21st Psalm, beginning at verse one, we read, the king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord, and in thy salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice. Thou has given him his heart's desire and has not withholding the request of his lips. Say it all. Are you getting a picture of who we're talking about here? Verse three, for thou preventest him with the blessings, that means that you do meet him with the blessings of goodness. Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

He asked life of thee and thou gavest him even length of days forever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation, honor and majesty hast thou laid upon him, for thou hast made him most blessed forever. Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy continence. For the king trusteth in the Lord through the mercy, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

Alrighty, let's start with our handout, if you would. I want to begin in Isaiah 53 tonight, folks. We're getting down to the end of the book of Matthew, and that's brought us to Golgotha, the hill of Skull, and where our Lord was hung on a cross for our sakes. He was a curse. Our curse was laid on Him. He was made a curse for us, that we would be made the righteous of God in Him.

Now let's begin with Isaiah 53, beginning at verse 2, if you would. For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and 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 and acquainted with grief. And we, back in verse three again, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Now, this is what I've titled for tonight's study, He Opened Not His Mouth. Let's go on. Yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers and done, so he openeth not his mouth.

Verse 8, He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare His generation? For 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 and 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. He hath put Him to grief.

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, Will I divide him a portion of the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Back in our handout if you would now, and we'll turn back to a couple more places there in our Bibles in just a moment, but I want to read that first paragraph on page one first. What a picture we have of God's love for His chosen people. Think about what we just read and what the Lord put into words so that you and I could understand the grief, the sorrow that God Almighty went through for you and I, for all of His people. What a picture we have of God's love for His chosen people. God in the flesh. took upon himself the form of a servant, leaving his majesty for a moment to be the sacrificial substitutionary Lamb of God. And this he did willingly by his own determinate counsel from before the foundation of the world.

And I want you to read that for yourselves over in Acts chapter 2. Turn over to Acts chapter 2. We'll just read two verses there. And then we'll go back to our handout once again, two verses over one in Acts chapter two, if you would. Verse 22, Acts chapter two, verse 22.

Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know, That reminds me of that scripture where he was talking to the unbelieving Jews, and they said, how long do you cause us to doubt? And he says, I've told you. And then he went on to say, I also have done many miracles in my father's name, and you still didn't believe because you were not my sheep. He says, ye yourselves also know, verse 23, him, The Lord Jesus, this Jesus of nathers, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Folks, Christ's crucifixion was not plan B. This is plan A from the beginning.

How often have we read just recently in the book of Matthew where the Lord told his disciples, we must go up to Jerusalem. I must be beaten. I must be sped upon. I must be crucified. And every time he said these words immediately following, and I shall rise the third day.

He said that by the determinant counsel for knowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Now look at verse 24. whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it is not possible that he should be holding of it." Now we'll look at our next text over in Matthew 27, but before we get there, let's go back to our handout one more time, if you would.

The large paragraph on the bottom of page one, ye men of Israel, ye men of Israel. Now, I know some ladies who were offended because it seemed like when Pastor Gene, many years ago, all it was was he was always talking to the men. And it was, there were several things about the scriptures that offended some women. Let me tell you something.

When the Lord says, ye men of Israel, he's talking to all of them. He's talking to all of the people of Israel, the wives and the children and all of those who are there. But the men are the ones who are dressed to bring that message also to the wives. Ye men of Israel, ye people of Israel. Folks, the whole scripture is a love letter to God's chosen people, spiritual Israel. Those who have been given a living spirit. This is so important. Never forget. You and I would still be walking in the darkness of death if God had not intervened. Listen to these words from Ezekiel 36, 22 through 28. Therefore say unto the house of Israel. Again, we see the address is to Israel, the people, all of them. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God. I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy namesake."

All the goodness that He brings our way, all of the teachings through trials and tribulations that He brings our way is because of His love for us. And it's for His namesake, not for anything of ours. He says it, for mine holy name's sake, which ye, me, John Reeves, has profaned among the heathen, whether ye went Meaning wherever I went, I would profane the name of God.

Folks, our free will is profaning the name of God. It's taking the power away from God and putting it in our hands. If we think we have a free will that we can go out and do, well, you know, whenever it's my turn to come, I'll make a decision when it's my turn to come, you know, when I desire to come to the Lord. I'll exercise my will. No. No, God says our will would drive us right to the depths of hell. Our will is nothing but sin. We have profaned the name of God. That's what he's telling us here, which ye have profaned among the heathen wherever you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them. And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues. And you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers and you shall be my people. and I will be your God. Page 2.

Here, the Christ of God was condemned even though He was innocent of the charges brought against Him. He was condemned, alright, but not for those false charges. He who never sinned, He who did all things well, was charged and found guilty of my sin. How can that be? I cannot explain it to you, but God's word says he was charged and condemned on our behalf. Listen to this.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. How many times did we just read there in the 53rd Psalm, I mean, chapter 53 of Isaiah, where it was the Lord who was bruised for our good.

It pleased God to bruise his son instead of bruising you and I. And this is well over in 2 Corinthians 5.21, for he hath made him Made Christ, for God had made him to be sin.

Actually, that word to be doesn't, that state, those two words don't belong there. Let me read that without that. For he hath made him sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This One who could have had all the legions of angels in heaven come to His aid, He opened not His mouth. That was what He had purposed. That was why He opened not His mouth.

Look here at our text in Matthew 27, beginning at verse 11. Now you remember, we just read recently about Judas of Iscariot, he had already betrayed the Lord, he had gone out, he had committed suicide, they bought a potter's field with the money that he gave back, and next thing we know here, next thing we see, and Jesus stood before the governor, verse 11, 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 the elders, he answered nothing. There's the fulfillment of what we just read in Isaiah. He opened not his mouth. He answered nothing. Verse 13, then said Pilate unto him, hearest thou not how many things they witnessed against thee? Verse 14, and he answered him to never a word. in so much that the governor marveled greatly.

Now we're gonna come back to the rest of this part 15 through 20 next week, but I wanna stop there for just a moment. I wanna read for you what Brother Don, this is in the handout, mid page two. Don Fortner wrote these words. He says, hear the judge of all the earth, stood before wicked men to be judged by them. He that shall soon judge the world in righteousness was judged most unrighteously. He that shall one day sit upon the throne of judgment with 10,000 of his saints and angels stood as a prisoner before the bar of reprobate men.

Never in the pages of history was justice so violently and deliberately abused. The Son of God was denied the rights of justice given to a common thief or a murderer. Before one witness produced to testify against Him, before any evidence was weighed, the Lord of Glory was beaten, mocked, stripped, and abused by vile, God-hating men. Who can comprehend the depths of humiliation endured by the God-man?

That one who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, now made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross, ever the death of the cross.

John Gill wrote this, he says, think what a sight was here, the eternal son of God in human nature, the Lord of life and glory, the prince of kings of the earth standing before a heathen governor. He before whom Pilate must stand, and even all men, small and great another day, all must appear and stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Page three. He himself stands at the bar of men. We're continuing an article by John Gill.

The reason of this was because he stood in the legal place instead of his people. He became their substitute from everlasting. He became their substitute for everlasting, was made under the law in time, and was subject to its precept and its penalty. And though he had no crimes of his own to answer for, he had the sins of his people on him, on account of which he stood before the governor to receive the sentence of condemnation on himself. that no sin being condemned in his flesh, the whole righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in them.

He stood here that they might stand before God and at the throne of his grace with boldness and intrepidity, a new and living way to it being open for them through his blood and sacrifice that they might stand before him, the judge of all the earth with confidence and be not ashamed at his coming. Mid page three we read, it was the intention of these wicked men to make it appear that Jesus Christ was a sinful man worthy of death, but their deeds But by their deeds, God proved his complete innocence and showed beyond the shadow of doubt that our Lord Jesus Christ is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners as described in Hebrews 7 verse 26. Remember our Lord was about to be offered up as the Lamb of God, a sacrifice for sin. The sacrificial lamb must be examined to be sure that it had no blemishes.

So it was necessary that the Lamb of God be found by those who crucified Him to be a lamb without blemish and without spot, as it is described in Leviticus 23.12. The overruling hand of God so ordered the events of His trial that even when His enemies were His judges, They could find no fault and prove nothing against him.

The Son of God was examined on three separate occasions. They took him from one judge to another, from one court to another, seeking some grounds for putting him to death. He was first examined by the ecclesiastical court in the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. The court here was the Jewish Sanhedrin.

They were the most honored and respected men of the nation. They were supposed to be a court of 70, honorable, sober, learned and faithful men as instructed in Numbers 11, verse 16 and 17. But it was now reduced to a pack of malicious scribes and Pharisees. over this mob of bloodthirsty self-righteous men. Caiaphas was the head. It was Caiaphas who led the examination, page four.

They questioned the Savior about his doctrine and his assertions that he is both the Messiah and the God, and God the Son. They sought false witnesses against him. When he gave answer, they began to mock him and spit on him and beat him, as stated in Mark 14, 61, where we read, but he held his peace and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked him and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. You think they misunderstood what he was saying? Then the high priest rent his clothes and said, what need we have any further of witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy? What think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him and to say unto him, prophesy.

And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. Mid page four, it was at this point when they rebelled. You see, the Jews would gladly have received Christ as a Savior to deliver them from Roman bondage, but they would not worship Him as God and bow to Him as Lord. This is still the point of man's rebellion today.

Listen to these words from Luke 14, 25-33, and there went great multitudes with Him. And he turned and he said unto them, if any man come unto me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life, also he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

And then he explains with a parable this why. For which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost? whether he have sufficient to finish it. Lest, happily, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? or else, while other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage and desires conditions of peace.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Folks, he's either going to be Lord or he's not Lord at all. And his people must be brought to see him as our Lord. Last paragraph of page four. Even today. There are multitudes who pretend to honor our Savior as a good moral man, a good religious teacher, while denying His eternal deity as God the Son.

But surely, if He were not the Son of God, if the Jews had misunderstood His claims, He would have said so here, wouldn't He? Caiaphas was a self-serving religious leader, page 5, the high priest of Israel, as a matter of fact. who had the favor of the Romans, it was Caiaphas who said that it was expedient for one man to die for the nation, lest the Romans destroy the whole nation. He considered the sacrifice of a man's life a matter of insignificance. If by the sacrifice of Romans, if by the sacrifice Romans will pass.

We know, of course, that it was God, the Holy Spirit, who compelled him to speak those prophetic words as recorded in John 11, 47 through 53. Yet his words display clearly the character of the man himself. At the same time, they show us that the time had come that was prophesied back in Genesis 49, verse 10.

The scepter of civil government had now departed from Judah because Shiloh, the Messiah, had come. Next, we have the court of Pilate. Notice that in the presence of righteousness, I'm sorry, in the pretense of righteousness, the Jews would not enter Pilate's house.

They wouldn't go into his house because they were afraid that it would defile themselves, being the day on the Passover. So Pilate came out to them to examine the Lamb of God, and he stated, as stated in John 18, 28 through 29, and you can read that on your own time, and the Jews brought three charges against our Redeemer to Pilate. The first thing they did was they accused him of refusing to pay tribute to Caesar. Then they accused him of stirring up sedition, and they accused him of blasphemy, but they could not produce any proofs of their charges.

So Pilate personally examined the Savior himself. He asked him about his claims. He asked him about his claims about the the king of being the king of Jews. He has to say to her, what is truth in John 18, 38. Perhaps he said this in sarcasm, but the truth was standing right there before him. And he knew it.

Pilate then sent the Lord Jesus to Herod. There again, our Lord was examined, but nothing was found against him. Herod and his soldiers mocked and beat Christ, beat the God's eternal son. And then he sent him back to Pilate. Matthew describes the scene of our Savior's mock trial before Pilate, and Pilate had the spotless Lamb of God severely beaten, humiliated, mocked, and scourged. He hoped by these means to satisfy the angry mob, but it would not. Finally, the verdict was passed. Emmanuel was found innocent of all charges, but these men cared nothing for that.

Pilate then presented the Lord Jesus to the crowd, proclaiming, Behold, your King, as it states in John 19, 14. Can you see the picture? Here's the bleeding Lamb of God, a crown of thorns upon his head, a reed in his hand, and a mock robe on his back. And Pilate says, Behold, your King. He is indeed the king, but these wicked men despise God's anointed king. Page 6. They cried for His blood, crucify Him, crucify Him, and they assumed full responsibility for the shedding of Emmanuel's blood, saying, His blood be upon us. and upon our children over in verse 25 of that same chapter.

Possibly Pilate's conscience was alarmed by the things that transpired before him. His wife warned him over in verse 19. She was alarmed as well. She had a fearful dream concerning the matter. So Pilate tried to reason with the chief priests and the elders, hoping to spare himself from murdering the Christ of God, but the Jews could not be pacified. At last Pilate consented to the will of the Jews, obviously horrified and unable to conceal the wickedness of ordering the crucifixion of a completely innocent man. He publicly washed his hands as if to show that he bore no responsibility for what he was about to do. Then, probably as he was drying his hypocritical hands, he pronounced the sentence of death against the Savior and proclaimed his innocence.

Look over at verse 24. You need to look at this yourself. I don't remember ever hearing this or reading this before. This kind of jumped out at me. Look at verse 24. When Pilate saw that he could that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made. He took water, washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this." Look at that word, just person. He just called the Lord Jesus innocent in front of all those people. See ye to it. Go ahead. You're going to crucify him. You do it.

This proof of our Lord's innocence ought to be a sweet consolation and comfort for our hearts. We should be deeply thankful that our great substitute was in all respects proved to be perfect and innocent, that our surety was pronounced faultless by the very man who ordered his crucifixion. Who among us can number his sins? We leave undone the things we ought to do and do the things we ought not to every day of our lives. But here is our comfort. Jesus Christ, the righteous, stood in our place to pay the debt that we owed and fulfill the law we have broken.

He fulfilled the law completely. He satisfied all its demands. He accomplished all of its requirements. He was the last Adam who had clean hands and a pure heart. and could therefore enter with boldness into God's holy hill. He is our righteousness, in him God's elect have perfectly fulfilled all the law. The eyes of the holy God beholds us in Christ, clothed with Christ's perfect righteousness, and made the righteousness of God in him."

Page seven. For Christ's sake, God can now say of the believing sinner, I find no fault in him at all. Listen to these words from Romans 8, 1 through 4. There is therefore now no condemnation. to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

Truly, truly, the Son of God, our substitute, knew no sin. And God compelled those who crucified him to confess his perfect innocence. The Lamb of God was examined publicly and privately, and he was without blemish and without spot. It must be so, because he who undertakes to be a substitute for sinners must be sinless.

Lastly, I cannot avoid directing your attention to the great mercy of our great God and Savior towards men who shed his blood. When Pilate said, I am innocent of the blood of this just person, see you to it, then answered all the people and said, his blood be upon us and on our children.

That's over in verses 24 and 25 of that same chapter. And again, we'll look at that a little more deeply next week. Hear this, the Jews defiantly pronounced God's judgment upon themselves, yet our Savior sent great mercy to many of those very men. In Acts chapter 2, when the enthroned Christ poured out his spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter declared that the men of Israel had, with wicked hands, crucified and slain Jesus of Nazareth, whom God had made both Lord and Christ.

When they heard Peter's message, they were pricked in the heart and cried, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Upon many of those present, the Lord God performed His great work of grace And the precious blood of Christ graciously put on them, sprinkled their hearts to the purging of their consciousness by the Spirit of God. The very first words spoken by the Lord Jesus from the cross was this for them. He prayed this. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. In Acts chapter 2, the Lord graciously answers his own prayer on their behalf.

There is always a perfect, gracious correspondence between the intercession of Christ and the gifts of God, the Holy Spirit, page 8. Robert Hawker wrote this, he said, even the Jerusalem sinners who imbrued their hands in the blood of Christ are made partakers in the blessedness of salvation in His blood. That fact should be a great encouragement to sinners everywhere to come to Him who has promised this, Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Listen to these words from John 6, verse 37 through 45.

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up. the last day.

The Jews then murmured at him because he had said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? And Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves.

No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw you. And I will raise him up the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me."

The Christ of glory opened not his mouth against the accusers because this is what he came to do. It was the only way for you and I and a multitude that no man can number to be with him in eternity. for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, a mercy seat, a payment through faith in His blood. to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are path to the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? Is it excluded by what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.