12 and 13. Chapter 1, 12 and 13. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? For 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. Verse 13, from above hath he
sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them. He, God, had sent a net. He spread a net for my feet. And He turned me back. He hath made me desolate and
faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by God's hand. They are wreathed and come up
upon my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. The Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whom I'm not able to rise up. Just one more
verse. The Lord hath trodden underfoot
all my mighty men in the midst of me. And he hath called an
assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord hath trodden
the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. And I'll read just the first
line of the next verse. For these things I weep. A very solid portion of Scripture. Let's ask God to give us a little
understanding this evening. Lord, here we are gathered together
in this building where so often you have been pleased to meet
with us and speak to us by your Spirit
through the Word of God. Now we need another word from
you, Lord. We need you to shed some light
on this portion of Scripture for us and reveal to us the one
of whom the prophet of God spoke. Lord, give us eyes of faith to
behold our Lord Jesus Christ. May we see Him anew and afresh as we once again pass by Calvary, as we take another look at that
One who suffered and bled and died for the sins of His people. And as we again pass by the cross,
Lord, may we not pass by with disinterest or with indifference. And we fear that many times,
Lord, in our singing and even in the reading of the Word of
God, we have indeed passed by that one who died, and we seem
to have very little concern about what was going on, surely, surely
the substitutionary death of our Lord Jesus ought to move
our hearts. Oh God, forgive us for such coldness, such indifference, such lack
of worship as we so often pass by the cross. May our hearts be filled with
worship and with thanksgiving, so that when the question is
asked, is it nothing to you, all you who pass by, that we
may honestly from the heart be able to say, Lord, This is everything
to us. This is all of our hope that's
in Christ crucified. This is all of our salvation.
This is all of our life. How can we walk by with indifference? Lord, forgive us. Forgive us
for the shallowness of our love our appreciation of the Christ
of the cross. And may you set ablaze within
our hearts for the glory of Christ. And may nothing ever quench that
fire of gratitude and worship as we view our Savior once again. So be with us tonight. Thank
you for the blood of the cross of Calvary. For Jesus' sake,
I pray these things. Amen. This is an unusual passage of
Scripture, to say the least. And there are three persons or peoples I suppose
we could say that this may apply to, first of all, maybe Jeremiah
speaking of himself. The Lord had been pleased to
lay upon Jeremiah heavy afflictions. He is known in the scriptures
as the sorrowing prophet. He was often filled with tears. for His own people. And such
were the afflictions that God poured upon the Jews that Jeremiah
says, it's as though He poured them all on me. And so he says
here, as I bear this burden that God has put upon me, and he was
in the ministry for 40 years. And it wasn't a pleasant 40 years. It wasn't that he had in the,
as men would say today, it wasn't that he had a successful ministry. Not according to man's standards. The people he preached to, by
and large, turned their backs on God. And they were filled
with the idolatrous ways of the world. They had little regard
for God, for worship, for the manifestation of the glory of
God in the sacrifices. They pursued God. Jeremiah wept. He wept. He was filled with a
broken heart. And as people walked by, he said
to them, Is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to you? all you
that pass by behold and see. Is there any sorrow like I have? You ever seen a prophet of God
in this kind of shape? Broken hearted, grieving, burdened. God had afflicted him. And so
I think I think, first of all, Jeremiah is indeed speaking of
himself. And you know, all of God's people
have their divine measure of afflictions. God measures them
out to his people. And we're often driven to weep. But here's what the afflictions
did for Jeremiah. And they should do and they will
do for all of us. They drive us to the Lord. That's why they're good. David
said, it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I
might learn thy statutes. that I'll learn your word. I'll
learn how dependable you are. Learn you're faithful to all
your promises. Jeremiah, he cast himself upon
the mercy of God. All of his afflictions just drove
him to Jehovah. That's the best place to be. And may we earnestly and sincerely
cry out to God and mean it, Lord, whatever it takes, whatever it
takes to bring me to the end of myself and drive me to Christ
Jesus, though it might even be painful to my flesh, and it may
even break my heart, whatever it takes, oh God, draw me to
yourself. That's what I want. Draw me to
yourself. And then I think Jeremiah's language
also, it also refers to the afflictions of the nation that he loved. They're taken into Babylonian
captivity. They had wandered from the way
of the Lord. They had indeed fallen into idolatry, who were far away from God. No longer was there heart worship
in the temple except for a very, very few. And God therefore afflicted them
And he sent in Nebuchadnezzar and his great army, took a bunch
of them captive. Here they go away into captivity. And as the other nations of the
earth sought this people, whom they knew to be a people who
professed to know God, They looked at the Jews and they were unmoved
by their grief, by their bondage, by their captivity. They saw
the sorrow. They saw the weeping of these
people as they go away as captives, taken to Babylon, mighty Babylon,
led by Nebuchadnezzar. And the nations of the earth,
they had no sympathy for the Jews. And the Jews, as it were, cried
out, was there any sorrow like our sorrow? But there was within the nation
a remnant, a remnant that was according to the grace of God,
the election of grace. God had a people among the nation
of Judah. He had a special people, an elect
people. And He's bringing them to the
end of themselves. He's bringing them away from
idolatry. He's bringing them away from
false religion. And in order to do that, He's
going to take them into a very strange land. But it will be good for them.
Oh, not all of Judah will benefit from this, but his people will. And when they're released, like
one wave at a time in several years, they're going to come
back and they're going to rebuild the temple. And they're going
to worship God again. And so they say, is it nothing
to you? All you that pass by. But I really
think mainly this is prophetically the language of our Lord and
Savior who agonized under the enormous weight of the wrath
of God that fell upon him. This language, look at verse
12 again. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? And I got to thinking this week,
how many times have we passed by Calvary? The substitutionary death of
our Lord Jesus? I don't mean literally. Obviously,
we weren't there when he died. But we often passed by the cross. We sang two songs this evening.
We passed by again. We sang of my Savior's love,
I will sing the wondrous story. Two times. Two times. We passed by. Did it move us? And then I had Brandon read that
glorious Psalm 22. Who among us isn't moved as we
read of the Savior's sufferings, of His agonizing, of His grief? Hear him cry out, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Savior forsaken? Hear him
cry out, I'm a worm. I'm a worm. And no man. And I dare say, with most of
us, we weren't moved by that like
we should have been. Just being honest with you. Now,
you know I'm right. We can sing, at the cross, at
the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of
my heart rolled away. And we can finish singing that
and go back talking secular talk. We're over it really quick, aren't
we? See, that's the way we are. It is a really good thing that
salvation is altogether by grace. It is a really good thing that
God does not reward us according to our iniquities. Thank God
those have been paid for. Washed away in the bloody death
of our Lord Jesus. When it says, 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. not wherewith the Romans have
afflicted me, not wherewith Padlet and Herod have afflicted me,
not where the soldiers have afflicted me, but Jehovah afflicted me."
That's what the Savior said. Who laid the stripes on His soul? God did. Who bruised Him? God, it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. That doesn't mean he got great
delight in it. It brought him satisfaction. The bruising of any sinner who
goes to hell, that'll be a bruising forever. Because God's not going to be
satisfied. His justice will never be satisfied. There was only one time that
God's justice was fully satisfied, and that's when God bruised His
only begotten Son. He bruised His soul. He made
His soul an offering for sin. And as Martin Luther said, His
soul's suffering, that was the soul part of His suffering. His
soul's suffering. Certainly, our Lord Jesus did
not sin. He knew no sin. He could not
be corrupted with sin. And yet, such was the unity of
the Savior with His people that our sins are said to be His sins. Our sorrows are said to be His
sorrows. We just sang that. We just sang
that. He took my sins and my sorrows. And what did He do? He made them
His very own. That's what we sang. And we can
sing that. Isn't that amazing? We go right
over those words. Oh, the glory of that! Oh, the
wonder of that! He took my sins and my sorrows
and He said, they're mine. and put them on my account, I'll
pay for them. How can I pass by the cross and
not be moved by this Savior? And I hear some people, some
people say, you know, all he preaches is Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. And my heart breaks for those
people. My heart breaks for them. Don't
they see the glory of the Savior who died for us? Don't they see
the wonder of substitution and satisfaction? How can you ever
say, let's get on over to some other subject? Well, what other
subject excels this one? That's what I ask. I had a couple attended my preaching
for several weeks, years ago, that they was going
to try out our church. I don't have a lot of confidence
in people who want to try churches. I want to try out some churches. Well, anyway, they came and they
listened. And then they went somewhere
else and they came back and told me, your messages are just too
simplistic. All you preach is Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. And I said, put it on my tombstone. I'll take that accusation. I
hope I am guilty of that. If I'm guilty of anything, I
hope I'm guilty of that. Preaching the gospel too much.
How can you not preach Christ and Him crucified every time
you get up here? Is it nothing to you? And when
I hear people say things like that, I want to ask, is it nothing
to you that the Savior died and you just want to get on to something
else? Look with me in Matthew chapter
27. I say prophetically, this is
the language of the Savior who agonized under the enormous weight
of the wrath of God and the weight of all of the sins of his people
being put on him. Do you remember in Isaiah chapter
53, I'll wait till you get to Matthew
27, then I'll make this point. In Isaiah 53, verse six, says,
all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. And you'll notice that that laid
on Him means made to meet on Him. All of the iniquities of
all of God's people of all of the ages were made to meet on
the Lord Jesus Christ. We are really, we're somewhat
calloused to sin. There's no question about it.
That's why we categorize sins as little sins and big sins.
But there's no question of what some sins bring greater adverse
consequences or results than others. But against God, sin
is sin. Sin is sin and they've got to
be punished. All of our iniquities, all of
our sins were, they press down on Him. And I am convinced this is why
the Lord said, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me. Because
you see, we're calloused to sin, but not Him. Not Him at all. And our sins being imputed or
reckoned or charged to Him, this was a heavy, heavy weight. such
as would sink a normal person to the lowest part of hell. And
yet he hung on the cross and bore it all. He bore our guilt. You understand that? God found
him guilty of our sins, sins that he didn't even commit. But
God found him guilty. Guilty as charged. And I'll be honest with you,
I can't enter into the wonder and the mystery of that imputation except just
a little bit. And I know some people say they
have greater light on this and bless their hearts, I'm glad
they do. But to me, this is a great, great mystery. You know, one
of the things, Nancy and I were talking about this the other,
maybe it was just yesterday. The more we learn about the scriptures,
the more we realize we know very, very little. Isn't that right? We know very little. And we're
just skimming the surface. Somebody says, oh, your preaching
is deep. No, it's not deep. God is deep. His ways are unfathomable. Deeper
than the deepest sea. That's his knowledge. That's
his ways. As he governs all things. And
I'll tell you, when you start talking about substitution, When
you start talking about the satisfaction of God's divine justice by all
of the iniquities of God's people being made to meet on the Lord
Jesus Christ, you're in water way, way over your head. And something happened in three
hours of darkness that God didn't want us to see. I'm not even going to go in there.
I'm just not going to do it. Whatever it was, whatever hell
he put his son through, whatever vengeance he poured out on the
darling of his heart, it paid my sin debt. It paid
it in full. And you who pass by, is it nothing
to you? How can it be nothing to you?
And how can we be unmoved when we pass by the cross? Look here in Matthew 27, look
at 34. Matthew 27, verse 34. They gave him vinegar to drink
mingled with gall. And when he had tasted thereof,
he wouldn't drink. That was to kind of numb it.
No, he would have none of that. When my dad died in 1974, Somebody offered me a half of
a nerve pill. Said this will help you get through
this. I said I don't want my senses
to be dulled. Whatever I need to experience,
I want to experience it. How could I ever minister to
any of y'all when one of your loved ones dies? How could I
minister to you when, for myself, I took half a nerve pill? I said,
I don't want a nerve pill. I need the grace of God. That's
the pill I'll tell you to take. You take the same pill I took. The Savior said, no. I don't
want any numbing effect. Whatever I need to feel, I need
to feel it. And boy, he did. He felt the
wrath of God in his soul. He wouldn't drink it. Verse 35,
and they crucified him and parted his garments, casting lots. that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. 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. And then were there
two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand and another
on the left. And they that, here it is, passed
by. They that passed by. Here's a
man, three men, hanging naked on three crosses. It's a gory
sight. And I know two of them got what
was coming to them. That's no question about that.
But that one on the middle cross, he didn't do any wrong to anybody.
He didn't break any laws of Rome. He wasn't guilty of sedition. He wasn't guilty of blasphemy.
They passed by. But specifically, they looked
at him and they reviled him. Wagging their heads. And saying, look at this. And they had seen him around
town. They had seen him around Jerusalem. Probably some of them
brought their loved ones to him and he healed them. Because everybody
he healed was not a believer. It didn't matter who they brought
to Him, He healed them all. To manifest the greatness of
His deity, of His power. But here's what they said, Thou
that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save
yourself. If thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests
mocking him with the scribes and the elders said, he saved
others himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel,
let him come down from the cross and we will believe him. He trusted
in God. Let him deliver him now if he
will have him. Oh, what awful words. For he
said, I'm the Son of God. Earlier, of course, Pilate had
said, I find no fault in this man. And more than that, the scripture
says he was the Lamb of God without spot and without blemish. And yet people walk by, they
pass by. a revival, and we're led to ask
them, is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to you? And to most people, it isn't
anything. A little sentimental tear may
gather in the eye, seeing Jesus suffer, but it really isn't anything. to most people. He said, Behold, and see if there
be any sorrow like my sorrow. Have you ever seen sorrow like
this? He says. Which is done unto me,
which God has afflicted me. You see, our Lord, He was punished
in our stead so that we wouldn't be punished. We can't be punished. He took our whipping for us. So it says in Romans chapter
8, there's therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. He was beaten and therefore will
never feel the scourge of the whip of God's vengeance. No. God's vengeance for His elect
wore itself out on the Savior. Is it nothing to you? He was forsaken by God that we
won't be forsaken. He was wounded by the fatal blows,
not of men, but of divine justice. And therefore, no error in the
quiver of God's wrath will ever be shot toward us. because they
all found their mark in the heart of the Lord Jesus. No sword of
justice will be unsheathed against one of the elect, because that
sword, God drew it and he put it right in the heart of his
own son. Is it nothing to you? I know that by nature, All of
this was nothing to us really. Maybe a little touching sympathy
as I said. Is it nothing to you? Really, this is everything to God. And I want it to be everything
to me. You see, my sin, that's the burden
He bore. And yet, how can I pass by so often being
insensitive to Him, to His suffering? Isn't that, is that not an evidence
of our still the fact that we're depraved? Isn't that still an
evidence of the fact that we still have a rotten nature? That
we can sing these songs of Zion. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And we go on, let's get out the
door and let's go to lunch. That's the way, come on. That's
the way we are. Might as well be honest. Might
as well be honest. Oh, how horrible and vile was
that burden for which the Father punished Him. Our Savior's sufferings
were real. This is not some idle tale. This is not a fictional story. This is not something somebody
made up. This is as real as it gets. The Son of God. suffering, bleeding,
and dying in the stead of sinners. He tabernacled among men. He dwelt among men. He left the
honors of the heavenly skies, and he came to the lowliness
of the manger, and the labor of the carpenter's shop. And
here he dwelt on this earth, suffering as a real man, the
infirmities of our mortality, but without sin. Now that's a
big but. But without sin. And the Spirit
of God led Paul to say this, you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who though he was rich, rich, everything, everything
belonged to him. Yet he became poor. Didn't have a place to lay his
head. Didn't have money to pay his
taxes. Who was it? I was talking to him the other
day. He said, oh my, I've got to pay my property taxes. He didn't
have any. Told Peter to go fishing. Go fishing. And you're going
to catch a fish and open his mouth and there's enough money
to pay my taxes and your taxes. Though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that you and me, through his poverty,
might be rich in grace, rich in the mercies of God. In our
nature he lived some 33, 34, some say 35 years. I don't know. But in our nature he lived here
enduring much poverty and labor, And in the end, he died the death
of a felon. A spectacle of scorn and infamy. Despised and rejected of men. Is it nothing to you? And once again, we're confronted
with this crucified buried, risen Savior. And by the grace of God,
I say two things. I don't want to just pass Him
by with disinterest. And the second thing is, oh,
Savior, don't pass me by. Don't pass me by. while on others thou art calling."
One here, one there, one over here. While you're calling others,
don't do to me what I've done to you. Pass you by. See, this
magnifies the wonders of His grace. We passed Him by. And you see, our response to
somebody who passes us by is what? I'll pass you by. Hey,
that's the way you treated me. I'll have them treat you the
same way. I'm glad he's not like that. He didn't pass me by. Well, sure is a whole lot to
think about, isn't it? Do you reckon we could just sing
that Pass Me Not? Y'all, Pass Me Not, O Gentle
Savior. I don't even know what the song
number is. I guess this means I'm bringing my message to an
end. But Pass Me Not, 235. Maybe this would be a good song
to end with, 235. May the Lord bless His Word and
these few Words that I've tried to speak tonight, 235. Let's stand, then at the last
stanza, we'll just, we'll go home after we sing it. 235, stand. ? I've tried to speak ? Oh Oh