“They Couldn’t Keep Him Down”
Unit II: Christ’s All-sufficient Sacrifice
PRINTED TEXT: Matthew 27:39-40, 45-54; 28:1-10, NIV
April 20, 2025
Key Verse: “Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:9, NIV)
Lesson Aim:
- Examine how the death and resurrection of Jesus borrow meanings from the Temple and the Hebrew Bible’s sacrificial system.
- Rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection.
- Go and tell others how they can know the risen Christ.
Unifying Principle and Why this Lesson Matters: People want their lives to have meaning. What meaning can we find in life? Matthew tells us that Jesus’ death and resurrection find meaning in the Temple and the Old Testament’s sacrificial teachings, leading to the worship of the Risen One.
Reference Material: Faith Pathway Bible Studies for Word, Student Book and Teachers Guide, The Townsend Press Sunday School Commentary, The Student Bible Dictionary, The Holy Bible, King James Study Bible 1985.
The Introduction, Lesson in Focus, and Biblical Context:
Matthew, also known as Levi, wrote the first Bible book of the New Testament. He was initially a tax collector who responded to Jesus’ call to become a disciple. It is estimated that this gospel was probably written around AD 80, and the intended audience was the church of Antioch in Syria. The events in the Book of Matthew primarily took place in the region of Palestine, spanning from Caesarea Philippi in the north to Beersheba in the south. At that time, this area was under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Christian Jews viewed their plight to be synonymous with that of the enslaved Jews of Egypt, and Matthew wanted them to see that Jesus was their new Moses. Matthew’s presentation of Jesus follows Old Testament prophecies that a Jewish audience would be able to understand. Matthew begins his narrative with Christ’s genealogy to establish that He is the heir to Israel’s kingly lineage, which includes Jesus’ birth, early life, and His preparation for ministry, Matthew 1-4:11. Matthew arranges his teachings into five major discourses: The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7); instructions to the Twelve (Matthew 10); parables regarding the kingdom (Matthew 13 and 18); and the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25). Matthew climaxes his account with Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, death, burial, and victorious resurrection, which meant that salvation would be possible for those separated from God by sin (Matthew 26-28). These events led to the final attempt to end the mission of our Lord and Savior, our sacrificial Lamb, our redeemer, and our hope. However, these self-serving acts were ultimately futile attempts to disavow Jesus as Lord. These final chapters also mark the completion of Jesus’ mission and the commissioning of His disciples. In essence, the book of Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah. Christ’s coming to the earth had been anticipated for centuries. God chose Abraham’s family as the line through which His Son would enter the world. Additionally, God founded and nurtured the Hebrew nation through the ages as a shield for that family line of descent. Since that time, many significant world events have occurred; however, from a Christian perspective, none surpasses the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the Resurrection is the heart of the Christian message. The Resurrection showcases God’s unmatched power, demonstrating that the Creator of life can restore it after death, and affirms Jesus Christ’s identity as the Son of God and the awaited Messiah. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is foundational, and the Cross was necessary to atone for human sins. Therefore, our faith is not in vain because Jesus’s resurrection secured our justification and provided a way to obtain a right standing with God, as validated in Romans 4:25, which states: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Point to Remember: Every day is an opportunity to celebrate the Resurrection by proclaiming its broad message of hope, renewal, and transformation for all who embrace it by faith in Jesus Christ.
Misguided Mockery (Matthew 27: 39-40, NIV):
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!”
Matthew 27 is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ trial, mockery, crucifixion, and death. The adversaries were not satisfied with just killing Jesus. They went to great lengths to ensure that He was degraded, demeaned, dishonored, and debased, and resorted to every imaginable act to disgrace Him. They were laser-focused on demolishing His character, message, and influence. Misguided mockery and ridicule aimed at Jesus began with Pilate’s soldiers and continued among hundreds of travelers passing by the place outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. He was subjected to continual mockery and verbal abuse as they wagged their heads. Their spiritual blindness prevented these mockers from understanding that Jesus predicted His death and resurrection when He made the statements found in these verses. The blindness blocked their understanding of Jesus’ words and fueled their challenge to Him to save Himself by coming down from the cross if He were God’s Son, as He claimed. Their refusal to acknowledge and accept Jesus as the Promised Messiah prevented them from grasping the meaning of His teaching, nor did they understand that their own Scriptures were being fulfilled in their presence (Psalm 22:6-8). Three spiritual principles are applicable from this misguided mockery of Jesus by the crowd: 1. there is a relationship between studying and internalizing God’s Word and acquiring spiritual insight; 2. an affirmation of the credibility of God’s Word; and 3. the extent of God’s grace and mercy. The reality was that remaining on the cross proved that Jesus was indeed God’s Son. It was necessary for Him to die for others, so He chose to patiently endure their misguided insults. This continued while Jesus suffered the intense pain and shame of crucifixion. However, He was born to die and bridge the sin barrier that separated humanity from God. Jesus did not come to save His life but to give it as a ransom for sinners. The torture helps humanity envision the depth of His love as He laid down His life in our stead. He was taking on the role of a martyr, and He willingly paid for our salvation. All that He suffered was only justified because it was part of the mission on which God had sent Him. Jesus’ patient endurance of the humiliation and shame of the Cross illustrates the depth of God’s love and the scope of His grace toward sinners.
Rejection by the Father (Matthew 27: 45-54, NIV):
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, lama 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.
51. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 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.
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!”
Jesus’ crucifixion began at the third hour, which corresponds to approximately 9:00 a.m. Matthew notes that from the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), a supernatural darkness came over the land. The sudden and confusing disappearance of the sun lasted for about three hours, reflecting the gravity of Jesus’ sacrifice and the world’s sins that He took upon Himself. During this period, Jesus became the world’s sin offering and was forsaken by the Father. The trauma of this break in their eternal relationship caused Jesus to ask why His Father had abandoned him. During this period of darkness, He became sin for us, as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” His words are a direct quote from Psalm 22:1, further substantiating the credibility of Old Testament prophecies that refer to His crucifixion. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice in what scholars have reasoned to be Hebrew. Jesus intentionally used a language intended for only the Father: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani; which was interpreted to read, “My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?” Those hearing the words did not understand that He was speaking in Hebrew and thought He was calling Elijah to help Him. One bystander rushed to get a sponge soaked in sour wine, placed it on a reed, and offered it to moisten His vocal cords so that He could speak more clearly, while others jeered mockingly. As Believers, we must understand that on the cross, Jesus became sin so that humanity could be considered righteous, and Jesus was now feeling disconnected from the Father’s fellowship. ‘This was necessary to fulfill God’s merciful and loving plan of redemption. Jesus had come for this very purpose and had no intention of being rescued. His death triggered three significant events. First, the Temple veil, which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, was torn from top to bottom, symbolizing unrestricted access to God’s presence. Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, humankind had now been covered with the blood of Jesus and was now free to approach the throne of Grace. Second, a great earthquake shook the earth, splitting rocks and opening tombs. Finally, deceased saints were resurrected, entered Jerusalem, and appeared to many. These unusual happenings accompanying the Crucifixion so impressed and frightened a Roman centurion and other guards that they confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. This marked a moment of divine revelation and recognition of Jesus’ true identity.
“Come See; Go Tell!” (Matthew 28: 1-10, NIV):
- 1. After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
- 2. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
- 3. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
- 4. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
- 5. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
- 6. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
- 7. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
- 8. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
- 9. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
- 10. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
At dawn on the day after Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and burial, a group of women, including “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary,” went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body for proper burial. Their visit to the grave shows the love and goodwill they felt towards their Savior. They were confident that a way would be made whereby they could anoint the body, even though they were unsure how the stone at the tomb’s entrance would be moved. All the Synoptic Gospels give an account of the women being the first witnesses at the empty tomb, which was significant because the status of women at that time was not well regarded. Jesus had repeatedly told His followers that He would rise again. The events occurred as follows: An angel of the Lord descended in an earthquake, rolled back the stone, and sat on it. The stone was not rolled back to allow the Lord to walk out, but so that those curious could walk into the tomb and see for themselves that He had risen from the dead. The angel’s dazzling appearance left the soldiers guarding the tomb paralyzed with fear. Upon their arrival, the angel addressed the women, encouraging them not to be fearful and inviting them to see the place where Christ’s body had been laid. What they saw was only His graveclothes and the cloth that had wrapped Jesus’ head lying in its place. The angel then instructed the women to go quickly and tell Jesus’ disciples about His resurrection and that He would meet them in Galilee. The women obeyed by hurrying from the tomb fearfully, yet joyfully, to deliver the Good News to the disciples. While they were en route, Jesus met and greeted them, and they responded by quickly running to Him, embracing His feet, and worshipping Him. Jesus again reiterated the instructions given by the angel to go and tell His brothers to go to Galilee so that they would see Him there. Jesus did not refer to His disciples as followers, disciples, or apostles but rather as His brothers, which was the ultimate term of endearment and a show of forgiveness for their abandonment. The Resurrection proves that no struggle is too big for God. For us, Christ was prompted by love to endure brutality. His oppression and abuse were displays of love in action.
Point to Remember: We were corrupt and undone people who needed a Savior. So, Christ died on the Cross for us. He was prompted by love to endure brutality, and He paid the ultimate price. Moreover, despite all He had gone through, Jesus got up and sat at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us. Praise His Holy Name!