The Amazing Effects of Jesus’ Death
Matthew 27:54-61
July 14, 2013
As you know we are studying through that tremendous section of Scripture in which Matthew records for us the incident of Jesus’ death.
We have seen:
1) THE PLOT OF HIS DEATH
• God did this, through the hands of wicked men.
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
2) THE PURPOSE OF HIS DEATH
• Forgiveness
Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
3) THE PARTICIPANTS IN HIS DEATH
• Everything was wrong
• Soldiers with no charge to arrest
• An illegal Trial
• A silent witness
• A confessed false testimony
• An ignored verdict
4) THE PICTURE OF HIS DEATH
• Jesus bearing our shame
Mocked by everyone.
Matthew 27:44 “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”
5) THE POWER OF HIS DEATH
• Access granted & Death defeated
Matthew 27:50-53 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”
And that is where we are in Matthew’s account.
This morning we can take it a step further and talk about:
THE PRODUCT OF HIS DEATH
I’ve called this sermon,
“The Amazing Effects of Jesus’ Death”
We saw last week the tearing of the veil and the resurrection of the dead.
What I want you to see this morning is
The effect that Jesus’ death had on people.
The death that Jesus died and the way He died,
had a tremendously inspiring effect on those around Him.
And I think it is important to Matthew for you to see this.
If you’ve noticed by now,
Matthew is highly concerned about how people treat Jesus.
• No gospel account depicts those mocking Jesus in a worse light than Matthew.
• At the same time, Matthew is also very conscientious to be sure and show you the positive effects as well.
And for us, this proves to be an important portion of Scripture.
The crucifixion of Jesus is a horrific event.
• The mocking He endured
• The beating He endured
• The suffering He endured
• And even the effects of sin that He endured
As we have stood here these last several weeks and witnessed all of this,
It can really be a difficult thing to know how to respond.
• On one hand we are angry and want Him released…
• On the other hand we are grateful that He is being crucified…
• On one hand we weep because of His suffering…
• On the other hand we rejoice because by His stripes we are healed…
You can literally find yourself responding in any number of ways.
Well, this morning we are given a picture of
How a person is supposed to respond.
The death of Jesus inspired several responses,
And Matthew highlights three of them for us.
I want to show them to you and encourage you to respond in the same way.
The Death of Jesus Inspired:
#1 PUBLIC CONFESSION
Matthew 27:54
This is really amazing when you think about it.
I have many times let my mind meditate for hours on this scene,
Playing out in my mind and marveling that it occurred.
For here we have “the centurion”
• The name itself indicates that he was a leader in charge of 100 men.
• This was no bottom dwelling soldier.
• This was an experienced, qualified, military man.
This particular man must have been at least in partial command of
The cohort that first mocked and then crucified Jesus.
It is definitely fair to assume that he was left in charge of the soldiers
Who were commissioned to keep watch over Jesus
As we saw back in verse (27:36)
It would have been his men (maybe even him)
Who gambled over His garments
Certainly this man had been a part of this ordeal from the beginning.
He was a part of Jesus’ beating
He was a part of Jesus’ mocking
He was a part of Jesus’ crucifixion
And now, he has settled in for the long haul
To watch Jesus suffer until He dies.
This man would have to be a cold man by nature.
Rome fought no shortage of wars
Rome spilled no shortage of blood
Furthermore Rome was no stranger to crucifixions.
Pilate himself had crucified over 300 insurrectionists
And lined the road with their crosses.
The point is, this man was hardened.
• He’d seen his share of blood
• He’d seen his share of gore
• He’d seen his share of crucifixions
Watching Jesus beaten, bleeding, and dying on the cross
Was not a new thing to him.
And yet here we have the strangest of events.
(54) “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Here we see “the centurion” and his men.
When they began to perceive the things that were occurring
“became very frightened”
“frightened” translates PHOBEO
It is where we get our word for phobia.
It was an all consuming, deep down, enormous, overtaking fear.
THAT IS STRANGE
This was a centurion and his men, they had seen far worse,
They had faced terrible things in battle.
And yet the soldiers are terrified.
And the response of the centurion was “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Now according to Matthew it was because of
The earthquake and the darkness.
Mark gives more insight.
Mark 15:39 “When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
It was more than just the earthquake, it was the entire scene,
Including the demeanor and cries of Jesus.
Now, let me help you see what has occurred.
• Jesus was beaten, mocked, and condemned.
• At 9am He was crucified.
• And for three hours man heaped upon Him the worst that they had.
• The reviled, they mocked, they scorned, they shamed
• But then at noon darkness fell on the land and for three hours God dealt with sin.
• During that time Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
• During that time Jesus cried out “It is Finished!”
At the ninth hour Jesus died,
And at the ninth hour light came back on the cross.
And the centurion was in no way ready for what he would see.
He had seen men beaten
He had seen men crucified
He had seen men die in agony on the cross
But he had never seen anything like this
Isaiah 52:14 “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”
According to Isaiah Jesus didn’t even look human any more on the cross.
He was so marred, He was so beaten
WHO DID THAT?
The centurion knew that it wasn’t him.
When light shined back on the cross he knew something was wrong.
And really it wasn’t just the centurion.
The crowd was equally shocked
Luke 23:48 “And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.”
They weren’t appalled before the darkness,
But they most certainly were after the darkness.
It was obvious that this was more than just a normal execution.
And here we have this centurion.
• He may have never heard of Jesus before this day.
• He certainly knew that Pilate had declared Him innocent.
• He may have even been in the Praetorium when Jesus was questioned.
What is certain is that he knew what sort of things
That were being said about Jesus here at His crucifixion.
Matthew 27:41-43 “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
Just by standing around the cross,
The centurion heard a great deal about Jesus.
• He heard that Jesus saved others.
• He heard that Jesus claimed to be the King of Israel
• He heard that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God
When Pilate heard that, it terrified him.
Odds are good that it caused some concern for the centurion as well.
But those accusations coupled with the events he just saw,
Left this soldier with no doubt.
And at that moment he was compelled to do an amazing thing.
He gave a public confession of Jesus.
“Truly this was the Son of God”
Now, let me remind you that
There is only one way this man could have known that.
1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
Furthermore, do you remember when Peter made that same confession? What did Jesus say to Him?
Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
The point I am making is that this man, at this moment,
Became a believer in Jesus Christ.
God, through His Holy Spirit, revealed the true identity of Jesus
To this man and he was saved.
• The crowds were afraid and appalled
• The soldiers were afraid
• But this man made a public confession of Christ
• He began as an unbeliever, lost in sin, nailing Jesus to the cross.
• 6 hours later he was a believer, and was rejoicing in his salvation.
Luke 23:47 “Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
He wasn’t just confessing, he was praising.
That is one obvious effect that the cross should have on your life.
If you are lost, and have never trusted Christ,
Then the cross should inspire public confession.
There is no doubt He was innocent
There is no doubt He bore our sin
There is no doubt He successfully appeased God’s wrath
It ought to motivate you as well to stand with this centurion and confess that Jesus is in fact the innocent Son of God.
That is one of the inspired responses to the cross.
Let me show you a second one:
Public Confession
#2 PURE DEVOTION
Matthew 27:55-56
I told you that Matthew is hard on the people who mocked Jesus,
But he is also very mindful of those who stuck with Him.
Here Matthew brings up that amazing group of women
Who we find at the cross of Jesus.
The disciples had long since ran in fear
But not these women.
(55-56) “Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”
As one woman put it:
“No woman betrayed Him, no woman denied Him, no woman deserted Him; yet it was a woman who, through act of intuition, tried to save Him.”
And that is true.
You have to love these women.
Their boys had run in fear.
In fact, one would not think poorly of these women if at this point
All they could think about was the safety of their boys.
But not these women
Through it all, they were resolute, steadfast, devoted to Jesus.
They became the chief eye witnesses of His death.
But even now, as Jesus has died, they still haven’t left.
You will see in a moment that Joseph will bury Jesus,
And notice what we see:
(VERSE 61) “And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.”
Joseph comes to take Jesus and buries Him
And these women will not let Him out of their site.
The follow to the grave, and even after Joseph leaves, they stay put.
The only time we know that they left the grave was to go and gather the spices
To come back and anoint His body on Sunday.
Many have talked about the fact that Jesus first revealed Himself
To these women after He rose from the dead.
I for one don’t think He had any choice, they wouldn’t leave.
WE CALL THAT DEVOTION
If all they could do now was anoint His dead body,
Then they would do that.
After what Jesus had done for them,
It was the least they could do for Him.
And that is the right kind of response to the death of Jesus.
We often quote:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
It is a person who is so grateful for what they have received,
That they give all that they have in response.
Here we are seeing the effect of the cross on a true believer.
• The centurion wasn’t a believer, but the cross made him one.
• These women were already believers, the cross only made them more devoted.
That is what it should do for us in here who already believe.
It should intensify our devotion.
• Look at what He endured for you!
• Look at what He took!
• Consider the price that was paid!
• Consider the debt you owed!
He didn’t stop on you, now you don’t stop on Him.
These women had pure devotion.
Public Confession Pure Devotion
#3 PERCEIVABLE CONVICTION
Matthew 27:57-60
I really like this one.
(57) “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.”
Now, as I told you, Matthew is so grateful for those who are sticking with Jesus,
That he views them only in a positive light.
John was a little more honest.
John 19:38 “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.”
So John didn’t like the fact that Joseph had been a secret disciple.
And one thing you should remember is that
A secret disciple is not a saved disciple.
But Joseph was secret; until today.
Luke 23:50-51 “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;”
Mark says:
Mark 15:42-43 “When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.”
And so we are getting a little better idea
Of what type of guy we are dealing with.
• Joseph was a good guy
• He was just a quiet guy
• He wouldn’t come public about Jesus
He didn’t consent to kill Him, but he never spoke up to stop it either.
WHY?
Joseph was a man of high position, and a rich man.
He had much to lose.
Furthermore Joseph wasn’t the bravest of souls.
He had to gather courage to go before Pilate.
But the point is that he did.
This shy, quiet, fearful, silent follower…
ON THIS DAY LET HIS CONVICTIONS BE KNOWN
Joseph stepped up to the plate.
(58-60) “This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.”
I want you to think about the repercussions.
YOU ARE EXPOSED AS A FOLLOWER
• Could lose place on the council
• Early believers had property seized
YOU CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN PASSOVER
• Unclean for handling a dead body
But Joseph did it anyway.
• Now the centurion was a non-believer who got saved
• The women were true believers who showed their devotion
• Joseph was a silent follower who was empowered
He let the death of Jesus empower him
To do what he never thought possible before.
He was so inspired by the death of Christ
That he went against the grain and did what was so foreign to him.
And that is the right kind of response to the cross.
When Jesus asks us to do things that may make us a little uncomfortable…
When Jesus pushes us out of our comfort zone a little bit…
We only answer, “For Jesus, it is the least that I can do”
And so if you wonder how you are supposed to respond to the cross
Just take the example of those who were there.
Jesus death deserves:
• Public Confession
• Pure Devotion
• Perceivable Conviction
Give it to Him.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
