Teacher Notes
Bible Stories for Adults
Jesus is Crucified
Matthew 27:11-61
Welcome and Announcements
Next Week - Absalom's Rebellion (2 Samuel 13-18)
Bible Words to Remember:
May I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been sacrificed to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14
Opening Prayer
After Gethsemane (Matthew 26)
Where did Jesus go after his Last Supper to pray about his upcoming death?
Matthew 26:36 = Garden of Gethsemane (means oil press) on Mount of Olives
What happened to Jesus after he was arrested in Gethsemane? = Needed two witnesses to agree
Matthew 26:57-60 = Tried by church leaders to find something to charge him with
What happened in the courtyard while Jesus was being tried by the elders?
Matthew 26:69-75 = Peter disowned Jesus 3 times; A rooster crowed (daybreak)
Jesus' Last Day (Matthew 27)
Where did the church leaders take Jesus around 6:00 am (0 hour)? = Only govt could execute
Matthew 27:1-2 = To be tried by Pontius Pilate, the governor
Did Jesus receive a speedy trial?
Mark 15:25 = Jesus nailed to the cross 3 hours later (9:00 am)
What significant event happened at 12:00 noon (6th hour)?
Matthew 27:45 = Darkness covered the land for 3 hours (Jesus dying)
Why did that happen? = To fulfill prophesy; the darkness of sin and death being taken by Jesus
Amos 8:9 = I will make the sun go down at noon & darken the earth in broad daylight
What time did Jesus die?
Matthew 27:46, 50 = About the 9th hour (3:00 pm)
What happened before the day officially ended at 6:00 pm (12th hour)?
Matthew 27:57-60 = He was buried in a new tomb
The Silence of the Lamb (Matthew 27:11-14)
What charge against Jesus had the elders selected?
Matthew 27:11 = Calls himself the King of the Jews
How did Jesus respond to the accusations before Pilate?
Matthew 27:12-14 = He kept silent
Why didn't he defend himself?
Isaiah 53:7 = Fulfilled prophesy of staying silent as a lamb before its slaughter
Has your life been changed forever by the Silence of the Lamb?
Pilate's Verdict (Matthew 27:15-25)
Why did Pilate offer the choice of releasing Jesus or Barabbas?
Matthew 27:15-21 = He thought they'd take innocent Jesus over murderer Barabbas
What punishment did the church elders want for Jesus?
Matthew 27:22 = Death by crucifixion
Did Pilate feel this was proper punishment?
Matthew 27:23 = No, he believed Jesus was innocent, there was no crime
Did Pilate fulfill his duty to uphold justice?
Matthew 27:24-25 = No, he sentenced Jesus to death & passed the blame
Jesus' Roman Crucifixion (Matthew 27:26-38)
Cicero: the most cruel and hideous of punishments
Only the worst crimes:
Murder, rebels against Rome, delinquent slaves
Roman citizens were never crucified
Very slow and extremely painful death
Prisoner first stripped and whipped at least 39 times with a flagrum
Thongs of flagrum held lead balls and broken sheep bones to cut flesh
Blood loss, pain & circulatory shock would result in near death
Intended to shorten the time on the cross
Matthew 27:26, 30 = Jesus was flogged & hit in the head by mocking soldiers
Jesus also had anguish of Gethsemane & sleepless night
Prisoner had to carry crossbeam (patibulum) to execution site
About 6 feet long and 125 lbs
Further exhausted prisoner & made show for spectators
Matthew 27:31-33 = Jesus started carrying cross, stranger enlisted when Jesus couldn't
Golgotha - Hill shaped like a skull = means Place of the Skull
At the execution site, prisoner's wrists were nailed to the patibulum
Median nerve damage was very painful
Patibulum lifted & fit on top of stipes (permanent upright beam)
Prisoner's feet nailed to stipes or to a foot rest (suppedaneum)
Sign (titulus) attached to top of cross giving name and crime
Prisoner's clothes were given to the presiding soldiers
Matthew 27:35-38 = Soldiers cast lots for clothes; Jesus, King of the Jews
During crucifixion, nerve damage and muscle cramps caused great pain
Thirst would become unbearable as the body dehydrated
Prisoners given wine mixed with a mild sedative (myrrh)
Matthew 27:34 = Jesus offered wine with gall, he refused it
Jesus' Roman Crucifixion (Matthew 27:57-60)
Prisoner died by asphyxiation (not enough oxygen, too much carbon dioxide)
Difficult to exhale while hanging on cross
Legs of hardy prisoners were broken to speed death
Prisoner unable to push himself up to help him breathe
John 19:31-37 = Broke legs of others, Jesus already died, stuck with sword, fulfilled prophesies
Dead bodies were often left to decompose on the cross as a warning
In Palestine, bodies were taken down and disposed of
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 = Don't leave body on a tree overnight, bury same day
Matthew 27:57-60 = Jesus' body buried by Joseph of A, a silent disciple, Council member
Psalm 22 (Matthew 27:39-49)
Recited by Jews when catastrophes threatened
What are the only words that Matthew records Jesus saying on the cross?
Matthew 27:46 = My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
How would the Jews that Matthew targeted with his gospel understand this?
Psalm 22:1 = Jesus began reciting Psalm 22 as he died
How did the spectators understand these words?
Matthew 27:47-49 = They thought he was calling Elijah for help
How would the Messiah be treated according to Psalm 22?
Psalm 22:6-8 = Scorned, despised, mocked & insulted; let God save him
How are these verses fulfilled on the cross in Matthew's account?
Matthew 27:39-40 = Those who passed by hurled insults, shook heads
Matthew 27:41-43 = Priests, scribes & elders mocked: let God save
Matthew 27:44 = Even the robbers heaped insults
How does Matthew show this scorn & mockery preceding the crucifixion?
Matthew 26:65-68 = Priests & elders spit, hit, slapped & mocked
Matthew 26:73-74 = Scorned by Peter's curses at others who said he was with Jesus
Matthew 27:27-30 = Soldiers mocked him as king, spit on & hit him
What other prophesies in Psalm 22 were fulfilled with Jesus' crucifixion?
Psalm 22:14 = Blood poured out with water, joints stretched
Psalm 22:15 = Lost strength, very thirsty, dying
Psalm 22:16 = Surrounded by sinners, nails through hands & feet
Psalm 22:17-18 = Bones not broken, soldiers watched over Jesus, cast lots for clothes
What are some other direct prophesies from Psalms of Jesus' crucifixion?
Psalm 69:21 = Given vinegar with gall to drink
Psalm 38:11 = My friends & companions avoid me because of wounds
Matthew 27:55-56 = Women watched from a distance
Jesus Dies (Matthew 27:51-54)
What happened the moment Jesus died? = Power over sin, earth & death
Matthew 27:51-53 = Temple veil split, earthquake, saints raised
What impact did these events have on spectators?
Matthew 27:54 = Soldiers said, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
What was the purpose of the temple curtain? = High priest made sacrifices for sins there
Hebrews 9:3, 7-8 = Separated people from Most Holy Place
What was significant about the tearing of the temple curtain? = No longer need priest to mediate
Hebrews 10:19-20 = We can enter Most Holy Place through blood of Jesus
How does Jesus fill the role of the high priest?
Hebrews 7:27 = Offered himself as the great sacrifice, once & for all
How does Jesus' crucifixion outside the city point to the eternal city?
Hebrews 13:11-14 = Bodies of sacrifices burned outside camp; look to the new city
What was significant about the earthquake?
Galatians 6:14 = The world has been crucified to us & us to the world
What was significant about the raising of the saints?
2 Timothy 1:10 = Jesus destroyed death
Closing Prayer
Silence of The Lamb
A man had worked for a meat packing firm for many years. He had cut the throats of animals. He had heard the cattle bellow, the fowl squawk, the pigs squeal.
One day a farmer brought a lamb to be slaughtered. With business as usual, the man took his sharp knife and cut the lamb's throat. The lamb did not squawk, squall, or flounder like other livestock did. It did not bellow and then slump like the cattle.
The little lamb just silently stood before the man. With blood flowing from its throat, the lamb tottered toward its executioner, licked the blood from his hands, and began to totter from side to side. Then the lamb silently slumped and slipped into death.
The death of that lamb changed the life of the man forever. Within two weeks he quit the job never to return.
Copyright © 1997 by Kurt Rosenhagen
Use of this material is provided free of charge for use in personal or group Bible Study, no permission needed.
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kurt@biblestoriesforadults.com