The rolling stiffs in ecstasies
of life, Call in redeemer's vengeance, for thou hast died for me. Thy praise shall never, never
cease throughout eternity. Let's turn to the book of Matthew,
the Gospel of Matthew chapter 27. Matthew's Gospel chapter 27. If you read the bulletin and
saw what was the subject, and you know what a Profound subject this is. And if ever a man is unfit, unable,
and unworthy to deal with the subject, this is it. Matthew 27, read with me verses
11 through 14. And Jesus stood before the governor.
That's Pilate. And the governor asked him, saying,
Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou
sayest. And when he was accused of the
chief priest 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, insomuch that the governor marveled
greatly. And I hope we will marvel this
morning. Scripture says of the Lord Jesus
Christ, grace poured into His lips. And another place, they
all wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of
His mouth. I hope we will wonder and marvel
this morning that He kept His mouth shut. He opened not His mouth. He spoke not a word. Luke's Gospel. And this is recorded in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. Luke's Gospel says he was also
taken before Herod after this, who questioned him with many
words, but again, it says he answered nothing. He spoke no
more until he hung on the cross. As we read, as prophesied by
Isaiah, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb or silent,
so he openeth not his mouth. The Lord Jesus Christ was and
is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world and in
time, and then all shall see him for eternity as the Lamb
as it had been slain. He is the substitute for sinners. This thing of our Lord being
the substitute for sinners is the gospel. This is the pith,
the marrow, the heart, the soul, the sum and the substance of
the gospel. Christ, our substitute, the Lamb
of God who taketh away the sin of the world. The Lamb of God
who was without spot and blemish. He who was without spot and blemish
was crucified and slain for those who have nothing but blemishes,
from the sole of their feet to the crown of their head. And
here in this story, he is about to be tortured. He is about to
be crucified for sins he did not commit. For the sins of my
people. He's bearing the blame, he's
bearing the transgression of others, the blame for the transgression
of others. He is the sinless one. The blessed
Lord and precious Savior comes before the court, the judgment
hall, to stand trial, to be judged for many charges, all of which
concerning him are false. all of which concerning us are
true. They're all false, all of these
charges, for in him is no sin. Not one. Think of it. Scripture says that in our flesh
dwelleth no good thing. But in him, no sin. Not one bad thing. Not one. No sin. Holy. Unblameable. Not one single thing to blame
him. Unapprovable before God, men,
and devils. Think of it. Not one single act
or thought of sin or evil his entire life. No thoughts of lust,
no thoughts of pride, no thoughts of envy, no thoughts of hatred,
malice, and certainly no acts. Not one, ever, his entire life. Not one. Not one single lie proceeded
out of his mouth. but only truth his entire life. Not one single word of complaint,
murmuring or complaining, but only praise, honor and glory
to God all of his life. Not one. We come forth from the womb speaking
lies. He came forth from the womb speaking He could not lie, only speak
the truth. Malachi wrote of this, of him,
as do all the prophets give witness. Malachi said this, listen, the
law of truth was in his mouth and iniquity was not found in
his lips. Not one single time In his entire
life of 33 years upon this earth, did he have one single unclean
or impure thought of any kind? Not one. Ever. Only pure wholesome thoughts,
mind you, pure wholesome thoughts as well as the clean God-honoring
thoughts ran through his mind. Think of it. We ought to stand
amazed. From a small child, from a baby, from an infant, no selfishness,
no thoughts of self. I kind of believe that he didn't
even cry as a baby. Were you to ask his so-called
earthly mother, she would tell you, He's a good child. He really is. No crying. He's a child. No self-pity. A teenager. No thoughts of self as a teenager. No vanity. No vain thoughts. No vain pursuits. No idle words. Are we entering into this? No
foolish thoughts as a teenager. No foolish thoughts. None. Zero.
Always about his father's business. Though tempted, scripture says,
in all points. Anything we have ever been tempted
with as human beings, he was tempted in all points, yet without
sin. It's no wonder that God the Father
says, I'm well pleased with him. Some of you have had good children
as far as good children go, haven't you? You have. You've been blessed. It's the Lord's restraining grace,
isn't it? You don't attribute it to yourself. You attribute
it to the Lord's restraining grace. If you've had a model
child, you can thank the Lord for that. And you are well pleased
with them, aren't you? No wonder the father said of
this altogether lovely son, I am well pleased. God who is silent
could not keep silent when it came to his son. We brag on our
children, don't we? They're sinners like us. And
they're going to do something to make us ashamed at some point. In time they will. Not his son. Not God's son. Never. Ever. And
God Almighty had to say it. Said it twice. He who was silent. Who is this man? Then who is
this man? Scripture said he's declared
to be the son of God. How? By the spirit of holiness. Because he's holy. There's not
a just man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not. That was
prophesied, wasn't it? Until he came. And now there's
just one. Just one. The just one. That's what he's called. The
Holy One of God. The Son of God. God declared
it. His life declared it. Even his
enemies had to declare it. Satan came and says, found nothing
in it. He tried, found nothing in it. Pilate said, I wanted to, I tried
to, but I can find no fault in this man. He's a perfect substitute. He's
perfect. Well, here he stands before a
court of law to be tried on many charges. All false. And yet he opened not his mouth. They charged him with everything
imaginable. Slandered him, insulted him,
brought false witnesses against him. All false. Yet he did not
defend himself. He did not open up his mouth.
Now this is humanly impossible, isn't it? When we're wronged,
When we're slandered, to not defend ourselves. He opened not
his mouth. I couldn't help but think of
the angels. He says, which things the angels desire to look into.
The angels who surely must have watched this scene as they apprehended
their Lord. As they put their filthy hands
on their Lord of glory. They didn't know why he came
anyway. They really did. Why are you going down there?
Well, here he comes. And these people lay hold on
him and bring him before this kangaroo court. And these angels
are thinking, surely. He could just with a word, just
with a word, call down fire from heaven like Elijah did. Surely
with a word he can call a legion of angels. Ten thousand angels
come and destroy He didn't say a thing. He didn't defend himself. He did not deny any charges against
him. They were all false. He opened,
not his mouth. I'd like for us to be just, why? Why didn't he say something? Because he's a substitute. He
has become the substitute for guilty sinners. He has become
his people guilty. He's a substitute. He's taking
the blame for his people, God's elect, all of which are to be
blamed. He's taking their blame. Though
he himself is guiltless, All these charges are being brought
against him and he answers none of them as though he were guilty. He's taking all these charges
that no charges be laid to God's elect. Are you with me? He's
taking these charges that there be no charges laid against God's
people. Look at verse 12. It says, when
he was accused of the chief priest and elder. Accused, that's putting
it mildly. In another place it says they
hurled these things in his face. They hurled accusation after
accusation, shameless accusation, slander and insults. Accused
him of blasphemy. Blasphemy is saying what's untrue
about God. And they hurled these insults
at Him. Blasphemy. They hurled insults after insults.
It says they all with one voice in another place, with one voice
railed on Him and shouted at Him, roaring at Him like mad
dogs foaming at the mouth. And that's what Psalm 22 said,
dogs have compassed me. Dogs have compassed me. I thought about this. My wife and daughter and granddaughter
take walks around our neighborhood. And there are a couple of dogs
in the neighborhood. Bad dogs. And they come out barking
at my beloved. They come out gnashing their
teeth at them. Barking to surround them while
they're walking down the street. They come back and tell me that.
And you know what I want to do, don't you? Those dogs aren't fit to live
barking at my beloved. Deliver my soul from the darling
of the dog. The darling, my darling from
the dog, he said in Psalm 22. Well, the Lord allows these dogs
to bark at his son. Why? Why? Because do you remember the story
back in Exodus 11 when it says that the Lord was bringing the
children of Israel out? Going to bring them out. What's
He going to take? A lamb. Chapter 12. But John, before
that, the Lord said, I'm bringing you out. It's going to take bloodshed.
The firstborn is going to die. It's going to take substitution
to bring you out. And when I bring you out, He
said, But not a dog is going to bark at one of my children. Nobody is going to lay one charge
to my leg. Not a dog is going to bark. And so he allows these barking
dogs to hurl these insults at his beloved son. The sinless
substitute. Now, beginning in the garden,
A few days before this, beginning in the garden, our Lord, there
in the garden, as sweat as it were, great drops of blood, He is being made sin. As I said,
nobody is fit for this. No one can tell this. We can
just narrate it. He's being made sin. Beginning
in the garden, He's being made sin. He who knew no sin. He knew
no sin. In Him is no sin. He's being
made sin. Literally, actually, made sin. Made guilty. All the charges,
all the sin, all the iniquity of God's people are being laid
on Him. That not one charge be laid on
Him. He's being condemned and He will
die that there might be no condemnation to them. Substitution. He became us that we might become
Him. He was rejected that we might
be accepted. He was made guilty that we might
be Innocent. Justified. He was put to shame
that we might never be put to shame. He was stripped naked
that we might forever be clutched. As a sheep before her shearers. The Scripture says, as a sheep
before her shearers. A sheep. I've seen this done. Has anyone seen a sheep being
sheared? I was down in Tazewell County,
Virginia several years ago. I met a man who had 900 head
of sheep on a 2,500 acre farm. And when he sheared those sheep,
he would take those sheep. The sheep would be adorned with
a thick woolen coat. Beautifully adorned. Sheep, you
know, when they reach their peak, their beauty. Beautifully adorned
with that thick coat of wool. And they're wearing that for
someone else. He said. God put that on those
sheep for man. For they're beautifully adorned
with this thick coat of wool. And then all of a sudden, somebody
lays hold of it. And with seemingly cruel hands,
takes that sheep and lays it down and takes those shears and
shears it, strips it naked, completely shears all of its adornment,
all of its beauty, all of its covering, all of its glory, all
of its warmth, completely strips that sheep of everything until
it is naked. Naked. And all the time, it's amazing,
that sheep is not uttering a word. You know, afterward it does. When that shearer sends that
sheep out, after it's been sheared, stripped of its beauty and its
glory and it's made naked, then turned out seemingly alone, then
it cries out. Then it cries out. When our Lord
Scripture says, was seized, was taken by cruel hands, wicked
hands, and crucified. Yet it pleased the Lord to do
this. God was doing this, shearing His sheep. As a lamb, a sheep
before her shearers is done, he opened not his mouth. God
Almighty was stripping His Son naked, stripping of His glory,
stripping Him of His righteousness that we might be clothed. stripping
him of his beauty until his visage was marred more than any man,
so that we might wear his beauty, made perfect through his company, that we might be clothed. And
then, and then only, when he hung on that cross naked, then
he cried out, my God. As a substitute for his people,
Christ stood before the law. Why did not Christ say a word? Why did he not open his mouth? Because as a substitute for his
people, he's standing before the law of God, which saith,
whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under
the law. He was made of a woman, made
under the law. It saith to them that are under
the law that every mouth When charges are laid against
every son of Adam, our mouths are stopped because
we're guilty of every charge. So he has become guilty of all
charges. You know, I thought of this.
We have a law in our land that you have a right to remain silent.
Don't we? Well, God's law. is a command. You must remain silent. Do not
open your mouth, it will condemn you. We are guilty of all charges. Our Lord was made under the law,
made of a woman in the likeness of sinful flesh, but without
sin, made under the law. Why? Not to show us how to keep
it, but to redeem. To be a substitute. To redeem
them that were under the law. And so, as our substitute before
the law of God, and the charges are laid against us, we're guilty.
Every mouth stop. He's me. So he doesn't say a
word. He doesn't defend himself. Because
he's me. He's me. Oh my, who would you take the
blame for? Who would you take the blame
for? Who would you be willing to take the blame for? Listen
to this. Stand amazed. For a good man,
for a righteous man, some would die. Yet perventure for a good
man, some might even dare to die. But God commendeth His love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Sinners, for the
ungodly, Christ died for the ungodly, took the blame of a
thief on the cross, of a harlot, a publican, the chief of sinners,
the worst of the worst, took the blame. Would you do that?
Aren't you glad he's God and not man? Aren't you glad? Oh my. And then our Lord, listen
to this in closing, our Lord is the captain of our salvation. He's called the captain of our
salvation. Our captain volunteered to be
taken captive. Our captain volunteered to be
taken prisoner in order to set the prisoners free, Brother John.
He himself was put in prison. Hostage. The ransom. Captain of our salvation was
taken prisoner that guilty prisoners, literally, like Barabbas, will
go for. Often, down through the years,
through different wars, men have been taken captive by the enemy.
POWs, prisoners of war. And those prisoners of war, their
captors, the enemy, in an attempt to get these men to betray their
country, to reveal secrets against their country, to reveal those
secrets, to expose that man's country to danger, to expose
that man's country to attack or perhaps even destruction if
those secrets were revealed. To try to get them to reveal
those secrets, to betray their country, they would torture them
to no end. Some, miraculously, through God-given
strength and love to their country, some who really loved their country,
Though greatly tortured, would not accept deliverance. Though
greatly tortured, they would never betray, never reveal the
secrets of their country for whom they loved. And they died. And those secrets died with them. Are you with me? Thou, Lord, seest me. Simon, the sinner, came before
the Lord. He knew him. He knew all about
him. He knew his secret sins. He knew
his obvious sins. He knew his past sins. He knew
his present sins. He knew his future sins. His
presumptuous sins. He knew him. That's what Simon pleaded, didn't
it? Thou, Lord, knowest. You know me. You know me. The Lord who knows all our sins,
our past, present and future sins, sins which could and should
expose us unto shame and reproach. Sins which could and should condemn
us forever and damn us before God and even man for His great
love wherewith he loved us. That's who you want, knowing
your secrets. And in saving love, himself he
could not save. Saving others, he could not save
himself, rather than expose us. Love covereth a multitude of
sin, a multitude of people. Greater love hath no man than
this. Greater love hath no man than
this. He lay down his life to cover. And so they nailed him
to the cross. They took him away. He kept silent. Took him away, nailed him to
the cross, and in doing so, the handwriting of ordinances,
all the law that was against us, all charges against us, every
jot and tittle against us, nailed to the cross in blood. paid, fulfilled, kept, and all
the evidence that could ever be used, all the sins of all of God's people. Would
you get a hold of this? All the evidences against all
of God's people were nailed there to. and can never be brought up again. And He hung there on that cross
and He died. Our secrets died. And you know, Like that scapegoat. You know
that story of the scapegoat? Where everyone came. They didn't
confess their sins to one another, but they confessed their sins
on the head of that scapegoat. All manner of sin. These were
sinful people, these Israelites. Whoever needed to confess their
sins or guilt, Moses said, there's a scapegoat. God hath made a
scapegoat, a real scapegoat. Yes, confess your sin. This represents
Christ. If you'll come and just lay your
hand, confess your sin on the head of the scapegoat. What God
says we'll do is we'll find us a fit man, a fellow who can travel
a long way. How far? As far as the east is
from the west. You got anything to haunt you?
Any past? Confess it. We're going to get,
God's going to get rid of it. Going to wipe it clean. Oh, so
they came and confessed, and that fit man, see Christ is both
the scapegoat and the fit man. He's all. And they confessed,
and that fit man took. Any other sins, confess. All
of them. Put them all there. Lay on Him
the iniquity of us all. and let him out. And it says
that fit man took him out in the wilderness and took him where
it could not ever be found. And that's what God says about
the iniquities of his people. The sins, the iniquity of Israel
shall be sought in no They've never found that cross,
have they? Upon which Christ dug. That's by design. Because everything that was on
it is gone. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is the substitute for His people. Yes, He bare their iniquity.
He opened not his mouth, and he died that we might live. Live with God. He presented before
him, holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? Not one barking dog. Who is he that condemned him? Christ died. No condemnation. Is that good news or what? All right. Let's sing in closing
number 175. Man of sorrow, what a name. Hallelujah,
what a Savior. 175. Let's stand. Let's sing the first and last verse. oh