Dec 26, 2021 |The Apostles Creed

I Believe Jesus Was Crucified

12.26.21 | The Apostles Creed

I Believe Jesus Was Crucified

James Granger

Matthew 27:32-56

The suffering, crucification, and death of Jesus is the turning point in history for the life of a Christ follower. Do you believe Jesus died for your sins? Pastor James Granger reminds us that through the death of Jesus, we can be reconciled to God. And once we’ve been reconciled to God, we can continue to draw near to Him in full assurance of faith.

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John 15:13
 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8
 

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” But Jesus kept silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spat in his face and beat him; others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you? After tying him up, they led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Matthew 26:57, 62-67, 27:2
 

At the festival the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you — Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of him.” The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” “Barabbas!” they answered. Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?” They all answered, “Crucify him!” Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!” All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:15-31
 

Jesus’ Physical Suffering:
– beaten
– slapped
– tied up
– flogged
– surrounded
– crown of thorns
– spat upon
– hit with a staff
 
Jesus’ Emotional Suffering:
– conspired against
– betrayed
– falsely accused
– stripped naked
– mocked
– humiliated
 

As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross. When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots. Then they sat down and were guarding him there. Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking 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!” In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, “He saved others, but 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 rescue him now — if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him. From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni ?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink. But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

Matthew 27:32-49
 

But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many. 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 man was the Son of God!” Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him were there, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Matthew 27:50-56
 

After three hours of darkness, upon the death of Jesus, at least three things happened suddenly:

– the curtain of the sanctuary was for in two from top to bottom
– the earth quaked and rocks were split
– the tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who has fallen asleep were raised
 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus  —  he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh) 

Hebrews 10:19-20
 

When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb. The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take guards,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.

Matthew 27:57-66
 

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared.

1 Peter 3:18-20
 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:19-20
 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus  —  he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh) —  and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22
 

Tell about a time when someone made an intentional sacrifice on your behalf. What impact did that have on you? What is it about that gesture that causes you to remember it so clearly?

When you consider the suffering of Jesus (see Matthew 27) which part is the most shocking to you? What impact does it have on you knowing that Jesus endured such profound suffering?

How can you relate to Barabbas, the man who was set free while Jesus was taken away to be crucified?

Read Colossians 1:19-20. Have you been reconciled to God? What do you think your role might be in God’s plan to “reconcile everything to Himself” through the shed blood of Jesus?

Read Hebrews 10:19-22. What are some specific ways you can “draw near” to God with full assurance of faith?

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