Jesus' Death and Resurrection

Read Matthew 27:11-55

How does this passage make you feel?

Jesus is 100% God AND 100% Man, this is a message of HOPE!

Most of us have probably heard the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Christianity would not exist if we did not have the resurrection
The focus is often on the miracle of the resurrection but we often forget the human nature of Jesus
Jesus was born to ordinary parents, not royalty like the Jews thought
Jesus came to earth as a baby just like Isaiah prophesied 600+ years earlier

1. Jesus went through the justice system, just like anyone else

Jesus was put on trial by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish High Court)
But like Luke 23:2 says, they knew that they could not kill Him themselves
Instead, they sought to have Jesus punished through the Roman justice system by making Him seem like a threat to Caesar’s reign
Pilate did not want to be caught up in the middle of this religious dispute
During Passover, Pilate was permitted to release a prisoner back to the Jews and gave them a choice between Jesus and a notorious killer named Barabbas, and the Jews chose Barabbas
Pilate, with advice from his wife, was hesitant to punish Jesus. After the Jews chose Barabbas, Pilate make a declaration that he is relieved of the blame for having Jesus punished (and crucified)
Throughout this whole ordeal, Jesus remained silent and did not protest the decision from the community that just a week ago was welcoming Him joyfully

Why would Jesus let Himself go through this process if He were the Son of God?

2. Jesus felt pain, just like anyone else

After receiving His sentence from Pilate and the Jewish people's pleas, Jesus was to be scourged by the Roman soldiers
Scourging is a type of whipping but Jesus was not whipped with a whip that is like what we would think of today but one that had strips of leather with sharp pieces of metal or barbs to tear the flesh as it was pulled back
After being scourged Jesus was taken by the Roman soldiers to be mocked
They dressed him in a red robe, which is a symbol of the Roman god of war, and a crown of thorns, which was made of the same type of wood that was used to build the Temple, and called Him the King of the Jews mockingly
Jesus felt His flesh be ripped from His back. He felt the thorns pierce His skin. He felt the humiliation of being mocked by the soldiers

Why would Jesus allow these men to mock and torture Him if He were the Son of God?

3. Jesus died, just like anyone else

Jesus was put on the cross. He had nails in His wrists and His feet just keep Him up there. His whole body weight is borne by these nails.
Above His head, there was a sign that said “This is Jesus, The King of the Jews” just continue to mock Him until the last second
Even one of the men being crucified at the same time was mocking Jesus.
The crowd was calling out to Jesus telling Him that if He was truly God’s Son why didn’t He get rescued from the cross?
For hours, Jesus hung there in pain, it was slowly killing Him. He called out to God as He bore all sin and asked “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
He felt truly alone on that cross. He called out one last time and died, His Spirit leaving His body

Why would Jesus die if He were the Son of God and claimed to have come to save the world?

BUT…

4. Jesus was resurrected, not like anyone else

He was the perfect sacrifice, a lamb white as snow, that bore our sin but did not become sinful. Jesus tore the veil that separates us from God and allows us to have a personal relationship with Him without proxies anymore
Matthew 28 is the second half, and the most important, part of this story.
Jesus rose again, He tore the Temple down and built it back up again in 3 days just like He said He would in John 2
This is why we know Jesus is God. He keeps His promises
We have this opportunity to sit in His presence and worship His name without barriers now

Questions:

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