Matthew 27: Crucified (7)
Pray Psalm 22.29.
All the prosperous of the earthShall eat and worship;All those who go down to the dustShall bow before Him,Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
Sing Psalm 22.29.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
All the prosp’rous of the earth shall before His mercy fall;
bending low before His worth, hear them humbly on Him call.
Even those low in the grave He will by His mercy save.
Read and meditate on Matthew 27.1-66.
Meditate with thanksgiving on the sacrifice of Jesus.
Prepare.
1. How can we see events of this chapter fulfilling Old Testament Scriptures?
2. How many different ways did Jesus suffer in this chapter?
Meditate.This is a sad chapter. I always feel a certain grief and shame in reading it because I know that, had I been there, I’d have been screaming for His crucifixion along with everyone else. We do not deserve the grace shown us in Jesus’ suffering here.
At the same time, we need to keep in mind that these events took place on what we refer to as “Good Friday.” I recall an old B. C. cartoon strip (Johnny Hart) in which Wiley, the old poet, chips away on a slate in four panels to construct the following verse:
“Who can call Good Friday good?”
“Who can call Good Friday good?”
“They who are bought by the blood of the Lamb,
they can call Good Friday good.”
The grisly, brutal, agonizing murder of Jesus was part of the good plan of God for our redemption. God made Him Who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5.21). As we have seen from Psalm 22, Jesus was able to see through His suffering to the coming of the Kingdom, bringing the goodness of God to the world, and glorifying Him over all the earth. We are the heirs of that Kingdom (Dan. 7.13-18), called through our own cross-bearing lives to seek and advance the rule of King Jesus in all the world.
We may feel grieved and ashamed to read of the suffering of Jesus. But let us give thanks that His suffering was for our salvation, to pay the debt of our sins, that we—unworthy Barabbases all—might be made free and have life.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium
and 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.
And they bowed the knee before Him and 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 led Him away to be crucified” (Matt. 27.27-31).
Those soldiers’ skill set in humiliations was cruelty writ large.
They thought of everything: stripping their Prisoner naked, mockingly bedecking Him in a royal robe, donning upon His beautiful head a painfully penetrating crown made of thorns, giving Him a token of power, a pretend scepter made of a reed, spitting on Him, jokingly bowing before Him, taking the reed back and striking Him on the head with it, pounding the thorns further into His sacred head.
Amidst all those humiliations, it is that reed which rips my heart asunder.
He is the rightful King of all the earth and heaven, and for us, He held a pretend scepter, then was beaten with the symbol of His sovereign power.
For a scepter—what that paltry reed was meant to denote—is a staff held by a sovereign as an emblem of authority.
Think back to Queen Esther and the power King Ahasuerus held over her.
She feared even approaching the king without a summons; but she knew, his scepter and how he used it, would determine her life or death. Yet, for the sake of her people, she decided to warily approach him. She would know her status through his scepter. “So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand” (Esth. 5.2).
You can see the governor’s guard had a studied knowledge of inflicting pain, and they used the full measure upon Jesus the Christ. What they did not know was Who they were really dealing with. And for this misjudgment they are remembered poorly. They were mocking God.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes;
and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Gen. 49.10).
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Ps. 45.6; Heb. 1.8).
“The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” (Ps. 110.2).
As the angel Gabriel said to Mary:
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,
and shall call His Name JESUS.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Lk. 1.31-33).
Clearly, the governor’s goons were messing with and mocking the wrong Person.
And the horror of what they did bespeaks shock and awe cruelty.
Yet Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured it all with grace (Heb. 12.2).
Thank You, Sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords.
Reflect.
1. Why was it necessary for Jesus to be so humiliated and brutalized?
2. Do you think meditating on the suffering of Jesus might help us avoid sinning? Explain.
3. What does it mean for us that Jesus holds a scepter of righteousness?
“When Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He yielded up the spirit.” This refers to what He had earlier said: “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again,” and “I lay it down of myself.” So for this cause He cried with the voice, that it might be shown that the act is done by His own power. John Chrysostom (344-407), Gospel of Matthew, Homily 88.1
Pray Psalm 22.30, 31.
Pray for a clearer vision of the Kingdom Jesus has given us, then go forth to seek that Kingdom in all your activities today.
Sing Psalm 22.30, 31.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
Let the generations all witness to His saving grace;
let them to all nations call, “Bow before His holy face!”
Let the children of the earth hear of Jesus’ saving worth!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast features excerpts from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column continues our study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
