Matthew 27:32–44: The Hidden Wisdom of God
Introduction
We have seen Jesus suffer in a variety of ways throughout his life, even in his infancy, when he fled from Herod into exile (Matt. 2:13–15). All of those sufferings, however, have been a prelude leading up to the climax of the Gospel of Matthew here at the cross. Yet, Matthew records the climax of the Gospel narrative in a way that stands in tension. On the one hand, every verse in this passage adds a new detail to the scorn, derision, suffering, and shame that our Lord bore in his crucifixion. On the other hand, the passage does not so much focus on Jesus and Jesus’ sufferings, as on the actions and reactions of those around Jesus (France, The Gospel of Matthew, 1064.). Matthew’s approach follows the literary technique of “gapping,” where some element of the story is emphasized by its omission (See “Gaps, Ambiguity and the Reading Process” in Meir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading, ISBL 453 (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996), 186–229.). Therefore, we do not so much read about Christ’s suffering as about the causes of those sufferings, and we must everywhere ask what each detail of this story adds to the passion of Christ. By the near-invisibility of Jesus in this passage, we learn that Christ crucified is the hidden wisdom of God.
Discussion Questions
1. Why must the Romans compel Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross (v. 32)? Why doesn’t Matthew answer this question directly? What was significant about the location of Golgotha (v. 33; see Heb. 13:12–13)? What is the significance of Jesus’ refusal to drink the wine mixed with gall (v. 34)? How elaborately does Matthew narrate Jesus’ crucifixion (v. 35a)? Why do you think that is the case? What is the significance of the soldiers’ gambling for Jesus’ clothes (v. 35)?
2. Who is ridiculed by the charge that the Romans affix above Jesus’ head (v. 37)? How does Jesus’ association with robbers on his right and left side increase the shame of his suffering (v. 38)? Why do we read about what happens under (vv. 35–36), above (v.37), and on each side of Jesus (v. 38)? Read Lamentations 2:15–16 in comparison with vv. 39–42. Why does Matthew compare Jesus’ crucifixion to the lamentation over the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC?
3. How does the crowd echo the temptations of Satan with the phrase, “If you are the Son of God…” (v. 40; cf. Matt. 4:4, 6)? How do the religious leaders “echo” (Blomberg) the taunts of the crowd (“So also…”; v. 41)? How do the leaders frame their taunts in “more theologically sophisticated” ways (France)? Why do they acknowledge the power of Jesus’ miracles (v. 42)? Why do they acknowledge Jesus as the King of Israel” (v. 42)? What does the reviling of the robbers add to the scene (v. 44)?
4. Why do you think that Matthew keeps Jesus almost entirely out of view in this passage? How does the hiddenness of Jesus in this passage exacerbate our anxiety over his sufferings? How does the hiddenness of Jesus exemplify the “hidden wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 2:7)? Why do you think that God delights to reveal himself in ways that are hidden from the world? What do you see when you gaze upon the invisible, hidden Christ by faith in this passage?
