Matthew 27:32-66

Notes for BSF

JESUS WILLINGLY GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US BECAUSE HE LOVED US (Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:22-24; John 19:23-30)

Jesus took off His robe or righteousness so that we may be clothed in His righteousness (Cf. Genesis 3:7; Isaiah 61:10; 64:6; Matthew 22:11-12; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Revelation 3:17; 19:7-8).

Our sins can only be washed away with blood of an innocent man, the blood of the Lamb, of Jesus Christ

Leviticus 4:12, 21; Leviticus 4:28-29; 5:5
Jesus was our sin offering.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23
He became accursed of God for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus was made to be sin for us, so that we can become righteous in Him.

Hebrews 13:11-13
Jesus’ death sanctified us with His blood.

1 Peter 1:18-19
We are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

1 Peter 2:24
Jesus was beaten so that we might live free. Jesus bore our sins on the Cross, so that we may live righteously.

We must understand the seriousness of these passages. Jesus died for our sins so that we may be clean. He died a brutal death so that we may be free. To continue our lives as sinners, to ignore the sins in our lives, to remain prideful and think that we can redeem our own righteousness, that would be us continuing to mock Jesus, to beat Jesus, to abuse and nail Jesus on the Cross over and over again. Until we recognize how great a sacrifice God has given to us so that we may LIVE ETERNALLY with Him, we will never fully comprehend the immense seriousness of our sins. And when we don’t understand the seriousness of our sins, we will remain prideful and ignorant of our helplessness – and be like the men who tortured Jesus on the Cross.

Jesus’ death fulfilled prophecies (Compare Matthew 27 with Psalm 22, for example)
Psalm 22 prophesied Jesus’ death on the Cross in accurate details. Prophecies regarding the death of the Messiah are documented in other books of the Bible as well, though the discussion below will focus on those recorded in Psalm 22 God the Father turned His back on God the Son.

Psalm 22:1
Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as he dying on the Cross.

Psalm 22:2-6
Jesus took on the sins of the people. Because Jesus became sin, He could no longer be in the presence of God the Father; and God the Father could no longer look upon Jesus as His Son. For the first time in Jesus’ life, God had to turn His back on Him! Any parent can feel some of the immense pain that God must have felt, as God had to turn away from Jesus, and allow our sins to torture Him. This is such a heartbreaking scene and illustrates vividly how great God’s sacrifice was to redeem us.

Jesus was mocked and tortured before being nailed on the Cross

Psalm 22:7-9
As Jesus was nail to the Cross, the people mocked Him, saying, “Let your God save you!”

Psalm 22:12-13
Many people who were against Christ surrounded Him as He was dying, mocking Him and abusing Him.

Psalm 22:18
The guards cast lots to divide up Jesus’ clothes.

Psalm 69:21
The guards gave Jesus gall for my food and vinegar to drink.

Some pastors said this drink contained sedatives to make the torture more bearable, and Jesus refused it because He wanted to be clear-minded through this process. Other pastors said this drink was actually offered as further mockery of Jesus. It was offered with the sponge that slaves used to wipe their masters’ butt after they have relieved themselves in public restrooms.


The drink was not offered out of care; it was offered out of mockery and hatred.

Jesus died

Psalm 22:14
When the guards punctured His heart, a mixture of blood and water flowed out.

Psalm 22:15
Jesus died. Jesus died a physical death. He didn’t swoon or just lose consciousness. He literally died.

Psalm 22:16
Jesus was pierced in his feet and hands – This method of crucifixion was not the traditional way the Jews executed prisoners. Stoning had always been reserved for capital punishment under Jewish law. In fact, this method was prophesied 700 hundred years before it was even invented by the Persians!

Psalm 22:17
Not one of Jesus’ bones was broken. This was a miracle, since guards often have to break the bones of the prisoners on the cross to expedite their death. The reason why the guards didn’t have to break Jesus’ bones was because Jesus was already dead by that time.

Psalm 22:19-21
God the Father raised Jesus, God the Son, from the dead in 3 days.

God proves to us the validity of His Word by showing us history in advance – We call this prophecy. No one in the world can predict future events with exact accuracy – Only someone who has foreseen it all can have the foresight to know what is going to happen. The Old Testament is full of prophecies that we have witnessed to come true. It is because of these fulfilled prophecies that allow me to trust that God is God – and to have complete faith in His Word and promises.


JESUS’ DEATH BROKE DOWN THE BARRIER BETWEEN GOD AND US (Hebrews 9)

The Holy of Holies is an area within the Temple separated by a temple curtain. Only the High Priest, after preparations meticulously done according to the Bible, could enter the Holy of Holies. The High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year, during the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). He enters it with the blood of an innocent lamb, to cleanse the nation of Israel of its sins.

The Temple curtain was said to be 60 feet long, 20 feet wide and 4 inches thick. Upon Jesus’ passing, the curtain was torn in half by the heavens.

Matthew 27:51
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Before Jesus redeemed the world with its blood, our sins prevented us from being in the presence of God. This was why we could only communicate with God through a mediator, the High Priest – A mediator chosen not by man but by God. The curtain was both a physical and a symbolical separation of man from God. The Holy of Holies was where God’s presence would descend when He met with the High Priest. If the High Priest did not cleanse himself as God had commanded in Leviticus 16 prior to entering into God’s presence, God’s perfect righteousness would strike the High Priest dead immediately. This was why the High Priest often entered the Holy of Holies with a rope tied to his ankle, so that should he be struck dead, people could pull him back out without having to go into the Holy of Holies.

Because Jesus Christ – our ETERNAL mediator between God and us – cleansed us with His blood, then as long as we place our faith in Christ, we need no other mediator between God and us. The blood of a perfect lamb could only redeem us temporarily because a lamb is not a complete sacrifice for man. The only perfect sacrifice for man is another man – and not just any man, because any man with sins could die only for his own sins. His death redeems no one else but himself. Hence, the only way we can be redeemed of our sins is if someone without sin dies in our place – and the only man that fits that description is Jesus Christ. The blood of a lamb is temporary – but the blood of THE Lamb of God, that is eternal.

Through Jesus, we thus gain PERMANENT and DIRECT access to God. This was why God struck down the curtain, signifying the end of an old era and the coming of a new era – an era where God has personally redeemed us in Him, so that we can directly interact with Him!


JESUS WAS BURIED AS PROPHESIED (Matthew 27:57-66; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50-53; and John 19:38-42)

Jesus’ death and burial were prophesied hundreds of years ahead of time.

Prophecy – Isaiah 53:9
And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Reality – Matthew 27:57-60
Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

Jesus died with the sinful but was buried among the rich.

Pilate tried to prevent fulfillment of prophecy
Knowing that the Messiah was prophesied to rise from the dead on the 3rd day, the religious leaders requested that Pilate seal Jesus tomb at least until after the third day, so that they could ensure that nothing would happen to Jesus’ body. They naively thought that they could out-maneuver God! Of course, we know what happens next, despite the tomb having been sealed and guarded by soldiers!

Matthew 28:5-6
Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.