Let's turn together to Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 through 56.

expiring on the tree and weltering in his blood. Behold the purple torrent run down from his head, hands and head. The crimson tide puts out the sun. His groans awake the dead. The trembling earth, the darkened sky, proclaim this truth aloud and with the amazed and curious crowd. This was the Son of God. so great, so vast a sacrifice, may well my hope revive. If God's own Son thus bleeds and dies, the sinner sure may live. Oh, that these cords of love divine might draw me, Lord, to Thee. Thou hast my heart, it shall be Thine. Thine it shall ever be.

" what Mr. Stennett had in mind when he wrote those words.

Verse 45, Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, that is about three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lay That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, this man calleth for lice. And straightway one of them ran and took a spoon and filled it with vinegar and put it on a wreath and gave him to drink. The rest said, let be. Let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, and behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

And now when the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God.

And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him. Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Now the title of my message this evening is taken from the opening verse of our text. Three hours of

In these verses of Scripture, Matthew gives us his inspired account of the last three hours of our Savior's agony as he was made to be sin for us and suffered all the horror of God's holy wrath as our substitute.

Now the things that are here revealed show us something of the enormity of our sin, something of the immensity of God's amazing love, something of the great value of Christ's shed blood.

When he suffered all the horror of God's wrath for us, this is what he suffered to put away our sins.

After six hours of suffering the wrath of God, after six hours of torture, of torment, both from the hands of men and from the hand of God, after six hours of enduring our hell, The Lord Jesus Christ had finished his work. He had accomplished everything he had come to accomplish, and then the scripture tells us, he yielded up the ghost.

Quite literally, he dismissed his spirit. He said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and he just dismissed his spirit. He yielded up the ghost.

Everything in these verses is simply remarkable, astounding. I read these verses of scripture and I sit in utter amazement at the things that are here recorded.

And as they are most remarkable, most amazing, most astounding, I want to speak about them with the utmost simplicity so that I will do nothing at all to hide from you with mere words that which the Holy Spirit has given us here of the remarkable character of our Savior's sufferings and his accomplishments for us. Let me show you six remarkable things in these verses. If you're taking notes, you can follow me very easily.

First, in verse 45, Matthew calls our attention to a remarkable darkness. Now, from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. Some have tried to explain this as a natural solar eclipse that just happened to take place at this time, but nothing could be further from the truth. This was a supernatural solar eclipse, especially performed by God on this occasion to declare what God intended to declare by Him.

We read in the scriptures here of the prophet Amos, and Amos chapter 8 and verse 9 give a prediction concerning this eclipse. He said, It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord God, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth, in the clear day. So when our text says the land was darkened, the implication is not merely that the land of Judea was darkened, not merely that that area of the world was darkened, but rather that God, by a marvelous, miraculous solar eclipse, darkened the whole earth for three hours.

And we have testimony to this given, even by the heathen. There was one Dionysius, living in Egypt at the time, He recorded concerning this eclipse that he saw, though he knew nothing of what was going on in Palestine. He knew nothing of what was happening in Jerusalem. He said, either the divine being suffers, remember this is a pagan writing, he didn't know God. Either the divine being suffers, or suffers with him that suffers, or else the frame of the world is dissolved.

That was down in Egypt. This eclipse that took place. was a marvelous, miraculous testimony of God Almighty as to what was taking place here when His Son was made to be sin for us. The Son of God being made to be sin for us, the Son refused to shine for three long hours as He suffered there the abandonment of God and suffered all the wrath of God for us.

The eclipse that is here described, this This remarkable eclipse of the sun, not just something that lasts for a few seconds or a few minutes, but for three hours. Not something that covers just a little speck of the earth, but something that all at one time engulfs the whole world in darkness, certainly is significant. I'm certain that there are at least three or four things that it is intended by God to display.

It displays first the heinousness, the heartedness of the time of the crucifixion. that was being executed. These men were executing the Lord of Glory. They had taken him who is the incarnate God, him who is the embodiment of righteousness, him who is himself perfect righteousness, and now they laid him up to the cursed tree, They have beaten him, they scourged him, they beat him with their fists, they spit in his face, they flunk on his head, they spit him naked, and now God blots out the son so as to display the hideousness of their crime.

I know that some will turn and say, well, but these men did only what they were supposed to do. And they might themselves read and say, well, this was done because this was the decree of God, and thus attempt to justify their ungodliness by God's sovereignty. Now understand clearly, understand distinctly, these men did exactly what God in eternity ordained must be done. These men did exactly what God had prophesied must be done. The will of God was being fulfilled by their wicked deeds and by their wicked will, but they are all together without excuse, and God here gives testimony against the hideousness of their crime. I stress that because I hear some in our day attempting to excuse or to justify sin, ungodliness, even unbelief, by blaming it to God's sovereignty, blaming it to God's decree, blaming it to God's everlasting purpose and God's everlasting predestination. Hear me well, you will never stand before God in judgment. and excuse your sin by casting it back upon him. Sin, Mary Chris, is your responsibility and mine. Sin is what we, by nature, by will, deliberately perform because of our enmity by nature against God, and we're responsible for it.

This enormous, horrible idea was performed by wicked men in rebellion against God Almighty, and yet God's sovereignty stands in total tact. For these wicked men did that which was determined beforehand must be done, fulfilling the purpose of God for the salvation of God's elect.

Secondly, by this display, this solar eclipse, the Lord God displays the blackness darkness and blindness of men's hearts by nature. As you read through these verses, you know, if you were involved in something that you knew to be horribly wrong, something that you knew to be totally contrary to any sense of conscience concerning right and wrong, concerning just uprightness, And the things that happened here, happened around you, you'd stand back shocked. What on earth has that happened to me? What's God doing? Surely God has now seen the evil in my deeds. But these men, their hearts were so black, so hard, so dark, and so blinded, that when God spoke through the elements around them, they yet heard him not. And God displays here the utter blackness and darkness of man's heart by nature.

You see, the fact is, man's heart by nature is so blind that no acts of providence, either acts of goodness or of judgment, either acts of mercy or acts by which God displays his anger and his wrath against sin, man is so blind by nature that no acts of providence are perceived by man to be the hand of God until God opens his eyes and causes him to see.

Men sometimes think that judgment brings repentance. Judgment never brings repentance. Don't ever imagine that because someone gets a little scared, because they get a little frightened, because they have a close call with death, because they have seen someone in the family suddenly, suddenly taken out of the world by the hand of God, and they're terrified of going to hell, terrified of God's goodness. Boy, this is the time to get them to make a confession. Judgment never brings repentance. Never. Religious hucksters use it to deceive the souls of men. But judgment never brings repentance. The judgment of God only works more wrath in the hearts of men who themselves are enmity against him. The Scripture says it's the goodness of God that leads a thief to repentance.

I stand here, Bobbie, and preach to you till I die about hell and judgment. And hell and judgment has its proper place. It is a proper truth to be declared in Scripture, for God is holy. But the judgment of God never turned you to Jesus Christ. It never happened. What turns a man to Christ? It's the goodness of God that leads me to repentance.

They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and shall be in bitterness for him, and shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son. It is the sight of Christ crucified, the revelation of the gospel in the crucified Christ, that brings sinners to repentance.

Still here, as God blackened the sun, and yet they knew nothing of what God was doing. This solar eclipse, this remarkable darkness, thirdly displays the emptiness and darkness of Christless religion.

Here is Judaism. Thoroughly orthodox. thoroughly Orthodox. By their doctrine was exactly the doctrine God had revealed. They worshipped in the temple that by God's order had been built. They offered sacrifices according to God's own law, but their religion was a lifeless, Christless, empty, dead, mechanical, ritualistic religion, and it was utterly void of light. Oh, what a lesson in our day! Christless religion, it doesn't matter how Orthodox it is. It doesn't matter how traditional it is. It doesn't matter from whom it's been passed along to you. Christless religion, religion without faith, religion without life, religion without God, is utterly abhorrent before the eyes of God Almighty.

Let me show you. Turn to Isaiah chapter 1. And listen to how God complains concerning the religion of the Jews in Isaiah's day. Now remember, he's speaking to folks who come into his temple, who bring sacrifice and oblations to him. He says in verse 10, Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Solomon. What? you rulers of Sodom. He's talking to priests, and prophets, and preachers in his house, pretentious self-righteous men, who had in one way the vigorous exercise of ceremonial religion. He said, look on you as Sodomites, give ear unto the law of our God, you people of Gabbada, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord?" Well, God, you commanded it, not the way you're doing it. Not the way you're doing it. Look what it says in verse 12. When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand to tread my course, to walk in my house? Well, didn't God command it? No, sir. No, sir. Not as a mere ritual, not as a mere ceremony. God commanded it to be done with faith. to be done with an eye to Jesus Christ. Bring no more, verse 13, your vain oblations. Incense your incenses and abomination unto me. The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of the assemblies, I turn off, away with its iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons, your appointed peace, my soul hated. They are trouble to me. I'm weary, weary, weary to bear them. When you spread your hands, you call on me in prayer, I'll hide my eyes from you."

Christless religion is useless religion.

And again, this eclipse of the sun certainly is a display of the darkness that passed upon and engulfed our holy Savior's holy soul when he was made to be sin for us. When God laid on him our sin, our iniquity. When he was made sin, God put out the light of the sun. When the light of the world is made to be sin, darkness flooded the world as darkness flooded his soul.

Now secondly, look at verse 46. The Holy Spirit moved Matthew to record for us a remarkable abandonment. And about tonight's hour, that is about three o'clock in the afternoon, which was just about the time of the slaying and the offering of the daily sacrifice, an imminent of Christ. It was just about the time of the Day of Atonement when the Paschal Lamb would be slain and offered up before God. About three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried with a loud voice, as in great distress, as one who had been silent, bearing the wrath of God, and bearing the abuse of man patiently as a lamb led to the slaughter. But now, he must break out. He must cry out. He has been with contentment, continually enduring the wrath of God. But suddenly, the anguish in his soul breaks out as one in deep agony cries, My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?"

And when we read that, God help us to read these lines with a broken heart because of our sin, and yet at the same time, with hearts of joy and gratitude, because by his being forsaken, our sins are put away. And when you read these lines, refrain from speculation, refrain from giving vent to vain curiosity. Let's just look at the passage plainly and see what it says.

When our Savior speaks like this and cries, Eli, Eli, lamest of back to nigh, that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Understand that he speaks as a man. He speaks as one who is himself the man who was chosen of God. to be our representative, the man who was set aside, appointed and anointed of God to be our servitude, the man whose body was prepared in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit specifically, a body prepared for him, a real human body and a real human soul, so that here, he as a man, might satisfy all the justice of God for us.

And here he is, having fulfilled all his Father's purpose. Here he is now, at the apex of his obedience at the very, at the very climax of his submission, and the father forsakes him. And he cries out in anguish, his soul, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Those words express the soul of his suffering. Our Savior was separated from the love of God, from the manifestation of God's love, from the manifestation of his presence, from the manifestation of his goodness, from the manifestation of his approval. He was altogether forsaken of God because he, as our Trinity, stood before God as he, having been made to be so.

Had he never been forsaken of God, Mark Henson, we would forever be forsaken of God. Because, see, God cannot and will not tolerate. This cry expresses the soul of his sufferings. Indeed, all the wailings and howlings of the damned in hell through all eternity fall infinitely short of expressing the evil and bitterness of sin. But here we see how vile a thing sin is. When God found sin upon his darling son, he forsook it in utter wrath.

It amazes me that I can prepare a message like this and preach it and be so little moved It amazes me that you who are redeemed by this dying act of the Son of God can contemplate these things and be so little moved in your souls. But our Savior, when he was made to be sin for us, was moved in the depth of his soul, for he was forsaken of God. My God, my God, why has that forsaken me?

understand that the Lord our God is infinitely holy and just, indescribably holy. God's holiness is such that you and I haven't come close, we haven't come close to even getting an idea what holiness is. We haven't even come The Holy Lord God must and shall punish sin. When God found sin on his Son, he forsook his Son. And yet this Holy Lord God Almighty loves his people. He loves us with an indescribable, infinite, everlasting love. That's the reason his Son was made to be That's the reason his son was forsaken for us. And when I hear our Savior cry, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Then in my soul, I lift my heart to God, and I say, thank God I shall never be forsaken. Christ was forsaken for me, and I shall not be forsaken, not here, not hereafter, not in this life, not in the life to come, not today, and not in the judgment. I shall not be forsaken, for the Son of God was forsaken for me 2,000 years ago. And the same is true of you. He says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

All right, read on, verse 47. Some of them that stood by, some of them that stood there, as they sat down and watched him, watched him die, when they heard that, they said, this man's calling for Elijah. They knew that Elijah would come to prepare the way of the Lord. They knew that Elijah must first come when the Messiah is coming. They knew that Elijah must prepare his way. They didn't understand that John the Baptist was Elijah, but they said, this man's calling for Elijah.

And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on the weed, shoved it up there and didn't have something to drink." It's interesting that a sponge is taken to give this bitter wine to our Savior. as he hangs there suffering for the sons of men. Here is the lowest form of life, I suppose. And him whom is life, suffering to die to ransom the world that he has made to recover the world that he has made, that he might bring heaven and earth in everlasting glory to him, the Lord Jesus Christ takes the whole thing. and thus by his death displays how he shall restore God's creation by the merit of his sacrifice.

And the rest said, leave him alone. Leave him alone. It appears that this one fellow in verse 48 seemed to have a little sympathy for him. They said, leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah will come. Let's see if Elijah will Either in mockery, or perhaps they were saying, as the Jews had said before, come down from the cross and save yourself and they'll believe you. If Elijah comes, he the Messiah will take you. But I think probably they were speaking in mockery.

And then thirdly, in verse 50, we should always remember when we think of our Savior's death, that he died a remarkable death. Jesus, when he had cried again, he had earlier cried, Matthew doesn't record it, but he had cried, I thirst, and I gave him this vinegar to drink. And when he had cried again with a loud voice, what he cried is, it is finished. When he cried with a loud voice, he yielded up the ghost. Our Lord's strength had not abated His last word was not a gasping breath of a failing life, but rather the triumphant shout of a conquering king. The Son of God voluntarily laid down His life for His sheep. He did not lose His spirit, He did not lose His life, He dismissed His spirit, He dismissed His life. His work was finished, His purpose for coming had been accomplished, He had accomplished His death, and now He yields up.

Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." He lays down his life as a voluntary charity. Look in John chapter 10 for a moment, John the 10th chapter. Our Lord Jesus is speaking in verse 14. Do not ever imagine that the Lord Jesus Christ somehow was out of control of things Do not ever imagine, while we recognize the depth of his suffering, do not ever imagine that somehow these men had pulled something over on him. He is in absolute control, and he voluntarily lays down his life for us. He doesn't die as a victim, a helpless victim of circumstances. He doesn't die as a defeated martyr. He doesn't die as one who had come to reform things, and things didn't turn out the way he wanted. He doesn't die just as a moral example, but voluntarily he lays down his life, and he lays down his life specifically, specifically for Rex Barton.

with what he says. John chapter 10, verse 14. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep, not for the sheep and the goats, for the sheep. I lay down my life in the place of the sheep. I lay down my life for the ransom of the sheep. I lay down my life that I may have the sheep. And other sheep I have, they're already mine, given to me in the Father's covenant of grace before the world began, given to me in erecting love before ever the worlds were made. Other sheep I have, which are not of this folk, them also I must bring. Must bring! Must bring! And they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one Therefore doth my Father love me."

If you have a margin somewhere you can write it in, you can put in parentheses, as a man, as a mediator, as a shepherd. The Father loved him from everlasting as God the Son, but he's talking now about his obedience to the Father. Therefore doth my Father love me as the man, the mediator, the surety of my people, the good shepherd, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down in myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I of my Father."

Our Savior died as a voluntary surety. He died as a vicarious sufferer. He died as a vicarious sufferer. I recall very well The first time I heard my friend, the Harry Graham, preach, he took that text from First Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 3, and declared to us how Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.

The gospel, please understand, the gospel is not merely the declaration that Christ died. If that were the case, the papists, the Mormons, the free willers, everybody preaches the gospel as cleanly as anybody else does. If the gospel is just the historical fact that Christ died, you can read it in a history book, but that's not the gospel. The gospel is the declaration of H-O-W, how that Christ died. This is how he died, as a voluntary sugarcane, and as a vicarious substitute, one who suffered laicriously in your place and mine. He stood where we ought to He stood, where we deserve to stand, he stood before the wrath of God, before the sword of justice, he stood before God already in high place, that he answer you in suffering all the terror of God's wrath unto death itself.

And he died as a victorious savior. That is to say, everything he died to accomplish shall be accomplished. Everything he died to perform shall be performed. Everything that he died to save shall be saved. Everything that he died to get, he shall have. As Stephen the prophet said, he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.

Now, fourthly, the Lord God gave a remarkable display. A display for all to behold that this one who died at Calvary 2000 years ago, is indeed the Christ of God. Look in Matthew 27 verse 51, 52 and 53. Here are four remarkable displays made when Christ Jesus died. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent entwined, now underscore those words, the veil of the temple was rent into, completely split, Not from the bottom up, but from the top down. So I have to tell a flame that it didn't just wear out and gradually get a little tear in it and finally it split up the rest of the way. But the veil of the temple, which was somewhere between 60 and 70 feet high, in that second temple that was built, that veil separating the holy of holies from the holy place, that veil was at least That's not just a piece of tapestry, buddy, that's some heavy, heavy stuff.

That veil which separated the Ark of the Covenant, where God displayed His loyalty, where God accepted the sacrifice, where the cherubims were over the mercy seat, where the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, where the Ark of the Covenant was that contained the law, that was broken by men, where God dealt with man. That veil representing the Holy of Holies was split right in half in two, from top to bottom.

and the earth be quake, and the rocks rent, and the grains were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came forth out of the graves after his resurrection." Underscore that as well. And went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Now anyone who considers these miracles that were performed by God's providence displaying that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has indeed come and redemption has indeed been accomplished. Anyone who sees them and considers them in the light of scripture must be convinced, as this centurion was convinced, truly, this man was the Son of God. This man was the Son of God.

Think of the miracles for a moment. The red veil, That's what had been standing, separating the people from God, for two thousand years. That red veil, which demonstrated that the way had not been opened yet, all during the years of the Old Testament age. during the days of the ceremonies and the legal aspects of carnal worship, that veil stood between the people and God's holiness, that veil separating men from God, representing the law of God and the holiness of God and our sin, all these days separating us from God, separating us.

Now the veil is lift when Jesus Christ cried his names. What does that mean? That means that he must finish his work, because that veil, Paul said in Hebrews 10, was his flesh. And now his flesh is dissolved, his life in the flesh dissolved, because his work is finished. That means, secondly, that all the ordinances of carnal worship, all the ordinances of the law, all the handwriting of the law that was written against us is taken out of the way. He nailed it to his cross, and he satisfied it all. That means the law no longer has any claim upon those people for whom Christ has died. That means there's a way open into the holiest of all, by the blood of Jesus Christ, where we can go, you and I, the mean sinners, and find acceptance with God through the blood of Christ and through that alone.

Let's see if that's not what Scripture says. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Let's start at verse, let's see here, verse 19. Having therefore brethren boldness, that simply means liberty or freedom, to enter into the holiest house by the blood of Jesus. That's the only way you can go in. That's the only way we can come to God, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, you see what I said? That is to say, his flesh. And having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith."

Well, where on earth do you get that? Where on earth do you get, with full assurance of faith? What is that? That's not a feeling. You're feeling as a result, but that's not a feeling. This full assurance of faith is the word of God himself. Christ is either acceptable to God, or he's not acceptable. One of the two.

Well, what are you saying, Don? I'm saying this. Here I am, a sinner, with nothing but sin before God Almighty. Here I am, a man altogether worthy of God's wrath, but believing on the Son of God by the testimony of God himself. But if, darling, I have access to and acceptance with God by Jesus Christ, I don't have any question about it. No question about it.

How can you say that? Because he's there. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Because he said, God said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. God said, God said, I will in no wise cast you out that come to me. That's what he said.

All right, we go now. With a true heart, having full assurance, aren't you full of assurance, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for faithful is he that promised."

The earth quaked and the rocks were rent. What does that mean? The earth quakes and the rocks are rent. Come back to Hebrews chapter 8 for a moment. The apostle has just quoted Jeremiah in the promises of God in the covenant concerning forgiveness and mercy and grace and redemption, all through Christ the Lord. And this is what he says concerning the making of the new covenant. And in that, he says, the new covenant He hath made the first old, that is, the old covenant, the covenant of law, the covenant of works, he made that old.

Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away, and the breaking and mending of the rocks is God's testimony that Judaism is now done, and done forever. God will never return to nor accept the worship of men at the altars of carnal priests and carnal sacrifices with carnal means. God accepts sinners through Jesus Christ alone.

And then the graves were opened. Now, don't try to make something out of that that's not there. When Christ died and was raised again, triumphant over the graves, triumph went over death, hell, and the grave. It doesn't say that all the saints rose, it says many of them did. Their graves were opened, and they arose after his resurrection. This is a video. Right, he's the first prince of the resurrection. He's the first one to rise to immortality, though many were raised by him to die a day like Ezra was, the widow of Nameson and others, but our Lord Jesus was the first to be raised to immortality and everlasting life.

And now, when he arose on that day, when he came out of the grave, many of the saints arose and went into the Holy City. Now, I'm confident that he's talking there about Jerusalem physically. because it says they were seen of many. And they arose, and obviously were known by many who saw them. They arose there in the same body that went into the grave, only they arose in immortality. They arose with the same identifying feature as when they went into the grave, only they arose without weakness, and they were known one of another. And they went into the holy city, though now it was a city of darkness and heathendom. Though now it was a city forsaken of God, yet the temple of God was still there. It was still standing at that time, and the saints went into the holy city.

But they went further than that. They went into the holy city. They went into the holy city Jerusalem, which is above. They went into the holy city with Jesus Christ himself as a sort of firstfruits of that which was to come, and that is our resurrection. And this is a fulfillment of Scripture. Turn back to Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 26, I believe it is. Isaiah 26, in verse 19. The prophet says, Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body. Shall they arise, awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust? for thy guilt is as the dew of her herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." And so the prophet's words are fulfilled with the resurrection of the saints when our Lord Jesus arose from the dead.

And then fifthly, in verse 54, Matthew records a remarkable confession made by one of our Savior's tormentors. We read here of the centurion In verse 54, now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, they'd been watching him since early in the morning now, since nine o'clock in the morning, they'd been watching him. You remember they brought him out to Golgotha, they brought him out to Mount Calvary, sitting down, they watched him there. That was their duty, they were soldiers. And that was their pleasure. They were hard men. And after they had watched him now for six hours, and saw all that transpired, and heard everything that was spoken, and saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they were terrified. They were terrified. No indication at all that they were brought to repentance. No indication at all that they were brought to faith in Christ. But they were sore afraid. And this is what they said. Truly, this man, this one, was the Son of God.

They knew the Jews had brought him to Herod and Pilate to be crucified because he claimed to be the Son of God. They knew from the testimony of others that he spoke and said he is the Son of God. And now, these superiors, who knew nothing about God, said, this man, he's God. He's God. And I'm telling you, this man, he is God Almighty. God Almighty. God Almighty. Only because he is God Almighty is his suffering of value to somebody else. Only because he is God Almighty Is his suffering worthy of God's acceptance? Only because he is God Almighty is his death acceptable to God? A sweet smelling sacrifice to put away our sins.

And then lastly, just for a moment, we see in the women standing by a remarkable loyalty. I don't have time to deal with it much, maybe another time, but look here. And many women were there, beholding afar off. Peter said, Lord, I'll never forsake you. Everybody else does, but he was gone. Judas said, I'll not forsake you, but he was gone. All the disciples said, I'll not forsake you. Everyone else. Everyone else. Not a single man there. Not a single man there. But these had followed the Master, some of them, for at least a hundred miles. They followed him into Jerusalem when he made his triumphal entry, and they followed him still, standing nearby his cross. They made their way, made their way to observe what was going on. Wherever they went, they went ministering to him, ministering to him, ministering to him. Many women were there beholding afar off which follow Jesus from Galilee, ministering to them. The surest secret to faithfulness, are you listening? The surest secret to faithfulness is service. Surest, best way to persevere in faith is to persevere ministering to the monster.

They were still there at the end. Among them was Mary Magdalene. You remember her, don't you? Out of whom the Lord cast seven devils. Some say she was from Magdalene, or Magdala, the reason she was called Magdalene. Other suggestion, I think probably this is more accurate, being the place commonly known for whoredom, and Mary having been of such a reputation. She is constantly referred to as Mary Magdalene.

But this woman, who had made herself to be a woman of ill repute, had been made by God's grace to be a woman of perfect holiness before God Mary Magdalene, she was there. They to whom much is forgiven, say not much. And Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, were there. She was there. And Mary, the mother of Zebedee's children, not Mary, but Salome, the mother of Zebedee's children. This woman who had come, you remember, and said, Lord, be sure to give my two sons the favorite place in your kingdom. She had her weaknesses, and she had her sins, and she had her faults, just like you and I. But when it came to the end, she was right there with the master. She had been chosen redeemed in Calvary, and she stayed with him while he was suffering in her stand.

God make me so faithful.

Sons of peace, redeemed by blood, raise yourselves to Zion's God. Made from condemnation free, grace triumphant sing with me. Calvary's wonders let us trace. Justice magnified in grace, mark the purple streams and say, thus my sins were washed away. Wrapped divine, no more we dread. Vengeance smote our surety's head, legal claims are fully met, Jesus paid our dreadful debt. Sin has lost beneath the blood, drowned in Christ the Redeemer's blood. Zion, O how blessed art thou! justified from all things now. Amen.

Let's pray together. Help us, our Father, from the depths of our souls, truly to trust the Son of God, acknowledging our sin, and as redeemed sinners, God teaches to love him who loved us and gave himself for us. He teaches to hate our Savior and to love our Savior. We ask that you teach us to love one another as sinners redeemed by the blood of Christ, saved by the grace of God. And we ask our Father that you will be pleased to use us while we live in this world for the glory of our Redeemer.