Getting to know you all a little better didn't get to see you came in a little later Nina, but here So it's good to see everybody indeed I Told you I was gonna look at you if I get nervous, so if I get staring down here, that's that's the problem It's not you. It's me.

I Don't know how anyone can read the passage that Ron read and not as a believer get tore up. I mean, just reading, just reading those passages, just seeing what Christ underwent, he didn't sin. There was no sin in him. This is And it was all voluntary. It was all voluntary. He suffered, he bled, and he died for sins he did not commit. And I gotta stand up here and try to say a few things.

Sometimes I, like Spurgeon and these other men, sometimes just the passage, you know, at home, I read a text and just wanna close it and, you know, this is, This is the word of God. This is the unerring word of God. And it's amazing.

I've just got three words for you tonight out of Matthew 27, and they're found in verse 35. And before I get started, thanks for the hospitality. Old Scott Richardson said one time when I went up there, he says, you come here and we'll wine and dine you. Well, that's what you all have done. Wined and dined. And I appreciate it.

Three words. It's a simple message. I think it needs to be simple. There's no who can fathom the depths of our Lord Jesus Christ to the likes of us. It's found in verse 35. They crucified him. They crucified him. Short wording loaded with great importance to needy sinners. If you're a sinner tonight, I hope this will bless you. So much so, this is such an amazing three words that this is used in all four Gospels, the exact same wording. It's in Matthew 27, where we're at here, Luke 23, John 19, and Mark 15, the same three words. They crucified him.

Each word contains a matter of sorrow, wonder, and joy, sorrow, wonder, and joy. And I can't even partially begin to examine the depths of these reverential words that are expressed here before us this night. But I know in eternity, you want to know one thing we're going to be doing in eternity? We're going to be, and they crucified him. We're going to be digging and understand more fully these three holy words properly understood. We're not going to be looking through a glass. We're going to see him face to face.

I have but three points, and it's in order of their usage. They crucified him. First, the people involved. Secondly, the work involved, and thirdly, the person or individual involved.

Let's look at the first point, the people or the agents involved. They, they. Who's he speaking about? Is he speaking about angels? No. They were gazing in wonder at the spectacle before all humanity. How about the devils? No, it's not specifically speaking about them. However, I'm certain that they instigated the motive and cheered the death of innocency that was before us. But men, men, wicked, scheming men of the most religious sort, most religious sort, Ye men of Israel, it says in Acts chapter 2, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you all. As you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Men as representing men, women, boys, and girls. And I wonder if tonight, if we can acknowledge that if we were there at the scenes of the cross, we would have been hollering, crucify Him. We would have been hollering away with such a pestilent fellow. I remember when the Lord It started to prick my conscience. I was raised Methodist and you didn't hear anything in contemporary Methodism. You heard nothing. We didn't even bring our Bibles to church. I remember when I was going to college and somebody gave me a book. And I was reading through this book. I remember it like it was yesterday, laying on, sitting on my bed. And I got to a part where the man said, Reader, you crucified Christ, and I got so mad, I threw that book all the way across the room, and it stayed there in that corner for about a week. How dare he? My mom raised a good boy. That's what the reverend would say. No, I, I, I crucified him.

It says in Isaiah 53, we hid, as it were, our faces. We couldn't even look on them. I pray that God would pierce our hard hearts and penetrate these stubborn heads and say, did I, did my sins lay hard upon the Savior's brow? Here's what I'm trying to say. Here's what I'm trying to say. May God get this across to us. This is in Isaiah, chapter one, the vision of Isaiah. He's a prophet. He's to tell people the truth. In verse four of chapter one, he says, ah, sinful nation, a people, a people laden with sin. Verse seven, your country's desolate. Your cities are burnt with fire. Chapter 2 and verse 8, chapter 2 and verse 8, their band is full of idols. You see what you see, you see the preposition they, the pronouns they, you, Ashland, not me, not me.

Isaiah 311, woe unto the wicked, woe unto the wicked. Isaiah in the 5th chapter, verse 8. Woe unto them that join house to house. Verse 11 in chapter 5. Woe unto them that raise up early in the morning. Verse 18. Woe unto them that draw oniquity. Verse 20. Woe unto them that call evil good. Verse 21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes. And then you get to Isaiah 6. In the year that King Uzziah died, I, Isaiah, saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high, lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings, and twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth. is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried. And the house was filled with smoke. Then I, me, myself, then I said, woe is me. Woe is me. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips.

You see, when God dials us in, We're not this, and then, oh, this is his fault, or it's the House of, you know, it's the Congress's fault, or the Senators. It's all his fault. It's everybody but us. No. If we will not have part and parcel of our Lord's death, we will have no portion in his life and resurrection. And Adam will all die. For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen, here we go, here we are, the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, the things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not. This would be insulting. If somebody would come up and say, you're nothing in the eyes of God. In our own eyes, we're nothing. We're less than nothing. The base things of the world, yea, hath God chosen which are not to bring to naught the things which are. Why? That no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him. Are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

I had correspondence with a gentleman the other day, and he was trying to explain some things to his daughter. And I said, who's getting the glory? And the old writers used to say, you know, tell if the gospel's being preached, who's getting the glory? God must get the glory, and he will not share his glory with another. Not at all.

We sing, and I'm sure you all do too, by Isaac Watts. Alas, and did my savior bleed, and did my sovereign die, would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I, as I. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

The second thing we'll look at is the work involved. Back to our text. They crucified. Crucified. And I looked this up in the Greek, and I thought I understood it a little bit, but I didn't. This really puts it into perspective. It means to impale. To impale on the cross. What a horrible death and scene unfolds at the cross of Calvary.

Crucified. Crucified. Heaven will watch in amazement the innocent slain for the guilty. Complete and total substitution is laid out before heaven and earth. Crimson will flow and justice will be honored. Righteousness will be placed upon the elect sinner's account. The divine swap is initiated, and God will be exalted, glorified, and satisfied.

Crucified. They, we, I crucified him. Let me read you some passages out of Isaiah.

The Lord hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away my back. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair. I hid my face from shame and spitting. As many were astonished at thee, his visage, Christ's visage, was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. Who hath believed our report? to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed, for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground, he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes." They crucified him. with his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Now, I just read these. I guess I could go in a little bit of detail, but it's not my understanding an interpretation that's going to reveal the gospel to you. It's God, the Holy Spirit, is going to take these words and reveal them. It's not how much I know or how much I've studied, though I don't downplay those. It's sharper than a two-edged sword. It's sharper than a two-edged sword. Amazing. It truly is amazing.

And this last one I want to read to you out of lamentations. Is it nothing to you? If we were here at the cross at the scene, this would be speaking about us. Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? Behold, see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above he hath sent fire into my bones. and it prevailed against them. He hath spread a net for my feet and hath turned me back. He hath made me desolate and faint all the day."

I'm at a loss for words. This is what our almighty sovereign redeemer did for rebels. He did for me. He did for you. They crucified Christ. If you could put your name there, can you put your name there? We must view the vicious cross. Behold the man, like us, yet without sin. He's immaculate, he's pure, he's holy, harmless, undefiled, said the Hebrews. Behold the Son of God in our nature, God, and man in one Christ. God and man in one Christ.

Why? Sometimes it's good to ask why. Why? Well, Matthew 3 says, it behooved him to fulfill all righteousness. We couldn't. Our best is as filthy rags. Our best righteousness is as filthy rags. We could not do it.

And you come here, and I know Jim preaches the gospel, you come here and humanly you get insulted. If you've got something to be insulted about, if you're something, we gather together under one banner, his banner over us is love. We gather together. You could have been doing something else Friday night. You came to here. the message of a crucified Christ. And that makes all the difference.

We're talking about with our kids, our grandkids, we love them, we want the best for them, but the most important thing is that they hear and they understand and they believe Jesus Christ and trust in his righteousness. That's all that matters. And I told our children, that recently. I said, I want you to do well in school. I'm pleased when you do well in your classes and you do this and do that. I said, but my desire, do not take me to be mean-natured or offensive. I have determined not to know anything among you save Christ and Him crucified.

Why do we get away from that? We understand the gospel, and then we're running around for joy and telling folks, and then we get smart. Then we start dissecting things that don't need to be dissected. We need to leave them alone. I call it we try to peek behind the veil. It's not for us to know. I think about Spurgeon told a story visiting one of his members, an older lady, and he'd go visit her. Her mind was slipping, and she had that verse memorized, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. And then he kept going back, week after week, and she would know a little bit less of it, and a little bit less of it, and the last time you saw her, you know what she knew? The only word she knew was him. Him, him, him.

We start there, and we go somewhere, and we come back. We need to stay there, we need to stay upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, in our text, they crucified him. The person or the individual involved, Jesus Christ. That's who we're talking about. We're not talking about Joseph Smith. We're not talking about Muhammad. We're not talking about Confucius. We're talking about Jesus the Christ. They crucified him. Well, Daniel chapter nine says the Messiah will be cut off but not for himself. He had no sin. In Leviticus 22, I love this. And whosoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in bees or sheep, It, the sacrifice, Christ, shall be perfect to be accepted. There shall be no blemish therein. He better be, because we need a perfect. He's the only one who could bring in perfection.

Matter of fact, there was a song of Solomon. Savior talking about church, there's no spot. There's no spot in thee. That's amazing. That's amazing. He's the only one who could honor God's character, his law, his sovereign purpose of free favor. Only he, Emmanuel, could bear his back to the smiters and say, it is finished. Or another rendition would be, it is complete. Or I like this one. It is perfect. Beautiful. There is no other.

He's called the seed. He's called the Messiah. He's called the anointed one, the wonderful counselor, mighty God. He's the great I am. And what did the centurions, the Pharisees said, go arrest him in the New Testament. And they went to go arrest him and they came back empty. Why didn't you arrest him? They said, never a man spake like this man. Well, we say never a man lived like this man. Never a man died like this man. And because he rose, we have hope of resurrection.

So it's all about this man. As God, only he could love his elect bride from before eternity. As man, he was born to make sinners righteous by his holy life and take away our sins by his death. That's what 1 Peter says. 318, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.

" You know, that scarlet thread, Rahab the harlot, that's Christ. But it goes this way. It goes from Genesis to Revelations. In Genesis, the Old Testament saints looked forward. They said, where's the Lamb? In John, the New Testament saints beheld his glory. Behold, the Lamb of God. And in Revelations, we look back at the cross and see him worthy as the Lamb. It's the Lamb throughout the whole thing. The work is done. The work is complete in every text. Get to Christ and stay there. Stay there. Stay there.

I ask myself this question and I ask us here tonight, why do we try to labor or work for That which is already paid for. That's the whole gist of Isaiah 55, verse one, two, and three. What are you buying stuff that's already been taken care of? You don't need money. Christ has paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left the crimson stain, he washed it white as snow. Why do we labor? Why do we try to labor for that which is already paid for?

I heard a man preach. He's gone home to be with the Lord. But he said, he just said, stop working. Stop working for your salvation. Keep it in context. Stop working. Because that's what we do naturally. That's how we're raised. So I close with this, by God given faith, Lay hold of this Christ, the one that they crucified. Believe all he has said and all he has done. Be joyful and be at peace. People are trying to find peace. Talk about peace all the time. There is no peace outside of Christ.

Trust only and always upon this one and only kinsman redeemer. I ask, is this good news to any here tonight? Is this good news? And you want to hear the next message? And Lord willing, tomorrow? And Lord willing, Sunday? Is this good news? They, I, crucified him. You read something from an old writer Perhaps this has hit home. I give you an encouragement if you're desponding, if you're concerned of your soul. Don't think about tomorrow, you may not have tomorrow. Out of John 6, 37, him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.

Cast out? How often might this have been our history? We have cast off our God. Might he not often have cast us out? Yes, cast us out as fuel for the fire of his wrath, a sapless, fruitless cumberer, and yet notwithstanding all our ungrateful repayment for his unmerited forbearance, He is still declaring, as I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies.

Our sins may be legion. The sand of the sea may be their befitting type. The thought of their vileness and aggravation may be ready to overwhelm us, but be silent. Our patient God waits to be gracious. Oh, be deeply humbled and softened because of our guilt, and resolve to submit ourselves to his service. And so coming, he will by no means cast you out.

Despond not by reason of former shortcomings. Our sins are great, but our Savior's merits are greater. He is willing to forget all the past and sink it into oblivion. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Oh, how different is God's verdict from man's. After such sins as ours, man's sentence would have been, I will in no wise receive. But it is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of man, for he says, I want to know why he's cast you out. Flee to him. If he's drawn you, just keep coming. The believer never stops coming. Never stops coming. This message never gets old. To me, it's simple, but that's what I like. Jim.