By God's grace, I'm going to
attempt to tell you something of Christ and Him crucified. Paul once said, who is sufficient
for these things? And when you deal with this,
this is the heart, the soul, the sum and the substance of
the gospel of Christ and Him crucified. You never feel more inadequate
to who is sufficient. What did you feel when we were
reading those texts? If you were really reading and
entering into it, you felt a mixture of horror, sadness, anger, Disbelief. Confusion. Why? Amazement. Like the song, Stand Amazed. Even Pilate, I believe, was amazed
by this man that he himself was torturing. We ought to read this,
and it's a mistake. I've done it. It's a mistake
to present a too graphic description and declaration of Christ being
crucified. Not shun it, tell it like it
is, but this is not an order for men and women to feel sorry
for him. In fact, in Luke's Gospel, I believe, Carrying his cross
up the mountain, a great company of women were wailing because
Scripture said they would. Wailing, he turned to them very
calmly and sternly and said, Don't weep for me. Weep not for
me, but don't feel sorry for me, but weep for yourselves and
for your children. He went on to say, If they've
done this in a green tree, that was two thousand years What are
they going to do in the dry? We're in the dry. Think things are better? But this is not an order to feel
sorry for our Lord. In fact, there have been many
over the years suffered physically as our Lord did. For His cause. Yet, that's not His cheap suffering. And none of his people will suffer
like he did, but the wrath of God, the judgment of God, separation
from God, hell. Our Lord went through hell. It
was his soul suffering that we can't enter into, that he was
going through. We need to read this often. We
need to read the actual account of our Lord crucified often. Paul said, God forbid that I
should glory, save and the cross for my Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, I am determined to know nothing among you. Say, Jesus
Christ in Him crucified. See, this is what he was just
smitten with and taken up with. We need to read this often. Think
upon this often. If we did, sin would appear to
be what it is. It's because of sin that Christ
hung on a cross. Our Lord suffered for every single
sin we committed, past, present, and the sins we're going to commit. This is the only thing that will,
by mercy and truth, men depart from iniquity. This is the only
thing. The mercy and truth of God in Christ. Sin will appear
to be what it is, exceedingly simple. And self. You'll only hate yourself
and loathe yourself as you see Christ on the cross who died
selflessly, completely selflessly, because of that. And we start feeling sorry for
ourselves. Think on Christ crucified. He
did not He denied himself, all his life, up to he laid down
his life. He laid, he gave himself for
us. We start feeling sorry for ourselves. This is the only thing that will
make you ashamed of that. Start feeling lonely? And it's
a real thing, but we've never known loneliness. No, everybody. including God. Think on this. Think on this. Think on Him.
The world, in light of Christ crucified, the world, you'll
see the world for what it really is. Worthless. Vanity. We're just saying that my richest
gain, I count but loss and poor contempt of all my pride. realm
of nature matter, a present far too small. Love so amazing, so
divine, deserves my life, my heart, my all. Our troubles, in light of Christ's
crucifixion, our troubles were lessened. Christ
didn't receive anything that he deserved. He didn't deserve
this, he didn't miss, but he took it. Scripture says, for
the joy of sin. That's amazing isn't it? Our troubles will lessen. Now
most rarely, if ever, think of Christ crucified. We want to
look at these verses in a moment. Most rarely, if ever, think about
Christ crucified. Lamentations 3 says, is it nothing
to you, all you that pass by? No, it's not. This is what God
holds this world captive for. Nothing. Careless. Those who do merely feel sorry
for Jesus, like a martyr, like he was dying for some, defending
some cause against Roman tyranny or injustice against man. Don't know the real reason he
died. I want us to see why Christ was crucified. By the way, I received an email from a man.
I advertise these messages. I send a bulletin to you. You
read it. Today's message is going to be Christ crucified. Christ
crucified. I received an email from a man
who said he was going to hear this celebrated Reverend Dr. So-and-so give a talk today,
the Lord's Day, on Martin Luther. And I announced, I'm going to
preach Christ and him crucified. And this man would rather hear
about Martin Luther. And it so all would work. You
can announce that you're preaching on divorce. You can announce
that you're preaching on abortion. You can announce that you're
preaching on the injustice of society. You can give a title
to your message on Sermon Audio, The Last Days, and you'll get
thousands of hits. But if you put up there, Christ
Crucified, you'll get a minimum. I'm telling you the truth. Paul said, without glory of anything,
I don't like to talk about anything. I'm taking up with one thing.
Because that man has seen Christ crucified in his stead. That's
why. Simon Peter said, we can't help
but speak the things we've seen and heard. What things, Peter?
It wasn't things at all. It was Christ on the cross saying
that for me. Simon Peter said. Adam and Eve,
let me tell you what this is. Somebody really seen Christ crucified. Adam and Eve were standing before
God thinking that God was going to kill them. They're naked. They're shivering. They're afraid.
They're guilty. They're ashamed. They've sinned against goodness.
They've sinned against sovereignty. They've sinned against His mercy.
They've sinned against His providence. They've sinned against God, and
they know it, and they're shivering, and they're afraid they think
God's going to kill them. And they're ashamed, and they're
scared. They're frightened. And they watched in horror as
God, Christ, took a lamb, an innocent lamb. They'd never seen
death. They'd never seen blood. They
didn't know what blood was. And they watched in horror as
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself took an innocent lamb, a beautiful
spotless lamb with eyes as doves, innocent, pure, beautiful, harmless
lamb. And He took a knife and cut its
throat. And they watched in horror as
that lamb shook and trembled, and those eyes that were pure
glossed over, nothing in those eyes. And it lay there on the
ground and all that red life-giving substance flowed out on the ground. And they watched in further horror
as he took that knife and slit that lamb's belly and skinned
that skin off of them. And he brought that skin over
and wrapped it around their shivering bodies and then began to tell
them, somebody's coming. Time coming. And that's what they're going
to do to me. That's what your sins deserve. You deserve to
die, but I'm not going to kill you. A substitute will die in
your place. Mercy. You don't deserve this,
but I'm a good God. I'm a merciful God. I'm a gracious
God. I love you, and I'm not willing
for you to perish. And I'm going to cover you with
my own blood. And die for you with my own precious
blood. and redeemed you. Now, go on
out. What do you think they were talking
about from that day forward? Hmm? What do you think they were talking
about? They've seen a substitute. They've
seen someone dying in their place. And so it is with those who've
really saved the Lord Jesus Christ. Who was crucified? Who was crucified? The God-man. The Son of God.
God manifest in the flesh. Why? Why? You've got to know this. You
don't know God. You don't know yourself. You
don't know Christ. You don't know the truth. You
don't know the gospel unless you know why he was crucified. This was God manifesting the
flesh. This was the Son of the Most High God. This was the Holy
One of Israel. This is God Himself, whom He
purchased the church with His own precious blood. God manifesting
the flesh. Why, though, was He crucified
in such a manner? I've read this over and over
again, and I ask myself, why did God allow them to torture
Him? You ever thought about that?
Why couldn't they have just died instantly? Why couldn't they have just decapitated him? Why
couldn't they just... To show the exceeding sinfulness
of sin. To show man as he really is. Do you understand? to show man
as he really is. You look at this in horror, looking
back on it, and you say, I wouldn't have done that. How did they
do it? How could they do this? That's what man is. He really is. And that's who he died for. To show what Paul in the book
of Romans goes on to label, man hates God. He says, hates God.
You read with me how the holiness, this was the most merciful, loving,
gracious, kind, compassionate, tender, long-suffering, gentle,
meek soul ever to walk this earth. Went about doing good. What did
they do? Said, away with him. Didn't they? And you can't be indifferent. You can't be indifferent. Some
try to be. No, that's to care less if he
lived or died. All the people did that. All
the people did that. Jew, Gentile, religious, irreligious,
rulers. You didn't read the account.
You go ahead back and read all the accounts. I did. And it says
that the priests and the servants got together and were taking
turns. The servants. The lowly ones. It says Herod
got his whole band together. And they just had at him. How could they do that? You say
this is a cruel, wicked, Roman society. Are you kidding? That's now. To show the exceeding sinfulness
of man, to show God's true nature. Peter, when he stood up to preach
at Pentecost, he said, you with wicked hands have taken and crucified
the Lord of glory, but you did what God determined. He said,
by the determinate counsel of God, God, in Isaiah 53, it says,
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It says, God made his soul
an offering to sin. All God had to do was let man
alone, and they tore his soul. To show God's true nature. God
did this because God hates sin. He really does. You don't know
anything about God unless you see Christ as the sinner. As Christ, what God really thinks
about sin. And how He will punish sin. He
will. To show forth His glory. I've said this so many times.
Because it's as good an illustration as I know. There's no way I would
give any of my beloved children for any of you. I wouldn't do
it. I just wouldn't do it. I love you. I don't love you
that much. Are you worth it? Anybody. You think you're worth it? And
we're talking about the Son of God. Ain't nobody like that. Ain't nobody like that. But God. But God. With great love and with
your love God. Who's us? We're dead in sin. Some of the
very ones that spit in his face. To ignore him is to spit in his
face. Isn't it that we say things like this, that people that ignore
us, people that abuse us, people that don't acknowledge us, people
that say bad things about us, slap them like that. Come on.
Slap them like that. That's the worst thing you can
do. Everybody did that. Hell and hell, everybody did
that. You walked by and slapped them in the face. And my ignoring
Him all those years, my having nothing to do, my not coming
to worship Him, my not coming to where the people of Dora,
a man standing up and declaring His glory, my not coming and
bowing before this King and giving thanks for doing that is a slap
in His face. Yes, it is. I did. But God, Rich in mercy. Great love. He
loved us. You know, religion throws out
the love of God. They've done despise of the grace
of God and the love of God. They've counted it an unworthy
thing. They've tried nothing to put the love of God, the blood
of Christ. Throwing it out there is an offer
to people that don't want it. They care less for it. And no,
no, his precious blood was shed for those that are going to pass
him up the whole path. His life was given for those
that know their life should have been taken. His life was given
for those who know themselves to be what they are. And they're
going to love Him, right now, starting right now, more than
anything, more than anyone else. And talk about Him. And worship
Him. And if somebody's going to be
there, they're going to be there to worship the One who died for
them. Go to church. You're not going to church. You're
going to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to worship
God who sent. We're going to worship the Christ
who hung on the cross for us. And flesh? Away with that. If we say crucify anything, let's
say crucify the flesh. Crucify man is pride. Crucify
man is work. Away with that! Let's hear about
Him who was crucified for me. Let us be crucified to the world
in the Word of God. There is no other subject worth
preaching. There is no other person worth glorying in. Do
you admire anybody? Is there anybody you admire?
Anybody you esteem highly? Paul said, nobody's worth it.
He said, Paul didn't die for you. He said, Apollos didn't
die for you. Christ died. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. Well, to show His glory. God in love, God in mercy, God
in grace, and Christ willingly, obediently, for the joy set before
Him. I really do believe I would lay
down my life for some of you. Maybe I'd lay down my life. I
really did. I think that. I most certainly
would for my children. I know I would. You wouldn't
stop. You wouldn't hesitate more. No,
you wouldn't have to give it up. For the joy. Do to me what
you will to prevent them from going through it. But we weren't his sons, that
is, by nature. We hated him, Bronwyn, we hated
him. We loved ourselves, we loved
the world, we loved... But let go. Show his glory. This is his
glory. To fulfill scripture. God who said, I kill and make
alive. God who says, I wound and I heal.
God says, I form the light, create darkness, I make peace, I create
evil. Christ was sent by God to do
all these things. Calvary, that's sin. Kill, make
alive. Wound, heal. on the light, darkness,
peace, evil. In the midst of evil, God made
peace. Amazing. Wisdom beyond words. Look at these verses. Pilate
took Jesus and scourged him. Pilate is mentioned 56 times
in the scripture. You know that? 56 times. You notice how many times he's
spoken of it? This chapter? Why? Because Scripture says, God hath
made all things for himself, even the wicked, for the day
of evil. Proverbs 16, 4. Even the wicked
for the day of evil. What day of evil is that? This
is the most evil day ever. And yet the most glorious. Mankind at his absolute worst.
Mankind as he is. And God at his best. God as he
is. I wish I could preach this. Proverbs 21, 1 says, The king's
heart is in the hands of the Lord. Pilate kept thinking he
was doing as he willed, but he's doing God's will. The king's
heart is in the hands of the Lord, like the rivers of water.
Turneth it with us so that we will. And in this case, and in
every case, it's for the purpose of God's kingdom. It has something
to do with God's kingdom in Christ and His people. Mark it down. No matter who writes the rules
or whatever they do, it's something to do with God's people that
are in Christ. Proverbs 16 says, A lot is cast
into the lap, but the whole disposing there is of the Lord. Pilate
said, Scourging. And they beat him. Herod had
already done it. Scourged him, slapped him. They
ripped out his beard. They scourged his back. Why? Because scripture said so. Because God wrote it long before.
This is what's going to happen. Why is he doing that? Because
cursing is everyone's contender, if not on all things written
in the book of the law of the living. Because he that hangeth
on a tree is cursed. Because Christ was being made
sin. Because he's being made a subject
in the garden. And he gave his back to the smiters,
because that's what our sins deserve. With his stripes we're
healed. We esteem him spitting and stricken
of God. He was. But not for his own sin,
but our sin. You see? God said this. Either you whip or he gets whipped. Took my whip and scourged him.
Forty strikes, safe one. But that was the law of Moses.
Pilate's not doing this according to the law of Moses. Yes, he
is. Oh, yes, he is. All do. He was bruised for our
iniquities, a chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with
His stripes we are healed. Verse 2, the soldiers planted
a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They put on Him
a purple robe. Why did they do that? Cruelly,
evilly, they went out and got a rose bush, maybe a rose of
Sharon, perhaps? They got a rose bush and they
took that thorny rose and they, with leather gloves on so as
not to be pricked themselves, and made this crown of thorns,
and not gently, but cruelly shoved it down on his head. Painful. Horrible. He was already in pain. Why did they do that? Put a crown
on him. They began to mock him as the
king. Hell, the king of the Jews. Why did they put this crown of
thorns on him? Because this is the second Because
God said to Adam in the garden, he said, thorns and thistles.
Because of your sin, thorns and thistles shall come. You'll be
pricked by them. You'll be hurt by them. You'll
bleed because of them. This is our second Adam, John.
He wore a crown of suffering. Tempted in all points like as
we are. Wounded, bruised, pricked. Pain, suffering. This crown of
thorns represents that. His suffering, the second Adam.
who took the thorns of life for us. Also, the mercy seat. What did the mercy seat have
around us? Huh? Huh? All of them did. The labor
of incense, the labor of water, all had this golden crown around
them. That's Him. This crown appears
to the naked eye as being a crown of shame, but God says it's a
crown of glory. Suffering for something he didn't
do. Suffering for people that don't deserve to live. But he
died. Isn't this wonderful? That's
his name. Crown. They smote him with their
hands. They mocked him and smote him
with their hands. Why? Because scripture says,
smite the shepherd. God said, smite the shepherd.
The sheep will be scattered. Pilate, verse 4, went forth again
and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may
know that I find no fault in him." Find no fault. I didn't give
you this, but the purple robe, verse 2. See the purple robe?
Why did they do this? A purple robe. Because the veil in the temple
was made of blue. Purple is scarlet. Blue is divinity. Purple is royalty. Scarlet is blood redemption.
The veil of the temple that blocked the way of the holy, the polish,
was red when Christ sat on that cross. Christ who wore the robe
of the skies, the heavens itself, he was robed with the heavens
in blue. They put on him a robe of royalty,
purple. And then it was later covered
in blood. Because this is the Baal. Christ
is the Baal. He's the one whose body was rent,
thus opening the way into the holiest of all with his own precious
blood. He's the Baal. He's crowned with
many crowns. Blue, purple, red. The Baal also,
the Echad of the high priest was just that. Pilate said in
verse 5, Behold the man. In verse 4, Behold I bring him
forth to you. Verse 14, Behold your king. Behold, behold, behold. Pilate
brought him forth before all to see. He said, Behold, I bring
him forth. No, it was God that sent him
forth. God said before the world began, Behold, I bring him forth.
Father said, Behold the man. No, it was God that said that.
Behold a man. A child shall be born with a
man. A son shall be given. Call his
name. Wonderful counsel of the mighty
God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, coming to make peace
by the blood of His cross. Made a woman, born, laid under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. that God made.
Great is the mystery of Godness. God was manifesting. God said
that before Pilate did. And he told Pilate, say it again. And Pilate said, behold your
king! In mockery and derision. And
everybody said, he's not our king. Every tongue said, he's
not our king. But no, God said it. God said
it. Every knee. And every time He
put this on His cross, above His head, in every language,
because every tongue is going to say, He is the King. Salvation is to do it now. Now. Now. Because every eye shall behold
Him. Behold! Every eye shall behold
Him whom they have pierced. And people will wail, but no,
not God's people. Because He has revealed Himself
graciously, elected them, chose them, that they might know Him,
who He is, why He came, what He did. See His glory. They're not going to wail when
He comes. They're going to shout. They're going to smile. They're
not going to cry for the rocks and hills that fall on them.
They're going to cry, He's here! I repeat, praise His name. While the world says, away with
Him, away with Him, the God's people said, come quickly, come
quickly. Do you? The Jews answer and say, we have
a law, by our law he ought to die. I'll tell you whose law
says who ought to die. You see how man just, his words,
he's fulfilling God's work. Our law says he ought to die.
He makes himself to be a son of God. Here's God's indictment
against man. That man makes himself to be
a son of God. The Son of God came for His sons, and yet people
say, don't need Him to do that, I'll do that, I'm a son of God,
I'll have you know I'm not. That's what God holds people
accountable for. No. He's the only begotten, well-beloved
Son of God, and if you're a son, it's because He told you. If
you're a son, it's because he adopted you. If you're a son,
it'll be by the mercy and grace of God. It has nothing to do
with merit. God's choice, God's will, God's
mercy, God's love, God's grace through Christ dying for you.
That's why any other way is an abomination to God. No, no, this
is the law that God holds man accountable for. Blasphemy against
God. Heady, high-minded. We're something,
we're somebody. Well, we're sons of God. Christ
says, you're of your father the devil. God's people, they say, Hail
to Thee, Son of God. And marvel when He said, Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God, who kill Him. Pilate heard that, and he was
the more afraid. And oh, how men, when faced with the truth,
when faced with the true God and the true Christ, they will.
be afraid. He went into the judgment hall,
verse 9, and he said, where's our child? He's troubled now. And our Lord gave him no answer.
Why? Why didn't he answer? Because scripture says, lay it
as a lamb before her shearers is done. So open up not his mouth. Because the scripture says, answer
not a fool according to his father, as you be like unto him. Pilate
doesn't deserve an answer from him, and neither does man deserve
an answer from God. God doesn't give an accountability
to man. Man demands things of God. It's God who does the demanding. God who asks the questions. Who
are thou that replyest against God? Man being, he said, don't
you know? Verse 10, Pilate said, speakest
thou not unto me? Loest thou not that I have power
to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Then he answered.
Because the scripture says in the next verse, Answer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in his own conceits. But he answered
and said, And this is God's answer to every human being who thinks
he's something when he's nothing. Thou couldst have no power at
all against me, except it were given thee from above. And that's
God's answer to God's people who fear things and men and so
forth. This is for the comfort of God's
people. There's no power but of God.
Let the Lord reign. No matter how evil it may appear,
God said, I did it. And it's for your good. I control
it. I'm God over all. That's who
I am. For our comfort. No power at all, except to be
of the Lord. And he says, He that delivered
me unto thee hath the greater sin. That's Caiaphas. That's
the high priest. That's religion. That's the greatest sin, is against
religion. Those who have the truth, who
hold the truth in untold. All the more. They said, if you
let this man go, you're Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself
a king speaketh against Caesar. And they went on down to say,
we have no king but Caesar. And isn't that what man says
to God? The Lord reigns. God reigns and
rules. Christ said, all power is given
unto thee in heaven and earth. And the nations are angry. They
don't like that. Do you like it? Here's the question. What do we think about Christ
and Him crucified? That's the question that Christ
gave to the Pharisees. What think ye of Christ? This
is the question of all questions. This is what we need, or rather
who we need to know. And if you've ever seen Him doing
that, for you, nothing and no one else will take up your attention,
or your admiration, Your praise, your worship, nothing. Nothing.
No one. No one is worthy. And you'll
spend the rest of your days. And Pilate on down, he says he
wrote this Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, in every language.
And they said, don't say that. Say, he said that. Well, I'll
tell you what he said for Pilate to say that. He told Pilate,
Pilate said, what I've written, I've written. No, Pilate. What
you wrote, he wrote. You'll write what he writes.
Like that hand on the wall. What I've written, I've written.
For all to see, all to hear. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. The Lord, our Righteousness.
King of Peace. Prophet, Priest, King. Give me another hour. I didn't
touch the subject. We just got to the hand of his
God.