The Lord helping me this morning,
I bring before you two portions of the Word of God. Firstly in
Matthew 27 and verses 45 to 54 and then a portion from Luke
23. Firstly then Luke 27 verses 45
to 54. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the
land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthanai. That is to say, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there
when they heard that said, this man calleth for Elias. And straightway
one of them ran, and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and
put it on a reed and gave him to drink. The rest said, let
be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus,
when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the
ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple
was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth
did quake. and the rocks rent, and the graves
were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose
and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into
the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion
and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake, and
those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying,
Truly this was the Son of God, and in Luke 23 verses 39 to 43. And one of the malefactors which
were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself
and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly for we receive
the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing
amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. It's been four months since we
observed the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. when we seek to
remember the Lord Jesus Christ in his death, his finished work. And so I thought it good this
morning to think more particularly upon the death of Christ, as
we've not had opportunity to do so at the Lord's Supper. The
death of the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely central to the
faith of God's elect. It must then be absolutely central
to the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed,
to preach the Gospel is to preach the cross. As you see from 1
Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 17. For Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the gospel. Now mark those words, but to
preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the
preaching of the cross, that's the preaching of the gospel.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. And again
in verse 23 of that chapter he says, but we preach Christ crucified. This is the central message you
see. This is the gospel. But we preach
Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the
Greeks foolishness. This was the message that was
preached in Galatia. O foolish Galatians, who have
bewitched you, the Apostle says, that you should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set
forth, crucified among you. It is the central point of the
so-called five points of Calvinism, which is an excellent summary
of the Gospel. You know, Tulip, Total Depravity, Unconditional
Election, Limited Atonement, the very center of the Five Points,
and then Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints. Limited
Atonement is at the very center of the Five Points of Calvinism.
Well, it's no wonder then, If this doctrine is so central to
the gospel, it's no wonder then that the death of Christ and
the doctrine of the atonement has been the subject of such
a concerted attack from the devil and his minions. The anti-Christian
forces of potpourri and Islam are ranged against the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, the Roman Catholic
dogma denies the sufficiency and the efficiency of the death
of Christ in its doctrine of the mass. and in its doctrine
of purgatory. Islam denies the historical fact
of Christ's crucifixion. Muslims believe that it was Judas
Iscariot who was crucified. See how antichrist and false
prophet are united in their opposition to Christ and his cross. The terror of Arminianism the
weed of Arminianism, has been sown amongst professedly Christian
churches. And the Arminian doctrine of
a universal atonement, that is that Jesus has died for everyone, it is surely a denial of the
effectiveness of the death of Christ and its sufficiency. You see, according to the Arminian
doctrine, The death of Christ is not effective, it's ineffective
because there are sinners in hell for whom Christ has died. And it's not sufficient because,
you see, there is something else that must be added to the death
of Christ. The death of Christ is not enough.
There must be the sinner's faith. That is the faith of the operation
of the sinner as opposed to the faith of the operation of God. But you know even amongst professed
Calvinistic believers there's been a downgrade of the doctrine
of the atonement there are some who are now saying that while
the death of Christ is efficient only to the elect yet it is sufficient
for the whole world and the Lord God really does love everybody
and sincerely desires that everybody whether elect or reprobate should
be saved and should be partakers of that salvation which is accomplished
by the death of Christ. Now this is confusion and this
is of course the foundation for all their so-called offers of
grace, their so-called free offer of salvation. The devil is that serpent that seeks to
drown the church with his errors. And the serpent cast out of his
mouth water as a flood after the woman that it might cause
her to be carried away of the flood. If we stick to the scriptures,
the holy scriptures, we will not be carried away with the
flood of error which is used from the serpent's mouth. The preaching of the cross then
is central to the preaching of the gospel. This morning, with
the Lord's help, consider with you from the scriptures which
I've read as my text, I'll consider with you this morning some of
the miracles that attended the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Six miracles which I'll consider
from these verses in Matthew 27, and then a seventh from those
verses in Luke 23. Seven miracles. which accompanied
the death of Christ. I'll remind you that miracles
are signs. Now, signs are never an end in
themselves. They always point to something.
They always point to something or declare something. The miracles
or the signs that Jesus performed as he went about doing good declared
who he was. That he was God manifest in the
flesh. That he was the promised Messiah.
The miracles of healing signify the gracious work which He performs
in the souls of men and women. And so here, the miracles that
accompanied Christ's death declared something. They were significant. Firstly then, let us consider
the darkness. verse 45 of Matthew 27 now from
the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth
hour the darkness the Lord Jesus said I am the light of the world
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was announced to the world by
a star appearing in the east the death of the Lord Jesus Christ
was announced to the world by the sun being darkened And apparently
this darkness is referred to in the Roman histories. It's
reported to have been seen even as far as Egypt. Now from the
sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth
hour. Surely this speaks to us of the
darkness that came upon Christ's own human soul as he entered
into battle against the prince of darkness as the captain of
our salvation. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? He cries. In the words of Psalm
22. Man's soul was sunk in darkness
by reason of the fall. A state of sin is a state of
darkness. This is the natural condition
of us all since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the
blindness of their heart. That's us, by nature. In order
to bring his people out of darkness, the Lord Jesus Christ, the captain
of their salvation, entered into gross darkness as all the sins
of all his people were laid upon him. They pierced his hands and
his feet. His hands and his feet he resigned.
The pangs of his body were great, but greater the pangs of his
mind. Oh, how he suffered in his holy
human soul. He hath poured out his soul unto
death. Here is the first miracle then.
It's as if creation itself was ashamed to witness the suffering
of its divine creator. Now from the sixth hour, there
was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And secondly,
we read of the rending of the veil of the temple, verse 51. And behold, the veil of the temple
was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. It was at the
ninth hour that this stupendous miracle occurred. It was the
very hour of the offering up of the evening sacrifice. And
it happened immediately upon the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up
the ghost, and behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom. Now we note that Jesus himself
yielded up the ghost. He yielded up the ghost. He had
said on a previous occasion, Therefore does my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. and he had that power even there
upon the cross. He yields up the ghost in obedience
to his father's will and commandment. And we see that he dies as a
man in full vigour. It's not that he takes a few
last gasps of breath and then expires, no. Jesus, when He had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. It was the voice of
triumph, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. It was the
voice of victory, it is finished. and it was at that hour, the
very hour of the evening sacrifice that Christ gave his life a ransom
for many, that his soul was made an offering for sin. How willing
was Jesus to die that we, fellow sinners, might live the life
they could not take away. How willing, how ready was Jesus
to give. And it was at that precise hour
that the vial of the temple, which separated the holy place
from the most holy place, was rent in twain from the top to
the bottom. And what a marvellous sign this
was. It signified the end of all the legal sacrifices and
ceremonies and services. It signified the entrance of
Jesus Christ as our great High Priest into the most holy place,
that is, into heaven itself. Paul goes into these things,
doesn't he, in Hebrews? Hebrews 9 verse 11. but Christ
being come and high priest of good things to come by greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say
not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves
but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having
obtained eternal redemption This is what was signified by
the tearing of the veil. It signified to the entrance
that believers have into the very presence of God in and through
Him. Again in Hebrews 10 and verse
19. having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh. Through the torn flesh of a crucified
Saviour we have free access to the throne of grace now and the
throne of glory hereafter. The rending of Christ's flesh
has opened heaven itself for all who by grace are brought
to believe on his name. That was signified by the rending
of the veil of the temple at the death of Christ. This then
was the second miracle, and behold the veil of the temple was rent
in twain from the top to the bottom. And then thirdly there
was the earthquake. and the earth did quake we read
there in verse 51 and the earth did quake again we're told by
the commentators that this earthquake was recorded by Roman historians
it's a historical fact now ought not the Jews to have realised
that this was a token of God's wrath against them for crucifying
the Messiah I remind you that it was at the cry of Jesus the
Messiah that the earth did quake. And so it is written in the Psalms,
in Psalm 18, verse 4. The sorrows of death
compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed
me about, the snares of death prevented me. in my distress
I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God he heard my voice
out of his temple and my cry came before him even into his
ears then the earth shook and trembled the foundations of the
hills were moved and were shaken because he was wrath because
he was wrath the wrath of God was signified by this earthquake
His wrath against the Jewish nation, yes. Oh, but more than
that, much more than that, it signified His wrath against the
sins of His people, which was imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ. It signified God's wrath, which
was poured out upon Christ as the sinner's substitute. The
Lord Jesus Christ stood in the place of ruined, lost and ruined
sinners. He was the sinless, sin-bearing
substitute, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
All the Passover lamb was to be roast in the fire. It is then also signified in
this earthquake the removal of the Jewish church state as the
removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that
are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. And what is it that remains? Surely it is a kingdom which
cannot be moved. A kingdom not of this world. Christ's spiritual kingdom comprising
both Jews and Gentiles. This then is the third miracle
and the earth did quite The fourth miracle to be considered is this,
again in verse 51, and the rocks rent. The breaking of the rocks
and the rocks rent. Surely the rending of the rocks
was a sign pointing to the one who was nailed to the cross,
the rock of our salvation. whose body was broken. Yes, to
them that believe he is the rock of salvation are but to others
he is a rock of offence. As Peter says, Unto you therefore
which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed. What solemn words they are. Whereunto also they were appointed,
the reprobate. So it was written in the prophets,
in Isaiah, again. Isaiah chapter eight and verse
13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,
and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he
shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling, and
for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, and for
a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. to those who believe
He is a sanctuary. They hide themselves in Him like
the dove in the Song of Solomon, Oh my dove that art in the cliffs
of the rock. Which speaks of the church hiding
herself from the storm and tempest of God's wrath in the wounds
of her crucified Lord, the cliffs of the rock. The wounds of Christ. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Cleanse
me from its guilt and power. This is the language of the redeemed.
This is the language of the redeemed when they are overwhelmed by
a sense of the guilt and the power of sin in their own hearts. See it in Psalm 61. Hear my cry, O God. Attend unto
my prayer. From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. There's a hymn in Gadsby's
by John Kent on that psalm. It's number 926. Kent says this, when overwhelmed
with doubts and fear, great God, do thou my spirit cheer, let
not my eyes with tears be fed, but to the rock of ages let.
When guilt lies heavy on my soul, and waves of fierce temptation
roll, I to this rock for shelter flee, and make my refuge, Lord,
in thee. When called the veil of death
to tread, then to this rock may I be led. nor fear to cross that
gloomy sea, since thou hast tasted death for me. Yes, that is the
rock that was rent, broken for sinners, even the Lord Jesus
Christ. And is there not in the breaking
of these rocks also a token of the power of the gospel to break
the hearts of hard-hearted sinners? as it is written in Ezekiel,
and I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within
you and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and
I will give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes
and keep my ordinances and do them and they shall be my people
and I will be their God again there in Ezekiel, then will I
sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all
your filthiness, and from all your idols, I will cleanse you. A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh. This is God's work in the soul. The Lord is able to take away
the stony heart and to give a new heart, that is, a broken spirit,
a contrite heart. And this He does when He grants
repentance to the sinner. The sacrifices of God. Mark those words. The sacrifices
of God. It's of Him. The sacrifices of
God are a broken and a contrite heart, O God, that would not
despise. God would not despise His own
work. And the Lord is very near to
them whose hearts are broken on account of their sins. The
Gospel, you see, is for sinners. And the Lord is near to those
whose hearts are broken on account of their sins. The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be
of a contrite spirit. This is the significance of the
fourth miracle, the breaking of the rock. and the rocks red. Now consider the fifth, the opening
of the graves. And the graves were opened, and
many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the
graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city,
and appeared unto many. Verses 52 and 53. Clearly the
opening of the graves was a demonstration of Christ's power over death. after he himself had risen from
the dead. He revealed himself to the aged
apostle on the Isle of Patmos and he said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen, and have the keys of hell
and of death. The Lord Jesus Christ has the
keys of hell and of death and this was clearly demonstrated
even at the crucifixion in that the graves were opened. At the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ that wonderful scripture was
fulfilled. Hosea 13 verse 14 I will ransom them from the power
of the grave. I will redeem them from death.
O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from
mine eyes. And the resurrection of many
of the bodies of the saints after Christ's own resurrection was
an earnest, as it were, of the resurrection of all the Lord's
people at the last day. Jesus said, you remember, on
a previous occasion, and this is the Father's will which hath
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is
the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the
Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I
will raise him up at the last day. That's the promise of the
Gospel. It's the promise of eternal life
through our Lord Jesus Christ. The opening of the graves was
the fifth miracle. And the graves were opened, and
many bodies of the saints which slept arose. and came out of
the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and
appeared unto many. Then we come to the sixth miracle. the conviction of the centurion
now this is recorded in verse 54 now when the centurion and
they that were watching and they that were with him watching Jesus
saw the earthquake and those things that were done they feared
greatly saying truly this was the Son of God was this a miracle
you ask? well yes it was It was miraculous
in a sense that it is a wonder that men such as these, hardened
Roman soldiers, should be made to fear and to confess the truth
of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal Sonship. Truly, this was the Son of God. Truly, this was the Son of God.
Whereas the Jews who ought to have believed Him, they didn't. And this was, of course, the
basis of the Jews' charge of blasphemy against the Lord Jesus.
In the previous chapter, in Matthew 26, verse 63, And the high priest
answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that
thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast said, nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye
see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming
in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his
clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy. What further need
have we of witnesses? Behold now, ye have heard his
blasphemy. What think ye? They answered
and said, He is guilty of death. And this was the basis, too,
of the reviling of him by those that passed by. Here in Matthew
27 verse 39. And they that passed by reviled
him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest
the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself, if
thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. And likewise, the Jewish leaders,
the chief priests, with the scribes and elders. Listen to what they
said. He trusted in God. Let him deliver
him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the Son of
God. I am the Son of God. How about
these Roman soldiers, the centurion, and they that were with him?
They were made to acknowledge his truth. Truly this was the
Son of God. When they saw the earthquake
and those things that were done, they were convinced that it was
true. Truly this was the Son of God. Now see here, how far
unconverted men may go in their convictions. There is nothing here to suggest
that any of these men were converted. Men may fear greatly. and be
thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Christian religion and
yet remain unconverted like these men. Or like Felix, you remember,
the Roman procurator of Judea. We read in the Book of Acts as
the Apostle Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance and
judgment to come. Felix trembled and answered,
go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season,
I will call for thee. like these men who feared. Or
King Agrippa. Remember how Paul spoke to him?
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou
believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul,
almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Almost persuaded. May the Lord deliver us from
being almost Christians. May we be made real Christians,
not just convinced and convicted, but truly converted. Not just
convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, not just
convicted of our sin. We want more than that. We want to be converted, granted
real repentance and a living faith. A living faith. Well, this was the sixth miracle,
that these Gentile Roman soldiers were brought to acknowledge and
to confess this truth. Truly, this was the Son of God. But let us consider seventhly
and finally, the conversion of the thief upon
the cross. In Luke 23 from verse 39, the
seventh miracle, the conversion of the thief, And one of the
malefactors which were hanged roiled on him, saying, If thou
be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God? Seeing thou art in the same
condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward
of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said
unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt
thou be with me in paradises. Now this was a miracle indeed
that one of the thieves which was crucified with Jesus was
converted. Not so long ago, not so long
before, He had been mocking Christ with his fellow there upon the
cross. The thieves, plural we read,
the thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his
teeth. We read that earlier on in Matthew
27. But then suddenly by an act of absolute sovereign grace this
man is brought out of darkness The veil is torn from his heart,
and he sees the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is made
to tremble at God's word, and his stony heart is rent and taken
away, and a heart of flesh is given. And though he is a dying
man, yet he is made a partaker of Christ's resurrection, and
he is granted that newness of life, being born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth
and abideth forever. All he is convinced and he is
convicted and he is converted. Now how may we know that we are
truly converted? It's an important question, isn't
it? How may we know that we are truly converted? Well, the centurion's
convictions went only so far. Truly this was the Son of God.
There was no crying out to this Saviour. No crying out to this
Saviour out of a felt sense of his own need as a sinner. The
thief hanging upon the cross, however, all he did call upon
the name of the Lord. He called upon the name of the
Lord for salvation. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Here's the
difference, you see. Here is the language of the elect
of God. It's the language of all convinced,
convicted, and converted sinners. Lord, remember, dear Lord, remember
me, a sinner weak and vile. full of impiety and fraught with
sin and guile. I cannot hope but in thy blood. Remember me, O Lord, for good. Unable to depend on nature's
strength and power, Jesus my soul befriend. Teach me to trust
thee more. Save me from sin and all its
smart. O save me from my treacherous
heart. That's the language of God's
elect. Save me from my treacherous heart. That's why the publican beat
upon his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. He beat upon his breast because
that's where the problem lay. It was in his heart. Oh, save
me. Save me from my sin and all its
smart. Oh, save me from my treacherous
heart. Here at the cross, in the miracle
of conversion of the dying thief, we see the golden promise of
the Word of God clearly demonstrated. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. The golden promise of
the Word of God. Here is a word for dying thieves. Here is a word for dying sinners. Call upon Him, He will save you. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. He came into the world
to save sinners. This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. He laid down His life to save
sinners. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life. And every sinner who looks to
him and calls upon him will find the promise true for whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved the dying
thief found that promise true and Jesus said unto him verily
I say unto thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise May the
Lord bless his word to us each. I know that each one of us here
might be able to say with the hymn writer, I am a miracle of
grace. I am a miracle of grace. Amen.