What should the king in all of his glory do? 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.960 When his creation rebels and mocks him. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.240 Our text for this morning is Matthew chapter 27. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:51.840 Beginning in verse 27, we're going to look through verse 44 together, again, beginning in verse 27 of Matthew 27. 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.680 We'll make our way through verse 44 if you would like to follow along. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:57.439 I will read that text. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:00.240 I'm reading from the English Standard Version this morning. 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:08.560 And it says that the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:13.039 So we probably should back up to understand, a little bit like Tim did earlier. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:24.400 In verse 26, it says that Pilate had already released Barabbas to the crowd, and he had Jesus scourged, delivering him to be crucified. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:34.719 And then, after the scourging, the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:40.800 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:47.599 And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:53.360 And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:59.199 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:07.280 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. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:14.719 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:18.800 They compelled this man to carry his cross. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:30.319 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he tasted it he would not drink it. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:36.160 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:43.279 And they sat down and kept watch over him there. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:55.040 And over his head they had put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:02.160 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:12.639 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.240 If you're the Son of God, come down from the cross. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:29.680 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and the elders, mocked him, saying, He saved others, but he cannot save himself. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.759 He's the king of Israel. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.680 Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:37.439 He trusts in God. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.560 Let God deliver him now if he desires him. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:45.279 Or he said, I am the Son of God. 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:54.720 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:07.519 May the Lord bless his word to our hearts and minds and enable us to grasp what's going on here. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:22.160 This account is riddled with mocking, with taunting, contempt, disgrace, and humiliation. 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:29.759 Matthew represents a contemptuous king who is taunted and humiliatingly mocked. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.360 But this is Jesus. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:46.879 Emmanuel, the King of kings, the Son of God, the one whom we've purposely gathered to worship this morning. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:58.800 So our challenge is to wrap our minds around the glorious and awesome eternal King suffering the worst of contempt from rebellious sinners. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:15.040 We must picture the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords as contemptuous, disgraceful, and humiliatingly exposed. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.319 The great king was despised and rejected by men. 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:29.120 The great king was blasphemed, denied a throne, led outside the gates of his own royal city and mockingly executed. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:38.399 Now Matthew's shown us that Jesus possesses the right, the authority to rule as Israel's king. 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:45.839 He's the Son of David, he's the promised Messiah who came in the fullness of time to save his people from their sins. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:52.560 He is God the Son who set aside his eternal glory to die to ransom sinners. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:08:06.879 And Matthew calls on all of us who hear this to believe in him, to take up our cross and to follow him. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.720 We've just read of the king of the universe. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:18.480 Creation bows at the sound of his voice. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.240 The mountains crumble at his approach. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:30.480 But in this moment, two thousand years ago, his creation rebelled. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.240 This is all historical narrative. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.440 That is, it tells us what happened. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:45.519 There are no directives here, there's no explicit application. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:55.600 But if we hear how Matthew presents what occurred, we will understand how we ought to respond. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:02.720 So we're going to consider five rebellious actions toward Jesus, the Messiah King. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:21.519 But it would be wise of us to remember that merely because of the small number of disciples after three years of ministry, we would most likely be among the mocking rebels that day. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:31.679 These are actions, too, though, that those who rebel against Christ today still do. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:39.200 Look with me first at the fact that rebels mock Christ's kingship. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:44.480 Pilate had Jesus scourged in verse 26. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:50.320 Then Jesus was handed over to the whole battalion. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:07.200 And Matthew seems to take some pains here to describe that it's the entire battalion. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:14.240 It's the entire group of 600 men gathered together to mock this king of the Jews. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:22.559 Jesus has already been flogged, so he's weakening. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:32.480 And now he is forced to stand before a group of foreign soldiers who would enjoy the sport of mocking a condemned Jew claiming to be a king. 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.080 And then they changed Jesus' clothes. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:48.080 As a sign of their importance and their position, some higher-ranked soldiers wore a cheap red cloak. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:11:04.240 There were others of greater importance who had more financial means who would sport the more expensively dyed clothes in brilliant reds and even purples, but the cheap faded red robe would suffice to mock a condemned man. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:12.240 So they wrap Jesus' bloodied and torn body with this dingy soldier's cloak. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:17.519 They wrap it around the body of the king along with a crown of thorns. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:32.960 That's the way we often think of it, but it's more likely intended as a parody of Caesar's crown. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:47.120 Caesar's crown had spikes coming out of it, and those rays extending from the royal crown symbolized the light emanating from the emperor's head, much like we would see on the Statue of Liberty's crown. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:55.279 So the crown of thorns is first and foremost a mockery of Jesus' kingship. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:04.480 Then they also gave him a bamboo reed as an imitation royal scepter that children might pretend with. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:16.159 And kneeling before him, they mock him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:23.360 Probably meant to parallel the Ave Caesar or Hail Caesar. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:29.120 Then in further insult, they spit on him. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:41.600 Then they they take the symbol of his rule that that reed and they they beat the crown of thorns into his head. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.799 How does this happen? 00:12:52.240 --> 00:13:01.840 How does God the Son go from the holy, holy, holy of Isaiah's vision to this? 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.679 And how do we ever follow such a king? 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:30.480 It happened because God knew that the only way for his justice to be satisfied against human sin was if the eternal God condescended to take on a body, becoming the God man and to die a death that only God could endure. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.720 It occurred because it was God's definitive plan. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:50.480 It only happened because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that the ones who believe in him might receive life and he receive their destruction. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:14:15.840 Don't forget, don't forget that Isaiah not only saw the high and holy God lifted up above all things, but he also saw that same God as the suffering servant who was despised and rejected by men, who was wounded for our transgressions, who was crushed for our iniquities, whose by his stripes we are healed. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:23.759 Isaiah saw the holy, holy, holy God who was oppressed and afflicted, yet opened not his mouth. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:28.720 And Isaiah saw him because it was the will of the Lord to crush him. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:43.440 But we must not forget that the mocking of the great king had its cause in our sin. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:51.759 For we reject the true king. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:08.080 My friends, in our natural state, like these soldiers, we want nothing to do with the king of the universe who commands us to obey his authority, who commands us to believe in him. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.879 And we naturally rebel against his rule over us. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:18.639 We even rebel against his rule after claiming him as our king. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:27.360 Think of it, Jesus can't be a king in their minds because they can't see it. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:37.519 The man before them, beaten and bloodied, humiliated and contemptible, looked and acted like no king they had ever seen before. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:43.679 So why not enjoy the moment and participate in a little mocking fun at his expense before he dies? 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:59.120 The one greater than any this world has ever seen or known was showered with disgraceful mocking abuse. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:03.200 It's one thing. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:12.879 It's one thing for a person without knowledge of the scriptures to mock Jesus like this without feeling any guilt. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:15.600 We might be able to understand that. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:25.360 Remember how scriptures say that we understand a thief who steals food because he's starving to death. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:26.799 You kind of get that. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.879 It doesn't necessarily make it right, but you understand there's a reason. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:43.600 We understand if people who know nothing of the scriptures and nothing of God's plan and purpose for his creation, mock and beat the king in this kind of way without feeling guilt. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:17:03.840 But how much worse is it when we, those whom he has ransomed and now claim to be his children and his subjects, refuse to obey his commands? 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:10.799 Do we not also mock the kingship of our Lord when we know to do good but do not do it? 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:20.240 Do we not mock his kingship when we know not to lust but we do it anyway? 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.759 When we know not to covet, but we desire anyway? 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:32.079 When we know that we are to come and to worship authentically with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but all we do is go through the motions? 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:42.240 Do we not mock him when we follow him with lukewarm hearts, pointing fingers at everybody else instead of examining the filth in our own hearts? 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.400 The hymnist was right. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:57.119 Oh, for hearts tuned to sing his praises rather than mock his rule over us. 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:05.440 We are rebels who mock his kingship. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:09.839 We also see that rebels mock Christ's glory. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:22.720 The soldiers removed the red robe, put Jesus' garment back over his bloodied body, and they led him away to the place of the skull. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:38.240 Romans crucified the condemned in public areas, generally alongside roadways, well-traveled roadways, so that people could see and understand what happens to those who oppose Rome. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.640 Jesus is too weak to carry his cross. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.839 He's been scourged, he's been bleeding, he's been beaten. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:53.599 So the soldiers conscripted a passerby named Simon to carry his cross. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:13.680 Jesus and Simon are driven through the streets of the city as people stare and gawk at the bloodied and beaten king, already already bearing the weight of our sin. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:18.799 They're taken to a place called Gogotha. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.319 It's a name borrowed from the Aramaic language that means skull place. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:34.160 Either from the location's appearance, the way it looked, or or because of what so often took place there. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:43.200 Those who were educated and spoke the Latin of the Roman educated, they called the place Calvaria. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:54.559 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:02.079 And they sat down and kept watch over him there. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:10.720 Don't miss what don't miss what Matthew doesn't say. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:19.440 So often in Scripture, some of the most important nuggets that are there is not what is said, but what is not said. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:28.640 Matthew is not like Hollywood that loves to sport the blood and the gore. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:37.680 Matthew just glosses over the pain and the agony of the crucifixion. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.359 There's no gore, there's no painful details. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:52.480 Instead, we see at the cross the glory of heaven, the majesty of the universe, and the light of the world treated like a petty criminal whose life meant nothing. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:21:09.200 But in God's eternal plan, the king in all his beauty became unrecognizable and unidentifiable so that you might become a daughter or a son of the living God. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:16.480 Matthew mentions the division of his garments among the soldiers. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:23.920 The property of the crucified belonged to the crucifixion detail. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.240 Generally four soldiers. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:34.319 Clothing couldn't go to all of them, so they used some form of dice to determine who would receive the soon-to-be dead man's clothes. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:40.559 Do you grasp what Matthew doesn't say? 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:59.599 The sovereign ruler, clothed in unapproachable, glorious light from all eternity, was beaten and bloodied and stripped naked so that people would turn their eyes away from him. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:16.880 The gracious one who performed the very first sacrifice so that Adam and Eve could be clothed without shame of nakedness was himself thoroughly shamed in nakedness by his creation, so that he might bear our shame. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:44.960 The Son of God, whom Peter, James, and John saw full of glory, radiant glory on the mountaintop, was hung upon the wood he created by his command, hung as a hideous curse was laid upon him, even as he upheld the ground that held that cross by his own omnipotent hand while his body is sagging upon the nails. 00:22:50.240 --> 00:23:05.279 The glorious king, before whom Isaiah felt as though he would die, is showered with shameful disgrace, contempt, and humiliation. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:12.559 He, the glorious one, took the shame of our sin. 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:16.960 He became our sacrifice. 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:19.440 He bore our curse. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:28.319 He bore Peter's shame. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:32.000 Peter, you remember? 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:33.440 Simon Peter. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:41.279 The same Simon Peter who said to Jesus, Lord, I will never, ever do anything negative towards you. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:42.880 I will never deny you. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:46.640 I will never go, I will die for you, Lord. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:49.519 Yeah, sure you will, Pete. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.839 Did you notice that Simon Peter is nowhere to be found? 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:08.720 The Simon who declared that he would die for Jesus before he would deny him is nowhere to be seen as Jesus died for him. 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:17.839 Instead of Simon Peter carrying his cross and following Jesus, a different Simon is compelled to carry Jesus' cross. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:28.559 Stripped of all glory and the dignity even of a human being, the King of Kings was lifted up to die a mocking, wretched death. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:32.880 Do you get a sense of the blasphemy that took place here? 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:41.039 Our sin makes us rebels who mock his glory. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:54.079 But it pleased God to crush him so that your sin could be atoned. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:05.599 You can only grasp the full depth of this picture once you understand that ought to have been you. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.960 It ought to have been me. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.319 This ought to have been us paying the price for our sin. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:23.200 God declared the wages of sin is death, and the price must be paid. 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:34.240 My friends, the cross is an incomprehensible reversal where God the Son had his eternal glory mocked as your substitute. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:47.359 If you are not brought to utter embarrassment that measureless glory would pay such a price for a worm like me, you still stand in your rebellion against him today. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:57.039 You must come to him and in faith cast your sins upon him, receive him as your substitute, and follow him in awe and obedience. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:13.279 Those walking by in this public place, Matthew says, derided him. 00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:14.960 Verse 30. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:23.519 Matthew uses the Greek word for blaspheme here. 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:35.279 It can mean derided or mocked, but Matthew uses this word purposely to show us how their scorn and mockery blasphemed the God of heaven. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:42.880 They blasphemed him by turning his words against him in a biting and vicious kind of way. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:47.279 You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.640 Yeah, right. 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:50.160 Save yourself. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.119 Come down from the cross if you're the Son of God. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.079 Jesus did say that, didn't he? 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:01.920 He did say that. 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:04.960 But he didn't mean the actual temple. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:10.960 We're told he meant the temple of his body. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:16.799 Because his body is where God has come to dwell. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:29.519 So they mock his word, they mock his declarations, and they mock his intentions, and the mocking is even turned into a temptation. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:31.359 It is. 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:48.559 Do you hear an echo of another voice in that statement? 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:52.480 If you are the son of God, come down from that cross. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:54.400 Do you hear an echo of another voice? 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:57.599 It sounds a little bit like a slithering voice. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:00.319 A snake. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:17.599 Said, if you're the Son of God, just do this. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:25.920 The challenge is for Jesus to prove who he is. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:30.640 Just come down from the cross, Jesus, and that'll prove to us who you are. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:40.000 But proving his identity in this moment would be sin because it would be giving in to the temptation to disobey the Father. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:46.319 Giving in to this temptation to come down from the cross would end the salvation plan. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.720 No one would be saved. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:59.839 Remaining on the cross displays his deity, for only the perfect one can refuse forever the temptation of the pride of life. 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:05.680 Jesus obeyed in the most painful moment of temptation. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:15.359 Do you remember how just hours before this, the disciples couldn't even endure temptation for an hour to pray? 00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:18.240 They couldn't stay awake. 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:34.079 Never let yourself believe that the Lord Jesus doesn't understand your temptations and your weaknesses. 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:38.640 He understands better than you do. 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:53.839 And yet he endured the cross and despised its shame and is now a compassionate high priest who intercedes for us. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:06.640 Whenever you find yourself giving in to temptation, remind yourself of the one who didn't give in to temptation. 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:12.319 And then cast yourself upon the one who refused temptation for you. 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:16.240 And when you fall, fall to the cross. 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:20.319 For he is faithful to forgive. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:34.400 How shameful is it that even then when we fall to the cross and we confess our sins and he is faithful to forgive, that we still tend to mock his word. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:40.400 We question whether or not he really meant what he said. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:47.200 Or we we twist his words to fit our comfort. 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:56.480 Or we we ignore his words because it might cause us discomfort and carrying our own cross. 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:04.480 We tell ourselves lies and then we believe the lies just like Eve did in the garden. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:06.319 He hasn't given me all that I need. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:08.960 No, he's holding back something from me. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:11.119 He's not worthy of my trust. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:13.359 He's left me all alone. 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:32.240 My friends, when Jesus remained on that cross, when he endured the temptation and he refused to give in to the temptation, his remaining on that cross reveals all you ever need to know about his trustworthiness. 00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:38.880 Refuse to buy in to the serpent's lies telling you otherwise. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:53.200 We need to teach ourselves this truth because the next temptation is to rebel against him by mocking his power. 00:31:55.839 --> 00:32:11.279 The account now turns from the soldiers somehow needing to keep watch to the leaders of Israel, to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:13.279 Verse 41. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:18.799 They also mock him. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:25.599 How easy for them to do this. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:31.519 While Jesus is helpless and defenseless on the cross. 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:39.519 How easy to say the suffering servant cannot be your king when he hangs upon that wretched cross. 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:41.839 And that's their point. 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:43.839 He saved others. 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:47.759 Sad, isn't it, that he can't save himself. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:54.880 Oh, he's the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross, and then we will believe in him. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:06.000 They refused to believe that Jesus possessed the power to save himself, much less anyone else in that moment. 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:20.559 You see, they evaluated Christ's claims against his position on the cross, and they concluded they canceled each other out and he had no power to save himself, and so they mock his power. 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:31.519 We question his power anytime we question his power to aid us, to provide for us, to save us, to sustain us, to care for us. 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:38.160 Of course, if Jesus comes down from the cross, then they'll believe. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:55.759 So many of us have said we will believe if God rescues us from our foolishness. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:05.119 But Matthew says, no, look look to that man on the cross. 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:10.639 And believe in him as he hangs upon that cross. 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:20.719 You see, in the in the irony of God's plan, the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers are right. 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:23.679 They're right. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:27.760 They mistakenly got their theology right. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:30.960 Jesus cannot save himself. 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:34.400 But we have to finish that sentence. 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:42.880 Jesus cannot save himself and still accomplish the salvation of others in God's predetermined plan. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:47.440 If Jesus saves himself, then we are still condemned. 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:59.599 But with eyes of faith, we begin to see that it has nothing to do with power or ability or strength. 00:34:59.840 --> 00:35:01.599 Jesus possesses all power. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:06.320 He possesses all authority, and he could come down from that cross. 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:10.400 Did he not say, I have legions of angels at my command? 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:15.440 One thought, and he's off the cross. 00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:21.440 But he could not come down from the cross and still accomplish the purpose of God. 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:29.199 Instead, he chose to die so that those who were consigned to death because of sin might live by faith in him. 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:38.079 He revealed his power in his weakness so that his power might be evident in us who are weak. 00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:47.199 There's a fifth element of rebellion here. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.079 And that is rebels mock Christ's deity. 00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:00.400 He trusts in God. 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:08.000 Let God deliver him now, if he desires him. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:13.199 For he said, I am the Son of God. 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:21.840 Whether it's intentional or not, the Jewish leaders were quoting from Psalm 22. 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:25.920 Very fascinating element of this passage. 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:30.480 Psalm 22 was composed by David. 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:34.239 It's a morning song. 00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:38.079 And it's a choral piece. 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:45.119 Beginning of Psalm 22 says, to the choir master, to the tune of Doe of the Dawn. 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:51.599 So there's this image that you're out early in the morning and you see a doe feeding along the green pastures. 00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:59.519 And David, the shepherd king, composes a song for the choir to sing. 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:02.320 What a beautiful moment. 00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:06.320 Beautiful opportunity for composing. 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:12.079 And then we read in verse 1 of chapter 22 of the Psalms. 00:37:13.440 --> 00:37:14.400 My God. 00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:16.320 My God. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:20.079 Why have you forsaken me? 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:21.599 Oh, wait a minute. 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:22.559 We're getting ahead of ourselves. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:24.000 That's a future sermon. 00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:26.000 Verse 7. 00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:28.320 Verse 6, let's start in verse 6. 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:32.079 But I am a worm and not a man. 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:36.800 Scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:38.960 All who see me mock me. 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:40.239 They make mouths at me. 00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:41.440 They wag their heads. 00:37:41.679 --> 00:37:42.880 He trusts in the Lord. 00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:44.000 Let him deliver him. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:48.239 Let him rescue him, for he delights in him. 00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:52.239 Wow. 00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:58.159 They say, Listen, you say that God delights in you. 00:37:58.239 --> 00:38:00.800 You're the Son of God, so He's got to love you. 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:07.679 So if he really delights in you, if He really loves you, then He's going to step into this situation. 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:10.320 He's going to rescue you from it. 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:17.039 You can't be God because if you were God's Son, then He would rescue you from this painful situation. 00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:18.800 He would not forsake you. 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:20.480 He would not leave you alone. 00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:24.800 They take Jesus' deity and they slap him with it on the cross. 00:38:25.199 --> 00:38:30.800 They could not believe that Jesus is God the Son because of his presence on the cross. 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:36.960 They could not believe that that was true of him because of the suffering that he was enduring and the mocking that was being thrown at him. 00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:42.719 His presence on the cross defied anything they ever knew or believed about the Messiah. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:48.079 Not much has changed in 2000 years. 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:54.159 People mock Jesus in much the same way today. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:00.320 A crucified criminal? 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:03.679 Is the Lord of glory? 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:06.320 Really? 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:09.119 That's what you believe. 00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:15.039 How could the eternal God be a despised slave? 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:24.320 If you don't catch that clue, it comes from Philippians chapter two. 00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:48.480 His atoning, satisfying death is inapplicable to us. 00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:57.760 It does not apply to us if we refuse to believe that he was God the Son, even as he hung upon that cross. 00:39:58.239 --> 00:40:06.400 Christ cannot save if he is not the second person of the Godhead, even while hanging upon that cross. 00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:09.920 And if we refuse to believe that, we are without hope. 00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:12.880 That is the essence of the gospel. 00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:18.320 That is the essence of our message. 00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:27.119 We dwell in a sin-cursed world whose only hope rests in a contemptible king held on a Roman cross. 00:40:33.679 --> 00:40:47.519 And in an incomprehensible irony, all creation stood still as its maker died for the ungodly. 00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:52.559 We all stand there. 00:40:53.440 --> 00:41:07.119 Broken and condemned creatures, looking up at a cursed man on the middle cross, hurling insults, mocking abuse at his kingship, at his glory, at his word, at his power, and at his deity. 00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:15.119 We hurl our sins at him and our rebellion at him, saying, take this, take that. 00:41:21.519 --> 00:41:28.239 But there is glorious hope for rebels at the foot of the cross. 00:41:29.760 --> 00:41:42.800 For the one who hung in mocking contempt and scorn, full of shame, said, If I be lifted up, I will draw all people to myself. 00:41:45.199 --> 00:42:02.960 And like those in Moses' time who rebelled against God and looked up to the image that God told Moses to stick up on a piece of wood, even now, today, rebels who look to Jesus, God in the flesh, remaining on that cross, can be saved from their sins. 00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:12.559 In the end, rebels mock Christ because they cannot see him as he truly is. 00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:16.159 They only see him in his humanity. 00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:26.000 But those who trust in him, looking with eyes of faith, they see him as their king. 00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:29.199 They revel in his glory. 00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:32.800 They obey his word. 00:42:33.119 --> 00:42:34.800 They believe in his power. 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:40.400 And they trust in his deity as the God who saves. 00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:42.559 Would you pray with me? 00:42:42.719 --> 00:42:47.599 Lord Jesus, may we hear your word and believe. 00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:59.280 Take away all of the lies of the evil one, all of the lies of our world, and open our eyes to truly see you and not just to see you, but to be moved. 00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:10.239 So that we at your cross might not be absent like Simon Peter, but might be present like Simon of Cyrene. 00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:21.519 May we be found to be those who take up our cross and follow you because you are our King. 00:43:23.920 --> 00:43:33.599 Lord, may you give us boldness to go from this place after we fellowship together and encourage one another and pray with one another. 00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:41.440 May you give us boldness to speak of you to those who still stand in rebellion. 00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:46.800 And so you be glorified by saving yet more sinners. 00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:48.400 For your glory. 00:43:48.800 --> 00:43:49.440 Amen. 00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:55.199 That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:43:55.360 --> 00:44:02.320 Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus. 00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:06.639 You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.