The Revelation of the Son of God
Matthew 27:
Two robbers 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 robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, a lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” b
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 stick, 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.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
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 c of God!”
Everyone loves a challenge. It’s kind of like a dare that kids play - “I dare you to . . . I double dog dare you!” And it’s that kind of language that has become common within Christian churches today. “I challenge you to turn your life over to Christ! Give your life to Jesus right now! I challenge you to raise your giving! I challenge you to change your family life!”
Jesus also was issued a challenge in today’s text. “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!” Those who passed by said it. The chief priests and elders said it. Even the robberS said it. Both of them at first! IF you are the Son of God - that you claim to be - PROVE IT! Very similar to the challenge, they wanted Jesus to reveal who he was by a miraculous salvation of his own life. So today we’ll see how Jesus answered that challenge, with His own -
Revelation of the Son of God
I. Satan’s version of what the Son of God should do
When you hear someone “challenge you” to do something, what is it that motivates you to do it? A part of it is your ego, isn’t it? I’m going to prove to them that I CAN do it. It’s a prevalent thought in the highly scientific and man centered world that we live in - that nothing is impossible for you IF you put your MIND to it.
In the realm of today’s Christian world, however - the motivation seems to be more God centered. While I was writing this sermon, I had a young Baptist lady call me to get our youth group to come to an “Acquire the Fire” rally in Kansas City. When she said they would, “challenge the young people to read their Bibles more, pray more, and come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” I asked her about that term, “challenge.” She said that it was not “me” centered or ego centered, but God centered. Challenge kids to do it because God tells them to. “I can be a good father! I can be a faithful wife! I can give my first fruits!”
It was this same system that the chief priests, the criminals and the people passing by tried on Jesus. They challenged him to come down from the cross. Why? To prove he was the Son of God. You see, their vision of the Son of God was based on power - on passages like Isaiah 9:7 which said, He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. Their idea of a king would be one who would save THEM from their tyranny under Herod and the Romans and establish a PHYSICAL kingdom and overpower the Romans. If Jesus really wanted to be the Son of God - then he would have to meet up to THEIR expectations of what he should do. The LEAST he would have to do was first of all to SAVE HIMSELF! If they did this, then they said, we will believe in him.
Is that true? They had seen Jesus heal the sick. They had seen him feed the thousands. They had seen him raise the dead even! They even ADMITTED that “he saved others.” But this must not have been powerful enough for them. In Matthew 16, The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away. Why didn’t Jesus give them the sign they asked for? Because they couldn’t read the signs they had already been given! It reminds me of the man who was caught up on his roof during a flood and prayed for deliverance. A boat came by to save him and he said, “no, the Lord will save me.” The river rose and rose. A helicopter then came by and tried to pick him up. The man said, “no! The Lord will save me.” Finally the river overcame his rooftop and the man drowned. He asked the Lord, “Lord, why didn’t you save me?!?” The Lord said, “you fool! I sent a boat and a helicopter after you! What more did you want?” The man failed to see the signs!
The problem wasn’t that Jesus didn’t show them the signs. It’s that the signs that Jesus showed them were not the kind of signs they wanted. His signs were taking care of the poor and diseased, but they wanted him to take care of their oppression under the Romans. His miracles were raising the dead, but not lifting the taxes. So they challenged Jesus to perform another sign - to come down from the cross. For in their minds, no Savior would allow himself to be crucified and suffer. The problem was that their expectations of the Son of God were not completely based on the predictions of him.
I got caught up in that same type of problem in my conversation with the young lady about her challenges. She said that at this youth event they would challenge the kids to read their Bibles an hour a day or spend an hour a day with God in some way. Then she asked me if I did. I said, “yeah, I probably do, but it’s not always a set time.” It seemed like a good idea to me at first. But if you think about it - how far does this go? What if I don’t spend an hour a day with God? What if I don’t meet your “challenge?” Does that make me more sinful than you? Does that mean I’m not as dedicated as you? Where does God’s Word say that I should spend an hour a day with him? You see, if we start challenging people to do things that we think are good ideas to grow in faith - that even worked for us - does that mean that it works for every Christian? Just because someone challenges me to do it, does that make it right? If I start buying into that concept, should I feel guilty if I don’t? Does that mean that if I don’t meet up to these challenges, that I’m not really a “son of God” just because I don’t meet up to their standards? Should I feel guilty if I don’t meet your credentials for Christianity? Am I not “saved” because I drink a beer once in a while? If I smoke in moderation? If I dance?
My point is, that sometimes religion can put their own expectations on people that are not commanded nor forbidden in the Bible. Sometimes they can demand things based on ONE portion of the Bible without taking into consideration another. And if we begin to think that we’re better than other Christians because we meet our own criteria for right and wrong, we become like the Pharisees. Jesus didn’t have to meet THEIR criteria to prove Himself to them. He had to meet God’s. But even if I try to meet God’s criteria on my terms, but my only motivation for doing that is because I’ve been challenged and because “God says so,” is this even a God pleasing motivation? Paul said, everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14) If I don’t do it out of love for my Savior, but simply because I must obey my God because he says so, my heart is in the wrong place.
II. God’s version of what it means to be the Son of God
It seems like too much of a coincidence that all three parties - those walking by, the chief priests, and even the thieves were questioning Jesus’ Godhood and challenging him to come down from the cross. Satan almost had to be behind these taunts. If Satan realized what he had done by taking Jesus to the cross - he would have had to desperately undo this to keep Jesus from saving the world. So he tried the same temptation he used with Adam and Eve. Instead of thinking what GOD wants, think what YOU want and what YOU can do. Satan defied Jesus - saying, “PROVE yourself! Prove you’re the Son of God! Flex your muscle and come down!” Ultimately, that’s the same thing that made Satan himself fall. He didn’t want to serve God. He wanted to serve himself.
But Jesus wouldn’t fall into this line of thinking. He didn’t have anyone to prove Himself to but God. He knew what God had called Him to do. It wasn’t to save Himself. It was to save the world. But there was only ONE way that he could save the world. Hebrews 9:22 says, the law says. . . without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Isaiah 53:5 predicted that Jesus would be pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities; so that . . . by his wounds we are healed. The true Son of God could only prove Himself by going to the cross - being pierced - and suffering death and hell - for the sins of the world. There was no other way. And so Paul told the Philippians in chapter two about Jesus - who being in very nature a God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! That was what the Son of God was supposed to do.
Jesus revealed who he was by doing what God TOLD him to do - dying! Everyone called for Jesus to show His power. But only a powerful God could have taken the sins of the WORLD on his shoulders. Only a powerful God could have gone through with it! Jesus knew what hell was like - he created it for Satan and his angels. He knew how painful and agonizing it would be. But now he would experience it. Only the Son of God could do this. As difficult as it was - even for the Son of God - Jesus went through with it. Jesus revealed he was the son of God by fulfilling GOD’S expectations of Him - not theirs.
The neat thing is that all of these people called for Jesus to display his power - and even they saw that power - even in Jesus’ death. What happened? At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Imagine if you were standing there when Jesus finally died! After three hours of darkness - the earth shook! Rocks split! Dead people rose to life! This was so impressive that God’s Word says, 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!” When Jesus revealed Himself in his own terms - by dying - the centurion and his cohorts seemed to have been brought to faith. And even one of the criminals was convinced Jesus was the Son of God - not by coming down from the cross - but by staying there!
Thank God that Jesus stuck to His OWN TERMS for revelation! For when Jesus revealed himself as the Son of God by DYING - the temple curtain tore in two! God was signifying to the Jews - “the law is completed! It is fulfilled! Now a new era has arrived! The completion of the sacrifices has been made! The blood of the Son of God has been made! Your salvation is paid for!” If Jesus had done what the chief priests and others wanted, he couldn’t have saved others. The only way he could save us, was by NOT saving Himself.
Isn’t this just the most wonderful revelation we could have? For it reveals to us why we - sinful and filthy human beings - can also be called “sons of God.” We don’t have to meet certain challenges that other Christians make up for us. We don’t have to prove ourselves to God in order to be acceptable to him. Jesus met the challenge. When Jesus lived a perfect life and died an innocent death - He fulfilled His role to be the Son of God for the substitute of the world. Now God has given you His Word that - a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. (Romans 3) Your acceptance as a son of God is all a gift of God’s grace - free of charge - through faith in the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God. Amen.
