The Shame of the Cross

What this episode covers

The Shame of the Cross (Mt. 27:26-44) One of the most embarrassing moments of my childhood was when I went clothes shopping with my mom and older brother. I didn’t care much for shopping or picking out my own clothes. I pretty much was just there to try things on that my mom picked out for me. My brother, on the other hand, enjoyed taking his time. He wanted to look at every item in his size and try them all on. After much long-suffering, my Mom quieted my exasperation by handing me some candy. She told me to give some to my brother as well. So I went to his dressing room which had an opening underneath the door. I noticed he was in the middle of changing. His pants were crumpled in a pile next to his shoes. Rather than patiently waiting for him to finish, I stuck my hand under the door and began offering him the candy. “Matt! Here. Mom gave us some candy! Take it!” Shockingly, he didn’t immediately take it. I was mortified when a voice, not my brother’s, responded, “I’m not Matt.” I immediately ran off to find a circle of shirts to crawl between. As embarrassing as that moment was, I never felt any shame about it. The difference between embarrassment and shame is the moral component. I was embarrassed to the point that I wanted to hide, but there was nothing inherently wrong with what I did. I had no malicious intent. I had simply mistaken another man’s feet for my brother’s. I might have apologized for the mistake, but it wasn’t going to keep me up at night with a sense of guilt. Shame, on the other hand, is how we respond when we know that we have done something morally wrong. It is the natural response of a human who has sinned—transgressed the law of God. Since we have been created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and we have the law of God written on our hearts (Rom. 2:15), we experience shame whenever we sin. As long as we continue to sin, we will continue to experience shame. Unfortunately, the world minimizes or excuses sinful action in order to reduce our experience of shame. In fact, the word “shame” likely comes from the verb “to cover”. The biblical word we use for that is “to atone”. In order to psychologically deal with our guilty conscience, we try to cover it with shame. The greater the intensity of our shame, the more we think our guilt is covered. But shame never truly covers our sin. And minimizing or excusing our sin never works for long. Although we will always experience shame in this present life, there is a way to have the condemnation of that shame removed so that we might enjoy a shame-free eternity! That is what this passage is ultimately all about. Pray and read Matthew 27:26-44. I. Mocked By Romans (26-37) Matthew’s older readers could’ve been in the crowd when Jesus was crucified. Imagine reflecting back upon that fateful day and remembering your own participation in the chanting. Remember the escalation of excitement as Pilate concedes to the demands to crucify Jesus. Recall Barabbas, the murderer, walking out of prison free. Finally, remember as Jesus was scourged in front of everyone. What were they thinking now that they understood who Jesus was? Maybe they felt the shame of taking part in crucifying the Son of God. The physical pain that Jesus experienced began in earnest at his scourging (26). A soldier held a whip with multiple knotted strands (AKA: cat of nine tails) upon which broken pieces of bone and shards of metal were often tied. The purpose was to shred open the skin on a person’s back. The soldier would whip the convicted criminal 39x because it was thought that 40x would kill him. In fact, many died from scourging. Immediately following his scourging, Jesus was ushered into the governor’s headquarters surrounded by hundreds of soldiers who have nothing better to do, than make sport of another criminal (27). They stripped Jesus and dressed him up as a faux king with a scarlet robe, a crown of thorns, and a reed for a staff (28-29). While some called out “Hail, King of the Jews” ot

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