Seeing the Cross: Jesus' Suffering and Love Revealed

Matthew stands like a quiet tour guide on the ridge of Matthew 27 to 28, pointing to what happened and letting the sights do the work. The text first shows the pride and the self-serving plans of those in charge. The chief priests and elders bind Jesus and push him to Pilate, teaching the very Scriptures Jesus claims to fulfill while refusing to receive him. Judas adds the ache of betrayal, gripped by remorse yet unable to surrender his own agenda. The contrast lands like a fork in the road. There are two ways to live, God’s way under his authority or my way from my own throne, and Judas will not yield.

Pilate then steps into view. He knows Jesus is innocent but will not do the right thing. Truth meets peer pressure, and Pilate chooses to wash his hands rather than carry responsibility. From there the camera swings to brutality and mockery. Soldiers strip, robe, crown, and beat him while sneering, Hail, king of the Jews. Passersby and leaders pile on. Darkness falls from noon to three. Jesus cries, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The moment is not just pain in the body, it is the righteous One entering guilt, condemnation, and separation. He tastes cosmic abandonment so that those who trust him would never finally be forsaken.

Then the earth itself shudders. The curtain tears from top to bottom. Rocks split. Tombs open. This was not a normal death. God acts. Access to the Father is opened, and the cross does not only forgive sin, it launches new creation. Around this, unlikely witnesses read the moment for what it is. A placard above his head names him king of the Jews, and the irony rings true. Simon of Cyrene shoulders the cross and, as tradition tells it, is changed. A Roman centurion confesses, Surely he was the Son of God. Joseph of Arimathea risks his reputation and gives his tomb. The women remain, at cross and at tomb.

Matthew finally shows the fear and difficulty of believing the resurrection. A sealed grave, an angel, stunned guards, and a payoff to spin the story. The event sits in the open, the open secret, seen by faith that connects the dots. In it all, Jesus fully identifies with human suffering and nails down the question of love. While sinners still run their own way, Christ dies for them. The face that emerges on this ridge is the heart of Jesus, the crucified and risen Son who is with his people and for them.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Pride blinds and plots against Jesus Pride can wear religious clothes and still miss the Lord standing right in front of it. The leaders teach Scripture yet refuse its fulfillment, and Judas’ agenda will not bend to Jesus’ kingship. Pride prefers control over truth, and the result is violence dressed up as virtue. Humility receives what God reveals, even when it undercuts self-importance. [43:21]
• 2. Pilate chooses pressure over truth Pilate recognizes innocence but opts for safety, washing his hands while keeping his power. Moral clarity without moral courage still sheds innocent blood. The scene warns that neutrality in the face of injustice is not neutral. Responsibility avoided is still responsibility owned before God. [48:52]
• 3. The cross brings cosmic abandonment and access Jesus enters the darkness of God-forsakenness, bearing what sinners deserve so they might never finally be forsaken. God answers that cry with torn curtain, quaking earth, and opened tombs, signaling opened access and the start of new creation. This was not a normal death, it was God’s decisive act for a new world. Forgiveness is the doorway, communion with the Father is the house. [55:10]
• 4. The resurrection asks faith that sees A sealed tomb, an angel, stunned guards, and a payoff to rewrite the story make belief costly and public. The event is an open secret, available to all yet grasped by those who connect the dots in faith. Faith is not a blind leap, it is confidence in God’s future and assurance about what the eyes cannot yet hold. Such seeing births courage and witness. [63:10]
• 5. Jesus stands with sufferers in love The Son knows betrayal, mockery, injustice, torture, and even the feeling of abandonment. His companionship in pain is not sentimental, it is blood-earnest and proven. Love is not left to guesswork, it is demonstrated at the cross. In the valley, his presence keeps company and his resurrection secures hope. [66:49]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:24] - Worship lifts the room
• [36:50] - Open to Matthew 27
• [37:19] - Glacial cone vantage point
• [38:51] - Compass Points and connecting dots
• [39:42] - Faith as new kind of seeing
• [41:50] - Mount Everest of the Bible
• [42:53] - What Matthew wants seen
• [43:21] - Leaders’ pride and plotted death
• [45:22] - Judas’ remorse and two ways to live
• [47:58] - Pilate’s pressure over truth
• [49:42] - Brutality, mockery, and abandonment
• [52:00] - Darkness and the forsaken cry
• [55:10] - Curtain torn and earth shaken
• [57:39] - Simon, centurion, Joseph, and the women
• [61:40] - The fear of believing resurrection
• [63:10] - Guards report and bribery plot
• [64:27] - Jesus identifies with suffering
• [66:49] - Love demonstrated at the cross
• [70:10] - Seeing the face of Jesus
• [70:30] - Closing prayer

1. What actions did the religious leaders take against Jesus, and how did their pride influence their decisions? [43:21]
2. How did Pilate respond to the crowd’s pressure, and what does his hand-washing symbolize? [48:52]
3. What supernatural events occurred at Jesus’ death (torn curtain, earthquake, opened tombs), and what might they signify? [55:10]
4. How did unlikely witnesses like the Roman centurion and Joseph of Arimathea respond to Jesus’ death? [57:39]

1. Why do you think the religious leaders rejected Jesus even though they taught the Scriptures He fulfilled? What does this reveal about the relationship between pride and spiritual blindness? [43:21]
2. Pilate recognized Jesus’ innocence but chose political safety. How does this tension between truth and peer pressure still play out today? [48:52]
3. The torn temple curtain symbolized opened access to God. How does this change our understanding of forgiveness and relationship with the Father? [55:10]
4. The resurrection was met with fear, bribes, and disbelief. Why is faith required to accept the resurrection, even when evidence is present? [01:03:10]

1. Pride can disguise itself as religious devotion or self-reliance. Where have you seen stubbornness or control hinder your willingness to surrender to God’s authority? [43:21]
2. Pilate avoided responsibility to protect his position. When have you been tempted to stay silent or neutral in the face of injustice to avoid conflict? What would courage look like in that situation? [48:52]
3. Jesus’ cry of abandonment shows He understands feeling forsaken. How might His solidarity in suffering shape your prayers or perspective in your current struggles? [01:06:49]
4. The resurrection was an “open secret” requiring faith to connect the dots. What doubts or fears make it hard for you to trust God’s promises when outcomes aren’t immediately visible? [01:03:10]
5. Joseph of Arimathea risked his reputation to honor Jesus. What practical step could you take this week to publicly identify with Christ, even if it feels costly? [57:39]
6. The cross demonstrates love in action, not just words. How could you tangibly reflect God’s self-giving love to someone in your life who feels unworthy or abandoned? [01:06:49]