The high priests and religious leaders met early in the morning to put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied Him up and brought Him to Pilate, the governor.
Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, realized that Jesus was doomed. He was overcome with remorse for his actions and gave back the coins. The high priests did not care, so he threw the coins into the Temple. Then Judas left and went out and hung himself.
So sad. All that time with Jesus and he did not grasp just how deeply loved he was. Jesus loves us and forgives us even when we betray Him. All we have to do is ask. If Judas would have asked, Jesus would have forgiven him. That is what makes this part of the story so sad. As we talked about in the previous chapters, there will be those who do not accept the Gospel, even though they've heard it. Judas was one of those.
The high priests didn't know what to do with the coins, so they bought a field, just as the OT book of Jeremiah prophesied would happen. They unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.
God's plan is always at work.
When Jesus was in front of Pilate, accusations were being thrown at Him and Jesus kept silent.
It was custom during the Passover Feast for the governor, Pilate, to pardon a single prisoner. While Pilate found no fault in Jesus, and Pilate's wife warned him to do the right thing, he listened to the crowd, washed his hands of the whole situation, released Barabbas (a criminal), had Jesus whipped, and handed Him over to be crucified.
The entire soldier brigade got together for some fun:
The stripped Him and dressed Him in a red robe. They plaited a crown from branches of a thorn bush and set it on His head. They put a stick in His right hand for a sceptre. Then they knelt before Him in mocking reverence: "Bravo, King of the Jews!" they said. "Bravo!" Then they spittoon Him and hit Him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the robe and put His on clothes back on Him.
Read that again. Slowly. They did those horrible things to our King, our Saviour, the One who gave up His heavenly throne for a wretch like me. Such love. Such wondrous love.
As the soldiers led Jesus to be crucified, Simon the Cyrene was made to carry Jesus' cross. When they reached Golgotha, the soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and raised it up. There was a criminal on each side of Jesus, also being crucified. People passing along mocked Jesus.=, including the high priests and religious scholars and leaders.
Despite all the religion they had, they did not have relationship. They couldn't see Jesus for who He really was.
The whole earth was dark for three hours, as Jesus hung there between life and death. He called out to His Father, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? He was reciting Psalm 22, using David's OT prayer to reflect His own heart.
The OT gave Jesus words when He couldn't find the words on His own. We can also use Scripture to speak on our behalf. We can pray Scripture.
When Jesus breathed His last breath, the Temple curtain tore in two, ripped from top to bottom. This action signifies that we do not need a high priest to enter into the sacred place in Temple for us. Jesus is our High Priest and we have access to God through Him. There is no more curtain between us. Jesus is the way for us to have relationship with the Father.
There was also an earthquake, splitting rocks, and emptying of tombs. When some saw this, they said, "This has to be the Son of God!"
It's too bad it took seeing in order for them to believe. Jesus said during His ministry, Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.
Watching from the distance were a group of women who had been following Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea was given permission to take Jesus' body and place it in a new womb that he had recently purchased for himself. A large stone was rolled across the entrance. Pilate also granted permission to the high priests and Pharisees to have the tomb sealed and guarded.
Jesus was dead. And buried. It was the end.
Today marks the end of the year 2021. This year is now buried, never to be re-lived again. Just like we have the anticipation of a new year beginning tomorrow, we also anticipate the resurrection of Jesus and ultimately His second coming.
The next sun rise brings with it a new year, and we will look at the last chapter of Matthew - a risen Jesus!