All right, hold your place. I hope you held your place there
in Matthew 27. If not, turn back to Matthew 27. And look with me at verse 36.
Matthew 27, verse 36. This will serve, Lord willing,
this will serve as our text this morning. And sitting down, they watched him there. Who? That's my first question. Who watched? Who was there? Well, Pilate was one of those
ones who was there that day. And he was sitting. We read that
Pilate was sitting, sitting on the judgment seat. You know, it was Pilate who said
unto the people that were gathered together that day. He looked
out over that crowd and he said, whom will I release unto you? Would you have me release Barabbas
or Jesus who is called the Christ? And when he asked that question,
those that sat there, those that were there that day, they cried
out, let him be crucified. Release Barabbas and crucify
the Lord of glories. Pilate even followed up. He said,
what hath he done? And the people didn't want to
hear that. They cried out the louder and said, let him be crucified. And then they made this statement. Let his blood be on us and on
our children. You can read that if you want
to in Matthew 27, 25, but it means this. Let the responsibility, let the
punishment for his murder be upon us. Peter was there. Peter who had
denied the Lord, you remember that. Three times he denied the
Lord. Isn't that an amazing thing that
a man who shortly before had been willing to defend the Lord
to his death pulled out that sword. And now he denies the Lord. He
would later say this. You men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God by wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst
of you, as you yourselves also know. Him. Him being delivered. By the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked
hands crucified and slain. All these things going on here
in Matthew. What we're reading here in Matthew, God foreordained. God purposed. God planned. He predestinated. He willed it to happen. Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ, God in human flesh. This man approved of God. He
was delivered unto the hands of the people. Had we been there that day, he
would have been put in our hands. It was determined he would be
placed in the hands of those people. How? We just read it. By the determinant counsel and
foreknowledge of God. Every last bit of it purposed
and planned before the foundation of the world. You know what that means. It means God is God. God is who
he says he is. And he will do what he will,
when he will, with whom he will. Acts 15, 18 says, known unto
God are all his works from the beginning. From the beginning
of the world. Everyone who was there that day
at Calvary. There was no one there by accident. There was no one there by chance. And you know that truth. That
truth has not changed. Everyone here this morning. Every one of us. All those who
might be listening over the internet, all those who might hear this
message in time. That's no accident. God brought every one of us here
this morning by his providence. He did it on purpose. He did it for his purpose. You know, every now and then
there'll be a, think about this, there'll be a fly or a wasp get
in the building and it'll just kind of wander around and sometimes
it'll catch our eyes, right? You know, even the path of that
wasp or that fly, determined by Almighty God. Maybe y'all
remember that, remember that morning that dog come bursting
in here? All by God's decree. All according
to His purpose. That's truth, isn't it? It is
according to God's word. Everything God does, He does
on purpose. You can disagree with it if you
want. You can refuse to believe it if you want. but it does not
change the truth. Almighty God is absolutely sovereign. He works all things. Is that
what scripture says? Does it say some things or most
things? No, it says all things after
the counsel of his own will. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this world in the fullness of time. Now you think about this. There was no room for him. No
room in the end, was there? Him and his family, they were
put out there in a stable, out there in the barn. I imagine
it smelled awful. I imagine there was flies flying
all over the place. Christ came at the appointed
time, determined by the Father. At the same point, that star
was out there in the field, over top of where he was. That angel,
remember that angel appeared to those shepherds out in the
field? And it says there was with that
angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace. goodwill toward
men. And those shepherds, when they
heard about that, they looked at each other and they said,
let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to
pass. They didn't doubt it. They didn't
question it. They just said, let's just go
see what's come to pass, that which the Lord hath made known
unto us. Born in Bethlehem, and he walked
this earth doing what God gave him to do. Remember that when his parents
had left him behind? And they came back, and I'm sure
they were probably upset And he said this, wished you not that I must be about my father's
business. He went to the cross and he died
at the appointed time. That precise time appointed by
Almighty God. And yet scripture says this,
you did what your wicked hearts wanted to do. Everyone there
that day, they did what their wicked hearts desired to do. But listen to this. You did exactly
what God determined would be done. Almighty God delivered
him by his counsel into his hands. Who else was there? Well, we
read that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was
there. Mary Magdalene and his disciples. There were two thieves that were
there that day that hung on either side of him. One who questioned
him. At first they both questioned
him, but that one continued to question him. And he said, if
thou be the Son of God, if you're who you say you are, well then,
won't you save yourself and while you're at it, save me too. But there was another thief there,
and he rebuked him. And he said, do you not fear
God seeing that we're in the same condemnation? And we indeed
justly, we're getting what we deserve. But this man, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, this man hath done nothing amiss. And he looked at the Lord and
he said this, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And our Lord replied to him,
verily, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Throngs of people questioning
who he was. That fella knew who he was, didn't
he? He called him Lord. And then there were those soldiers
there that day, those that stripped him and put a scarlet robe on
him. They mocked him. They took a reed. They folded
up and put a reed in his hand. And they pretended to bow before
him, to bend their knee before him. And they mocked him. And they said, hail, king of
the Jews. And those soldiers, if that wasn't
enough, they spit on him. And they took that reed out of
his hand and they smote him on the head with it, put that Platted that crown of
thorns and put it on his head. And they led him away to crucify
him. And then they parted his garments
and cast lots to see who would get them. And we just read it
here in Matthew 27, 36. All these things, and then it
says, sitting down. they watched him there. What did they see? As they sat there and they watched
him, what did they see? Listen to these words from Lamentations
chapter 1 verse 12. It says this, 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, who hath
afflicted me? The Lord. The Lord hath afflicted me in
the day of his fierce anger. Is it any wonder he was known
as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief? I ask you again,
those that sat there that day, what did they see? A man unrecognizable as a result
of the punishment he endured. A man bloodied and beaten. Any sorrow? Any sorrow like his
sorrow? Years ago, there were some fellows
that broke into a house, and some of the neighbors caught
them. and didn't take kindly to them,
and they held them until the police got there. And this was
in the, I remember this being in the paper, and there were
pictures of these fellas. They were, somebody had thumped
them, lack of a better word. Their faces were swollen, and
I thought, gosh, that looks awful. Can you imagine what our Lord
must have, What does it look like with the punishment he endured? A man whose lifeblood was poured
out? A man who endured the shame and
humiliation of the cross? And all that for sins that were
not his own. Turn with me to Psalm 22. Psalm 22, this is often referred
to as the psalm of the cross. Spurgeon believed that this psalm
may have actually been the words repeated by our Lord as he hung
on the tree. Listen to just a few of these
verses, beginning with verse one. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the
daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and
am not silent, but thou art holy. O thou who inhabitest the praises
of Israel, Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted, and thou
didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were
delivered. They trusted in thee and were
not confounded. But I am a worm and no man, a
reproach of men, despised of the people. All they that see
me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They
shake the head, saying, he trusted the Lord. He trusted the Lord
that he would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he
delighted in him. But thou art he that took me
out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my mother's
belly. Be not far from me. Trouble is
near, but there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me,
surrounded me. Strong bulls of bashing have
beset me around. They gaped upon me with their
mouths, and as ravening in a roaring lion, I'm poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax. It's melted in the midst of my
boughs. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue
cleaveth to my jaws. Thou hast brought me into the
dust of death. For dogs have compassed me. The
assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They've pierced my hands
and my feet. I may tell all my bones. They
look and stare upon me as they sat there, as they looked
upon Him. What did they see? There on the
cross hangs the Son of God, forsaken of God. God, forsaken God. We can't even enter into that,
can we? Why would God forsake His Son at such a time? There
was no cause of death in Him. Then why was He forsaken? Because as He hung on that cross,
He hung on the cross as a substitute for His people. That punishment that we deserved,
he endured. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bore our sins in his own body. He endured our death, our judgment,
our hell. And for a time, he was separated. separated from the Father, separated
from God. I ask you again, what did they
see? Were there some who could see
the Lord Jesus Christ enduring every cruelty, every scorn, every
insult, Not only did He bear the wrath
of man, but there as He hung on the cross,
He endured the wrath of His Father for sin. The contempt of man
and the justice of Almighty God. If you look back at verse 11
there of Psalm 22, you'll see the Savior, listen, alone. See that? There was none to help. I've heard men say, if I'd have
been there, I'd have stood up and done, you'd have stood up
and done nothing. You'd have been throwing rocks
and cursing, and we all would have. None to help. None could and none would help. None to help. He tread the winepress
alone. He by himself purged our sins. But as a man, he must have divine
help. Our Lord is the lamb slain from
before the foundation of the world. He must die. Almighty God has a people, a people that the Lord prays
for. Our Lord has all power, but as
our substitute, he prays for the divine presence of his Father. What did they see? Behold a man
suffering like no man ever has or ever will. I imagine everyone
in here has seen someone suffer at some time. Watched men and women endure
great pain, and you think to yourself, how could they endure
Such great pain, such great suffering. But there is none, none that has ever suffered like, none who ever will suffer like
the Lord Jesus Christ did. His condition, His suffering,
the greatest Agony and suffering known to man for sin. He suffered for sin. Turn to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, look at verse 10.
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief,
and 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 of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied." Almighty God, his justice, his
wrath, satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. His death on the cross, an indescribable
agony. He was utterly spent like water
poured out on the ground. We read that the pain of his
heart, he melted like wax in the heat. Imagine if we just
put a little wax out there on the parking lot today. How quickly
would that just melt? His strength dried up, his tongue
swollen with thirst, and then those nails driven through his
hands and feet. And he was stretched out on the
cross. Those bones just pulled against each other. You could
just see nothing but his bones pulled out of the joint. And before I go to the next point,
I'd ask you to consider this. Think about this. In all this agony, in all this
suffering, Listen to his prayer. Listen to what he said as he
looked out over that crowd of mocking people, that crowd of
wicked people that had nailed him to the tree. And what did
he say? Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do. Sitting down. They watched Him. I ask you this morning, do you
see Him? Do you see Him? Better yet, what
think ye of Christ? What think ye of Him? You know, there are many that They think much of doctrine,
they think much of family name, of lineage, of their denomination,
their church, their pastor, whatever it might be. But listen, none
of those things can save a man. None but Christ. Paul wrote, none of these things
move me. Neither can I my own life dear
to myself that I may finish the course with joy and the ministry
which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify of the
gospel of the grace of God. That which was promised, that
which was prophesied in the Old Testament, it was fulfilled on
the cross. Acts 26, 23 says this, that Christ
should suffer and that he should be first to rise from the dead,
a light unto the people and unto the Gentiles. This scripture,
this word, this gospel, it's about him. It's all about him. What think ye of Christ? You know, Paul said those things
to Agrippa, and Agrippa said, almost, almost, thou persuadest
me to be a Christian. I ask you this, the Passover.
I think everybody's familiar with the Passover. Remember that
when God said, I'm going to pass through in judgment? You go slay
a lamb. You put that blood on the door. What mattered? What mattered? It didn't matter
what kind of bucket they caught the blood in or what kind of
knife they used to cut that lamb's throat. The blood. The blood. It's the blood that
makes atonement for the soul. Nothing. Nothing but the blood. Turn with me to Galatians chapter 6. Galatians 6. What matters? Look at verse 14. Galatians 6 verse 14. But God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Shouldn't that be our chief glory? To delight to rejoice in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not myself, not my works, not
even anything that God is pleased to do through a man, but Christ. Christ and Christ alone. Not in the wood, of that cross, but in the person, that one who
suffered on that tree, and the effect of his obedience and his
sacrifice, Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, our wisdom, our righteousness,
our sanctification, and our redemption. Scripture says he gave his life
a ransom. What have we given? He gave himself. I want to hear
that. He gave himself. What do any of us have to offer
in light of that? God forbid that I should glory
in anything, in anything Saved in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Sitting down, they watched him. There was much to see that day.
Much to see. But I pray we would not leave
here this morning not without seeing These three things. Man's sin. Man's sin. And I don't mean just
man's depravity and wickedness, which was on display that day,
and every day for that matter. But sin. God's word says the wages of
sin is death. And that sin, it was laid on
the Lord Jesus Christ and He suffered once for it. He suffered
once for sin, the just for the unjust. It was there on that
cross that Christ was made sin. Made sin. He bore our sins, the
sins of His elect. He bore our sins in His body
on the tree. And when that sin was found on
Him, when that sin was found on the Son of God, found on my Savior, Almighty
God slew Him. He was wounded. for our transgressions. He was
bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. But listen to this, by his stripes,
we, we are healed. Next, God's purpose. Can you see God's purpose? God's purpose in saving sinners. That cross, huh? The Lord Jesus
Christ nailed to the cross was the eternal purpose of God. Him being nailed to the cross It was known before the creation
of this world. In Revelations 13 verse 8 we
read, He's the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the
world. Before this creation existed,
before there was any matter, before there were stars, before
there was anything apart from God. God the Father, God the
Spirit, God the Son. Christ was the lamb slain. Jesus Christ came into this world for this
purpose, to save sinners. Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the scriptures. And then last, we see Christ's love. The love of God, the love of
Christ. Scripture says God so loved that
he gave. Consider this prayer. Could anything
short of love explain the words of our savior. Father, forgive them. Forgive them for they know not
what they do. He laid down his life for his sheep. And listen to
these words from the book of John. Greater love. greater love has
no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Sitting down, they watched him. Oh, I pray the Lord would enable
us to see him, to see him on the cross, to see our sin, to
see his purpose, to see his love. And one day, one glorious day
to see him exalted. Almighty, sovereign. He's Lord
and he's gonna, listen, he's gonna do with his people what
he will. I ask you, do you believe these
things to be true? I was reading an article from Brother Henry
the other day and he said this. If Jesus Christ is exalted at
God's right hand, If he's been brought from dead and ascended
to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, equal with
the Father. If he's been seated at the right
hand of God, the place of acceptance, of power, of authority, and love. Boy, if we can see that, everything
else about him should be pretty easy to believe, shouldn't it?
All right, Isaac, come lead us in a closing hymn. Yeah.