Good Friday was a dark day, indeed…  Jesus, sinless, innocent, God-in-the-flesh, scourged and then nailed to a cross.  Even His death sentence proclaimed truth about Him!

Matthew 27:37-65

37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

Jesus chose to be beaten.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.

Jesus chose to be ridiculed and mocked.  He was cursed so that we might be blessed.

Jesus chose to be scourged.  By His stripes, we are healed.

Jesus chose to take on the cross.  He was pierced for our transgressions.

Jesus chose to give up His life.  He died so that we might live.

Jesus chose us over His own life. 

Jesus did what we never could do on our own; live this life of trials and temptations without ever sinning.

Jesus then chose to pay the penalty for sin. 

Since He didn’t owe that debt Himself, He can freely give away the forgiveness that He earned to anyone.

This is so significant, but it gets way, way better!

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

At the death of Jesus, the power of sin to separate mankind from God was destroyed!  Now, His Presence could rest with us and bring to us life instead of death since the full penalty of sin was paid in full!

The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

These two little verses don’t get anywhere enough exposure!  The bodies of many dead holy people were raised to life and walked about Jerusalem appearing to many people!  Can you imagine walking down the street and there is Elisha or Jeremiah or Moses or Isaiah and they’re like, “Hey, how’s it going?”  Well, but in ancient Hebrew…

How could anyone alive at that time experience all of these events and still harden their hearts in doubt about who Jesus was and what He accomplished?  We know that some certainly did turn their hearts and lives back to the Lord!

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

The Burial of Jesus

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named J