Good Friday has come and gone. Our text reveals that Christ really was crucified. It was a cruel cross – not a pretty one at all. Crucifixions were not unusual around Jerusalem in this day.
In this verse, the Apostle Matthew points out that there was a prophecy about the fact that those around the Cross would cast lots for His clothes. When you think about it, you might be tempted to ask why it was necessary to point out such seemingly unimportant details such as this? Especially when David lived a thousand years before Christ?
There are many prophecies about the death of Christ. The fact that they all came together in one Man hundreds, even thousands of years later Who would fulfill them all is truly astounding – and impossible for anyone to ever predict or fulfill.
Some of the prophecies, like this one, are so detailed that a thinking person can only conclude that only God could have made it happen. In this minute prophecy (one among so many), there are several significant details:
1. He was crucified – the Jews did not crucify at the time of David. It was invented by the Persians.
2. They parted His “garments” – these were His daily clothes. They divided them between themselves. It also reveals Christ wasn’t wearing clothes on the Cross.
3. The "they" refers to the same ones who did the crucifying – the Roman soldiers. There were no Roman soldiers in David’s day – or even a city called Rome.
4. They "cast lots" - the soldiers just happened to have a pair of dice with them when they crucified Christ.
5. "Upon my vesture" – this was His coat. Note that it was prophesied that they would not divide it, but left it intact.
And all of it was fulfilled exactly as David said. Two verses prior to this one, David said: "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet." This is an obvious reference to crucifixion. The "dogs" is a term showing how Jews looked at non-Jews – in this case the soldiers.
So many other prophecies are given about His coming and His death. You have to wonder what might happen if God promised to bring this same One back from the dead! Could it possibly have failed to occur? He seemed to know everything that would happen to the One He called His Son, even down to the smallest detail. It was as though He could see through all of time.
This brings me to my title: Another Man Died on A Cross and Was Buried – But Will He Stay There?
Come back tomorrow for more.
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Photo Credit: Unchanged; by Claudio Ungari
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Keywords: cross, crucifixion, prophecies, Christ, Good Friday, Matthew 27 35, death, buried, crucifixions, crucified