Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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Less than a week after the triumphal entry, “Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’” (Matthew 27:22). It’s amazing how fast their opinion of Christ changed. One moment they were hailing Him as the Messiah, the next they’re calling for His crucifixion.

We might pass the buck to the Pharisees. After all, they stirred up the crowd to do this. But if you want to find who’s really to blame for Christ’s death, you need only look in the mirror. Christ went to the cross for your sins…and my sins.

Christ wasn’t forced to go to the cross. He did it intentionally. He wanted to pay for our sins. This truth is clear from Matthew’s account of the crucifixion.

“Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ And he said, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 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. As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 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. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 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! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, “I am the Son of God.” ‘ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’ ” (Matthew 27:22-54)

The pain that Jesus endured was so intense that no person would intentionally endure it, right? Yet Jesus did. Jesus knew that sin deserved punishment, and He wanted to forgive us of all our sins. Many say that the suffering that Jesus endured merely showed us how ugly sin is, and that only the death of Christ redeemed us. There’s a bit of truth to this. Sin is ugly.

If I were to drag the bloody carcass of a dead animal into our sanctuary, how would you react? I’d guess that many of you would cringe in disgust. I’d hear some of you say, “That’s not proper! Don’t bring that in here!” But we drag our sin into this place every week. Shouldn’t we have the same reaction to it? It’s just as ugly, if not more. Sin is ugly, and Christ’s suffering showed us just how ugly our sin is to God. But Scripture also makes it clear that the whole process was necessary for our forgiveness. The death of Jesus was the final necessary component of it all. Sin demanded a blood sacrifice.

The Jews knew this very well. Their law demanded constant sacrifices. None of these sacrifices removed their sin, because none of them were perfect. But Christ was perfect. By His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). So Christ’s suffering was essential for our redemption.

In fact, Jesus decided that He would not attempt to find relief from suffering until the full price for sin had been paid. Some who passed by commented that if Jesus was who He said He was, He could just come down off the cross (v. 39-40). And Jesus certainly had the power to do so. But that wasn’t Christ’s purpose at all. Christ wanted to be crucified not because He was a sadist, but because it meant that our sins were being forgiven.

We in America have very little understanding of what suffering is. I’ve read that of the 318 people who attended the Nicene Council in the 4th century, fewer than 12 people had not lost an eye or a hand, or did not limp on a leg because of the suffering they had to endure for being Christian. Hundreds of thousands of Christians in North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan know what it means to suffer. Suffering is not the worst thing that can happen to you, and I pray that if you’re ever faced with the decision to either deny or Christ or endure suffering, I pray that you’ll choose suffering. Because Christ choose suffering for you.

After His scourging (v. 26), the crown of thorns being placed on His head (v. 29), being struck by a reed (v. 30), someone offered Jesus a drink (v. 34). It’s easy to miss what’s really going on here. This was a mixture of wine and gall. Gall can refer to any bitter drink. Mark’s account of the crucifixion names specifies that the gall used was myrrh, the sap of a particular tree, that had a very bitter taste. This mixture, however, was not simply to give Jesus a bad taste in His mouth. It was to help Him cope with the pain. To numb His senses. But Jesus refused it. He refused comfort from His suffering, choosing instead to accept the cup that His Father had chosen for Him.

But why would Jesus taste the drink first, then refuse it? (v. 34) Didn’t He know what it was? After all, He’s God. Jesus had just been called the King of the Jews (v. 29), and in just a moment a sign would be placed over His head which would say the same thing (v. 37). Jesus wanted to be clear that He loved all people, not just the Jews. This drink came from the Romans, and Jesus wanted them to know that He wasn’t refusing it simply because of who was offering it to Him. Jews weren’t to eat with Gentiles. So even on the cross, Jesus was subtly letting the Gentiles know that He loved and accepted them.

If you can hear my voice this morning, know that Jesus loves you. He went to the cross thinking of you, of your sin, and He endured all that suffering for you, so that you would know Him, love Him, and have eternal life through Him.