Matthew 27:27-66
The story of Jesus’ crucifixion offers a trail of evidence that spans the Kingdom of this World and the Kingdom of Heaven. The evidence displays two different desires at work. One desire is self-serving, and the other has you in its sights. Let’s look at the trail of evidence to the crucifixion.
In the Kingdom of this World, we see many people who shared a common desire to rid themselves of Jesus. What we see is a classic “humanity against God” scenario. There was a whole battalion of Roman soldiers, 600 of them, around Jesus at Pilate’s headquarters. They mocked him in a dehumanizing manner and led him to the place of crucifixion called Golgatha. Jesus was nailed to a cross between two thieves who were also sentenced to crucifixion. On the ground, people passed by and taunted Jesus to save himself since he claimed to be the Son of God. Among the people were the chief priests, scribes, and elders who also mocked Jesus. They offered a false proposition that if he saved himself, they would believe in him. Before Jesus died, he shouted a line from Psalm 22 saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Soon after this, he cried out again and yielded up his Spirit. And then, unexpectedly, a wealthy Jewish Scribe named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate’s permission to bury Jesus in his tomb. The tomb was sealed with a great stone. And then, the Jewish chief priests and Pharisees dispatched guards to the tomb to prevent Jesus’ disciples from stealing his body. The Jewish religious leaders were rid of Jesus. There would be no rumors of a resurrection and no more activity by his disciples. Their position in Jewish society and its benefits, including self-serving deals with the Romans, would be preserved. There is a trail of human selfish and political motives that the world can point to and say, “There is a historical man named Jesus who was executed for political reasons, crucified, dead, and buried. He was a man who taught an ethic of goodness that, alongside other teachers, would benefit the human race.” Ever since Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, humanity has been consistent in putting itself above God in determinations about what is beneficial and right. Sadly, this pattern of behavior found its way into the thinking of God’s people and continues to this day.
In the Kingdom of Heaven, we see a trail of evidence that proves that the crucifixion was motivated by the desires of God the Father and God the Son to save sinners. The trail of evidence in the Kingdom of this World was prophecied in Psalms, Amos, Zechariah, and Isaiah. The prophecies offer a trail of evidence that what happened to Jesus was planned by God. And for whose sake? Sinners like us!
For the sake of space, a one page document is offered for you to see the parallels of Isaiah 53 and details in Matthew. The very end of the chapter reveals God’s pleasure to save you from sin and death, so that you can live forever with the Lord. Do not deny yourself the confidence of the Lord’s love for you. Click here to see the evidence of his love!
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