Matthew 27:32-56 - The Crucifixion

Well, welcome. It is great to be back with you. If I’ve not had the pleasure to meet you, my name is Mike Sladen, and I’m one of the teaching pastors here at The Well. If you have been with us for any amount of time, as Brad said a couple of weeks ago, we have been in the book of Matthew for what feels like forever! I actually did the math this week: by the time we finish this book, we will have spent almost two years in Matthew. But we’re close to the end. We’ve got just a few more weeks left.

Today, we are going to be dealing with a heavy subject—the subject of the crucifixion. If you have your Bible with you, I invite you to turn to Matthew chapter 27, and we are going to look at this pivotal moment of Christ’s life as He goes to the cross.

The Road to Golgotha

Just as a refresher of what we have seen up to this point in Passion Week: Jesus has just come off three puppet trials before the religious and civil authorities. At the end of them all, there was nothing they could pin on Him that was worthy of death. Yet, as we saw in Matthew 27:26, the crowd decided they didn’t want Barabbas to be crucified; they demanded Barabbas be released and Jesus handed over to be scourged and crucified.

Matthew 27:26 (NASB)

Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Now, Jesus is led away from those trials to the place they call Golgotha—the Hill of the Skull.

Crucifixion is mentioned seven times in the text we are looking at today, but Matthew describes it almost matter-of-factly: “And they crucified him.” There are very few graphic details in the text itself. Why? Because Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience living under Roman occupation. They were intimately familiar with crucifixion. They saw it regularly along their roads and city gates.

Crucifixion was originally invented by the Persians around the 6th century BC, but Rome perfected it. It was considered so brutal and shameful that it was never used on Roman citizens, with the single exception of those guilty of high treason and insurrection. It was reserved for slaves and the worst criminals. There are historical accounts of Rome executing thousands of slaves along the Appian Way after a rebellion. Crucifixion was designed as the ultimate public deterrent to crime, and Rome turned it into an exact science.

Rome had a few core objectives with every crucifixion:

First, it was always completely public. If it happened in Fresno today, it wouldn’t happen in a back alley—it would happen at River Park or the busiest intersection in town. It was performed publicly to inflict fear and enforce submission. The message was clear: Whatever that person did, don’t you ever do it.

Second, it was designed to maximize physical suffering. Rome had tried stoning, beheading, and burning, but those ended too quickly. Crucifixions could last for days—some historical records show victims surviving up to nine days on a cross. It always began with severe Roman scourging, shredding the victim’s flesh before they ever carried their crossbeam to the execution site.

Lastly, it was designed to completely humiliate the victim. Rome’s goal with crucifixion was simple: inflict the greatest amount of physical and psychological pain over the longest period of time as publicly as possible.

The King Mocked

Between the hours of six and nine in the morning, the soldiers began their mockery of Jesus.

Matthew 27:27-31 (NASB)

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole [Roman] cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on Him, and took the reed and [began] to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the [scarlet] robe off Him and put His [own] garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him—not a long, majestic, royal robe, but likely a short soldier’s cloak fastened around His shoulders. In the ultimate act of cruel sarcasm, they twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it onto His head because He was accused of claiming to be “King of the Jews.” They put a reed in His hand as a mock scepter, knelt before Him in mock worship, spit on Him, and then took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.

When they finished mocking Him, they led Him out through the crowded streets of Jerusalem during the Passover festival to be crucified. They arrived at Golgotha, likely called “the Place of the Skull” either because the rock formation resembled a human skull or because skulls and bones accumulated there from countless Roman executions.

Before nailing Him to the cross, they offered Him wine mixed with gall. This was a mild narcotic or sedative meant to dull the senses—partly for the victim, but mostly so the Roman guards could manage and control them on the wood. Jesus tasted it, but He refused to drink it. He chose to endure the full weight of what was before Him with complete clarity of mind.

This act fulfilled what had been written centuries before in the Psalms.

Psalms 69:21 (NASB)

They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Even in the darkest moments of human cruelty, God’s sovereign plan was unfolding exactly as He had preordained.

The Mechanics of the Cross

Matthew records the actual crucifixion in just four words: “And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.”

Matthew 27:35 (NASB)

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.

This, too, directly fulfilled the prophetic picture in Psalm 22 of the innocent sufferer whose garments would be divided by lot.

Psalms 22:18 (NASB)

They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

When a victim reached the execution site, they were placed on the horizontal beam (the patibulum), and heavy iron spikes were driven through the wrists into the wood. The beam was then hoisted up and fastened to the vertical post already planted in the ground. The victim’s feet were stacked one over the other, knees slightly bent, and a large spike was driven through both feet into the timber. Rome had learned that if the legs were stretched completely straight, the victim died too quickly from circulatory collapse. Bending the knees forced the person to push up on their pierced feet every single time they needed to draw a breath.

As exhaustion set in, carbon dioxide built up in the blood, cramps racked the muscles, and the body slowly went into traumatic shock. A victim of crucifixion ultimately died of slow asphyxiation—fighting for every breath until they had no strength left to push up again.

Yet the Gospels show us that Jesus’ death was unique. While He experienced every ounce of physical agony, He did not merely expire from exhaustion; He sovereignly yielded up His spirit when the work was finished.

When you understand what the cross entailed physically, you begin to understand why Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane sweating drops of blood, praying, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Yet from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Jesus hung between heaven and earth, laying down His life for sinners.

Cosmic Darkness and the Torn Veil

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour—noon to 3:00 PM—a supernatural darkness fell over the whole land.

Matthew 27:45-46 (NASB)

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’

This darkness was not just atmospheric; it was deeply theological. It symbolized the heavy judgment and wrath of God being poured out. Around the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Notice that Jesus did not use His typical, intimate address of Abba or Father here. In this horrifying moment, He cried out, “My God, my God,” quoting Psalm 22:1. The eternal fellowship between the Father and the Son experienced a profound and mysterious rupture as Jesus bore the unmitigated penalty for our sin.

Then, Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit. At that exact moment, several extraordinary events occurred.

Matthew 27:50-54 (NASB)

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’

The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. That veil was a massive, thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where the presence of God dwelt. Only one man, the high priest, was permitted to go behind that curtain once a year on the Day of Atonement with the blood of a sacrifice. Anyone else who dared enter would die.

When Jesus died, God tore that curtain from top to bottom—signifying that God Himself did it. Access to God was thrown wide open. No more earthly priests, no more animal sacrifices, no more separation. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, every believer now has direct, unhindered access to the Father.

At the same time, the earth shook, rocks split, and tombs were opened. Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, appearing to many after His resurrection as a powerful sign that Christ had conquered death once and for all.

The Great Exchange: Imputation

To truly understand the cross, we have to understand a vital biblical concept: imputation.

Imputation is an accounting term. It means to reckon, to charge, or to credit something to someone’s account. I understood this principle very well back in college when I would routinely run out of month before I ran out of money! I’d look at my bank account, realize I had nothing left, and call my parents: “Mom, Dad, I have mismanaged my funds again. Will you please impute into my bank account what I do not have and do not deserve?” And out of pure grace and love, they would take their hard-earned money and transfer it into my empty account so I could pay my rent and eat.

The entire Old Testament sacrificial system is filled with this picture of imputation. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take a goat, lay both hands upon its head, and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the people of Israel. Symbolically, the sins of the people were imputed—credited—to the account of that innocent animal, which was then sent away or slain.

That was a shadow pointing to Jesus Christ. On the cross, all of our sin—past, present, and future—was imputed to Jesus’ account.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Think about the beauty of that double exchange: our sin and guilt were credited to Christ, and His perfect righteousness and obedience were credited to us. We got the clean ledger, and He took our debt.

The Justice and the Wrath of God

People often ask: “Why couldn’t God just forgive us? Why did Jesus have to die a brutal death? God makes the rules—can’t He just wave a hand and say, ‘It’s no big deal, I let it slide’?”

Because God is holy and perfectly just.

Romans 6:23 (NASB)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The wages of sin is death. Sin cannot merely be swept under a cosmic rug. If a human judge lets a violent, guilty criminal walk free out of “niceness,” we wouldn’t call that judge loving—we would call him corrupt. Justice must be satisfied.

I love the illustration of a college professor who assigned a massive term paper worth the majority of the course grade. The deadline was firm: midnight. A student came to him in tears, saying, “Professor, there is no way I can finish this paper in time. I’m going to fail the class. Can’t you just extend the deadline for me?” The professor replied, “No, the standard has been set for the entire class, and I cannot lower the standard of righteousness for this course.”

Then the professor packed his bags, looked at the student, and said, “Now, pack your things. You and I are going to the library together, and I will stay up with you all night and help you research and write so you can finish it.”

In that moment, the professor was both just (upholding the standard) and the one who made a way to fulfill it. That is exactly what God did for us at the cross.

Romans 3:25-26 (NASB)

whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. [This was] to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, [I say], of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God demonstrated His justice: He is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

On the cross, Jesus bore the full wrath of God against sin. Wrath is a word that makes many of us uncomfortable, often because we confuse God’s wrath with human, sinful anger or abusive rage. But God’s wrath is not an uncontrollable temper tantrum. One theologian wonderfully defined it this way: God’s wrath is the form His holy love takes when it encounters evil and sin.

When we see human trafficking, abuse, and wicked injustice in our world, there is a righteous anger that rises up within us demanding that evil be punished. How much more does a holy, perfect God hate the sin that destroys His creation and separates us from Him? At the cross, God’s righteous wrath against sin was fully satisfied in Jesus Christ, our substitute.

All of this happened, as Peter preached in Acts 2, according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. It was not an accident of history; it was God’s rescue mission from the beginning of time.

How Will You Respond?

As we stand before the cross of Christ, Matthew shows us three distinct groups of people and their responses:

1. The Mockers and the Hostile: The religious leaders, the passersby, and the soldiers who mocked Jesus, shook their heads, and sneered, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” Maybe you find yourself skeptical or hostile toward God today. Maybe you have been deeply hurt by the church or by people who claimed to follow Jesus. If you have been wounded by Christians, I am truly sorry. But I urge you: look past the brokenness of human religion and look at Jesus Christ Himself on that cross. His love for you is pure.

2. The Fickle Crowd: Those who stood at a distance, watching the spectacle. Just days earlier, many had shouted, “Hosanna!” Now they joined the chorus of indifference or compromise. They vacillated between extremes, unsure of what to do with Jesus.

3. The Believers: The penitent thief hanging next to Jesus who recognized his own guilt, turned to Jesus, and said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom”—and received the promise of paradise. And the hardened Roman centurion, who had overseen countless executions, but looked at the way Jesus suffered and died and proclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Where do you find yourself today?

The cross demands a response from every one of us. The barrier of sin that separated you from God has been torn down. The debt has been paid in full. The righteousness of Christ is offered to you freely as a gift.

Will you take the posture of the centurion and the penitent thief? Will you look at Jesus and say, “I believe. Forgive me. I trust in what You did for me on that cross”?

Prayer

Father, thank You for this incredibly good news. The barrier that once existed between us and You has been torn down through the broken body and shed blood of Your Son.

We delight ourselves in the beauty of the gospel. Lord, give us the grace and humility to step toward You today, to believe in faith, and to receive this free gift of salvation that we could never earn on our own. We are eternally grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He accomplished on our behalf.

It is in His mighty and precious name that we pray.

Amen.