The scripture I would bring before
you this morning is found in Mark chapter 15 and verses 1
to 21. It's a rather long passage for
a text so I'm not going to read it all again. We've already read
it. Having considered on a previous occasion, a month ago now, seven
miracles that accompanied Christ's death and the significance of
those miracles, I would consider with you this morning something
more of the significance of Lord Jesus and the significance of
the events which occurred at the time of his trial and crucifixion. The sufferings of the Lord Jesus
Christ in this world were many and deep. Well might Christ say
in the words of the prophet, Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold and 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." It
was in the day of the Lord's fierce anger that the Lord Jesus
Christ was afflicted. It was the day of the Lord's
fierce anger against sin. And so Peter says, for Christ
also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God. And it was not for any sin of
his that he suffered and bled and died, for he was that just
one. He was without sin. No, he died
for the unjust, for sinners. He suffered for their sins he
suffered in their room and stead, that is in their place. And this
is the very heart of the Gospel. And so it is written in the Prophets,
for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Mark those words,
for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And this I say
is the very heart of the Gospel. The Lord's fierce anger against
sin and the Lord's love for his people meet at the cross. And you know you cannot separate
God's love for sinners from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is precisely what some
of our modern Calvinists are trying to do. You know their
doctrine? While they do acknowledge that
Christ died for his people, and for his people only, that is,
for elect sinners, they profess to believe in the doctrine of
limited atonement, particular redemption, but they say nevertheless
that God does love everybody, and he sincerely desires the
salvation of all. This is what they're now saying.
It's actually the doctrine of Amiraldianism, but they call
themselves Calvinists. And what they are doing is they
are separating the love of God from the atonement, from Christ's
atonement for sin. And such a doctrine is completely
at odds with the Holy Scriptures. It is a doctrine which is completely
alien to Holy Scripture, where we find no such separation. What
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 1 John chapter
4, verses 9 and 10. John says, in this was manifested
the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten
Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. These two things are inextricably
linked. They cannot be separated. You
cannot separate the love of God from the atonement. The Father
loves all those for whom the Son died. And the Lord Jesus
Christ died for all those whom the Father has loved with a never-lasting
Well, this doctrine then, as I say, is the very heart of the
Gospel. The doctrine of the atonement.
And here we must tread upon holy ground. With what reverence must
we approach this subject? The sufferings of the dear Son
of God. And it is the significance of
some of those sufferings that I will consider now I trust with
the Lord's help and blessing, and I'll consider the significance
of Christ's offerings in seven particulars from the scripture
that we've read, Mark 15 verses 1 to 21, together with an eighth
by way of conclusion. So firstly then, let us consider
the significance of Christ being sent to Pontius Pilate in verse
1. And straightway in the morning,
The chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and
the whole council and bound Jesus and carried him away and delivered
him to Pilate. The fact that the Jews handed
over the Lord Jesus Christ to the Roman governor was highly
significant. The chief priests and the elders
and the scribes and the whole council would have put Jesus
to death themselves if they could but they did not have the power.
They were now under Roman rule and this they acknowledged before
Pontius Pilate in John 18. We read in verse 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take
ye him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore
said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. It's not lawful for us to put
any man to death. They did not have the power.
Now had the Jews eyes to see and hearts to understand, they
would have seen and they would have understood that the time
of the Messiah had now come. They would have understood that
the time of the Messiah had come, because it was written in their
law, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be. Well, the scepter had now departed
from Judah. They were now under Roman occupation,
Roman rule. And Shiloh, the Christ of God,
had now come. Had the Jews understood the prophecy
of Daniel, They would have known that it would be in the days
of the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, that Messiah would set
up his kingdom. And the handing over of Christ
to the Gentiles was marvelously typified in Samson. Samson in many ways, though he
was in many ways quite the opposite of Christ, but in many ways he
was a type of Christ, and by type I mean a living picture,
if you like, that's how I'd describe a type. He pointed to Christ,
he was a living picture of Christ. And his being handed over to
the Gentiles was a type, if you like, of Christ
being handed over to the Gentiles. We read in Judges 15 and verse
11, then Three thousand men of Judah went
to the top of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, Knowest thou
not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this
that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they
did unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him,
We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into
the hand of the Philistines. They would hand Samson over,
to these Gentiles, these uncircumcised Gentiles. And you know the outcome,
verse 14 of that chapter. And when he came to Lehi, the
Philistines shouted against him, and the spirit of the Lord came
mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became
as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off
his hands. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
was handed over to the Gentiles, even by his brethren after the
flesh, to be crucified. Ah, but the cords of death could
not hold him, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of
death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Samson was a marvellous type of Christ. Well, we see then
something of the significance of Christ being handed over to
Pontius Pilate. There was a significance in Christ's
speaking. Verse 2, And Pilate asked him,
Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering said unto him,
Thou sayest it. Literally, Thou sayest. The word
is in italics in our authorised version. This tells us that the
word has been supplied by the translators. It's not there in
the original. Literally, it's Thou sayest. Now we know that there was significance
in everything that the Lord Jesus said. Everything that Christ
said was significant. Every word which he uttered was
significant. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life, he said. And again he said,
and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of
him, that is of the Father. whatsoever I speak therefore
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. He says again,
and he teaches us in Matthew's Gospel, but I say unto you that
every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. for by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. The Lord
Jesus Christ then spoke no idle word. Every word which proceeded
from his lips was significant, and Christ speaking here before
Pontius Pilate is not without significance. Pilate had asked
him a direct question, Art thou the King of the Jews? Art thou
the King of the Jews? And the Lord Jesus Christ gives
him a direct answer. Thou sayest it. Thou sayest. Literally, it's most emphatic.
Now, we might say in modern parlance, you said it. You said it. Paul speaks of Christ Jesus,
who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession. Or as it is
in the margin, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good profession.
We see it in the previous chapter here in Mark when Christ is before
the Sanhedrin. Again the high priest passed
him and said unto him, art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed?
And Jesus said, I am. And ye shall see the son of man
sitting on the right hand of power. And coming in the clouds
of heaven, asked a straight question, the Lord Jesus gives a straight
and unequivocal answer. You mark those words there. Jesus said, I am here. He is
declaring his deity. And then he goes on to declare
his sacred humanity. And you shall see the Son of
Man sitting on the right hand of power. The God-Man mediator,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives a straight answer to
a straight question. Now are we those who would dare
to profess and to confess the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
in and before this unbelieving generation? For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. Confession is made unto salvation. Well may the Lord grant us that
grace to be able to give a direct and unequivocal answer to the
question, are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? You said
it, by the grace of God, I am a Christian. Yes, yes, the Lord
has called me by his matchless grace. I am a Christian. Remember the word. of the Lord
Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 10. Verse 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess
me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
You see, not to confess the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is to
deny him. May all those then who have believed
on the name of the only begotten Son of God be enabled by divine
grace to heed the apostolic exultation and precept and be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear. All the significance
of Christ speaking. Let us in the third place consider
the significance of Christ's silence. As there was a significance
in his speaking, so there was a significance in his silence.
And the chief priest, this is verse three, and the chief priest
accused him of many things, but he answered nothing. And Pilate
asked him again, saying, answerest thou nothing? Behold how many
things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing,
so that Pilate marveled. We see it again in the previous
chapter in verse 16, when the Lord was falsely accused, and
the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying,
Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness
against thee? But he held his peace. Oh, how quick we are to justify
ourselves, aren't we? To jump to our own defense, should
anyone accuse us of anything, whether it's true or not. Oh, not so, Christ. Not so, Christ. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter. As a sheep before her shearers
is done, so thee openeth not his mouth. The first man, Adam, in the garden,
you remember, sought to justify himself before God, though he
was guilty. The last Adam, the second man,
the Lord from heaven, kept silent before men, though he was innocent. But Jesus yet answered nothing,
so that Pilate marveled. Now the Lord's people will often
find that there are those who speak evil of them, as of evildoers,
that falsely accuse their good conversation in Christ, whether
as individually or collectively, you and your church, you Christians,
Ah, but the Lord has left us here an example, as Peter says
in his first epistle. In 1 Peter 2 verse 21, for even
hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps, who
did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth who when he
was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatened
not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously the margin says that he committed
his cause to him that judgeth righteously and that's what we're
to do who are the lord's people we are to commit our cause to
god or how we need to guard our tongues. My wife often gently
reminds me of this. We need to guard our tongues.
The psalmist says, I said I will take heed to my ways, that I
sin not with my tongue, I will keep my mouth with a bridle while
the wicked is before me. And fourthly, see the significance
of the people's rejection of Christ and of choosing for others,
which we have recorded from verse 6 through to verse 15. Each year,
it seems, at this feast, a prisoner would be released, whomsoever
the people desired. And the people demanded it be
done on this occasion, as it had been done in previous years.
Verse 8, and the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to
do as he had ever done unto them. Now Pilate sees here an opportunity
of releasing Jesus. But Pilate answered them, saying,
Will you that I release unto you the king of the Jews? For
he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But Pilate doesn't realize the
power and the influence of the chief priests over the people.
Verse 11, but the chief priests moved the people that he should
rather release Barabbas unto them. Do we not see it in the
history of the Lord's suffering saints? You only have to read
church history, and if you don't read church history, you should
do. The people were often moved and influenced by the chief priests,
by the religious leaders, to reject Christ and to choose anti-Christ. what is antichrist who is antichrist
why is the bishop of rome is he not a murderer of souls by
his false doctrine he leads his deluded adherents to hell and
many of the lord's people have been handed over to the secular
authorities by the roman priests it's a historical fact as the
jews did on this occasion so the roman catholic church did
too and they still would do if they had the power Just as the
Lord Jesus Christ, the true head of the church, was handed over
by the chief priests to be put to death, the pretended Bishop
of Rome is a murderer. And his priests moved the people
to choose him and his false doctrine and to reject Christ and his
gospel. But the chief priests moved the
people that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And
Pilate answered and said unto them, What will ye then that
I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews? And they
cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why,
what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly,
Crucify him. But is there not a tendency in
each one of us if left to ourselves to choose
the murderer and to reject Christ. Sin is a murderer. Sin is a murderer. The soul that sinneth it shall
die, for the wages of sin is death. Being the natural descendants
of Adam who transgressed, we have a nature that is bent on
sinning. Because sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons
of men is fully set in them to do evil the preacher says again
there in Ecclesiastes yea also the heart of the sons of men
is full of evil and madness is in their heart while they live
and after that they go to the dead men and women in their natural
unregenerate condition will always choose the evil and reject the
good In the words of Job, therefore they say unto God, depart from
us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. That's the language
of the unregenerate man, the unregenerate woman. It's a strange
thing, but it's nevertheless true, that men and women in a
state of nature are opposed to their own salvation. When the
choice was set before the children of Israel, choice did they make? Many insist,
oh, there's a choice, you know, free will and so on. Well, the
choice was set before the children of Israel, wasn't it? Deuteronomy
30, verse 15. See, I have set before thee this
day life and good and death and evil. And in verse 19 there of
Deuteronomy 30, I call heaven and earth to record this day
against you. But I have set before you life
and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life that both
thou and my seed may live." What choice did the children
of Israel make? Why they chose idolatry. They
chose idolatry. As you read in the very beginning
of Judges in chapter 5, they chose new gods. It says they chose new gods.
And so they chose death and evil, death and cursing. And every
day men and women make the same wretched choice. They choose
the way of sin and misery, the way of death and hell, and they
reject the way of holiness and happiness and heaven. Deluded
by the devil, they think that they make the right choice. There
is a way. which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death." This is the state
of all of us by nature, whether religious or irreligious. None
of us are any better than those Jews who cried out for Barabbas
to be released and for Christ to be crucified. If by grace
We have made a good choice and follow the thing that good is,
as the Psalmist says. And there is a sense, there is
a sense in which we are sent to make a choice. In Psalm 119
we read, I have chosen the way of truth. Thy judgments have
I laid before me. Again in that Psalm, let thine
hand help me, for I have chosen thy precepts. And in the Proverbs
we read that wisdom is to be chosen. that understanding is
to be chosen how much better is it to get wisdom than gold
and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver there
is a sense then in which we can be said to make it can be said
that we make a choice if then by grace we have made that good
choice and follow the thing that good is it can only be because God has
before chosen us to salvation to Thessalonians chapter 2 verse
13, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The hymn writer says, why was I made to hear thy voice, and
enter while there's room, when thousands make a wretched choice,
and rather starve than come, t'was the same love that spread
the feast, that sweetly forced us in, else we had still refused
to taste, and perished in our sin. and we'll see the significance
of the people rejecting Christ and choosing Barabbas. And then,
fifthly, consider the significance of Christ being sentenced, verse
15. And so Pilate, willing to content
the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus
when he had scourged him to be crucified. Pilate had lately
found the Lord Jesus Christ not guilty Why? What evil had he
done? He asked. And the Jews' only
response was to cry out, the more exceedingly, crucify him.
No evidence was forthcoming. There was no evidence brought
forth at this trial. Although there were false witnesses,
but no real evidence. Three times Pilate gave in his not guilty
verdict, as we see in John's Gospel. John 18, verse 38, Pilate,
saith unto them what is truth and when he had said this he
went out again unto the Jews and saith unto them I find in
him no fault at all no fault at all and then John 19 verse
4 Pilate therefore went forth again and saith unto them behold
I bring him forth to you that ye may know that I find no fault
in him and then again verse 6 in John 19 officers saw him and
they cried out saying crucify him crucify Pilate say saith
unto them take ye him and crucify him for I find no fault in him
three times the Lord Jesus Christ was declared not guilty Pilate
at last gave him to the people and he delivered up the innocent
Christ to be crucified. Although he had pronounced him
not guilty, he sentenced him to death. And this he did against
his own conscience and to his own everlasting and eternal ruin. In Psalm 94 we read, they gather
themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn
the innocent part. But the Lord is my defence and
my God is the rock of my refuge. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut
them off. What a solemn word. But why was
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is innocent, thus condemned and
sentenced to death? What's the significance of this?
Well, only one who is without debt can pay the debts of others. As the surety of his people,
the Lord Jesus Christ would stand in their law place. Although
he was innocent of any crime or of any sin, he would stand
condemned in the room instead of his people. Bearing shame
and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood. Sealed my
pardon with his blood. Hallelujah. What a saviour. he was condemned for whom he stood as a surety.
He must enter into death that we might enter into life. He
stands condemned before his earthly judge that his people might be
acquitted before the judge of all the earth. So Pilate, willing to content
the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus,
when he had scourged him, to be crucified. He sentences him
to death. And then, sixthly, there is the
significance of the soldier's ill-treatment of Christ. In verse
16, And the soldiers led him away to the hall called Praetorium,
and they called together the whole band, and they clothed
him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it
about his head, and began to salute him. Hail, King of the
Jews! And they smote him on the head
with a reed, and they did spit upon him, and, bounding their
knees, worshipped him. And when they had mocked him,
they took off the purple from him and put his own clothes on
him, and led him out to crucify him. Now see how the Lord Jesus
was exposed to shame and contempt. Is he a king? Why, he must have
a purple robe. Is he a king? He must have a
crown. A crown of thorns. Is he a king? He must be saluted.
Hail King of the Jews. Is he a king? He must have a
sceptre. A reed. A reed which they would use to
smite him on the head. And beat him on the head. Is
he a king? He must be kissed. What was the kiss they gave him?
They did spit upon him. Is he a king? He must be reverenced. and bowing their knees worshipped
him. Now all this, of course, was
done in mockery and ridicule and contempt. And when they had
mocked him, they took off the purple robe from him and put
his own clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. Now why
did the Lord Jesus Christ endure all these things? Well, it was
for his people, out of the love which he bore to his dear elect. Such shame and contempt belongs
properly to us. because of our sins, because
of our transgressions of the law of God. He endured all these
things for the sake of his people. He wore the crown of thorns that
they might wear a crown of glory. The crown of thorns was surely
emblematic of the curse that Christ wore for his people. You remember in the Garden of
Eden Thorns came into paradise as a result of Adam's transgression. The Lord said to Adam on the
day that he sinned, Cursed is the ground for thy sin. In sorrow
shall thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also
and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee. That's where thorns
originate from, from the curse. And the curse originates from
man's sin. In Galatians we read that Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the Lord, being made a curse for us. For it is
written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. We must note this regarding those
soldiers who bowed the knee mockingly to Christ. Are there not even
now those who bow the knee to him in mockery? Hail, King of the Jews, is the
language of their lips, but not of their hearts. Matthew Henry's
comment here is very apt. He says, those who bow the knee
to Christ, but do not bow the soul, that draw nigh to him with
their mouths, and honour him with their lips, while their
hearts are far from him, put the same affront upon him as
these here did. May the Lord deliver us from
that hypocrisy. And then seventhly, there is
significance in Christ dying the death of the cross. Christ
was to be crucified was a bloody death, Christ's
blood must be shed, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement
for the soul we read in Neviticus. John says that the blood of Jesus
Christ cleanseth us from all sin. Paul says that we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Paul's crucifixion was
a bloody death. The crucifixion was a painful
death. We read a little later in this
chapter of how Christ refused the wine mingled with myrrh.
That wine mingled with myrrh would have numbed his senses,
but he refused it. It was the equivalent of an analgesic,
a painkiller, but he wouldn't take it. He experienced the utmost
torment in order that his people might be delivered from eternal
torment in hell. What Christ suffered on the cross
was hell. That's why he said, I thirst. He has delivered us from that
eternal torment of a never-ending thirst throughout all eternity. And crucifixion was a transgressor's
death. It was a punishment reserved
for the vilest offenders, the worst criminals. They're the
ones who were crucified. And he was numbered with the
transgressors. He died a criminal's death, not
for any crimes that he had committed, but for the offenses of his people.
But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Again Isaiah says, for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. Yes, the crimes were ours, but
the punishment was his. and he was numbered with the
transgressors and bare the sin of many and made intercession
for the transgressors. Daniel says, and after three
score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. No, for the transgression of
my people was he stricken. It was a criminal's death, and
it was, as I say, reserved for the very vilest offenders. Now
is there not a warrant here then for the vilest offender who feels
his need, who sees and feels his or her lost and ruined condition
to come and to wash his robes and make them white in the blood
of the Lamb. The vilest sinner out of hell
who lives to fill his need is welcome to a throne of grace,
the Saviour's blood to bleed. And crucifixion wasn't a cursing
death. For he that is hanged is accursed of God. We read in
Deuteronomy. Think of all the men that were
hanged in the Old Testament. Ahithophel, who conspired against
King David, the traitor. Seven of Saul's sons in the second
book of Psalm, we read. Wicked Haman and his sons in the book of Esther,
who plotted against the Jews. In the New Testament, Judas Iscariot. So why then was Christ hanged
upon the tree? The Lord tells us in Galatians,
which we've already referred to, Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. He was made a curse
to redeem his people from the curse. He was made a curse that
his people might receive the blessing of God. Salvation belongeth
unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Christ has saved his people by
his death and the blessing of God is put upon them. It's through
the cross. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. This is why the
Lord Jesus Christ suffered the accursed death of the cross.
It was so that his people might obtain the blessing. The blessing of an eternal inheritance. The blessing of eternal life. The blessing of the Spirit of
God. That the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. By way of conclusion, I'll just
note the significance of Simon Cyrenian bearing Christ's cross. And this we read of in verse
21, And I compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by coming out of the
country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. In Luke's gospel we're told that
he bore the cross after Jesus. Luke 23 verse 26. And as they led him away they
laid hold upon one Simon a Cyrenian coming out of the country and
on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. Now what Simon the Cyrenian did
here is recorded in the scriptures for an everlasting memorial.
But what is the significance of it? What's the significance
of it? Well, this man was surely a token,
as it were. He was an earnest of that great
multitude of ransomed and redeemed sinners who were to be called
by grace to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a token, as it
were, of that great multitude of ransomed and redeemed sinners
who would likewise be compelled by sovereign grace to take up
the cross and to follow Jesus, a people made willing in the
day of his power. The Lord had said on a previous
occasion, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his
life will lose it. And whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. This
teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is now demonstrated, as it were,
before our eyes in Simon the Cyrenian being compelled to bear
the cross after Jesus. Now note this, it's no easy thing
to be a Christian. No easy thing to be a Christian. Every part of the sufferings
of the Lord Jesus Christ was precisely ordered by the God
of providence and grace. And so it is with all those who
would be the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every
one of the Lord's people has an appointed cross. Every one
of us who are followers of the Lamb, we have a cross appointed
to us. All our sorrows, all our sufferings,
all our heartaches and hardships, all our trials and all our temptations
are precisely ordered by the God of Providence and Sovereign
Grace. We must, note those words, we
must, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of Why must we suffer all these
things? Why must we go through all these
things? Why must we endure all these hardships? And it is that
we might be more and more conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what Paul says in Romans. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. for whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. This is God's
purpose. Every one of the Lord's people
must be conformed to his image. There is such a thing as the
fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death. But you know, we have his gracious
promise which sweetens the bitter cup. That as he are partakers
of the sufferings, so shall he be also of the consolation. What a sweet consolation there
is in the gospel of redeeming love and grace. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. May the Lord bless his word to
us each, and may we, each of us, be found true followers of
the Lamb. And may compel one Simon of Cyrene,
who passed by coming out of the country, the father of Alexander
and Rufus, to bear His cross. Amen.