 Let's open our Bibles together to Matthew chapter 27 Share with you today out of verses 27 through 50 as we celebrate together Good Friday I'll begin reading at verse 27. I'll read to verse 50 and we'll get into our study Matthew chapter 27 beginning at verse 27 then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium Gathered the whole garrison around him and they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand They bowed the knee before him mocked him saying hail king of the Jews Then they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head and when they had mocked him They took the robe off him put his own clothes on him and let him away to be crucified Now as they came out they found a man of sireen Simon by name him they compelled to bear his cross and When they had come to a place called Golgotha that is to say place of a skull They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink But when he had tasted it he would not drink Then they crucified him divided his garments casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet They divided my garment among them and for my clothing they cast lots Sinning down they kept watch over him there and they put up over his head the accusation written against him This is Jesus the king of the Jews Then two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and another on the left and Those who passed by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying you who destroyed the temple and built it in three days Save yourself if you are the son of God come down from the cross Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes and elders Said he saved others himself. He cannot save if he is the king of Israel in him now come down from the cross And we will believe him he trusted in God let him deliver him for now Let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said I am the son of God Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over the land and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Ellie Ellie llamas of octane. That is my God my God. Why have you forsaken me? Some of those who stood there when they heard that said this man's calling for Elijah Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and offered it to him To drink the rest said let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save him and Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit Perhaps You've wondered like I have in the past why today is called Good Friday. I Read the Friday that Jesus was crucified on has been called Good Friday Because it led to the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter the very pinnacle of Christian celebrate celebrations Good Friday is celebrated because it commemorates the single most important event in history When the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hung on a cross to bear the wrath of God in the place of those who would place their faith in him and Be his followers. You see this single act of love and grace for us makes us realize that indeed This is what is called a good Friday the last week of Jesus's life was filled with activity as You read the scriptures pertaining to that last week You see that he entered into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on Monday He returned to Jerusalem. He cursed a barren fig tree and he cleansed the temple on Tuesday He gave the Mount Olivet discourse teaching on end times speaking of the second coming Speaking of final judgment. The Bible doesn't say what he did on Wednesday more than likely. He simply rested But on Thursday, he celebrated the Passover with his disciples and During the supper Judas had left to finish the betrayal of Jesus Christ And when he left Jesus continued teaching his disciples and he continued to encourage them It was on Thursday that he celebrated Passover wash the feet of his disciples and that night He instituted the Lord's supper, which we call communion Using bread and wine as symbols of the life. He was yielding on their behalf teaching his men to remember him When supper had ended Jesus and the remaining apostles went to the garden and in the garden Jesus stationed eight at its entrance He took three deeper in with him and he instructed these men. He agonized in prayer He asked God remove this cup from me It was in this garden that Judas came with officers and soldiers to arrest him We remember how the apostle Peter lashed out. He cut off Malchus's ear had to be restrained by Jesus and then they all fled Jesus was arrested and Was first taken to stand before the former high priest Annas They next took him before the high priest Caiaphas Then they took him before a pilot and then Herod and back to pilot and as this was happening Those were guarding him blindfolded him and as they did so they began to beat him Mark 1465 tells us that some began to spit on him to blindfold him to beat him To say to him prophesy the officers struck him with the palms of their hands After improperly securing a charge against him. He stood before pilot His accusers knew that the people were following him in great numbers Just that week multitudes have been crying out Hosanna to him Matthew 21 11 tells us the multitude said this is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee and They were envious and they feared that they would lose their positions They feared that they would lose the nation itself and so with this in mind They secured a charge a charge that they thought could stick against Jesus Christ And this is what they told the governor Pontius pilot in Luke 23 verse 2 it says they began to accuse him saying We found this fellow perverting the nation forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar saying that he himself is Christ a king Now these are serious charges grave enough to warrant the death penalty Upon hearing this pilot asked Jesus. Are you the king of the Jews and Jesus asked him if it was his own question Knowing that pilot was aware of who he was and like a good politician Pilot dodged the question and answered the question with a question. Am I a Jew? Your own people and religious leaders delivered you to me. What have you done? After interrogating him pilot knew that there was nothing he'd charge him with so he attempted to release him But the priests and the people would not agree to it He appealed to a custom that they had during Passover a criminal would be released of their choice But instead of Jesus a priest incited the mob to cry out for a robber a man by the name of Barabbas The more pilot argued for the release of Jesus the angrier this crowd got Pilot knew that things were getting out of hand He finally just gave up Matthew tells us in chapter 27 verses 24 through 26 That when pilots saw that he could not prevail at all but rather that a tumult was rising He took water washed his hands before the multitude saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person You see to it and all the people answered and said his blood be on us and on our children Then he released Barabbas to them and when he had scourged Jesus He delivered him to be crucified He scourged him And that's what we're seeing here in verse 26 as we look at this passage It says he released Barabbas to them and when he scourged Jesus. He delivered him to be crucified We hear of scourging and today we really don't understand what that is We don't have anything in our mind that can help us to To think of what that could possibly be When they would scourge someone during this day The victim would be tied to a post and his hands Would be raised over his heads His head and this would completely expose his back His face his neck Back chest and midsection his loins and his legs Would be exposed and unprotected There were two torturers who took turns striking the victim The amount of stripes was deterred by the commanding officer Jewish law had set the amount of stripes a guilty man would receive according to the old testament book of Deuteronomy 25 verse 3 they would receive 39 stripes that that was supposed to represent mercy The torturers used a whip with a short wooden handle with several straps The straps were embedded with bone acorn shaped bits of lead sharp spikes And each stroke cut into the flesh until veins and entrails were laid bare Often the scourge struck the face knocking out eyes and teeth It normally ended in fainting even in death The scourging of jesus fulfilled a prophecy concerning messiah Psalm 129 verses 2 and 3 many a time they have afflicted me from my youth Yet they have not prevailed against me the plowers plowed on my back They made their furrows long The prophet isiah prophesied that this is how messiah would be treated 700 years before christ He wrote in isiah chapter 50 verse 6 I gave my back to those who struck me my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard I did not hide my face from shame and spitting Isaiah 52 14 many were amazed when they saw him beaten and bloodied So disfigured one would scarcely know that he was a person Isaiah 53 5 he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes We are healed And so he was scourged he beaten and treated With so much disrespect Again, it says here in verse 27 the soldiers of the governor took jesus into the praetorium Gathered the whole garrison around stripped him put a scarlet robe on him Twisted a crown of thorns put it on his head a reed in his right hand They bowed the knee before him mocked him saying hail king of the jews spat on him Took the reed struck him on the head And when they had mocked him they took the robe off him put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified now Pilate turned jesus over to the roman soldiers and they treated him shamefully Notice how he says here twisting a crown of thorns and placing it upon his bruised head They gave him a staff put a robe on him bowed their knees to him John informs us that pilot brought jesus before his accusers He was trying to elicit sympathy on behalf of jesus christ In john's gospel in chapter 19 verses 4 and 5 it says After the scourging and mocking he brought jesus out and said to them i find no fault in him Behold the man But this only infuriated them they cried out crucify him crucify him Acts 3 13 tells us that Pontius pilot was determined to let him go But they resisted this When he said to them behold the man They desired his death When he sought to release him they cried out all the more they cried if you let this man go you are not Caesar's friend And that would have been a great great threat to pilot because Caesar would execute those who were not completely loyal to him Pilate knew that The authorities went on to say we have no king but Caesar challenging his loyalty We know that the result was that he washed his hands of the matter And he had had jesus led away To die and in spite of everything he saw and everything he heard He made up his mind To reject jesus christ That takes place today by the way There are those who are raised in the church. They're raised with bible studies. They're raised with devotions They might even go to christian schools They're raised to know the things of the gospel And yet at a certain age a certain place in their life they begin to think that they know more than god They know more than scripture. They know more about life Than their parents and those that might instruct them They know better, but they walk away They know better. They've been raised right. They've been taught but they walk away they walk away because Their heart is hardened to the things of god. There's no desire within them To repent to actually receive to be changed or transformed Some raised in christian homes think that they've been raised in a way that has kept them from enjoying life That there are things out there that they should go out and find out and do for themselves in order that They might experience fullness of life and the things that life has to offer them And they make choices contrary to the things that they've been taught they make choices That end up destroying their lives and breaking their parents hearts. They make those choices Because they're rejecting the things of god they're rejecting the things they were taught Because they think that the things out there are better than the things that they're being held back from And the things that are being given to them And that's what's taking place These people knew better They knew they had heard the claims of christ And yet at the same time they were rejecting him Pontius Pilate when he was speaking to jesus and jesus was speaking to him Pontius Pilate in the conversation with jesus jesus said to him Those who are my followers know the truth and Pontius Pilate looked at him and simply said what is truth What is truth? He was a hardened politician and a man who'd been in various places throughout the world They'd heard a variety of ways of life and and and different kinds of religious beliefs and all and so he's at that point This is just another podunk town in the world. I'm from the roman empire. We have we have seen some great things We've seen the the the glory of rom and you're here talking to me about truth. Well, what is it? What is it and he rejected he rejected what was being told to him The bible tells us in verse 31 that they took jesus's robe off of him Put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified John tells us in chapter 19 verse 17 carrying his own cross. He went out to the place of the skull Golgotha by jewish law death penalties had to be carried out outside the city And as they're moving verse 32 tells us they came out They found a man of sirene siren by name And him they compelled to bear his cross. They found a man of sirene sirene was a greek settlement in modern libya Is likely a jewish man living there and roman law permitted the soldiers to force someone to do this And so they compelled him to to bear jesus's cross And he bore it verse 33 to a place called golgotha place of a skull This is just outside the city walls to the north Situated right there on the roadway and golgotha the the place of the skull is just above that roadway So that when people would come by they would see these people who had been crucified as a warning to them And it says in verse 35 they they crucified him divided his garments casting lots that it might be fulfilled Which was spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among them for my clothing They cast lots At the cross of christ we see man's wickedness most completely exposed Ecclesiastes 7 20 says there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin And the execution of jesus is the greatest proof of the wickedness of man This demonstrates how far a man can fall You know men men can be very evil and we have we can say evil things I saw a sign that perhaps some of you saw this it was a man this man was holding a sign And the sign he was holding was captured in a photograph and was published And the sign read when jesus comes kill him again And that that is the heart of man That is the heart of man We ought not to be shocked by that in the way that we see our world going at this moment We ought not to be shocked by those kinds of things But they're there very open. It's no longer under the surface It's now risen to the top and expressed openly and even done so for cameras When jesus comes kill him again The cross The cross is made of two pieces. It was made up of a post and a crossbeam A cross was normally twice the height of a man And the crucified person was either fastened to the crossbeam while on the ground Or raised by cords to the crossbeam and then nailed to it The hands would be pierced at the wrist The legs would be twisted The ankles would be nailed to the post without breaking bones The victim would suffer dislocation at the shoulders Would endure suffocation as the ribs compressed on the lungs The veins would bulge with blood And there was congestion of blood in the the head lungs in the heart The muscles would cramp fever and dehydration would set in As well as shock and the victim would die of blood loss Shock and dehydration And that's how they were treating jesus today. We think of the cross and we don't realize what it symbolized The cross was actually roams attempt to make the agony of death a prolonged experience In the old times during the days of the assyrians hundreds of years earlier The assyrians would take a prisoner and they would bring them out to a place and there they would have a young sapling And the sapling may be six inches the trunk six inches or so in circumference And they would cut it so that it was just a little bit about five or six feet from the ground They would take their their their tools and they would they would begin to whittle the top of it until it was sharp Like a pencil if you picture a pencil with the pencil Point up it would look like that when they were through then they would get two of their soldiers And they would take the prisoner and grab him by the arm and by the leg And they would pull him in opposite directions They would lift him up and they would center him on that on that post And they were so good at it that they could actually pull him down So that the the point of that post was about an inch or two below the heart And they would leave him on that on that spike Until his weight and gravity combined And his body slowly but surely began to be pierced by the point Until it went straight through his heart and killed him But for the romans that was too quick There are records where crucified individuals under the roman crucifixion Would actually last days on the cross Three days Can you imagine the agony that you would experience as your hands are stretched out And your legs are twisted in a serpentine fashion And you have a a seat that was put on the post That was actually sharpened So that it was pressed into your back Right right in the middle of your back So when you were there on the cross And you began to try to breathe because that's what you would do you would pull your body up And as you pulled your body up That sharpened edge that saddle seat would penetrate your back And every time you took a breath It would rise and fall rise and fall Lacerating you every inch of your back No matter what you did to move to try and save yourself from the pain It would just be a new groove And that would go on not for an hour not for six hours not for 24 hours But up to three days and they had refined it And that's what crucifixion was when you hear that jesus died on a cross You need to understand what took place You need to understand that he was brutalized That his back was made to look like hamburger That the beard from his face had been they had grabbed handfuls twisted and pulled until they pulled the beard out of his cheeks They had taken a reed and they had hit him on the head his head is already bruised and gashed when they put on his head A crown of thorns the thorns were an inch and a half long And they pressed it on his head They mocked him they spit on him they beat him They've put him that put the cross beam on him they forced him to carry They took him to this place where criminals would be put to death They fastened him on that cross they lifted him up and you can almost hear the sound as it fell that post Fell into the hole in the ground that it would lodge in you can almost hear the dull sound The thud as it hit and the agony that it would elicit from jesus as he hits and his body is ripped His back is open. He's on that saddle and it's tearing him and as he's there. He's praying for us Father forgive them They know not what they do And that's what jesus did for us So often we don't understand that We call it good friday Because what he did turned out to be good for us In verse 37 It says they they put over his head the accusation written against him. This is jesus The king of the jews This is jesus it was written actually according to matthew luke and john when you combine them It was written in hebru greek and latin and it literally was this is jesus of nazareth the king Of the jews and there he is and as he's there hanging on that cross verse 38 two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and the other on the left that fulfills prophecy mark tells us in chapter 15 verses 27 and 28 with him They also crucified two robbers one on his right the other on his left So the scripture was fulfilled which says he was numbered with the transgressors As this is taking place verse 39 those who passed by blasphemed him Wagoned their heads saying you who destroy the temple and build it in three days Save yourself if you are the son of god come down from the cross And likewise the chief priest also mocking with the scribes and elders Said he saved others himself. He cannot save if he's the king of israel. Let him come down now from the cross We'll believe him. He trusted in god. Let him deliver him now if he'll have him for he said I am the son of god unbelief You see jesus never said that he would destroy the temple What they're doing is they're casting his teaching at him and once again Misunderstanding what it is that he said The chief priest should have known better, but they're taunting him Psalm 22 7 and 8 says all those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head saying he trusted in the lord Let him rescue him let him deliver him since he delights in him And I think that these men who knew the law are most wicked of all But notice in verse 44 even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him at first they did In verse 45 now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness Over the land From noon to three is that time in the bible darkness often is a symbol of judgment In exodus 10 21 and 22 it says the lord said to moses stretch out your hand through the sky So that darkness will spread over egypt dark darkness that can be felt So moses stretched out his hand through the sky and total darkness covered all egypt for three days Darkness is often a symbol of judgment and what this is is a picture of divine judgment Our sins are being poured out on the son of god darkness is god's reaction Galatians 3 13 says christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us And second carinthians 5 21 god made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in him We might become the righteousness of god In verse 46 it says that jesus cried out with a loud voice around the ninth hour And he said elli elli lama sabbaktani that is my god my god Why have you forsaken me spiritual death is broken communion Jesus had a taste of such broken communion the first and last he ever experienced In those desolate hours when darkness lay upon the earth and upon his soul Jesus was our forerunner in every kind of experience Even to the feeling of god's frown of disapproval on sin That he might become our high priest Understanding all our infirmities and being tempted in all points like as we apart from sin He felt the way a lost sinner feels Without himself having sin He suffered on that cross fully experiencing the isolation that sin produces Isaiah 59 1 and 2 says surely the arm of the lord is too short to save Nor is ear too dull to hear But your iniquities have separated you from your god Your sins have hidden his face from you So that he'll not hear It was not a separation of his nature his essence or his substance. It was a separation of fellowship And somebody said these words mark the conclusion of the suffering of jesus for a lost world Here he drank to the dregs the cup of sorrow grief and pain on our behalf In these hours when the sun refused to shine upon suffering deity Jesus found fitting expression to his feeling of desolation in the words of the psalmist Verse 47 some of those who stood there when they heard that said this man is calling for elisha Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled it with sour wine put it on a reed offered it to him to drink The rest said let alone Let us see if Elijah will come and save him And jesus cried out again with a loud voice and he yielded up his spirit One of them took A sponge Gave him something to drink The sour wine that was in it was high in water low in alcohol It was used to quench thirst And he took enough of it so that he gets shout And i want to spend the last couple moments looking at this in verse 50 when it says and jesus cried out again with a loud voice And then yielded up his spirit. I want to look at a couple things with you as we're going to roll to a conclusion here He cried out Notice he cried out with a loud voice He cried out What was he crying out? it says First he had said ellie ellie lama sabachta knee But he also cried out he cried out It is finished And he cried out Father into your hands. I commit my spirit When jesus said into thy hands, I commit my spirit These words are taken from psalm 31 verse 5 into your hand. I commit or I entrust my spirit And i've shared this with you before but they form part of the evening prayers for centuries and may have done so for jesus This was a prayer that the children were taught at an early age when they would go to bed They would actually pray out of psalm 31 and they would be closing their evening in their last prayer as their head was on their pillow And they would be saying into your hands. I commit my spirit Now we teach our kids to pray and And some of us taught our kids, you know now, you know, I lay my down now. I lay me down to sleep I pray the soul. I pray the lord my soul to keep But then we go and scare them half out of their minds if I should die before I wake Are you kidding me? I'll stay awake all night. I'm not going to sleep I pray the lord my soul to take That isn't a good prayer But think about it when jesus was small and more than likely learned this prayer into thy hands. I commit my spirit The children would pray that at night And what we would call a pillow they would place their head there And as they place their head on their pillar and they were laying there and they're seeing their Nightly prayer their their prayer every night They would say as they were about to go to sleep and they close a little eyes And they would say father into thy hands. I commit my spirit And then that was their last prayer and they go to sleep And you have to get the picture of this because jesus is on a cross and as he's on the cross And his arms are stretched and he's bleeding and he's been praying and he's doing the things that he's doing This is what he's doing now. He prays father into thy hands. I commit my spirit and just like he had as a child One last time He prays into thy hands. I commit my spirit and he led his head down using the cross as a pillow And he died he said spirit Begone He gave up his life for us They didn't kill him so much as he yielded himself They were the instruments of him yielding himself God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son That whosoever believed in him should not perish But have everlasting life When you think about how much the lord loves you I'll always remember my little girl karin who at the year when she was a year and a half And I had asked her I said to her honey, how much do you love your daddy? Baby? How much do you love your daddy? And she's just a little girl. I have a picture somewhere of her She was only a year and a half And I still remember I said how much do you love your daddy? And she says I love daddy this much And I said oh, that's not very much I said that's not much at all. And so she tried to stretch more and I said off That's hardly anything You hardly loved me and I have this picture where she's stretching her arms and her little faces really And we took the picture of her and I show it to her every once in a while when I'm mad at her And my mom gave me a plaque that I have somewhere And the plaque simply has words written on it. I asked the lord how much do you love me? And he said this much And he stretched out his hands And he died how much does the lord love you? He stretched out his hands and he said this much And he died good friday Why did he die? He took upon himself my sin he paid a price I couldn't pay for myself The bible teaches us christianity teaches That it's not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us By the washing of regeneration the renewing of the holy spirit It isn't that I have worked myself into the kingdom My good works are not sufficient to outweigh my evil ones I required a substitute I required somebody who could pay the price I could not pay And that's what jesus did Jesus took upon himself your sin my sin He didn't tell me try as hard as you can to be perfect because the fact is There's none righteous no not one all have sin fall short of the glory of god And the bible teaches us it's appointed unto men to die once and after this the judgment So we all stand condemned as sinners for none as righteous It's not a man or a woman who's ever been born outside of christ Who's without sin we need a savior and when we look at the cross we see our savior We see what love will do love lays its life down for a friend Jesus laid his life down for us He paid that price I couldn't pay and he said into thy hands. I commit my spirit And he dismissed it. He said it is finished Salvation has been won the price has been paid And if in men believes in christ comes in faith in him says god be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. I hate what I am I can still remember I was 20 years old when I got saved and I still remember That season of life just prior to coming to christ I still remember I hadn't prayed in so long But I'd started praying again and I can still remember the prayers that I was praying It was really a simple one and I can still remember some of the words because I would say it over and over again I said it regularly. I said god help me. I can't do this anymore. God help me I can't stand what I am. I can't stand what I've become. I don't like what I am It's me. I am messed up and I would tell that was my prayer to god at the age of 20 god I am messed up. I heard everybody who loves me. I can't do anything right. I have had it I'm so frustrated. I just can't do this anymore god You've got to do something and that's when he did he broke through with the gospel And he pointed to me the one who could do what I couldn't do He pointed to me jesus christ the one who took upon himself my sin The one who successfully did that which I could never do completely obeyed his father was perfect in every way And yet he took upon himself my sin so that I could have his righteousness What a god that we serve who loves us so much. He gave us what we cannot have for ourselves He did that for us He did it for you Perhaps there's some in this room right now who know You're breaking everybody's heart They're rotten to the bone and you know it you can lie you can steal you can go out on your wife You could be bad to your children Nobody really knows who you are you put on a face a mask People think you're cool. You're good. You're right But you know what you are And you're sick of yourself and you're sick of what you've done and you're sick of what you are And you think There's no hope for you Well, no there is Through jesus christ There's no hope if you try to do it on your own of course not But there is hope because of christ Because jesus christ can give you the power to overcome He can forgive you of every single sin that you've ever committed There's not a single sin His blood is not powerful enough to cleanse you from not a single sin He can wash you and make you new in a heartbeat In an instant he can say when you say god be merciful to me. He says I am merciful to you go and sin no more I will give you the power to be that which you cannot be on your own I will take your dirty rags and I will exchange my robes of righteousness and I will make you pure as the sun You'll be like the snow I will cleanse you and I will wash you If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness see Good friday It's a really great friday Because as painful as it is for us to go through these things and to see what took place and just to touch some of these things We need to remember why he did that He did that for us He was fast into that cross He yielded his life They took him off that cross They took him to a borrowed tomb All of their hope was gone But like they just said That was friday Sunday was coming Sunday was coming