| International Sunday School Lessons |
Lesson for March 17, 1940
Calvary
Triumph Through Sacrifice
Matthew 27:33-50
GOLDEN TEXT: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”—Isaiah 53.3
AS JESUS left Gethsemane He explained that the “hour” of darkness had come. (Luke 22:53.) In Gethsemane He had sensed clearly the ignominy and shame that was to be heaped upon Him in the campaign of “contradiction” engineered by Satan, the prince of darkness and the chief of sinners. (Heb. 12:1-3) But the Father, through the angels, had ministered unto the Master so now He was calm in the face of abuse, being fortified by Him who was greater than all His foes.
Two main charges were leveled against the Master during the course of His trial. Before the high priest He was found “guilty” of blasphemy in that He acknowledged the truthfulness of the accusation that He claimed to be the Son of God. Before Pilate, the representative of the Roman government, He refused to deny that He claimed to be a king. Truly He was the Son of God, as well, also, as the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” but both these facts were contradicted, hence He was sentenced to death as a blasphemer and an illegal aspirant to the throne of Caesar.
Later, as the Master hung upon the cross, He, as well as those “who watched Him there,” were reminded of the reasons for which He was being put to death. Over His cross was the inscription pertaining to His kingship. That inscription was intended by Satan to be a mockery of the Master’s claim to be a King. Actually Jesus was a King, and His death on the cross was the way to His throne. But those who mocked the Master as He hung upon the cross didn’t understand that they were thus, inadvertently, taking part in the coronation of the King who was to reign from sea to sea and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth; for without the cross there could be no crown.
And then the crowd jeered, “If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Three and one half years before this Satan said to Jesus, “If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple.” Evidently Satan was the instigator of both of these challenges. They represent the only method he knew by which one could demonstrate a claim of greatness; namely, by making a spectacular show of bravado and strength.
But Jesus knew another way, the divine way, the way of triumph through sacrifice and humiliation; so He was willing to die as an impostor in the eyes of His fellows, knowing that ultimately His name and claim would be so fully vindicated that to Him “every knee” would bow and “every tongue confess to the glory of God.” Hence it was that for the “joy that was set before Him,” and not the temporary joy of immediately vindicating His name, He “endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God.”—Heb. 12:1-3
Jesus had been the greatest miracle worker of all time. He had healed the sick and raised the dead. Even the fallen angels were subject to His command. His accusers knew of many of the miracles He had performed. True, they had tried to show that His power to perform miracles had come from the devil and not from God, yet they were unable to deny the works themselves.
But now was their chance, by implication, to give the lie to all that had been done, for surely the people would be quick to reason that anyone who could raise the dead could easily save Himself from being crucified. Yes, Jesus could have saved Himself. He explained that if He wished He could call upon the Father and twelve legions of angels would be sent to protect and deliver Him. Surely those Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross could not have carried out their work of execution had such a mighty force interfered with them.
But here again the Master knew a better way. He had, indeed, saved others, but He hadn’t saved as many as He knew were to be saved; nor had the salvation thus far wrought been permanent. Jesus had come to earth to be a Savior and a great one; to save all men from Adamic condemnation, and to save with an everlasting salvation all those who, when given the opportunity, will believe and accept His wondrous gift of divine love.—I Tim. 4:10
Jesus knew that such a world-wide and lasting salvation could not be accomplished on behalf of mankind except through the sacrifice of His own life. He knew if He saved Himself, all others would be lost eternally. But how little did His accusers realize that by the Master’s refusal to save Himself He was providing salvation, not only for them, but for all the families of the earth.
So it was that when they cried unto Jesus to come down from the cross He heeded not their jeers, but in full faith and confidence in the wisdom of the Father’s way, allowed Himself thus to be put to death. It was a willing, voluntary sacrifice on behalf of others, many of whom were so steeped in sin that they delighted in heaping abuse upon their greatest benefactor—being blind to His benefactions and to everything except the carrying out of their own selfish desire to perpetuate their own position of authority and respect among the people.
Just before He died, the Master experienced a momentary withdrawal of the Father’s favor, and cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” These words are a quotation from Psalms 22:1. This being a quotation from the “volume of the Book,” would indicate that Jesus recognized that even the withdrawal of the Father’s smile was a part of the divine will for Him, made necessary in order that He might fully take the sinner’s place. In His dying breath he revealed His full trust in God by saying, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”—Luke 23:46
QUESTIONS:
What did Jesus mean when He said that the “hour” of darkness had come? Who is the prince of darkness?
What were the two principal “crimes” of which Jesus was accused, and for the alleged committing of which He was put to death?
Did Jesus lack power to save Himself while on the cross? If He had the power, why did He not use it and thus put to silence His gainsayers?
Explain the manner in which Jesus was victorious through sacrifice.