Matthew 27, I hadn't planned on reading much
of this, but my message is very short. So I think we'll read
this, especially after what we just read. I want you to be in
awe and amazement of how these two scriptures go together.
Just stand and see it in wonder. at our Lord's divine power and
providence in all that took place here on Calvary. Verse twenty-six,
let's go ahead and read from there on down several verses. Barabbas unto them. Now, this
fellow was a murderer and a thief. Men given the choice between
the Holy Son of God and a murderer and a thief—religious people. They took Barabbas. Then released
he Barabbas unto them, and when Pilate had scourged Jesus, he
delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor
took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole
band of soldiers. And they stripped him and put
on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed or a stick in
his right hand, they bowed the knee before him and mocked him,
saying, And they spit upon him, and took
the reed, and smote him on the head. After that they had mocked him.
They took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him,
and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found
the man of Cyrene, and Simon by name. Him they compelled to
bear his cross. They were come unto a place called
Golgotha, that is to say, the place of a skull. They gave him
vinegar to drink. Another gospel says that he cried,
I thirst, and that's when they gave it to him. And they gave
him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall, and when he had tasted
thereof he would not drink. And they crucified him and parted
his garments, casting lots. that it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken by the prophet, which we just read. They parted my
garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
And sitting down they watched him there, and set up over his
head his accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews. Then were there two thieves crucified
with him, one on the right hand and another on the left. And
they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, or as Psalm
22 says, shooting out the lip, saying, Thou that destroyest
the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If
thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise,
also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders
said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. If he be the
king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will
believe him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver
him now, if he will have him. That's exactly what Psalm 22,
8 said, they'd say. For he said, I am the Son of
God. The thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same
in his teeth, or said the same thing. Now, about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, That is to say, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? We'll stop right there. That's
where we started in Psalm 22. We do what we do tonight, this
table, to remember Our Lord, he said, this bread
is my body, which was broken for you, smitten and spit upon
and abused. He said, this wine, this cup
is my blood, which was shed for you, the testament, the testamental
cup. He said, this do in remembrance
of what I went through, what I did for you. There's no better
way to remember him in this hour, and there's no better utterance
to remember than what he said right here. No better way to
remember him than to think about what he said right there in verse
forty-six. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Many people ignorantly claim
that Jesus Christ went to hell. at some point after the crucifixion. In fact, people ask me that,
even. And they use 1 Peter 3, 19 as a text. Don't turn there. But he didn't. He didn't go to
hell. But this is certain. Our Lord went through the equivalency
of hell when he was on that cross. Those six hours spent on Calvary's
tree were the equivalent of an eternity spent in hell. And how
he could do that was because of who he was, the Son of God. How he could bear the sins of
the world was because of who he was. This is a great sacrifice. This is a great transaction.
This is a great event happening here, the forces of evil and There's only one person who can
handle this job, right? And he said, by himself, put
away our sin, by that sacrifice. Our Lord went through the equivalency
of hell during his time on the cross. He said at one point, he said, mine hour
has come. Mine hour has come, my hour of hell," that's what
he was saying. My hour of hell has come. His
hour of glory, his finest hour. Yet his hour, his time, has been
in hell. Do you remember when he said,
another time, he said, your time is always ready? Remember that? He was saying that to his brethren
that didn't believe, not believers, but his earthly He said, Your
time is always ready. Your hour is waiting you. Scripture says, Hell is moving
up to meet us. He said, Mine hour has come.
It's now. It's here. I've got to go through it. Men and women foolishly like
to talk about, and they use the word very flippantly, don't they?
Oh, I went through hell. An utter fool, only an utter
fool would say something like that, having no idea what hell
is about. No idea. Man has no concept of hell, none
whatsoever. Neither does he believe in it.
Man does not believe in hell. I personally find it one of the
most difficult things to talk about and deal with. If man had any concept of it,
if he really believed in it, he'd shake and quake for fear
of it. I talked to a man I worked with
one time, and he said that to me. He said, You know, I know
I'm an old sinner. He said, If I died, I'd go to hell. I said,
You don't believe that. He said, That's all talk. He said, If you believed that,
you'd be down on your knees at this very moment, begging God
to have mercy and not send you there. Man has no concept of
hell. And the clearest concept of hell
that we can get is right here. This very thing right here. Jesus
Christ spoke more about hell than anybody. There's one passage,
I didn't write it down where it was, but there's one place
where he mentioned it seven or eight times in one place. The Book of Matthew, he mentioned
it more often than the other. He spake more of hell than anybody
else. He ought to know. He has the
keys to it. Right? He talked about torment
of flames. He talked about where the worm
dieth not. He talked about it. Now, is there
a literal fire there? I don't know. What does it look like? No one
knows. But we know this much from this
verse of Scripture right here. We know what the essence of hell
is by our Lord's loud cry on the cross. Look at it again. He says, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Hell is separation from God. Hell is eternal separation from
God. That's the essence of it. God is holy. God is righteous. God is just. God is good, and
God is true. God is love. God is mercy. God
is grace. God is kind. Scripture says, in Him we live
and move and have our being. In God. All men and all women
and all life lives in the hand of God right now, enjoying the
presence of God to some degree. You see, in His presence, wherever
God is, there's some degree of goodness. There's some degree
of love somewhere with someone. There's some degree of mercy
to be found, there's some degree of benevolence, there's some
degree of kindness, there's some degree of this thing. As long
as God is, and in his world and in his presence we live, there's
some degree of these things there. But if God removes himself, which he will do in the last
days on this planet, remove Then there's none of these things.
See, God is the source of all mercy, all love, all grace, all
goodness, all kindness. If anybody has kind words because
God constrained them to do so. If anybody loves anybody because
God constrained them to do so. If anybody shows any mercies
because God is merciful. He causes the rain to fall on
the just and the unjust. He causes there to be some mercy
and some love and some goodness all around. Why? Because God
is. Because God's here. But you take God away from this
planet, and you've got hell on earth. But you've got all you'll
have. You'll have no mercy. You'll
have nothing but You'll have no goodness, you'll have nothing
but evil. You'll have no kindness, you'll have nothing but hatred,
malice, wickedness, all these things. There's some people on
this planet right now. There's some people on this planet
right now whom God hath to some degree left to themselves. Scripture calls them reprobates,
given over to themselves, filled. Romans 1 talks about their being
filled with unrighteousness, wickedness, maliciousness, and
it says they're children of the devil. Hellions. Hell is in their heart. There are places where these
people abound. There are places that could almost
be called hell on earth. where God, it doesn't seem that
God is anywhere. Where sin reigns under unrighteousness. Sin reigns. Sin abounds and knows
no bounds. You merely have to look in some
of the inner cities to see that. A place where God has given men
over. Well, some of these people, these
people were present when this happened at Calvary. This is
what happened to the Son of God at Calvary. My own attempt at this is ringing
already so hollow. But this is what happened to
the Son of God at Calvary. He was given over to men. He
was given over to the depravity of man. He was given over. He
was left by God. God turned his back on his son
and gave his son over to God-haters. This right here will tell you
what the natural man thinks about God. Preachers like to say, what
will you do with Jesus? What will men do with Jesus?
They'll do what they did with him then, if given the opportunity. He's not on trial anymore. God
doesn't offer men that choice anymore. Thank God. Thank God
he didn't offer me that chore. What will you do with Jesus?
I'd have been right there with him. With the rest of this mob
killing, we'll take Barabbas. Barabbas is a good old beer-drinking,
hell-raising boy. Give us him. Kill this fella. Right? This is God turning his back
on his son, giving him over to God-haters. to do with him as
they please. And that's when our Lord, that's
why our Lord cried this cry, my God, my God. And this is what
men are going to be screaming throughout each term, my God,
my God. They like to say it now, don't
they? Oh, my God. Boy, they'll be saying it in
earnest then. Oh, my God. One of the brethren said, you've
been preaching some hard things lately. Not nearly as hard as hell's
going to be. We can't enter into this. Can't
fully understand it. I can't preach it. Nor appreciate
this. What Christ was doing. Why was
he doing this? Why did he do this? He didn't
have to do this. Why did he do this? He was being separated from God
Because that's what this old boy deserves to have done to
him. What this old boy deserves for God to do someday is get
out of my presence. He was being separated from God
because that's what we deserve. He was being punished for sin,
but he knew no sin. But I sure did. I wallowed in
it. He was being made it for me. He who knew no sin, that I might
be made the righteousness of God in him." You see how, John,
that's the most glorious gospel verse in all of Scripture, isn't
it? That comprehends the gospel more
than any other. He was made to be sin for us.
He was being made sin right here. He was made sin, and a holy and
righteous God can't have anything to do with sin. The Scripture
says He's of two pure eyes to look upon a And he turned it
when his son, when he saw sin on his son, he had to turn it
back from him. He was made sin for us. Look back at Matthew
26. This is when it began to happen. When it began to happen
was back in the garden. Back in the garden on the Mount
of Olives, I believe it was, the Garden of Gethsemane is where
he began, I believe, to be made sin. How can a man expand on that? But it began back in the garden. Back in the garden here, before
Christ went to the cross, is where this great transaction
began to take place, and it's a mystery. God was taking the
sins the sin of all of his elect people from the beginning of
time. Now, one sinner's sin would be
enough to create another hell. There's enough hell in us to
create another one, to create another devil, right? God was
taking all of the sin of all of his people from the beginning
of time to the end of time. and rolling it all up into one
great weight of iniquity, and placing it on the shoulders of
Christ, making him sin. He was made, and not, I can't
convey to you, but he was not only bearing the sins, becoming
a sin bearer, but he was made, he, God considered him, his person,
to be sin. That he was sin itself. And the very thought of that,
Christ's holy character, Christ's holy character, he who loved
righteousness, who never thought of sin, couldn't. You've heard the term, Sam, impeccability
of Christ, or what that means is he didn't have the ability
to sin. It was not possible for him to
sin. He was impeccable. It's not possible. He can't be
tempted to sin. He couldn't sin. That's a moot
point. That doesn't bear argument. Of
course he was. He was sinless. He couldn't be
tempted with sin. He couldn't think about it. It
was an unthinkable thing to him. He couldn't bear the thought
of it. We love the thought of it by
nature. He couldn't bear the thought
of it. His nature, this character, 180 degrees from ours. Totally opposite. Sin, He recoiled
at it. It repulsed His nature. It draws
ours. It repulsed His. And the very thought of being
all of that laid on Him, He sweat blood thinking about it. And the thought of being cast out of the presence of his
God, that made him sweat blood. He said, I'm going to die right
here. I'm going to die thinking about this. We, by nature, on the other hand,
run from the presence of God. He says he's going to die just
thinking about being out of the presence of God. And that's when he cried for
help. That's when he cried for help. He said, I'm not going
to make it to the cross. That's what he was saying here
in the garden in verse 36. Look at it. Then cometh Jesus
with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the
disciples, Sit here while I go and pray unto you. And he took
with him Peter and two sons of Zebedee, and began to be very
sorrowful and very heavy. That is, he did, they weren't.
Then saith he unto them, My soul, is exceeding sorrowful, even
unto death. I'm going to die right here.
Terry here, watch with me. It's what you're doing with me
right now, with him. That's what we're doing with
him as we read death, I hope. He went a little further and
fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh, my father, oh, my
father, if it be possible, let this cup, or that is, this, what
he was going through out there in the garden, this cup of sorrow,
this exceeding sorrow, even unto death, with thoughts of being
cast out of the presence of his God, of being made sin, in which
he utterly abhorred sin. He said, If it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he came to his disciples
and found them and said unto Peter, Couldn't you watch one
hour? Watch and pray that you enter
not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. And he went away again a second
time and prayed, O my Father, if this cup may not pass from
me except I drink it, I will be done. He's not trying to get
out of going to the cross here. He's saying, I'm not going to
be able to get there if I don't get through this in
the garden. And he came and found them asleep
again. Their eyes were heavy. And he
left them and went away and prayed it three times. Three times. Well, that hour came. And he said in another place,
he said, what shall I pray? Father, deliver me from this
hour. You see, he was not praying to get away from the cross. He
said, because the scripture says for the joy set before him, he
endured the cross. Oh, the joy of saving the people,
being made sin for them. Not being made sin, there was
no joy to him. with the joy of doing it for
people who otherwise would be made, who would be condemned,
dying that they might live. That joy, for the joy that sat
before Him, He endured the cross. He was made sin for them. He rejoiced in that. But being
made sin? No. He couldn't rejoice in that. He couldn't do it. And he said,
what shall I pray? Father, deliver me from this
hour? No, he said, this is why I came. I came. I came to do for you what you can't
do for yourself. And you see, people wanted abomination,
any addition to the work of the Son of God is. Anything. I don't care how small it is.
anything, whether it be man's faith. The Son of God had to sweat blood. Sweat blood at the thought of
doing it. We have not resisted unto blood, striving against
sin. He did. Sweat blood thinking about it,
and shed blood doing it. It's the blood of God's Son that
cleanses us from our sins. It's the blood. That's what we're
doing here tonight. That's what we're doing here
tonight. This cup that we're about to drink is merely a symbol. Turn over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah
chapter 53. I want to read this in closing
of this message. Isaiah 53, our Lord said, this
do in remembrance of me. He gave, our Lord gave two ordinances, two things, two symbols to, for
us to do, to participate in, two symbols for us to do as a
memorial to him and remembrance of him. Nothing else. Nothing
more. Nothing more. Anything more is
an abomination to him, really. He didn't tell us to throw holy
water in people's faces. He didn't tell us to burn a bunch
of candles. Where does he say burn candles? He didn't tell
us to do that. Go through all this and that
and the other and cantatas and listen. Didn't say do that, he
said this do. Take this wine, which represents
the blood I shed. And while you're drinking, he
said, you think about the blood I sweat and the blood I shed
to put away your sin. Just think about it. That's all.
While you're drinking it, while you're doing this, as long as
you do this, do it in remembrance of me. Remember. You don't have
to shed your blood because I did it for you. Remember that. You
don't have to pay for your sins because I did it for you. Remember
that. Remember that. You don't have
to be judged because I was judged for you. Remember that. You don't
have to go to hell because I went there for you. Remember that.
As you drink this wine, it doesn't turn into blood. It's just a
symbol. Just a symbol, that's all. And
it doesn't impart anything mystical to you. It doesn't give you any
kind of mystical feeling or extra-special spiritual feeling. It's just
something while you're doing it, you can think about what
Christ did. And this bread, it's unleavened bread. And the reason
we use wine is for many reasons, but wine does not spoil, and
neither will the blood of Christ. With good wine, with age it gets
better. So does the blood of Christ.
We use unleavened bread, because unleavened bread has no ingredients
that would cause it to spoil. And the body of Jesus Christ,
it was not possible for it to corrupt. He would not leave his
soul in hell, nor suffer his Holy One to suffer corruption.
Couldn't do it. He was a righteous one. And that
represents the holy, sinless body of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which we were broken, which was broken for us. That's all it
is, a symbol. The first thing he gave us to
do was be baptized. And that too is a symbol, only
one. Just a symbol. And all who partake
of this must partake of that. Because what we're doing here
is remembrance. We're raising a toast to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's just basically what we're
doing. In remembrance of him. to our loved one. And you can't
remember somebody you don't know. You don't. And it's communion.
This is a communion, the scripture says, with the Lord while we
partake of it. We commune with him and worship. We think about him. And this
is for those who have confessed him. Him. The true Christ. The true God. The right one. Not another Jesus, but the true
one. And we confess him, believers,
baptism is just merely a confession saying that when Christ was crucified,
I was crucified with him. I was buried with him. I was
raised with him and seated with him. That's all baptism is, symbols. That's all these are. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us. He who loved only righteousness
was made iniquity. He who delighted in holiness
experienced sin for us. He who loved God more than anything
else was separated from him. This do and remember. All right,
let's read this in closing. Isaiah 53. Why did he do this? Let's read it all. Who hath believed our report?
To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? He shall grow up before
God as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He hath
no form nor comeliness. When we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, and we, we as it
were our faces. Wounded for our transgression.
He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. Oh, we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned every one to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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 dumbed, so he
openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison, from
judgment, Who should declare his generation? He was cut off
out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked, with the rich, and his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. The Lord God hath put him to
grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his day, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the
travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquity. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with
the strong." because he had poured out his soul unto death, and
he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bared the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors." Praise the Lord for that portion
of Scripture. Brother Henry and a few men come
and serve the bread.