4/13/25 a.m. “Watching Jesus” Matthew 26 and 27
This morning we’re going to be looking at two Chapters. Matthew 26 and 27. We’re going to look at the last few days of the life of Jesus. There was a lot that happened in that time.
Now we’re going to be mainly looking at the Book of Matthew this morning but to get the full story, and how all of this played out, we have to look at all four of the Gospels. So when you get the opportunity read Matthew 26 and 27. Mark 14 and 15. Luke 22 and 23. And John 18 and 19. These passages do not contradict each other but they all blend together so that we can see the whole story of the DEATH of Jesus upon the Cross of Calvary. So let’s take just a minute and go down through these Verses and kind of get a timeline how all of this happened.
A. So first of all, the Jewish leadership had been looking for a way to get rid of Jesus. They felt like He was a threat to their authority. And so in Verse 3 of Matthew 26, they met together to CONSPIRE how they might do away with Him and keep it all quiet.
B. Then in Verses 7-13, a woman takes an entire pound of expensive ointment and anoints the feet of Jesus. John 12 tells us that it was Mary of Bethany. Also in John 12, this makes Judas mad. He makes the argument that this should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Well, Jesus corrects him in Verse 7 by saying,
“Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.”
C. Well, I believe this makes Judas mad, so in Verses 14-16, back in Matthew 26, he joins the conspiracy of the Jewish leadership. Let’s read Verses 14-16.
“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”
D. Now that gets us up to Verses 17 -30 of Matthew 26. Let’s go ahead and read those Verses.
“Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.”
E. In Verses 31-45, we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where He prays to His Father,
“O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”
F. Verses 46-50 is the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.
G. And so the rest of Chapter 26 is the Denial of Jesus by Simon Peter and the ABUSE that He suffered at the hands of the Jewish leadership. He was spit upon and beaten.
H. And so then Chapter 27 tells us of the MOCKERY of a Roman trial, the FALSE WITNESSES and FALSE ACCUSATIONS against Jesus.
I. Verses 3-5 tell us of the change of HEART that Judas had and how that he threw the money down that he had been paid and went and killed himself.
J. Verses 15-21 tells us of the RELEASE of BARABBAS. K. And that gets us up to Verses 35 and 36. And this is the Verses that I want to preach my message on today.
“And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36 And sitting down they watched him there;”
The process was complete. Jesus clothes were taken from Him. He was forced to lay down upon the cross. The nails had been driven through his hands and his feet. And then the CROSS was lifted into the air and dropped into the HOLE. Causing His flesh to RIP and TEAR.
And what did EVERYONE do? The Roman soldiers, the Jewish Leadership, the the bystanders, the people who loved Jesus, His mother, His followers, those He had healed. What did they do? THEY WATCHED HIM. And so before we take Communion, I want to bring a short message on “Watching Jesus.”
But before we do, let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother ____, would you lead us?
So what did they see as they watched Jesus? I want to talk about 4 things they saw as they WATCHED JESUS.
I. “And sitting down they watched him there.” And what did they see? They saw SHAME.
Jesus, hanging there totally naked. Hanging there between two hardened criminals. Hanging there accused of crimes He didn’t commit. Some mocking Him. Others crying. Some probably laughing at the spectacle.
And more than just what was seen by the NAKED EYE. SIN!!! My SIN and your SIN was placed upon Him. Jesus taking the CURSE of the CROSS for you and I.
Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Sometimes I don’t think we really grasp the SHAME of SIN. We don’t like to talk about the really bad sins do we? We talk about LYING, STEALING and CHEATING. DRINKING and DRUGGING. Using BAD LANGUAGE. CURSING. GOSSIPING Things like that. Jesus can forgive those right?
But the really bad sins are something we’re NOT SURE Jesus can forgive. LISTEN!!! NOTHING can be further from the TRUTH. The SIN of the CHILD MOLESTER was placed upon Jesus. The SIN of the MURDERER was placed upon Jesus. The SIN of the ADULTERER was placed upon Jesus. The SIN of the LESBIAN and HOMOSEXUAL were placed upon Him.
I don’t know your life. I don’t know everything you have done. And I don’t want to know. I’m not gonna tell you my NASTY SINS and you don’t need to tell me your NASTY SINS.
But this I do know. All of MY SINS and YOUR SINS were placed upon Jesus. And when the people set there and WATCHED JESUS, they saw SHAME.
II. “And sitting down they watched him there.” What else did they see? They saw the TORN FLESH. I mentioned it earlier but when the CROSS was dropped down into the hole, it hit the bottom and stopped. But the HUMAN BODY HANGING THERE DIDN’T. The weight of the body continued downward and as it did, the bones were NOT BROKEN but DISLOCATED.
The JOINTS were popped out of their SOCKETS. Specifically the SHOULDERS, ELBOWS and WRISTS.
And as all of this occurred the FLESH and the MUSCLES WERE RIPPED and TORN APART.
John was the only APOSTLE listed there that day. And as he watched the CRUCIFIXION happen I’m sure his mind went back to Jesus BREAKING the BREAD and explaining that it SYMBOLIZED His broken body. Jesus didn’t take the LOAF and SLICE it into nice little pieces. NO, HE BROKE IT just as His body would be BROKEN less than 24 hours later.
And as you and I take this COMMUNION BREAD here in a few minutes IT IS A REMINDER of the BROKEN BODY of JESUS. He did ALL OF THIS for you and I. There’s an old song, “When He was on the Cross, I was on His Mind.”
And I believe that today. There was NO OTHER REASON except for the SALVATION of MANKIND.
John 3:16 and 17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
That’s why He ENDURED the SHAME. And that’s why He ENDURED the PAIN of a BROKEN BODY. So that you and I could be SAVED.
III. “And sitting down they watched him there.” What else did they see? They saw the BLOOD as it flowed down His body and ran onto the ground.
The average human body holds a little over 5 quarts of BLOOD. And when the vessels holding that blood are torn open, the BLOOD doesn’t just SEEP OUT. No, it’s PUMPED OUT by the heart.
ILLUS: I remember as a boy butchering hogs at the farm. The throat would be cut as the animal was still alive and the blood would literally shoot out three to four feet until it had emptied itself.
As the people watched Jesus die they saw the BLOOD. And no doubt as John watched the BLOOD COMING OUT and running down onto the ground, he remembered the words of Jesus the night before.
“Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
We’ve talked about the SHAME that Jesus bore upon the Cross of Calvary. We’ve talked about His BROKEN BODY. And listen, as GROTESQUE and SICKENING as it might be, there was no other way for SALVATION without the SHEDDING of HIS BLOOD. Hanging by the neck, the Electric Chair or Lethal Injection WOULD NOT have brought salvation.
The BLOOD of JESUS had to be shed. Hebrews 9:19-22 “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood:”
Our PHYSICAL LIVES today are kept alive by our BLOOD. And our SPIRITUAL LIVES today are kept alive by the Blood of Jesus. There is NO OTHER WAY.
And so as the people watched that day, they saw the SHAME of JESUS as He carried our SINS upon Himself. They saw the FLESH of JESUS being TORN and RIPPED APART. They saw the BLOOD FLOWING DOWN upon the ground. And as we take COMMUNION this morning let’s remember what Jesus did for you and I.
IV. “And sitting down they watched him there.”
There’s one more thing that I have to point out and it’s the most astonishing thing I believe the people saw that day.
The people saw LOVE!!! Not Phlio - Brotherly Love. Not Storge - love of family. Not Eros - A sexual type of love. No, they saw AGAPE LOVE. The Love of God for mankind. Ultimate Love.
A. They saw God in the flesh hanging there in PAIN and AGONY, and yet BEGGING HIS FATHER to FORGIVE these people for what they were doing to Him.
Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
B. They saw God in the flesh hanging there in PAIN and AGONY, yet still forgiving one of those dying with Him that day. Welcoming a lost soul to His home in Heaven.
Luke 23:39-43 “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Those people that were there that day saw LOVE. The Jewish leadership, the Roman soldiers, Mary the mother of Jesus, some of His followers and the Apostle John saw LOVE.
C. And because of His love, they saw an INNOCENT MAN DIE. He DIED for you and He DIED for me. Romans 5:8,
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
D. The Jewish leaders saw their PROBLEM being done away with ... they thought.
E. Mary saw her Son, dying in agony and there was nothing she could do.
F. The Apostle John saw his hopes crushed. I don’t think he really understood what was happening.
G. The crowd saw entertainment. “Hey honey, let’s go out to Golgotha and watch some crucifixions today. Pack a lunch and we’ll have a picnic.” It is beyond me to understand but that was a thing to do. Josephus and other historical writers tell how that crowds would come out to watch. They would scream and mock those hanging there in agony.
“And sitting down they watched him there.”
You all that are sitting here today. Will you do something for me today? In your own mind will you VISUALIZE Mt. Calvary. Golgotha. The Place of the Skull. It’s a BARREN PLACE. A Roman Execution is taking place. Three crosses stand against the sky. Three men hang on those crosses. Now look at the man in the middle. What do you see?
Do you see JESUS, your Savior, the Son of God dying for your SINS or do you see Jesus, someone to IGNORE. Just another Historical Figure.
Listen, He loved you enough to die for you. Will you give your life to Him today? The choice is up to you.
As the people watched they saw the SHAME of your SINS and my SINS placed upon Jesus.
They saw the FLESH TORN. The BLOOD RUNNING down upon the ground.
And they saw LOVE like no other.
That same Jesus wants to be your Savior today. Won’t you come.
Let’s Pray
