WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 If you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:14.919 It's interesting, the crowds and the religious leaders who mocked Jesus that day thought 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:20.559 ! that they had conclusive evidence that Jesus was not who He claimed to be. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:29.519 After all, there He was on a cross. Surely He could not 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:37.359 be the King, the Son of God. The chief priests say it again with even more scorn, 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:44.799 He is the King of Israel. Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:52.439 Surely if Jesus is the King, the Son of God, He would come down. 00:00:52.439 --> 00:01:05.640 But Jesus doesn't come down. Jesus stays. He stays on the cross. 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:16.439 And what Matthew wants us to see is that it's not by coming down that Jesus proves Himself to be the 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:26.200 King. No, it's by staying on the cross that Jesus proves Himself to be the real King, the Son of God. 00:01:28.039 --> 00:01:32.200 Here is the King who stays. 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:41.319 And I think Matthew shows us two things about this King who stays in this passage that Carolyn just read 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:52.359 for us. First, Matthew shows us what it cost Jesus to stay. What did it cost Jesus to stay on the cross? 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:59.399 Well, first there was the cost of tremendous physical pain. By the time Jesus reaches Golgotha, He's already 00:01:59.399 --> 00:02:06.280 been scourged and beaten, as we read. So, He's already so weak that the soldiers need to force a bystander 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:13.400 named Simon to help carry the cross. And then there's the actual crucifixion itself, the nails driven through 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:21.960 His wrists and His ankles, so that hanging in mid-air, the weight of His entire body is pulling down, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:30.039 making it nearly impossible to breathe unless He pulls Himself up by the nails that drove through His skin 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:42.519 and through His bones. It's almost unimaginable pain, crucifixion. But Jesus, the King, stays. 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:51.399 But the physical pain was not the only cost. There was also the incredible cost of social shame. You see, 00:02:51.399 --> 00:02:58.680 crucifixion in the first century wasn't just meant to be physically torturous. It was designed to be 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:09.159 utterly shameful. It was designed to completely humiliate the victim. There you hung, naked, 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:21.960 body torn apart, pinned up like an insect in a case, so that everyone walking by could get the message, 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:29.080 that this is what Rome does with its enemies. This is what Rome does with its garbage. 00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:40.680 And everyone surrounding Jesus mocks Him, even His own people. The passersby deride Him, Matthew says. 00:03:41.640 --> 00:03:49.080 The chief priests with the scribes and elders mock Him. Even the criminals who are crucified along with 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:55.560 Him reviled Him, reviled Him in the same way, Matthew says. Notice Matthew uses three different 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:02.920 words for contempt just to underscore the deep social rejection and shame that Jesus underwent. 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:16.279 Here was the man who had touched lepers and prostitutes who had brought dignity to the lowest of the low, 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:26.759 and in return, he's mocked and shamed. But still, he stayed. 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:34.519 Through burning physical pain, through the intense humiliation and shame, he stayed. 00:04:37.719 --> 00:04:42.519 But the cost was even greater than that. Yes, the physical and the social cost were greater than 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:47.800 anything you or I could imagine. But there was a third cost that exceeded them both. 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:58.600 As darkness falls at midday, Jesus calls out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:11.319 This is a verse taken from the Psalms, an expression of utter God-forsakenness. This cry of dereliction, 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:20.920 as it's called, shows us the ultimate cost Jesus endured by staying on the cross, the cosmic cost 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.199 of being forsaken by God the Father. 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:34.439 Here is a cost that we truly cannot comprehend. What does it mean that God the Son, who existed from all 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:43.079 eternity in a perfect unity of love with God the Father, in the blessed Trinity of the one God, what does it mean 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:51.079 that there could be forsakenness there, a tearing in the very fabric of God's self? 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:57.480 You know, you consider our finite human relationships. 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:07.960 Perhaps you know what it's like to be alienated by a friend. Or a little deeper, perhaps you've 00:06:07.960 --> 00:06:13.000 experienced what it's like to be rejected by a son or a daughter or a close family member. Or 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:17.480 maybe you've even tasted the bitter pain of being forsaken by a spouse. 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.600 The longer, the deeper, the more intimate the relationship, 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:29.320 the greater the tearing sense of loss when the relationship is broken. 00:06:31.960 --> 00:06:38.760 But here, before the cross, what do we see? We see the eternal relationship between 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:48.520 Father and Son, eternal God, one of perfect unity and love, now turned dark. 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:59.479 When the ancient creeds say that Jesus descended into hell, this is it. 00:07:01.799 --> 00:07:09.639 Jesus underwent the utter horror of separation from God the Father, the utter darkness of wrath against sin. 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:20.839 Jesus underwent the utter horror of sin. And from that ocean of darkness, Jesus does not run. 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:29.639 He did not come down even when those waves were crashing over Him. He stayed. 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:40.439 He willingly endured even that cost too. The cosmic cost of God's forsakenness. 00:07:45.159 --> 00:07:50.199 As we consider that great cost, I wonder, how do you begin to see Jesus tonight? 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:56.680 In light of what it cost Him to stay, does your heart still look with 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.879 Jesus? Cynicism may be asking, why doesn't He just come down? 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:08.360 Or do you sense a greater admiration growing in your soul for this King, 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:14.519 this King who was brave enough, courageous enough, faithful enough to stay? 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:22.040 You know, our human leaders, our human leaders will stay through hardship to a point, right? 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:29.879 Or our friends, our relatives, our spouses, they'll endure hardship to a certain degree, even a great degree. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:40.279 But too often, when the cost gets too great, they come down. They back away. They resign. They leave. 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:52.439 They leave. But not this friend, not this lover, not this King. He stayed, though it cost Him literally everything. 00:08:56.199 --> 00:09:03.399 Friend, doesn't your heart begin to warm when you see His great resolve, His unflinching courage? 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:17.159 Here is a King who will stay. He will stay for you. He already has. And because He stayed through the darkest cost for you, 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:26.600 then you can know from here on out that He will not leave you. Even though you travel through the darkest valley, 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:35.480 He will not forsake you. But it's not just the cost of staying that Matthew wants us to see. 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:41.800 He wants us to know not just what it cost for Jesus to stay, but what it brought. 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.960 What did Jesus' staying on the cross bring about? 00:09:50.040 --> 00:09:55.080 Well, Matthew shows us in verses 51 through 54, the first thing he shows us is this, 00:09:55.080 --> 00:10:00.920 because the king stayed, the veil has been torn. Verse 51 says, 00:10:00.920 --> 00:10:04.920 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:10.840 This curtain separated the innermost room of the temple from everything else outside of it. 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:17.320 And in that innermost room, the very presence of God symbolically dwelled. But humans, you see, 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:23.080 were not allowed inside of that room, that holiest place in the temple that was divided 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:29.560 by that thick curtain. Except once a year, only once a year, the high priest could go in on the Day of 00:10:29.560 --> 00:10:34.440 Atonement, and only if he had the blood of a sacrifice that he could spread on the ark. 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:47.480 That curtain, that veil, that veil, it hung there, has a great sign of humanity's separation from God because of sin. 00:10:47.480 --> 00:11:01.960 You see, friends, God created us in His image. God made us humans to love Him and worship Him and obey Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:08.440 He made us to live in intimate communion with Himself and with His goodness and with His holiness. 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:11.400 That's why we were made. 00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:19.160 But we chose instead to worship gods of our own making. 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:29.000 We chose to worship created things instead of our Creator. And we chose to run our lives according to our own desires, 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.360 rather than according to His good word. 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.079 And that, that turning away from God is what the Bible calls sin. 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:49.960 And the result of our sin is complete alienation from God. God is infinitely holy and can have no fellowship with darkness. 00:11:49.960 --> 00:12:02.440 And in God's extreme goodness, He judges sin justly. And that means that there is now a thick veil between humanity and God. 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:10.440 God is an impenetrable barrier between sinful humans and a holy God. 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.120 You surely have felt this veil, haven't you? 00:12:17.160 --> 00:12:17.880 I know I have. 00:12:19.560 --> 00:12:20.760 God feels so distant. 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:23.480 God feels so unknowable. 00:12:24.680 --> 00:12:27.080 We wonder, is God even there? 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:30.760 And if He is, why doesn't He make Himself more clear? 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:33.960 God feels so distant. 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:37.000 Well, friend, here's the reason why we feel those things right here. 00:12:39.400 --> 00:12:40.200 Because of sin. 00:12:41.560 --> 00:12:45.640 We humans, we stand behind a veil. 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:55.320 And we push, we push into that thick curtain with the best of our reasoning capacities, and we push, 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:57.800 try to push through with the best of our good works. 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:00.359 But it doesn't budge. 00:13:01.959 --> 00:13:06.199 We just get lost in the infinite folds of that impenetrable curtain. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.279 We find ourselves more and more lost and more and more estranged. 00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:21.000 You see, the answer to our alienation from God cannot come from our side. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:26.120 We can't cut through the veil that separates us from God. 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:29.399 The answer has to come from God's side. 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:33.320 God has to make a way for the curtain to be opened. 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:37.000 But here's the great dilemma. 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:41.399 It's our sin that created the problem. 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:45.559 So the penalty is ours to pay. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.000 But our sin is so great that only God can pay it. 00:13:53.959 --> 00:13:55.720 So how can the curtain be removed? 00:13:59.319 --> 00:14:00.919 Friends, here's the good news. 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:05.799 It can be removed because the King stayed. 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:14.199 The eternal Son of God took human nature, and on the cross, He did what no one else could do. 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:19.559 Because He's fully human, He can act on behalf of us humans. 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:26.199 And because He's fully God, He can actually pay that infinite debt. 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:39.480 And when Jesus stayed on the cross in His utter, unrepeatable uniqueness, He did just that. 00:14:40.680 --> 00:14:43.000 Sin once and for all paid. 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:49.879 And so the curtain is torn, did you notice, from the top to the bottom. 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:55.080 The way once blocked by sin is now opened. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:03.159 The flaming sword that guarded the gate of Eden when humanity sinned and was driven out. 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.759 That flaming sword that said, there's no coming back. 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:16.840 That sword fell in judgment on our King, so that now the people of the King can enter back in. 00:15:20.439 --> 00:15:26.600 And the truth is, as long as we keep Jesus at arm's length, the veil remains. 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.960 The thick curtain will stay between you and God. 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:39.399 But if you embrace Him, if you take Him as your King, and put your faith in Him, then you'll step through. 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:48.360 His torn body tore the curtain open for all who trust in Him. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:55.639 He stayed so that you could enter into fellowship with God, with sins forgiven, with your conscience 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:57.320 cleansed, with your heart renewed. 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.159 Because He stayed, you don't need to remain far from God. 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:09.799 This night, this very moment, on this Good Friday, you can yield yourself to Him. 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:17.959 You can entrust your life to Him as your King, and know that God has opened the veil for you, 00:16:18.839 --> 00:16:21.000 and you never need to be apart from Him again. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:32.519 Friends, what we see here is the Father's heart of love, the Father and Son acting together, 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:41.720 mother, beckoning you, calling you, commanding you even, believe and be saved. 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.079 Don't stay in the far country any longer. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.960 Don't let the mists of sin cloud your vision anymore. 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:52.800 The king stayed for you. 00:16:54.280 --> 00:16:55.620 Give your life to him. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:01.259 But there's one more thing Matthew wants us to see. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:04.960 Because the king stayed, the curtain was torn. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:10.980 But in addition to that, because the king stayed, the grave has been defeated. 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:19.660 In verse 52 and 53, Matthew says that when Jesus died, many bodies of the saints were raised. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:22.539 And some of them even appeared in the city after Jesus' resurrection. 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:27.539 Now, of course, this detail raises a lot of questions that Matthew does not answer. 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:29.559 Where did they go? 00:17:30.140 --> 00:17:31.200 Did they die again? 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:33.500 Did they ascend to heaven like Enoch in the Old Testament? 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:36.420 And mysteriously, Matthew doesn't say. 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:39.420 But the point is this. 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:46.340 The death of Christ the king was the death of death for all who believe. 00:17:48.900 --> 00:17:58.240 How many of us live in the anxiety that we have only so many years in this life? 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:02.180 We have so few years even. 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:05.300 And then death will steal it all away. 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:07.840 And so we obsess, don't we? 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:12.559 We obsess about having the best experiences, the best job, the best vacation. 00:18:13.379 --> 00:18:18.720 And we worry that if we make the wrong choice about the job we take or the person we marry or the city we move to, 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:24.720 we worry that we'll waste the only life that we have and the only opportunity for joy and for happiness. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.199 So you see, we don't just fear death itself. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:33.539 But death casts a shadow of fear over everything else. 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:39.660 All of our life now is lived in fear, fear that we might miss out or make a wrong turn. 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:45.300 And if we're careful, we'll miss our one shot at happiness. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:57.740 But if you are a Christian, if you've come to see and trust in Jesus as your king, then death has lost its sting. 00:18:57.740 --> 00:19:00.019 Why? 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.059 Why? 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:06.819 Because your king has gone down into death for you. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:10.799 He waged the great battle against sin and death. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:20.099 And he stayed on the cross so that death would do its worst, so that death would exhaust itself to the fullest extent, 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:25.859 exhaust its curse, its finality, its joy-stealing power. 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:35.699 In the darkness of the cross, death fully spent its strength, striking with all of its force. 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:40.199 And our king took the full extent of the blow. 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:42.639 He stayed. 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:47.299 He stayed and absorbed the worst that death could deal. 00:19:48.659 --> 00:19:50.799 And he did it on behalf of his people. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:59.839 But you see, when the king went down into death, it was not ultimately the king who was defeated. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:02.859 Rather, it was death itself. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:06.639 Death had fired its last round. 00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:09.139 Death had run its course. 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:11.319 But the king conquered. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:17.740 You see, the resurrection on Sunday morning vindicated this king, 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:21.880 demonstrating that the sacrifice for sin was complete, 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:25.859 and that his defeat of death was done. 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:28.740 And now, 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.160 for all who are in Christ, 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:34.819 death has lost its power. 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:37.779 Yes, in this age, 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:40.319 until the king returns to make all things new, 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:42.640 we continue to die a physical death, yes. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:46.020 But the sting of death has been removed. 00:20:47.300 --> 00:20:50.880 Because now death can no longer steal our greatest joys. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.020 Death can no longer steal our happiness. 00:20:54.600 --> 00:20:56.360 Death can no longer steal our future. 00:20:57.700 --> 00:20:59.820 In all those senses that matter, 00:21:00.020 --> 00:21:01.040 death has died. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:05.040 And those who die in Christ in this age 00:21:05.040 --> 00:21:08.120 will be present with God until the day Christ returns. 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:09.379 And on that day, 00:21:09.439 --> 00:21:10.279 in the age to come, 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:12.959 we will rise with Christ to life imperishable 00:21:12.959 --> 00:21:15.719 in the renewed creation. 00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:18.939 But you notice how the earth shook 00:21:18.939 --> 00:21:21.699 and the rocks split when he died, 00:21:22.459 --> 00:21:25.959 as if birth pangs eager 00:21:25.959 --> 00:21:28.039 for a new creation. 00:21:31.639 --> 00:21:33.519 And so, because he stayed, 00:21:34.659 --> 00:21:36.559 death can no longer steal your joy. 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:38.960 And the fear of death 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:42.019 need no longer cast its dark shadow 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:43.460 over your days. 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:46.059 You are free now. 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:48.039 Free to love. 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:50.099 Free to give. 00:21:51.379 --> 00:21:52.539 Free to sacrifice. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.899 Free to be courageous. 00:21:55.879 --> 00:21:57.159 Because he stayed. 00:21:58.639 --> 00:22:00.799 In fact, because your king stayed, 00:22:00.879 --> 00:22:02.139 and now you too can stay. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:04.759 You can stay 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:06.200 when the trials come. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:08.460 When the way gets hard. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:10.599 When the cost seems great. 00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:12.460 You can love. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:14.619 You can persevere. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.919 With his spirit in you, 00:22:17.159 --> 00:22:18.279 you can stay. 00:22:20.179 --> 00:22:21.259 Because he stayed. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:23.980 Because he stayed for you. 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.500 Because of his love for you. 00:22:28.899 --> 00:22:29.579 Let's pray. 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:36.759 Lord Jesus, 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:40.480 as again on this night, 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.439 we meditate upon 00:22:43.439 --> 00:22:45.419 what you did 00:22:45.419 --> 00:22:47.220 on the cross. 00:22:48.679 --> 00:22:49.939 Oh, Jesus, 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:51.399 we acknowledge that we just 00:22:51.399 --> 00:22:53.220 catch, as it were, 00:22:53.339 --> 00:22:55.059 the little glimpse 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:56.119 of the deep mystery 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:57.159 and the deep power 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:58.720 of all that you accomplished there. 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.940 Help us by your spirit 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:03.279 to gain a richer grasp 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:03.940 of these things 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:04.759 and to live 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.200 in the confidence 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:09.420 that you have opened 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:10.080 the way 00:23:10.080 --> 00:23:11.140 to the Father 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:13.020 and put death 00:23:13.020 --> 00:23:13.020 00:23:13.020 --> 00:23:13.540 to death. 00:23:16.120 --> 00:23:17.180 Lord, draw 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:18.220 our hearts 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:19.140 to you in faith. 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:22.140 Assure 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:22.880 your people. 00:23:26.300 --> 00:23:27.420 Lord, cause 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:29.100 scales to fall 00:23:29.100 --> 00:23:29.920 from the eyes 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.460 of those who are seeking you. 00:23:32.800 --> 00:23:33.780 Grant them faith 00:23:33.780 --> 00:23:34.500 by your spirit, 00:23:34.600 --> 00:23:35.020 we pray. 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:35.759 Amen. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:35.859 Amen.