OUR SAVIOR
Matthew 27:27–31, 45–54
Following the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples retreated to one of their favorite places, the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus took His inner circle farther into the garden and asked them to pray. He went a little farther still to pray. He was “extremely sorrowful.” He cried out to the Father, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will but as You will” (26:39). So intense was this prayer that He sweated drops of blood, an outward sign of the great sorrow within the Savior.
Chapter 26 ends with Jesus’ arrest and His appearance before the Sanhedrin. There, He was mocked and beaten. False witnesses were brought up to testify against Him.
Mocked (27–31)
After spending the night in the dungeon in the home of Caiaphas, Jesus was sent to stand before Pilate, the Roman governor. At the temple, Judas returned the “blood money” to the chief priests and elders. They used the money to purchase a potter’s field to bury strangers. Judas went out after that and hanged himself.
Pilate questioned Jesus and had Him flogged but found no reason to put Him to death. He offered to release one prisoner in honor of the Passover feast. The crowd was stirred up to ask for Barabbas.
Pilate washed his hands of the whole affair and turned Jesus over to be crucified. The soldiers beat Him, mocked Him and placed a crown of thorns on His head. By the time He carried His cross, He was probably in a very weak state.
Forsaken (45–49)
At noon, Jesus was crucified. Spikes were driven through His wrists and through His feet.
Even on the cross, the religious leaders mocked Him. Suspended between heaven and earth and seemingly rejected by both, Jesus forgave those who had crucified Him. The Son bore the pain of being surrounded yet suddenly and absolutely alone.
He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” — quoting words written centuries earlier by David and recorded in Psalm 22:1. Jesus received the full measure of the wrath of God poured out against sin. The One who could have called 10,000 angels to rescue Him yielded up His spirit to the Father. On that Good Friday, He breathed His last. The crucifixion was not a mistake. It was in the plan of God.
Son of God (50–54)
For the Romans, this was probably viewed as just another crucifixion. They had executed thousands of others. However, when Jesus was crucified, the sky grew dark. The earth quaked. The veil of the temple that separated the priests from the Holy of Holies was torn from heaven to earth.
Through Jesus’ death, the barrier between sinful man and holy God was removed. The tombs were opened, and many people were raised from the dead and went into Jerusalem. “When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God.’”
EDITOR’S NOTE — The Sunday School lesson outlines are provided by Lifeway.
By Don Fugate
Senior pastor of Foxworthy Baptist Church in San Jose, California
