Sundown to Sundown - Bethel Baptist Church

T A B L E
O F
C O N T E N T S
FOREWORD
DAY 1 • THE NEW PASSOVER
MAT THE W 26:17-30
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DAY 2 • JESUS’ AGONY IN THE GARDEN
MAT THE W 26:31-46
DAY 3 • JESUS’ BETRAYAL & ARREST
MAT THE W 26:47-56
DAY 4 • JESUS’ POWER & PETER’S WEAKNESS
MAT THE W 26:57-75
DAY 5 • “REMEMBER JUDAS, AND BEWARE”
MAT THE W 27:1-10
DAY 6 • THE JEWISH TRIAL
MAT THE W 26:57–27:2
DAY 7 • THE ROMAN TRIAL
MAT THE W 27:11-26
DAY 8 • GOD ESTRANGED FROM GOD
MAT THE W 27:27-49
DAY 9 • THE POWER OF THE CROSS
MAT THE W 27:50-54
DAY 10 • JESUS’ BURIAL
MAT THE W 27:55-66
FOREWORD
I’ve been encouraging Chris to write on Matthew 26–27 ever
since he fed these two chapters to Tri–County Bible Church
in April–June 2007. As Chris’ full–time associate for the past
five years, I’ve had an intimate view of the way this passage has
transformed him and our congregation.
His ten weeks in Matthew 26–27 kept his attention on the substitutionary death of Jesus, and his attention has never left there.
He has become deeply convinced that the center of the Gospel
must be the center of the Christian life, the center of church’s
life and testimony, and the center of preaching. And Chris lives
this conviction. He personally delights in the Gospel, feeds his
soul on the Gospel, fights his sin with the Gospel, ministers the
Gospel to his family, muses on the Gospel all day and night, and
talks about it in almost every conversation.
Over the past few years, these Gospel musings have resulted in
several hymn texts which have well served our church’s corporate
worship of the Lord Jesus. That’s why I’ve included a portion
from one of his hymn texts with each devotional article.
I am delighted to recommend—and, as the lead designer, to
present—this devotional booklet to you. I pray that it will be
used by the Lord to inflame your love for Jesus Christ.
Joe Tyrpak
Madison, Ohio
Good Friday 2010
DAY 1 • THE NEW PASSOVER
MAT THE W 26:17-30
The disciples gathered to observe the Passover feast at sundown, almost exactly
twenty-four hours before Jesus’ burial. The Passover had been instituted by God
as a memorial of His mighty deliverance of Israel from their bondage in Egypt
(Exodus 12:21-28). By this time, the Jews had observed the rite for almost 1500
years. Christ Himself had observed it at least thirty times in His brief lifetime.
However, this final observance would be different. Indeed, it would be the last,
not only for Him, but for His people, for Jesus fulfilled and replaced both the
Passover lamb and the Passover feast.
Behold the Lamb, the dying Lamb,
Who takes away just wrath.
God saw the blood of His beloved
And over us has passed.
Gaze on the Christ, our sacrifice,
On altar made of wood.
Worship the Lamb, the worthy Lamb,,
Who bought us with His blood.
B E H O L D
T H E
L A M B
As He led His disciples in their Passover observance, Jesus unmistakably
associated Himself with the sacrificial lambs. He would die at the same time as
the Passover lambs (compare Matthew 26:2 with Luke 22:15). He would die
in the same place as the Passover lambs. Indeed, He was relentless in His march
toward Jerusalem, though He knew what awaited Him there. Further, just as they
feasted on the Passover lamb, so Jesus insisted that His followers spiritually “feed”
on Him by trusting in His substitutionary death (compare Matthew 26:26-28
with John 6:35-38). Perhaps most significantly, He would bear God’s wrath in a
way prophesied by the first Passover lambs. This last point is especially worthy of
consideration.
During the first Passover, God’s wrath was poured out on the sacrificial lamb
so that it wouldn’t touch God’s people. According to Hebrews 11:28, Moses
“kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn
might not touch them.” On that evening, the people of Israel were not merely
delivered from Egypt; they were delivered from God, from the angel of the Lord
who would see the blood of the lamb and “pass over” those for whom it was shed
(Exodus 12:12-13, 23). In the same way, Jesus suffered and entirely absorbed
God’s wrath so that none of it would be left for us. God the Father crushed Him,
punished Him, afflicted Him, and forsook Him so that His wrath might pass
over us! Thus, Jesus Christ is the perfect Passover Lamb as Paul taught: “Christ,
our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus was sacrificed at
the Passover time in the Passover city to nourish us in the Passover way and bear
God’s wrath just like the Passover lamb. By doing so, He redeemed us—not from
bondage in Egypt, but from a greater bondage to sin.
Just as Jesus Himself replaced the Passover lamb, He also replaced the Passover
feast when He instituted the Lord’s Table. As the Israelites were to remember the
one-time Passover deliverance by perpetual Passover observances, Christians are
now called to remember the one-time redeeming sacrifice of Christ by eating
reminders of His broken body and shed blood. “In remembrance of me” were
His words as He established this new feast (Luke 22:19). Thus, we consistently
observe the New Testament Passover feast in order to remember Jesus Christ, our
perfect Passover Lamb.
The most remarkable twenty-four hours in history began with a feast which
marked the passing of the Old Covenant and the dawning of the New. Just after
sundown.
DAY 2 • JESUS’ AGONY IN THE GARDEN
MAT THE W 26:31-46
After the Passover feast, Jesus and the eleven disciples (sans Judas) made their
way to one of their favorite retreats, the Garden of Gethsemane. As they walked,
Christ foretold of their approaching denial of him, though Peter led the disciples in
boasting of fearless fidelity, come what may (26:30-35). Arriving at Gethsemane,
our Lord took Peter, James, and John with Him into the Garden. What followed
was an excruciating time of prayer, through which we are able to glimpse into the
very heart of our Savior and to learn the astounding cost of our salvation. Gaze with
reverent wonder at Christ’s unveiled grief in Gethsemane, a foretaste of His grief at
Golgotha.
There was a cup of holy wrath
Which made our fearless Savior quake;
He prayed the cup from Him would pass,
Yet drank its dregs for sinners’ sake.
Our thirst is quenched by Christ the Lord,
Who gives His cup and takes our own.
We taste and see that He is good;
He satisfies, and He alone!
S A L V A T I O N ’ S
C U P
Matthew draws our attention to Christ’s emotional and mental anguish: “He began
to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful,
even to death; remain here, and watch with me’” (26:37-38). Remarkably, one of
the Savior’s burdens was acute loneliness. The Almighty looked to His creatures
for strength, highlighting the mystery of the incarnation. Unmoved, they would
shamefully abandon him, not in flight, but in slumber (26:40, 43). Thus, He bore
alone the emotional trauma that squeezed Him to the point of physical suffering:
He fell on His face (26:39); He sweat great drops of blood (Luke 22:44); He was
vexed to the very brink of death (26:38)! This is no hyperbole. Our Master’s heart
was breaking in such a way that He almost died. Despite a well-meaning hymn,
Christ did indeed shed tears “for His own grief.” What could cause such shocking
agony, surprising even to our Savior (Mark 14:33)? The answer comes in the words
of Christ’s prayer: “Let this cup pass from me” (26:39).
The dreaded cup. What was it? What so filled Christ with horror, when He had
shown such serenity heretofore? The answer is two-fold, each aspect highlighting
part of the infinite spiritual suffering that awaited our Savior.
First, Christ dreaded to “drink” (or experience) the sin of mankind. The Son,
impeccably pure for all eternity, was about to become sin for us (2 Corinthians
5:21), and the anticipation was crushing. Imagine the repulsion our holy Savior felt
as He considered being engulfed in the depravity of sinners through the ages! R. C.
Sproul writes, “At the moment when Christ took on Himself the sin of the world,
His figure on the cross was the most grotesque, most obscene mass of concentrated
sin in the history of the world” (The Truth of the Cross, 134).
Worse yet, Christ dreaded to experience the wrath of His Father. Throughout the
Scriptures, God’s wrath is pictured as a cup from which the wicked will drink (e.g.
Psalm 75:8; Revelation 14:10). The Son, who shared eternal union and fellowship
with the Father (John 10:30)—the Beloved, in whom the Father completely
delighted (Matthew 3:17)—braced Himself to be crushed and forsaken by the
Father, all in our place. The prospect was overwhelming. Yet, though love for the
Father made Him dread the cup, love for the Father also made Him drink it: “Not
my will, but Yours be done” (26:39, 42).
The Father’s will was indeed done. Jesus emptied the cup (John 18:11), consuming
the dregs of God’s wrath so that we would not have to (1 John 2:2). As John Stott
writes, the Garden prayer “begins to disclose the enormous costliness of the cross to
Jesus” (The Cross of Christ, 75). What grace. What agony—on a dark night before a
darker day.
DAY 3 • JESUS’ BETRAYAL & ARREST
MAT THE W 26:47-56
Having concluded the garden prayer, our Lord took the next step toward the cup He
so dreaded. A “great crowd,” armed to the teeth as though Christ were a common
murderer, broke the still night in Gethsemane (26:47). Awaking the slumbering
disciples, Jesus went out to meet the advancing mob.
Praise our Savior, Jesus Christ;
Behold God’s once-forsaken Son.
Sinner’s Friend and God’s Beloved,
By both abandoned, hangs alone.
Dark the sun and dark the sin
Which shrouds the Christ as death draws nigh.
Conq’ring night, our Light and Life,
Shouts “It is finished!”—wondrous cry!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Night is over; Light has come!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise the Father’s glorious Son!
P R A I S E
O U R
S A V I O R ,
J E S U S
C H R I S T
The gathering in Gethsemane was a strange one, to be sure. The moonlight, mingled
with lanterns and torches (John 18:3), revealed Judas, the disciple turned betrayer,
who apparently had concealed his wicked heart from his fellow disciples for more than
three years. Next we see Temple guards, who though charged with protecting Jehovah’s
Sanctuary, instead came with swords and clubs against Jehovah Himself. We see the
sleepy disciples, led by impetuous Peter. Finally, we see Jesus, the Lord even at His arrest.
Judas carried out his treachery in a particularly loathsome manner. His intentions were
clear enough, but He continued his lifelong hypocrisy by greeting Jesus as a valued
friend and teacher and betraying Him with a kiss (26:48-49). Refusing to respond
in kind, Christ spoke to Judas as “friend” and urged him to do what he had planned
(26:50). The statement probably conveys neither sarcasm nor scorn, but pity and grief. It
would be the last word Jesus would direct to Judas, who even now is tormented in hell.
Peter, momentarily roused from his fear—perhaps as much in self-defense as in defense
of our Lord—foolishly attacked Malchus, the servant of the High Priest (26:51). The
failed attempt is almost comical. He attacked a servant, not a soldier. Rather than
protecting himself and his friends, his assault instead assured that they would be
wounded or killed in a fray in which they were obviously no match for their adversaries.
And most presumptuously, he usurped leadership from Christ. His folly earned censure
from Jesus, not praise (26:52-54). Even if his aim had been better and the odds more
favorable, his actions were both dangerous and inconsistent with Christ’s program. In a
statement many Christians through the centuries have failed to heed, Jesus taught that
His cause will not be advanced by violence (26:52). Indeed, He healed Malchus in a
final act of benevolence (Luke 22:51).
More importantly, Christ insisted that His arrest and pending death wasn’t merely the
result of treachery or force. He Himself had the power to annihilate the throng, as He
had proven when He sent them reeling with a single word (John 18:6). Further, He had
at His disposal twelve legions of angels—some 72,000, for those who are counting!—
had He desired deliverance (26:53). He did not. He had come to earth to sacrifice
Himself for sinners, and He embraced the suffering that was to come rather than
avoiding it. The Scriptures must be fulfilled. The cup must be drained (John 18:11). “It
must be so” (26:54).
Some wonder why the garden arrest was even necessary. Why were Judas’ services
required? After all, Jesus was probably the most recognizable person in Jerusalem. The
answer is that the cowardly leaders were seeking a time to take Christ in private, lest they
should instigate a riot (26:55-56; Luke 22:6), and Judas gave them such an opportunity.
Christ’s enemies were cowards in taking Him. Worse, Christ’s disciples were cowards in
forsaking Him. Seeing that His arrest was unavoidable—and even desirable, from His
perspective—they ran off into the night (26:56).
With the bread of the Lord’s Table still in their stomachs, the wine still on their breath,
and their boastful vows still ringing in their ears, the disciples abandoned our Savior.
DAY 4 • JESUS’ POWER & PETER’S WEAKNESS
MAT THE W 26:57-75
The records of Christ’s trial and Peter’s denials are intertwined in the four Gospels.
Matthew seems to intentionally contrast them, moving from Christ (26:57), to Peter
(26:58), back to Christ (26:59-68), then back to Peter again (26:69-75), before finally
settling on Christ (chapter 27). The comparison isn’t flattering for the audacious
disciple. His failure is spectacular.
I run to Christ when stalked by sin
And find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him;
Temptation yields to grace.
I run to Christ when plagued by shame
And find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—
My Advocate and Friend.
I
R U N
T O
C H R I S T
To appreciate the depth of Peter’s fall, we must remember what had transpired in the
hours preceding it. He had argued with Christ, insisting that he would remain with
Him unto death, even if all others denied Him (26:31-35). He had slept when he
should have prayed, despite Christ’s warnings (26:40-41). He had displayed misguided
zeal by severing Malchus’ ear (26:51). He had then forsaken Christ and run for his life,
fulfilling our Lord’s prophecy (26:56).
Unlike the other disciples, Peter and John collected their courage and followed Jesus to
Caiaphas’ home, albeit at a distance (Mark 14:54). No doubt Peter convinced himself
that he would do better if the opportunity arose.
Not so. Whereas he promised Christ that he would stand out from the other disciples
for uncommon valor, he instead distinguished himself by uncommon shame. He denied
Christ before the servant girl who gave him entrance to Caiaphas’ grounds (26:69-70).
Mark 14:68 indicates that the cock crowed after this first denial—a warning shot, if you
will. Peter moved into the courtyard, away from the light of the fire by which he had
warmed himself. Still, he was recognized in the shadows, this time by several others who
were sacrificing their sleep to leer as the scandal unfolded. Again Peter denied knowing
Jesus, this time reinforcing his words with a vow (26:71-72). As Christ’s mockery and
beatings commenced (Mark 14:64-66), Peter was fingered a third time, now with the
evidence of his Galilean speech and the testimony of a relative of Malchus’ brought
against him (John 18:26). Desperate with fear, Peter renounced his Lord even more
vehemently, offsetting the evidence of his accusers with a series of curses (26:74).
The third denial coincided with both the crowing of the rooster and a look across the
crowd from the Lord Jesus (26:75; Luke 22:61). How devastating the look from the
bloodied Savior must have been! Surely, His bruised and swollen eyes communicated
grief and pity, not disgust. But such love can be harder to bear than anger. Broken, Peter
fled again, this time more overcome by shame than by fear (26:75).
Though we are prone to condemn Peter, honesty forces us to seen in his failures our
own. Despite our confidence—and even our genuine love for Christ!—our flesh is
excruciatingly weak. We too have known the frustration of sinning, then determining
again and again to try harder and to do better, only to fail again, more despicably than
ever. We know how such failure can produce despair.
But we also learn from our brother Peter that failure need not be final. He was
reclaimed—by Christ’s convicting look, by Christ’s substitutionary death, by Christ’s
conquering resurrection, and by Christ’s compassionate and personal restoration (John
21:15-17, note that it was threefold like the denials). We too, if emptied of our wicked
self-reliance, can know the forgiving and enabling grace of the Savior, the same grace
that restored the fallen disciple and turned his infamous cowardice into stunning
courage not two months later! We too can learn from our frailty to abandon every hope
except the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.
DAY 5 • “REMEMBER JUDAS, AND BEWARE”
MAT THE W 27:1-10
The biblical record of the hours leading up to Christ’s sacrifice is precious, if somewhat
hard to read. One could wonder, then, why Scripture takes our attention even
momentarily from Jesus to tell of His betrayer. Yet, this is precisely what it does,
recording for us the culmination of Judas’ tragic life. As Christ’s death provides the
sinner with hope, Judas’ death provides the sinner with an unforgettable warning.
So weary of our trait’rous flesh—
Of sin we hate, yet crave—
We yearn to see temptation’s death,
Indwelling sin’s dark grave.
Come quickly, Lord! Make all things new!
Redeem the church, Your bride.
With longing eyes we look for You,
For home is at Your side!
C O M E
Q U I C K L Y ,
L O R D
Judas’ treachery was followed by regret. Motivated by greed and inspired by Satan
himself (Luke 22:3-4; John 13:2, 27), he had committed an unparalleled crime
against God, selling the Lord Jesus. When the transaction was complete, however, his
conscience was pricked—perhaps by Christ’s calm response to His betrayal, or His
healing His enemy, or His silence amidst violent persecution. Silver in hand, Judas
suffocated beneath a load of guilt and took futile steps to remove it. He grieved, but
grief alone wouldn’t atone for his sin (2 Cor 7:10). He provided a hostile witness
of Christ’s innocence (Mat 27:4)—a fact which only makes his crime all the more
dastardly. He confessed his sin, but only to men, not God. He even returned the silver,
either trying to undue his crime with alms or endeavoring to get the hated reward
out of his hands (Mat 27:5a). What a sobering example of the human experience: the
object which we determine to acquire at any cost not only leaves us dissatisfied, but
soon becomes loathsome to us. Though sorrowful, he found no redemption, for there
is no salvation outside of the Christ he had betrayed (Acts 4:12).
Of course, Judas hadn’t acted alone. He had conspired with religious leaders, the
spiritual “big wigs” of his day. He had led a “great crowd.” For a few fleeting moments,
he was appreciated and followed. Yet, he spent his final moments on earth utterly
alone. Though provoked to sin by multiple tempters (including Satan himself ), once
the deed was done Judas was abandoned. He regretted his betrayal—alone. He died a
terrible death—alone. And now he suffers in hell—alone.
Where were his co-conspirators? Having accomplished their mission, they ignored
the traitor, probably disgusted by him (27:4). Their lack of concern for his soul was
outdistanced only by their hypocrisy with his money. Though they were glad to stage a
mockery of a trial to condemn an innocent man—the very Son of God—they piously
refused to take back the little money with which they had purchased their prize.
Their sudden scrupulousness is shocking, like a man who has murdered his wife then
washing the dishes to convince himself that he’s a good husband. Sanctimoniously,
they used the money to do a good deed (27:5-8). Their murder of Christ even as they
worried about the proper handling of thirty pieces of silver is one of history’s supreme
examples of “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel” (Matthew 23:24). Yet, even
in this, they unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 11:13 (27:9-10). Even
their treachery was part of God’s plan of redemption. As John MacArthur writes, “God
remains absolutely sovereign over all, even when it seems the most evil schemes of
sinful men are about to achieve a sinister success” (The Murder of Jesus, 21).
Religionists would do well to learn from wicked Judas. We can no more atone for our
own sins than he did. Could regret, or penance, or confession to priests, or almsgiving
purchase heaven, Judas would be there even now. But he is not (26:24; Acts 1:25).
He stands as a pathetic testimony of sin and its end. In the words of the 19th century
pastor J. C. Ryle, “Let us remember Judas, and beware.”
DAY 6 • THE JEWISH TRIAL
MAT THE W 26:57–27:2
Two law-mocking trials consumed the hours between Gethsemane and Golgotha. As
most in Jerusalem slept, Jesus endured a Jewish trial which included three hearings. And
as most in Jerusalem greeted the morning, Jesus endured a Roman trial with yet three
more hearings. In a real-life Tragedy—complete with two Acts of three Scenes each—the
Judge of sinners was presumptuously judged by sinners.
Can it be? Who would believe?
Our promised Prince lacked majesty;
Ostracized, deeply despised,
A man from whom men hid their eyes.
Stricken hard, grotesquely scarred;
No face was e’er so cruelly marred.
Beauty free—a brittle tree—
Yet through Him God’s strong arm we see!
He was wounded, He was wounded!
Praise the Servant Sacrifice!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
We are healed by Jesus’ stripes!
H E
W A S
W O U N D E D
( I S A I A H
  )
In the first, religious trial, the Jews charged our Lord with blasphemy. It was a grueling,
sleepless night for Jesus. He was heard first by Annas (the High Priest Caipahas’ fatherin-law; John 18), apparently in an unofficial prehearing intended to satisfy the old
man’s vanity. Next he was brought to the courtyard of Caiphas’ house (26:57), where
He would face the Sanhedrin itself in the most significant of the three hearings, and
the one on which Matthew focuses. The Sanhedrin, comprised of religious leaders from
various sects, was Israel’s “Supreme Court.” In this hastily-assembled meeting, they would
serve as prosecution, judge and jury. The entire trial was a travesty—it was an unlawful
gathering meeting at an unlawful hour and utilizing unlawful tactics including bribed
yet embarrassingly inconsistent witnesses (26:59-61). Nevertheless, they deemed Christ
worthy of death, a verdict accentuated by Caiaphas’ theatrical (and lawless—Leviticus
21:10) rending of his garments (26:65-66).
The seething pot of hatred and jealousy was now ready to boil over. Though they went
through a mock trial, they made no pretense of impartiality. Consumed with rage, the
Sanhedrin behaved more like prisoners in a riot than spiritual leaders (26:67-68; Luke
22:65). They, the honored and solemn Council of Israel, spat on the One whom they
should have anointed. They blasphemously mocked the One whom they should have
adored. They viciously, hungrily beat the One before whom they should have bowed. Yet,
the Son of God absorbed their cruelty with stunning silence and passivity. God—who
buried Korah for speaking against Moses, who slew Uzza for touching the ark, and who
struck Uzziah with leprosy for touching the censer in the Temple—allowed Himself to be
beaten with impunity, without retaliation. It’s staggering to consider.
Though Jesus’ death was a foregone conclusion in their minds, they still needed to dot
their legal i’s and cross their legal t’s. Thus, sweaty and flushed from their torture of the
Christ, the Sanhedrin returned to order, endeavoring to make the sham of a trial appear
less scandalous. They met for the third hearing at daybreak, rendering a sentence and
formally sending Jesus to be judged by the civil magistrates (27:1). After all, the Jews
lacked the authority to execute a prisoner on their own (a fact which they ignored when
Stephen was charged with blasphemy some years later).
The accusers’ riotous bloodlust stands in stark contrast to Christ’s silence. Though He had
often spoken with such eloquent brilliance that His embarrassed questioners had been
silenced (22:15-46), now He made no answer (26:62-63a). Just as He could have called
for angelic deliverance in the Garden, so He could have defended Himself successfully
against the false charges. Instead, He remained silent (Isaiah 53:7), submitting to unjust
condemnation. Indeed, He more than refused to defend Himself; He implicated Himself
(at least in the eyes of these wicked men) by boldly affirming His identity as the Son of
God, the Son of Man, and the promised Messiah (27:64; Mark 14:62). By testifying
of His own deity, Jesus let His accusers off the hook. They lacked evidence, credible
witnesses, and even coherency! Yet, He bolstered their bogus charges. Though faultless,
He was determined to lay down His life. Thus, God was slandered and condemned—by
sinners for sinners.
DAY 7 • THE ROMAN TRIAL
MAT THE W 27:11-26
As the sun He created rose over Jerusalem—the sun which would later vanish while
its Maker suffered—our weary Lord was led by the religious thugs to Pontius Pilate.
So began the civil trial in which the accusation was changed from blasphemy (which
mattered little to Rome) to insurrection. It was a shrewd move, for Pilate, the harsh and
calculating governor of Judea under Tiberius Caesar, feared little more than revolution.
The Jews refused to enter the Praetorium, requiring Pilate to speak to them from a
balcony. Thus, the trial—both of Jesus and of Pilate—was a public event.
My Jesus, kind, was torn by nails,
By nails of cruel men.
And to His cross, as grace prevailed,
God pinned my wretched sin.
O love divine, O matchless graceThat God should die for men!
With joyful grief I lift my praise,
Abhorring all my sin,
Adoring only Him.
M Y
J E S U S ,
F A I R
Pilate’s first view of Christ must have been striking. The Jews, who so often complained
of Roman abuses, delivered to him a man whose face was puffy, bruised, and bloody.
Though Matthew’s account deals with the initial hearing only briefly (27:11), John’s
unpacks it more specifically (John 18:29-38). Pilate asked the nature of the charge (John
18:29), and the Jews were deliberately evasive (John 18:30). He pursued the matter via
a personal interview with Christ. He was unimpressed by the religious controversy and
said as much to both the Jews and Jesus (John 18:31, 35, 39). Still, the Jews persisted,
desiring the death sentence which they themselves could not deliver (John 18:31). They
added the false charge that Christ forbade the paying of taxes (Luke 23:2). Now that
was blasphemous to Rome! Still, Pilate essentially acquitted the accused: “I find no guilt
in him” (John 18:38; Luke 23:4). The sentence thus delivered, Christ should have been
released. However, hoping to avoid displeasing the Jews, and having learned that Jesus
was from Galilee, Pilate sent Him to be tried by Herod (Luke 23:5-7).
Herod was pleased by the opportunity, for he had longed to see the Miracle-Worker for
some time (Luke 9:9; 23:8). Whereas Jesus at least gave brief answers to the Sanhedrin
and to Pilate, He stonewalled the immoral murderer of John the Baptist (Luke 23:9).
Bored by the accusations from the Jews and unable to provoke a response from the
Savior, Herod and his men advanced the mockery of Christ by dressing Him in royal
garments, an ironic nod to His kingship (Luke 23:10-12). Jesus was sent back to Pilate,
who though unsuccessful in passing the buck, couldn’t resist a chuckle at Herod’s prank.
United in their tomfoolery during history’s most tragic event, the former rivals became
fast friends. Nevertheless, the second hearing ended like the first: Pilate and Herod
affirmed Christ’s innocence (Luke 23:13-16).
The final appearance before Pilate—the third hearing of the Roman trial—receives the
most attention in Scripture (Matthew 27:12-26; John 19). Pilate, more politician than
judge, tried to pacify the Jews by having Jesus beaten (Luke 23:16). Recognizing the
Jews’ envy, and fearful both because of his wife’s warning (Matthew 27:18-19) and the
crowd’s vehemence, he sought another loophole. He offered to release to the people a
prisoner as a show of good will. Again he was frustrated, for the mob chose a murderer
over the sinless Savior (27:15-21). Pilate had succeeded only in making the hateful
Jews his rulers. Ironically, those who accused the peaceful Savior of insurrection were
themselves on the verge of rioting. Pilate repeatedly protested of Christ’s innocence, but
he ultimately relented and delivered Jesus to be crucified (27:23-26).
If ever human depravity were displayed without dilution, it was at Jesus’ trial. Gentile
rulers united in whimsical mockings and savage beatings of the one true King. Jews
swore allegiance to the Caesar they detested (John 19:15). The one thing they hated
more than Roman oppression and taxation, it seemed, was the One who had come
to be their Savior. All of them—Jews and Gentiles alike—formed an unholy alliance
against the Messiah (Acts 4:25-28). Sinners thus fulfilled a plan they had devised for
years as part of the purpose which God had devised from eternity.
DAY 8 • GOD ESTRANGED FROM GOD
MAT THE W 27:27-49
It was around nine o’clock in the morning when the trial concluded and the execution
commenced (Mark 15:25). Already marred beyond recognition, the Savior headed toward
Calvary, where the beating and blasphemy which He bore through the night would climax
in His crucifixion. The little assistance He received only facilitated His suffering: Simon of
Cyrene carried His cross to the top of Golgatha (27:32).
His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise—my all—shall be for Christ alone.
H I S
R O B E S
F O R
M I N E
The physical brutality of crucifixion has been often described. Christ was pinned to a cross
and left to expire by blood loss and suffocation. He was a public spectacle, probably naked
(27:33-35). The mocking continued, thrown at Him by an odd alliance of priests, Romans,
and even the criminals hanging on each side (27:36-44). The cruelest gibe, however,
related to His Father. The chief priests sneered, “He trusts in God; let God deliver Him
now, if he desires Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (27:43). They derided His
claim to intimacy with the Father. If God loved Him, they reasoned, He would save Him.
Wondrously, that is precisely what did not happen. The Father would not deliver Him.
Instead, the Father would forsake Him.
Like petals dropping from a rose, Christ’s human companions had fallen away, one after
the other. The crowds whom He had fed and healed—who had praised Him when He
entered Jerusalem only a few days earlier—were gone. The outcasts He had befriended were
gone. The publicans and sinners, the healed lepers, the forgiven prostitutes were gone. Even
His disciples had departed: Judas had betrayed Him; the eleven had abandoned Him; Peter
had denied Him. Undaunted, Christ could at least could rest in His eternally satisfying
relationship with the Father. Do not the Scriptures repeatedly point to God’s presence as
our comfort even when others fail us? “Fear not,” the Scriptures comfort us, “for I am with
you.” Even in the valley of the shadow of death, David writes, “I will fear no evil, for you
are with me” (Psalm 23:4). God had always been with Christ—not just during His human
life, but for eternity past. The Father and Son had enjoyed eternal union and fellowship.
Human abandonment could be borne with silent dignity, as long as God was present.
But He wasn’t. In a cataclysmic breech that we gaze on in wonder and mystery, the Father
forsook the Son in whom He delighted, leaving the world in physical darkness and
leaving the Son in spiritual darkness (27:45). Christ, silent through every other blow and
abandonment, screamed in desperate, infinite anguish: “My God, My God, why have you
forsaken me?” (27:46; Psalm 22:1) Draped in the sins of mankind (2 Corinthians 5:21),
Christ fulfilled the terrible promise of Isaiah 59:2: our iniquities separated Him from
God so that God would not hear Him. Jesus was exiled from God, suffering the crushing
solitude that we deserve. The one of whom Heaven had twice boasted “This is my beloved
Son!” was rejected by God in sinners’ stead. God was estranged from God!
The cup which Christ so dreaded in Gethsemane hours earlier, He drained while on the
cross. He consumed God’s wrath against every sinner who would one day run to Him for
salvation. He didn’t deflect or divert God’s displeasure against sin and sinners—He entirely
absorbed it. He bore it all. This is the great doctrine of propitiation (Romans 3:25; 1 John
2:2; 4:10)—that God’s wrath has been satisfied by Jesus’ sacrifice. Because Christ was
abandoned, those who trust Him as Savior can be welcomed. Because He was cursed, we
can be blessed. Because He was left in darkness, we can come to the light. Because He was
expelled from God’s presence, we can enter it through His blood. Because He was forsaken,
we will never be forsaken (Heb 13:5).
The cost of our salvation is staggering. With your ears to attune to Christ’s cry of
desolation, abhor your sin, and adore your Savior.
DAY 9 • THE POWER OF THE CROSS
MAT THE W 27:50-54
An angelic host proclaimed the Messiah’s birth. The Father Himself affirmed His delight
in the Lord Jesus at both His baptism and His transfiguration. However, as the Lord
Jesus suffered and died, Heaven was silent. The angels were mute with astonishment.
The Father—surely as grieved by the division from His Son as Jesus was—provided only
judgment as Christ hung between heaven and earth, abandoned by both. Yet, a series of
miracles announced the accomplishment of redemption, proclaiming that this was no
normal man and no normal death.
In Eden’s bliss we walked with God
Unhindered by the curse.
Yet we rebelled and were expelled—
Estranged; alone; perverse.
Two mighty cherubs barred the path
To Eden’s holy place;
No more could men, now stained by sin,
Behold our Maker’s face.
Beneath the Law we sought the Lord
Through sacrifice and priest.
One time each year one man, in fear,
Sought God with blood of beast.
Still mighty cherubs blocked the way
So sinners could not pass—
In curtain sewn, on golden throne,
They stopped the rebel fast.
Then Christ appeared to clear the way
To God for sinful man;
Fulfilled the Law without a flaw—
Our Temple, Priest, and Lamb.
Astounded cherubs stepped aside;
Each hid his flaming sword.
With nail and thorn the Veil was torn;
Draw near through Christ the Lord!
D R A W
N E A R
T H R O U G H
C H R I S T
First, beginning at noon (27:45), an unnatural darkness engulfed the earth for three hours,
providing a visual manifestation of the spiritual punishment God was executing. Jesus, in
whom there is no darkness at all, was drowning in the spiritual blackness of man’s sin and
God’s wrath.
Whereas one miracle whispered of the Son’s travail, several others shouted of His triumph.
When Christ’s saving death was finished and He victoriously breathed His last, the earth
shook and thundered with a mighty earthquake (27:51). Tombs were opened, and saints
who had died rose again (27:52-53). Scripture doesn’t explain this miraculous and limited
resurrection, but it appears to be a foretaste of the resurrection that Christ’s work attained
for all who have believed. Jesus, by dying, conquered death and its master (Hebrews 2:14).
By Christ’s death, Christians live!
Perhaps the most doctrinally significant of the miracles that accompanied our Lord’s
death was the rending of the Temple veil (27:50-51). Ever since the fall, humanity has
been barred from God’s immediate presence and the life it affords. Adam and Eve were
expelled from the sanctuary of Eden, which was guarded by cherubim (Genesis 3:22-24).
Even when God stooped to dwell among His people in the Old Testament Tabernacle
and Temple, sinners were barred from entrance into His throne room, the most holy
place. A massive veil separated it from the rest of the Temple. Symbolically, the veil was
embroidered with cherubim (Exodus 26:1), signaling that God’s presence was still guarded
and inaccessible. Only one man, the High Priest, could pass beyond the veil to offer a
blood sacrifice, and he could only do so once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus
16). Sinners—even God’s chosen people—had no direct access to God.
All of that changed when the Savior died for sinners. Christ, by His death, removed the
barrier between God and sinners that had been in place since Eden. As His life expired,
the massive Temple veil tore from top to bottom, signifying that God Himself had cleared
the barrier (27:51). It was as though the cherubim had sheathed their flaming swords and
stepped aside. Access to God was provided for all believers and for all time by the once-forall sacrifice of Christ. The Son had been expelled from God’s presence that sinners might
gain entrance.
More than any other New Testament book, Hebrews celebrates the tearing of the Temple
veil. Hebrews 10:19-22 parallels the rending of the curtain with the tearing of Christ’s
flesh. In other words, Jesus is our Temple (John 2:19-21). He is the place where sin is
atoned for and where sinners meet with God. We are invited to “draw near” to God,
entering the most holy place (figuratively) by the “new and living way” which Christ has
provided by the shedding of His blood (Hebrews 10:22; 4:15-16).
Those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ as Savior are welcomed
into the very presence of God—themselves, without a human mediator, without an
animal sacrifice, anytime, anywhere. Moses had no such privilege. Nor did David or the
prophets. It’s a remarkable thing. Draw near to God through Christ.
DAY 10 • JESUS’ BURIAL
MAT THE W 27:55-66
It’s astounding to think that the events we’ve considered—and many more (John 1317)!—all took place during a 24-hour period, from sundown to sundown. But that
time was fading as the second sunset approached. Whatever the popular response to
Christ’s death and the miracles accompanying it, the crucified bodies had to be removed
(Deuteronomy 21:22-23) and the onlookers had to disperse to their homes before the
sun melted into the horizon to start the Sabbath. The Romans accommodated the Jews
by breaking the legs of the men being crucified to hasten their deaths, but Christ had
already died and suffered no broken bones (John 19:31-34). The body which was often
exhausted by days of ministry and nights of sleepless prayer lay lifeless.
We have looked in faith to Christ,
Beholding God’s atoning Lamb.
He for our sins was sacrificed,
Thus we, though dead, have been born again.
Jesus, Your beauty fills our eyes—
First looking, we were justified;
Now gazing deeper sanctifies,
Till face to face, we are glorified.
Y O U R
B E A U T Y
F I L L S
O U R
E Y E S
Christ’s burial is striking in its simplicity, especially when compared to the funerals of
the day. Traditional Jewish funerals were notorious for their length. The deceased would
be lamented for days at a time, as in John 11. However, Christ’s body was wrapped and
laid to rest in a matter of minutes. In light of the beatings He endured, it must have
been a gruesome job. Still, it had to be done, and hastily. There was hardly time for a
respectful pause.
Though burials were often extravagant, Jesus lacked even the funds to pay for His own
tomb. He who had no place to lay His head in life (Matthew 8:20) borrowed a place to
lay His head in death (27:60). As Isaiah had prophesied (53:9), Jesus associated Himself
with both the wicked and the wealthy in His death and burial.
Though the loss of the bereaved was typically shared by entire communities, very
few were present at Christ’s burial. The eleven disciples were notoriously absent. Two
wealthy Jewish converts named Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were bold enough
to ask Pilate for the body and kind enough to care for it (27:57-60; John 19:38-42).
Several godly women looked on, planning to return after the Sabbath to do justice to
their Lord’s corpse (27:55-56, 61; Luke 23:55-56). Together, the sorrowful company
made an odd but fitting portrait of Jesus’ ministry. They were few in number. They
were both men and women, both rich and poor. They included a respected rabbi and
a converted demoniac. Even as they sorrowed for His death, they were trophies of the
power of His life.
Finally, though eastern funerals were exhaustingly emotional, sometimes including
hired mourners in addition to the naturally devastated family, Christ’s burial could
scarcely be called a funeral at all. Whereas the deaths of great men throughout history
are usually spectacles, Jesus was laid in a tomb as a matter of necessity. He, the Creator
of heaven and earth, was buried with all the honor of a beggar. He who wept over
Lazarus’ death was scarcely mourned.
A great stone was rolled over the tomb’s entrance (27:60), even as the sun disappeared.
Sundown. Jerusalem, weary from the tumult, settled into a much-needed hush. Christ’s
disciples hid themselves away, their fear mingling with sorrow and regret. Christ’s
enemies scarcely took time to celebrate their apparent triumph but instead labored to
preserve it. Oblivious that their schemes would be used by God to trumpet the veracity
of Christ’s resurrection, they secured the tomb (27:62-66).
Resurrection? Indeed. All that had transpired in the twenty-four hours between the
Last Supper and Christ’s entombment made possible that glorious day. The stone that
moved once to mark Messiah’s death would move again to mark His resurrection.
The sun that hid during the crucifixion would shine to announce that He was risen.
Sundown would yield to sunrise; night would give way to day—and for those who trust
this mighty Savior, to eternal day.