Category: Devotions

These verses form the conclusion of the Gospel of Matthew. They begin by showing us what absurdities blind prejudice will believe, rather than believe the truth; they go on to show us what weakness there is in the hearts of some disciples, and how slow they are to believe; they finish by telling us some of the last words spoken by our Lord upon earth — words so remarkable that they demand and deserve all our attention.

Let us observe, in the first place, the honour which God has put on our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and earth.”

The principal subject of these verses is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. It is one of those truths which lie at the very foundation of Christianity, and has therefore received special attention in the four Gospels. All four Evangelists describe minutely how our Lord was crucified: all four relate, with no less clearness, that He rose again.

We need not wonder that so much importance is attached to our Lord’s resurrection: it is the seal and headstone of the great work of redemption which He came to do. It is the crowning proof that He has paid the debt which He undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which He fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our surety and our substitute by our Father in heaven. Had He never come forth from the prison of the grave, how could we ever have been sure that our ransom had been fully paid. (1 Cor. 15:17) Had He never risen from His conflict with the last enemy, how could we have felt confident that He has overcome death and him that had the power of death, that is the devil? (Heb. 2:14) But thanks be unto God, we are not left in doubt: the Lord Jesus really “rose again for our justification.” True Christians are begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” They may boldly say with Paul, “Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died — yea rather, that is risen again.” (Rom. 8:34; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 1:3)

These verses contain the history of our Lord Jesus Christ’s burial. There was yet one thing needful in order to make it certain that our Redeemer accomplished that great work of redemption which He undertook. That holy body, in which He bore our sins on the cross, must actually be laid in the grave, and rise again. His resurrection was to be the seal and headstone of all the work.

The infinite wisdom of God foresaw the objections of unbelievers and infidels and provided against them. Did the Son of God really die? Did he really rise again? Might there not have been some delusion as to the reality of His death? Might there not have been imposition or deception, as to the reality of His resurrection? All these and many more objections would doubtless have been raised if opportunity had been given. But He who knows the end from the beginning prevented the possibility of such objections being made. By His overruling providence He ordered things so that the death and burial of Jesus were placed beyond a doubt. Pilate gives consent to His burial; a loving disciple wraps the body in linen and lays it in a new tomb hewn out of a rock, “wherein was never man yet laid.” The chief priests themselves set a guard over the place where His body was deposited. Jews and Gentiles, friends and enemies, all alike testify to the great fact that Christ did really and actually die and was laid in a grave. It is a fact that can never be questioned. He was really “bruised”; He really “suffered”; He really “died”; He was really “buried.” Let us mark this well: it deserves recollection.

In these verses we read the conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ’s passion. After six hours of agonizing suffering, He became obedient even unto death, and “yielded up the ghost.” Three points in the narrative demand a special notice: to them let us confine our attention.

Let us observe, in the first place, the remarkable words which Jesus uttered shortly before His death: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”

These verses describe the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ after His condemnation by Pilate, His sufferings in the hands of the brutal Roman soldiers, and His final sufferings on the cross. They form a marvellous record. They are marvellous when we remember the sufferer — the eternal Son of God. They are marvellous when we remember the persons for whom these sufferings were endured. We and our sins were the cause of all this sorrow! He “died for our sins.” (1 Cor. 15:3)

Let us observe, in the first place, the extent and reality of our Lord’s sufferings.

These verses describe our Lord’s appearance before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. That sight must have been wonderful to the angels of God. He who will one day judge the world allowed himself to be judged and condemned, though “He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isa. 53:9) He, from whose lips Pilate and Caiaphas will one day receive their eternal sentence suffered silently, an unjust sentence to be passed upon Him. Those silent sufferings fulfilled the words of Isaiah: “as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” (Isa. 53:7) To those silent sufferings believers owe all their peace and hope. Through them they will have boldness in the day of judgment, who in themselves would have nothing to say.

Let us learn, from the conduct of Pilate, how pitiful is the condition of an unprincipled great man.