INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• There are so many illusions we live under in life, things like we are in control of our own destiny, or that we did it all on our own. Men, we are under the illusion that run the home.
• We see folks around the word under the illusion that their god is telling them to send their children to their deaths, or that they are to kill anyone who will not follow their false god.
• For one to be drawn into believing an illusion, one must be willing to believe the illusion to be true.
• When it comes to illusions, some of the people who lived during the ministry of Jesus were living under an illusion that many people to this day still embrace, the illusion that Jesus was not God.
• People embrace the same illusion about Jesus that many embraces about Him during His ministry.
• When you think about it, believing that the person standing before you is God is hard to believe.
• People were susceptible to the illusion that Jesus was not God because the truth that He IS God is almost too incredible to comprehend.
• I used to watch the Show Cris Angel, Mind Freak. This guy was one of the best at making illusions believable. He did things that made me want to know how he did it because I knew the illusions he performed were too incredible to be real.
• Imaging watching Jesus perform His miracles, the miracles themselves could easily lead on to believe that He was God, but the thought of standing in the presence of God is almost too incredible to believe.
• So, the illusion that we will examine today, that Jesus was not God, is a much easier pill for many to swallow than the fact that HE IS GOD!
• People who want to reject Jesus believe they have a vested interest in Him not to be God, so any evidence they look at, they look at it with an eye toward not believing Him to be God so they can comfortable live under the illusion we will examine today.
• When I watched the illusions Mr. Angel would perform, part of me wanted to believe they were true, but in the end, I realized what he was doing was just an illusion. As incredible as the illusions he performed were, I knew in the end, they were just illusions.
• Believing Jesus is not God is simply an illusion also. Let’s turn to Matthew 27:35-37 to gain our first observation.
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 27:35–37 (HCSB) — 35 After crucifying Him they divided His clothes by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and were guarding Him there. 37 Above His head they put up the charge against Him in writing: THIS IS JESUS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. The crucifixion offered the illusion that Jesus was not God.
• Something that fed into the illusion that Jesus was not God was the fact He was being crucified.
• When you consider the concept of God, one of the attributes most folks give to whatever god they care following is that the god they follow is powerful and in control.
• I am sure there are exceptions to this. Not too many will follow a god who is weak and can be beat up by the town bully.
• One thing we need to keep in mind as we ponder the crucifixion is that more than likely, some it not many folks who were there, at some point either personally witnessed or knew someone who witnessed a miracle Jesus had performed.
• The miracles enamored people, they wanted more.
• Even Herod during one of the trials of Jesus wanted to see Jesus because he had heard that Jesus performed miracles.
• SLIDE #4
• Luke 23:8 (HCSB) Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see Him because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by Him.
• Remember, last week during the arrest, Jesus secured the release of His disciples, who promptly abandoned Him and then ran away.
• Jesu has been beaten, He has been nailed to the cross and He and is looking pretty helpless at this point.
• There guards on duty, but they were there to ensure that no one would help get Jesus or the two thieves off the cross.
• Jesus had to look pathetic on the cross.
• It would not be unusual for Jesus to be naked on the cross because this was the normal Roman pattern. However, since Jesus was clothed on the journey to Golgotha, it is probable the mid-section of His body was covered with a loin cloth.
• Since this was a Jewish issue, it would be possible He was covered in that manner.
• If one is going to make up a story about a God, you would have Him beaten half to death, hanging half naked on a cross.
• Roman crucifixion was not meant only to kill someone, but it was meant to make that death a long agonizing death, one that could take days, then the Romans usually left the body on the cross to rot as a deterrent lest other folks decide to get out of line with the Roman government.
• The scene at hand could easily make the illusion that Jesus was not God feasible.
• To add to the humiliation was the sign put about the head of Jesus on the cross.
• THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
• This is something that Pilate had placed over on the cross with Jesus. It was common for a sign to be placed around the neck of the accused as they were carrying their cross to execution.
• Then the sign which stated the crimes for which the condemned was dying for would be affixed to the cross for all to see.
• Jesus’ crime is therefore perceived as a political one, a threat to the established authority of Rome.
• The irony is that Jesus is being crucified for being exactly who He is, Israel’s King, perceived as such even in His infancy (2:1–2). But a king that passively submits to his enemies was totally incongruent with Israel’s messianic hopes.
• The crucifixion helped give credence to the illusion that Jesus was not God, as He claimed to be.
• The Jewish leader objected to the sign. John adds this detail
• SLIDE #5
• John 19:19–22 (HCSB) — 19 Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was: JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”
• The religious leaders in verse 21 backed up the fact that Jesus claimed to be God.
• For these leaders they felt they had a vested interest in Him not being God because I think they were afraid to lose their grip on power over the people.
• These folks being able to crucify Him fed into their desire for Jesus not to be God.
• As I touched on last week, there are a lot of things in live that can make us believe the illusion that Jesus is powerless and not God.
• When we see the evil of the chemical attacks unleashed on Syria. When we see the ugliness that happens in the world, the suffering, the injustices, we wonder why God has not stopped it from happening.
• I have good news, one day, when the Lord returns, it will all be taken care of!
• Next let us turn to verses 38-44
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 27:38–44 (HCSB) — 38 Then two criminals were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 Those who passed by were yelling insults at Him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “The One who would demolish the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him and said, 42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him! For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’ ” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with Him kept taunting Him.
• SLIDE #7
II. The crowd lived under the illusion that Jesus was not God.
• As people were passing by, they were falling under the illusion that Jesus was not God.
• People were shouting insults at Him, they were shaking their heads and mocking Him for some things He said during His ministry, things by the way which the people did not understand what He was saying.
• The College Press Commentary on Matthew makes offers and interesting insight.
• In another ironic twist, Jesus had earlier protested that he was being arrested as if he were “leading a rebellion” (lit., as a “bandit” or “robber,” 26:55), now he is crucified in the midst of robbers (??sta?, lestai).
• It is probable that the two crucified with Jesus were not mere thieves, but rather rebels, and like Barabbas were “insurrectionists” who resorted to murder and banditry in their opposition to Rome.
• With Jesus being mocked as Israel’s king, between two rebels, the scene also graphically taunts Jewish political hopes that were centered in the anticipation of a revolutionary king.
• This goes back to Jesus not being the type of King the people were looking for.
• This also goes to the heart of why folks today would reject Jesus, because He is not the kind of Savoir they want.
• People want a Savior who will make life easy, who will bless them in every way, no matter what choices one makes in life.
• I think it was Burger King that used to say, HAVE IT YOUR WAY. Many want a Burger King Jesus!
• Jesus is being taunted mercilessly about saving Himself.
• If you are the King of Israel, which in the context denotes the Messianic Deliverer of Israel, then come off the cross and save yourself.
• Put in the thinking of the people stirred up by the religious leaders, HOW CAN YOU DELIVER US FROM ROME IF YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF!
• The Jewish leaders assume that, while in the past He might have had saving power for the welfare of others, He is presently powerless to save Himself.
• Therefore, He could not be God’s Son since God would not leave his Son powerless in such a situation. Therefore, any claim to be the King of Israel, bringing messianic deliverance to the people of God must be false.
• The religious leaders also said if He would come off the cross and save Himself, they would believe in Him. They are now dictating to God how God’s will should be made known by their demands for Jesus to come down from the cross!
• In verse 43, the leaders are thinking of Psalm 22:9 because they assumed that if Jesus truly trusted God. God would rescue Him!
• The irony of the content of the mocking will not be missed by Matthew’s readers.
• Jesus’ mission has brought salvation to others, there ought to be no question concerning his power to “save himself.” The mockers cannot envision a situation where one would not want “to use the power that is at his disposal to save himself.”
• Look, the Messiah, the Son of God does not make sense to them any more than it makes sense to us until we understand something important!
• SLIDE #8
III. Jesus shattered the illusion by staying on the cross.
• The people wanted to try to manipulate the will of God by mocking Jesus in order to get a rise out of God, but the truth of the matter is that Jesus shattered the illusions that He was not God by STAYING on the cross, not vacating His calling and mission!
• The religious leaders were like what Satan did to Jesus when Satan tried to temp Jesus to follow Him.
• They religious leaders would reward Jesus with belief if He would do what they wanted Him to do.
• But Jesus had a mission to save mankind, not Himself.
• Jesus knew that God would take care of that.
• Jesus had the power to get off the cross, but He chose instead to follow the will of the Father.
• The suspense of Matthew’s story centers in how Jesus’ resistance to temptation, which results in his death, which in reality, exhibits his messianic power and intimacy with God.
CONCLUSION
• Coming off the cross would not have accomplished the mission Jesus came to fulfill.
• Love is what kept Jesus on the cross, selfishness and a hard heart is what kept Jesus out the hearts of the people and still locks Him out of the hearts of people yet today.
• Next week on Easter Sunday, we will examine the illusion that Jesus failed!
