Matthew 27. Matthew 27. I never feel quite so helpless
to worship or for me to preach than when we approach our Lord
being crucified. I looked for a message by Charles
Spurgeon on these verses. I like to read different men. In fact, I couldn't find anybody. I couldn't find anybody preached
on these verses and Spurgeon had one. on one verse, but he said in
his introduction, he said, I wanted to preach on these things that
I felt so unworthy. He said, I didn't know what to
say. So all I can do, I hope, is just
read you some things that got jotted down here. This is the
heart of the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. very terrible,
horrible, sobering passage of Scripture, the Lord's before
Pilate, but a blessed one. I hope we'll see that He is standing
He came here and He's standing now, judged and condemned and
sentenced and crucified as our substitute. That the Lord hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. Surely the Lord, He hath borne
our griefs. and carried our sovereignty.
We're going to see here, I hope, how that Christ the Lord is sovereign
over everything, even while He's in bonds, even while He is bound,
that He has powerful possession of everything and everyone. We're
going to see the substitute for sinners standing silent before
His accusers according to the Scripture and on my behalf. We're
going to see the utter depravity the real truth about man. No matter what we may think about
man, this is undeniable evidence of his utter corruption. And we're going to see that even
the wrath of man praises him. Verses 1 and 2, Matthew 27, when
the morning was come, Oh, the chief priests and elders
of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. It's
a beautiful morning today, isn't it? It's appropriate that we
look at this. Oh, the Son of Righteousness
who has come with healing in His wing. The morning... Son of the morning. He's Son
of Righteousness. the Son of God who came, rose
for our healing. All these chief priests and elders
had had a good night's sleep in their bed, relative safety
and comfort of their own homes. Safety and comfort which this
Lord had given them. While he was in a prison, he
was put in prison overnight. But all that happened to the
Lord was by decree. Everything that happened to the
Lord and us is by decree, by the directive will of our God
and the fulfillment of the Scriptures. fulfillment of the Scripture.
Isaiah 53, it says, he was oppressed, he was afflicted, he opened not
his mouth, he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter. They
bound him, in verse 2, they bound him, led him away, delivered
him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. When I read that, that they bound
him, he didn't need to be bound. He showed in the garden, didn't
he, that you can't take me. He was willing to go with them
because God made him willing. But he was like Isaac, though.
He had to be bound. Remember the story of Abraham
taking his son Isaac up on that mountain? And it says he bound
him. He didn't have to. Isaac was
willing, he didn't have to bind him, but he did, because long
before that it says, bind the sacrifice to the horns of the
altar. And he was bound, he was led
as a sheep before her shearers to the slaughter. Pontius Pilate,
verse 2, was the governor. Pontius Pilate, the cowardly
and cruel man who thought he was something when in fact he
was nothing. He was a puppet and a pawn in
the hands of the very one whom he had bound and beaten. The
one whom he had, who's bound here? Who's really bound here? Who is really in charge of this
scene? We need to always consider this. This is the thing, this
is the thing that will tell us more than anything else of our
Lord's absolute sovereignty over all things, even wicked. Proverbs
16, verse 4, it says, The Lord hath made all things for Himself,
even the wicked, for the day of evil. This is, this is the
most evil day ever. And all men meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. But
God. Pontius Pilate is a puppet. Men
don't like to be thought of as puppets, do they? He's a pawn in God's hands. The king's heart's in the hands
of the Lord. Who is the Lord? The one that's
bound here. The one that allowed himself
to be bound. And the king's heart's in the
hands of this Lord like the rivers of water. He turneth it with
us wherever He goes. Verse 3 says in our text, Judas
had betrayed him. And he saw that he was condemned,
that Christ was condemned. He repented himself, brought
again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests. This was not true repentance,
says he repented himself. He's like Esau. He sought repentance
carefully with tears. To no avail, he found it not,
because he was a son of perdition. This is the repentance, this
is the sorrow of the world that worketh death. 2 Corinthians
7 says this, Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. Godly
sorrow is sorrow towards God. Like David said, here's true
repentance. David said, against Thee and
Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. Here's
repentance. David said, have mercy on me,
O God, according to Thy loving kindness. According to the multitude
of Thy tender mercy, blot out my transgression. Wash me throughly
from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. Against
Thee. You're going to be just when
you judge me. You're going to be right when you send me to Hale-Davis.
That's repentance. Repentance toward God and faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. But this is not repentance unto
salvation. This is the sorrow of the world
that worketh death. Paul wrote that. All men and women and young people
shall someday, in a sense, repent. When they look upon Him whom
they've pierced. That's what the Scripture says. And they're going to be praying.
I remember my pastor preaching on the greatest prayer meeting
I ever heard, ever had. Hell, and it's going to be when
Christ comes back. They're going to be praying for the rocks and
the hills to fall on them. Hide them from the face of Him
they spit in His face. It's going to be a different
face, isn't it, that men see. Oh my. So this is not sorrow
over sin. And He brought back the 30 pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, verse 4, I
have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. Who is He
repenting to? These fellows. How many stand
before priests today and tell their sins? How many go into
little booths when they don't repent to God, but to men? And men can't do anything about
it. They're not going to do anything about it because they're corrupt. Any man that would allow that
is corrupt. Thirty pieces of silver. Not long before this,
do you remember how one woman gave everything she had for Christ.
And Judas, son of Simon, Judas took very little in exchange
for Christ. And many, if not most today,
take much less. Take much less. And he brought
it back in the end, trying to atone for his sins. And he should have known that
we're not redeemed with corruptible things. That we can't atone for
our sins. And there's nothing we can do.
And there's nothing men can do to undo what we've done. But there's only one. Only one. And he brought it back
in verse 4 and 5. He said, I've betrayed innocent
blood. And they said, what's that to us? see thou to that, you do what
you want to with it. And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself.
Oh my, this is a picture of so many that seek help. These fellows were wicked religionists and yet they
had made white the outside of the cup. Everybody Everybody
admired these fellows. Everybody came to these fellows.
Everybody. They were leading the people.
They were the religious leaders. And they were the most corrupt
men on the earth at the time. And Judas and so many like him
tried to find some comfort and help. Like the woman, you remember
the woman with the issue of blood. She sought many physicians and
she found none. And she spent all her substance
on these physicians and said she was no better, she was worse.
She was worse. Religion doesn't make people
better, it makes people worse. It would be better for somebody
not to go at all. to a so-called church than to
go where the light is darkness, where there's a false refuge.
And he went out and hanged himself. He had such agony of conscience
and mind that he went out and hanged himself. And here's what
the disciples said in Acts chapter 1 about him, said, This man purchased
a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. The money, he was so miserable. He was so in anguish and pain
for what he'd done. He wasn't calling on God, was
he? That he hanged himself. And the money he sold Christ
for, which he thought would bring him happiness, made him the most
miserable man on earth. And all who reject God's Son
and trade Him for this world, anything or anyone in it, will
have a miserable end here. And then there'll be no end to
their misery. Suicide is the beginning of sorrow. It doesn't end it for the unbeliever. But in our text, it says in verse
6 in Matthew 27, chief priest took the silver pieces and said,
it's not lawful. They're so careful about the
law. It's not lawful for us to put this into the treasury. It's
the price of blood. Well, where'd they get the money?
Out of the treasury. In all religion. It's corrupt, it's through and
through. The money, it's the price of blood. They took counsel
and brought with them the potter's field to bear strangers in. What
are we going to do? They took counsel together. They
had a little counsel. Here's another counsel that they
got together, and they decided what they wanted to do. Well,
you know what? Men can get together all they
want to with their little counsel. So Scripture says, let them take
counsel together. Scripture says they do. They
consult together. There's one reason they do, and
it's to bring him down from his excellence. to lift themselves
up, councils of so-called Christians today. If men are not met together
today for God's glory, completely God's glory, and for the glory
of His Son, to the praise and the honor of His grace, of His
Son, Christ and Him crucified, if He is not the reason why they
gather together, it's an assembly of the wicked. That's what the
Scripture says. Is that too hard? The truth is
truth. And the Lord calls them the assemblies
of the wicked. Our Lord once said this, your
workers of iniquity meet together in God's name and all the while
they're trying to bring Him down and raise man up. Take God haters and make them
feel good about themselves when they ought to be He told Ezekiel, you warned them.
You go out and you warned them. Warned them of what? Simon Peter
warned them, didn't he? You crucified the Lord of glory.
Not what are you going to do with Jesus. This is what you
did with Jesus. And then he sat down. And then
the Spirit of God began to move. And pierced their hearts. Pricked
their hearts. And they all to a man said, what
are we going to do? Well, verse 7, they took counsel
and they bought this potter's field. What will we do? We'll
buy a potter's field. We'll be real charitable. We'll
let real poor people be buried in this field. Aren't we good
men? I'm sure they got their pictures
in the paper. Thirty pieces of silver donated
to the burial of the poor. Reckon? You know it's so. That's what they do. That's their
reward. You know who decided that this potter's field won't
be bought? Jeremiah the prophet. God through Jeremiah the prophet.
Read on. It says in verse 8, this field
is called the field of blood to this day. It was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, and they
took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him, that was valued,
whom they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them
for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." As the Lord
appointed, as the Lord determined that it should be done. Oh, how
all things were ordered and sure and written in a book. You know
that? Everything. All things must be fulfilled
in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms and it all
revolves around Jesus Christ and Him crucified and those that
belong to Him. And this, you know, this was
our Lord's peace and comfort in His suffering. He lived by
faith. I love this. This gives me great
comfort. Our Lord as our substitute. The just one, the just shall
live by his faith. Our Lord had to live as a man
by faith. He never did anything for himself.
He always did think, and here's a lesson for us to learn, we're
doing for others. God doesn't help those who help
themselves. It's the opposite. He was always doing for others,
so what did God do for him? Since he made himself of no reputation,
took upon himself the form of a servant, God made him higher
than anyone else and gave him a name above everything. And
he thought not of himself, but only of others. So God said, you get it all. But our Lord
was a servant. He did all this for God's glory. And this was his, here's the
point, this was his comfort as a man. He lived by faith. He
was knowing what he was going to be faced with. Knowing that
he was going to be brutally treated like he is. He knew that. He
wrote the scripture. Knowing everything he was going
to face. It says he set his face like a flint. Knowing it was
God that was going to bruise him. Men were going to brutally
treat him. Knowing all of this, yet his
comfort was, this is God's will. Didn't he say,
nevertheless not my will, but thy will be done. He asked that
the cup in the garden might pass from him, that agony right then. And after the Lord answered him,
and that he feared and cried, strong crying with tear. Then
the Lord encouraged him and gave him great strength, though no
man was with him. He went to the cross like the
captain that he is, like our substitute that he is,
like our covenant head that he is. And that was His comfort. And
it's our comfort, people. Thy will, God's will will be
done in this dark world. This was man's darkest hour.
And we live in this present evil world. And this is our comfort. As He is, so are we. Everything's
been divinely ordered by our God for us. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. That is His people in Christ.
So they bought this field of blood, and I thought about this. You know, this world's a field.
Our Lord talked about it, didn't He? The man bought the field
because in it was a pearl, treasure. There's only one of two things
that we can buy in this world, and that is either Christ, the
pearl of great price, and it costs you everything you own,
but yet it costs you nothing. Or we can buy ourselves a hole
in the ground. Because that's all we're going
to have left when we leave here. All we own. Earth is the Lord's and
the fullness thereof. We hold thousands of acres and
everything in it. But the Lord, we're loaning,
we're borrowing it. He's loaned it to us. And when
it's all over, we've got six feet in the ground. That's it.
Like Judas. He was rich briefly, wasn't he?
Didn't last. Well, our Lord, now here it is,
verse 11, our Lord stood before the governor. Our Lord stood before the governor,
not knowing that standing before him, Pilate not knowing that
standing before him was the one upon whom shoulder the government
of the universe was. Not knowing that very soon after
this, Pilate is going to be standing before Him who is seated on the
judgment throne. And all those Pharisees and scribes
and so forth are standing there with Him. Oh, how things are not as they
appear. The things that are seen are
temporary. Kingdoms of men come and go.
The Lord is the one that sets these up. He raises up and He
dashes down. And they come and they go. But
of His government, Scripture says, no end. No end. The governor, the ruler of all
nations, the judge of all flesh. Jesus? That's what the whole
world is going to be saying. Jesus? We didn't... And He said
unto him, asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Are thou the king of the Jews?
You know, men are still debating His sovereignty today, aren't
they? Is He king or not? Is He sovereign
or not? Is He? Is He? Still halting between
two opinions, aren't they? Like Elijah said on Mount Carmel.
Is God God or is He not? Or is He man? Who is it? Who
is king? Art thou the king? They're still
debating this. Are you? Is there any doubt in
your mind who He is? And our Lord said this, and He
can say in two words so much and can condemn with two words,
Thou sayest. And that's all He said for a
while. Thou sayest. Oh my. Another time he said, sayest
thou of thyself or did another tell thee of me? Is this your confession or did
somebody else just tell you? Now you think about that. What
sayest thou? Do you believe? What think ye of Christ? By your words you'll be justified.
or by your words condemned? Do you call Him from your heart,
my Lord and my God, my Savior, my Redeemer, my all, my in all? Or do you just hear somebody
else say that? It's something that thou sayest. when we sing
these songs. Everyone in here, young and old
alike, is singing these songs to God be the glory. Are you
saying that? Or did somebody tell you that? I didn't believe that. Thou sayest. You said it though. You used
my name. You used my name. Oh my, read
on with me. This is marvelous. When he was
accused of the chief priests, verse 12, and elders, he answered
nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest
thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never
a word. He has nothing more to say to this man. In so much that the governor
marveled greatly, You know, even his enemies who
hated him and wanted him dead marveled at him. Couldn't help
but marvel at him. Men today marvel at him. People
that don't worship him, don't believe in him, don't profess
to believe him, yet still marvel, he's still being talked about.
They still marvel at him. One time they were sent to apprehend
him from the chief priest and the scribe, from these very fellows.
You remember what they said? They came to get him and they
couldn't. They had to stand silent as he
preached with power. It wasn't his time. They came
to get him. They can't touch him. And they went back and the chief
priest said, well, where is he? They said, never a man spake
like this man. They were paralyzed. They couldn't
take him. Never a man spake like this man.
But I tell you what, and they marveled at that, and never a
man spake more in silence than this man. Never a man said
more by saying nothing than this man. Come on now, listen to me. Said he was oppressed and he
was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought as
a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so He opened not His mouth. What's He doing? He's a substitute. He's not guilty of any of this.
If ever a man should speak on his behalf, he should. If ever
a man should speak out and say it's all not true, but he opened
not his mouth. Why? Aren't you going to defend
yourself? What have you got to say for
yourself? Say something. Aren't you going to say anything?
He put his hand over his mouth, John. Why? He's me. You bring out my accusers, and
they're going to find something. They're going to find everything. Open up my heart, open up your...
Let's bring down a screen this morning, a movie screen, and
just show your thoughts today. Anybody? Anybody? want your thoughts today. I'm
standing up here preaching Christ. I don't want you to see my thoughts
this morning. And Christ has so become us that He's going to die with our
darkest secrets. Rather than expose us when the
tide defended us. I stand amazed. We ought to marvel
greatly, shouldn't we, at His silence. And thinking about this, we should
never open our mouths to defend ourselves in front of anybody
for anything ever again, shouldn't we? But we're going to. Sorry, sorry sons that we are. But he, so in possession of himself,
one time he said, in your patience, possess your souls,
he said. Oh, never man spake more in silence
than this man. with perfect faith, with perfect
peace, with perfect possession of His soul, with an absolute
understanding of the will of God and what He was to do for
His people. All this according to God's will
and purpose for the salvation of His people, for the great
love wherewith He loved us. Even though they ran from Him,
He stood there in silence and took it all. Here stands the Christ of God,
captain of our salvation, the substitute. Listen to me and
I close with a few brief things here. A substitute for sinners,
smitten, afflicted, bound, bleeding, wounded, bruised. Scripture says
He was surely, He had borne our grace. and carried our sorrows. He didn't have any grief or sorrows
when He left the Father. He came down here because we
had them. Yet we did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgression.
He was bruised for our iniquity. The whipping was for our peace, punishment. With his stripes we are healed.
Oh, we like sheep have gone astray. He stood there. Smite the shepherd. You seek me, let them go. Substitute. Brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
the sheep before a shearer, he opened not his mouth. For the
transgression of my people was he stricken. For his people.
Listen to this. The substitute. He was tried. Witnesses against
him because he's me. He was buffeted, he was smitten
and afflicted. And that's what I deserve. I
deserve to be smitten. His beard was plucked out. We
men grow these beards, you know, you lose your hair, all you got,
the only little bit of glory you got. Women have hair, it's
their glory. Men grow these beards, it's their
glory. Pulled his glory out. He jerked
it out. Why? We got nothing to be proud
of. Nothing. Had his back whipped. That's what the law says. A man
does this or that and the other, he'd be punished. Scripture says
the chastisement of our peace laid on him. He was mocked as
an imposter. The only man who ever lived that
wasn't an imposter. And he was mocked as an imposter, as a hypocrite. He's me. He was spit upon. The law said
that. Spit in the face. Utter contempt. He was stripped. He was exposed.
He was made naked before all like the first Adam. Yet, it
was not his own shame. It was for our shame. He had
nothing to be ashamed of. He was nailed to the cross, his
hands, that did nothing but good. Why? Because those are my hands. What he did, he did for me, and
all my iniquity was laid on him. These hands that just shed innocent
blood. These hands that are filthy.
God said they need to be nailed where they can't do any more
harm. and his feet that run to mischief. Those are my feet.
And he nailed to the cross. Oh, he'll run, run. Under the hot sun bore down on
him without mercy. He thirsted. The wrath and fire
of God fell on him. Between two thieves He was numbered
with the transgressors, and in the middle was the chief of sinners. That's me. He suffered untold pain and suffering,
and they mocked His pain and suffering. What pain have we
caused others? What suffering have we caused
others? He none. No pain or suffering. He didn't
cause anyone any pain or suffering, but we have, so He became me
and deserved to be mocked. crown of thorns. He who alone deserves a royal
diadem, crowned with glory and honor for all the good that he
had done, but he became me, my substitute, and the only crown
I deserve is the crown of thorns. Forsaken of God, God didn't hear
him. He cried and God didn't hear
him. And that's what Proverbs 1 says,
doesn't it? He became me because I deserve for God to not hear
me. And then darkness was over all
the land. He was cast into outer darkness because that's where
I deserve to be cast. And he died and he was buried.
and his body put in a tomb. And they all thought we were
done with him now. And that's what needs to be done
to me. This is my old body. But bless God. It was raised. And God shall
raise These vile bodies, this corruption will put on incorruption.
This mortality put on immortality. Why? Because Christ died. Because Christ was crucified.
Because Christ was our substitute. If indeed He was. You say this
of yourself or did someone else just tell you? Is this your confession? Wednesday night we're going to
continue this same thing. What else is there? I'm determined
not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ crucified. Wednesday night a notable prisoner
is released. A notorious prisoner is released. Why? All right. John, come up here. 2-0 now