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you you welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god you can turn with me to the prophet isaiah isaiah chapter 53. isaiah 53 i'll begin reading in verse 1. who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he has no form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we did not esteem him surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by god and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone 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 he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before it shears is silent so he opened not his mouth he was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people he was stricken and they made his grave with the wicked but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth yet it pleased the lord to bruise him he has put him to grief when you 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 labor of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities therefore i will divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to psalm 23 psalm 23 be as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together through is [Music] oh [Music] yes [Music] foreign well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for this opportunity to gather again tonight in your house we thank you for the lord's day sabbath we thank you for this foretaste of heaven we thank you for your many blessings and your graces that you bestow upon us and we praise you for your glory and your majesty and your power we confess that you are most high we confess that you are father son and holy spirit one glorious god and three persons and we just want to honor you tonight as we gather for worship as well we come to consider in a particular way the the death of the the lord jesus christ on our behalf we give praise to you for the gospel of our salvation and as we read in the prophet isaiah we see what the mission the ministry of our savior entailed and as we read the gospel accounts in the new testament commentary it truly amazes us to see what lengths the son of god went to in order to save us from our sins so god help us by the presence and power of your holy spirit to worship and to praise you all right may we approach you with fear with thanksgiving and with great joy and and rejoicing in the presence of our great god we asked he would strengthen and encourage each of our hearts she would build us up in our most holy faith that you would deal kindly with us lord god and as we ponder these great truths may it affect us when we leave this place to live in light of this gospel as the apostle says we are to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel so god strengthen our faith and confirm us and and enable us by grace to go forward in the fear of the lord and in the comfort of the holy spirit we confess our sins to you tonight we ask for your mercy and for the forgiveness that we get or that we receive from the blood of the lord jesus christ wash us now and purify us now and help us lord god to know the blessing of a clear conscience before thrice holy god as well we pray that others would know this that others would hear the great sound of the gospel of jesus christ and by grace they would believe on him that they would know the joy of life eternal in christ god we pray that for those who attend this local body those who perhaps tune in online we pray that for others in this city and throughout this nation we pray that your gospel would go forth as we read this morning in the prophet isaiah the knowledge of the lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and this is a great encouragement and ought to provide great hope for the people of god in their witness and in their praying and as well with reference to the proclamation that goes forth each and every sunday from christian pulpits we have every reason to expect great things from god and to hope in you most high for your glory for your honor and for the building up of the church of the lord jesus christ on earth we thank you for your graces to us as a local body we thank you for the obvious blessing upon the church in surrey we are so encouraged to read the recent report by our brother and we pray god that this would be just the beginning of of great things in that community as well our father we look with anticipation with reference to the work in vernon and god we pray that you would guide us and direct us in all things she would bless our brother ryan as he studies and as he prepares and we pray that if it is your will he would be set apart and that would be a place where he could labor in the word and doctrine as well god we pray for that church plant in northern ontario we give praise to you for what you're doing in that little town of dryden and we asked god in heaven that you would continue to bless that you would continue to use the the gospel for the glory of god in that part of the world and for the salvation of sinners and the edification of the saints and we long to see a faithful church established there and ye god throughout this nation we see the necessity for faithful churches for those who engage in what scripture calls us to and god we pray that in this you would be merciful as well we pray for the situation facing our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world grieved us to read this week concerning peter and myanmar who's gotten the virus we just commit him to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would bless him and give him health and strength continue to watch over him and the work there bless and secure that compound and we pray that there would be resolution to the various things going on in that nation as well our father we pray for the works in china we thank you for the underground church there for their willingness god to to meet in secret for their willingness to to hold fast to the truth of god's holy word and we pray that you would continue to bless and watch over them look with favor on those who are presently in prison and god we pray that you would cause the work to prosper in that land as well our father we know that there is great suffering among the people of god in the various nations steeped in islam we know for nigeria we know god for for various places on the map that there are the people of god's suffering because they identify publicly with our lord jesus christ god be gracious to them we think of that young woman leah we pray that ultimately she would be released that she would continue to stand fast and maintain her faith in the lord jesus and that she would not recant even under great pressure and under great threat god what an encouragement it is to see the people of god taking up their cross daily and following you being willing to follow the lamb wherever he bids them god in heaven may that be our experience here and may you strengthen us with might and the inner man so that christ may dwell richly in our hearts through faith and that we may indeed serve you as is fitting for such a great and glorious god thank you for this opportunity to approach you bless this time of public worship and be glorified in our midst and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 349. hymn number 349 will stand as we sing together so foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign you can turn to matthew's gospel we're in chapter 27 we've been moving through the passion narrative in matthew's gospel for our lord's supper services tonight our focus is on verses 32 to 38. but i'll begin reading in matthew 27 at verse 32 and i'll read to verse 54. now as they came out they found a man of cyrene simon by name him they compelled to bear his cross and when they had come to a place called golgotha that is to say place of a skull they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink but when he had tasted it he would not drink then they crucified him and divided his garments casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet they divided my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots sitting down they kept watch over him there and they put up over his head the accusation written against him this is jesus the king of the jews then two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and another on the left and those who passed by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying you who destroy the temple and build it in three days save yourself if you are the son of god come down from the cross likewise the chief priests also mocking what the scribes and elders said he saved others himself he cannot save if he is the king of israel let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him he trusted in god let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said i am the son of god even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land and about the ninth hour jesus cried out with a loud voice saying eli eli lama sabachthani that is my god my god why have you forsaken me some of those who stood there when they heard that said this man is calling for elijah immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink the rest said let him alone let us see if elijah will come to save him and jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit then behold the veil of the temple was torn into and from top to bottom and the earth quaked and the rocks were split and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many so when the centurion and those with him who were guarding jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened they feared greatly saying truly this was the son of god amen let us pray our father we come to holy ground and we pray for the holy spirit to guide us and to lead us and to direct us as we ponder as we meditate as we consider the the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ we know that this was the greatest travesty in terms of justice on the man-word side that ever has been he was without sin he was without crime and nevertheless he was executed but as we read in the prophet it pleased yahweh to bruise him we know that this was the predetermined plan of god most high that the son the surety of the covenant would take upon himself the obligations that his people had that he would take upon himself their sin and ultimately be punished in their place god what a glorious truth this is and what a blessed reality that you've included us in this redemptive plan forgive us now for all of our sins wash us in that blood of christ and cause us to feast upon your holy scripture and we ask in jesus name amen well the section i read deals with the crucifixion of jesus christ notice in verses 32 to 38 we have the crucifixion proper in verses 45 to 54 the mockery of jesus while he is on the cross i'm sorry 39 uh 39-44 we have the death of jesus in 45 to 54 and i think the apostle was right on in hebrews 12 2 he says looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame so in verses 32 to 38 we highlight or we see highlighted the visible shame and then in verses 39 to 44 we see the verbal shame so there was this violence perpetrated upon the son of god but it was accompanied by mockery just like the soldiers mistreated him not only with physical pain but also with mockery so do the children or rather the people of israel so i want to look at this section verses 32 to 38 under two broad considerations first the uh way to the crucifixion in verses 32 to 34 and then secondly the act of crucifixion in verses 35 to 38. so we're going to just slowly move through each of these verses to see and bear see the meaning and hopefully encourage our own hearts with reference to the savior's love on our behalf so three things specifically with the way to the crucifixion we note first the bearing of the cross verse 32 secondly the location of the crucifixion in verse 33 and then this offer of the drink in verse 34. seems a bit enigmatic to us seems a bit puzzling but it was a fulfillment of scripture and it was the common practice at that time but notice with reference to the bearing of the cross verse 32 says now now as they came out the idea is not that they've come out of the praetorium where a pilot heard the case and where pilot sort of made his uh uh determination concerning the execution but rather they came out of the city executions occurred outside the city walls the idea being that the blood of the criminal would defile the holy city and they certainly did not want that in the old testament for instance when the blasphemer was to be stoned to death he was to be driven outside of the city remember in that situation in acts chapter 7 when they undertake to get rid of stephen they do the same thing they drive him outside of the city but perhaps the most pointed commentary on this is found in hebrews chapter 13. it does reflect the custom in the old testament of taking the victim's ashes outside the camp and in hebrews 13 at verse 11 or verse 10 we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat for the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp therefore jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate so this was purposeful this was in accordance with the law this was in accordance with what god had determined now notice that the lord carries the cross beam to the gate of the city now the vertical pole was already at the execution site so the victim or rather the criminal would have sort of the horizontal beam and it would be his responsibility to carry that to the execution site this accords with the greek historian plutarch he said each criminal as a part of his punishment carries his cross on his back so he takes that to the site and then when he gets there the condemned criminal bore it on his shoulders to the place of execution where the upright beam of the gibbet you've probably seen that word before it simply means the upright or vertical beam was already fastened in the ground the victim was then made to lie on his back on the ground where his arms were stretched out and either tied or nailed to the cross member the cross member was then hoisted up along with the victim and fastened to the vertical beam now i'm going to make the point in a few moments that the gospel writers don't do what so many in the history of the church have done they celebrate the physical torture of our lord jesus or if not celebrate actually highlight it and and and rehearse it in great and vivid deep detail the gospel writers don't do that but nevertheless it is helpful and important for us to understand christ according to his humanity what he went through on our behalf not in some stations of the cross in a roman catholic sort of a situation but to have at least a general idea of the significance of crucifixion notice as well that the soldiers compel simon to carry the crossbeam most likely that was due to the sleep deprivation of our lord again he is truly man he got tired like we would get tired he got thirsty like we would get thirsty he got hungry like we would get hungry true humanity everything that is true of us was true of him except of course the sin and so jesus had been sleep deprived remember he's up all night all thursday night all morning early uh all morning early friday morning he's before the sanhedrin and then about six or seven in the morning they take him over to pilate so he had had no sleep he had already been scourged by this time and he had been physically abused by these soldiers as well so they compelled this man simon to carry the crossbeam at least for a while now cyrene notice in the text they found a man of cyrene simon by name cyrene was a greek city on the coast of north africa africa in what is today libya with a jewish population it's referred to in acts 2 and as well in acts 6 mark 15 21 refers to his sons as alexander and rufus which may indicate that they were known by the christian community in fact in romans 16 13 as paul is sending his greetings there is a particular fellow there by the name of rufus now france makes this observation i think it's fitting he says jesus known disciples whom he had earlier told to be ready to carry the their own cross after him he says that in chapter 10 he says that in chapter 16 we're nowhere to be seen now that the moment for literal obedience to the demand had come remember that the disciples had departed from him jesus is all alone there's no outward support there's no humanity there's no assistance there's no friend going with him to the very final point it's christ and christ alone doing what he does for the salvation of his people so the bearing of the cross then leads secondly to the location of the crucifixion notice in verse 33 and when they had come to a place called golgotha that is to say place of a skull now the parallel in luke's gospel at 23 20 33 it simply says skull if you're using the new king james bible it's translated there as calvary well that reflects the latin word for skull which is calva and so in luke's gospel it simply refers to the place called skull here it says specifically the place of a skull translating what golgotha means and it was probably called that because of its topography it may have looked like the place of a skull as well its use it was the place of execution so that would be a fitting and appropriate thing to identify it as but i think a careful reading of the passage what we spoke of this morning in the sunday school hour not just the analogy of scripture but the analogy of faith ought to intimate or indicate something we know about the messiah and skulls in genesis chapter 3 at verse 15 the first announcement of the gospel is given god says to the serpent i will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel so it is quite fitting and appropriate that at the place of the skull jesus is going to deal the death blow to the devil himself and so this place of execution is specifically notorious in terms of the historical context but it's also something that reeks of or smacks of or is reminiscent of a whole great deal of biblical uh revelation now you've got to remember after god gives that promise in genesis chapter 3 there's a lot of enemies of god that meet their end with fatal head wounds there are a lot of enemies of god as you trace through the old testament that meet their end with fatal head wounds david cut goliath's head off that is the tip uh typology of the skull crushing seed of the woman you have jail take that tempeh and drive it through the head of sisera that man who was coming to do great damage to the people of israel you had that woman up in the tower who throws that big stone off and it deals a death blow to the man abimelech you see reminiscence of this or allusions to this all throughout the old testament and so this is not a stretch it's not allegorical it makes perfect sense in light of that first promise concerning the mission of the messiah that he would be crucified at the place of the skull now notice thirdly under the way to the crucifixion the offer of the drink in verse 34 it says they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink but when he had tasted it he would not drink now again this was a compassionate practice during execution jewish writings tell us this when one is led out to execution he is given a goblet of wine containing a grain of frankincense in order to be numb his senses for it is written give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish and whine unto the bitter of soul it is written in the proverbs and so they understood that particularly with reference to this and it does underscore the reality that at least to some degree when the jews crucified or rather executed people in their society they showed a degree of compassion but that compassion is gone now that compassion is nowhere to be found the they the subject of the verb the ones giving him the drink were the soldiers there were four in total that actually administered the crucifixion to our lord jesus we learned that from the parallel in john 19. notice that jesus refuses this what the emphasis suggests is that this was in fact nasty they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink this basically means a substance with an unpleasant taste something bitter something gawling so jesus refuses their prefers perverse attempt at compassion he'd rather not have that but as well if you listen to the definition or you listen to the particular costume it was to be numb the senses it was an act of compassion not just to satiate the desire for thirst but to numb him to some degree so that the horrors of crucifixion wouldn't be as acute jesus refuses that jesus does not opt for that jesus rather takes the very wrath of god and the wrath of man unto himself but as i mentioned earlier there is a scriptural illusion while it's not given a fulfillment formula here we have psalms 69 21. they also gave me golf for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink france says the illusion to psalm 69 identifies jesus as the righteous sufferer who in that psalm is ill-treated because of his loyalty to god and that's something conspicuous as you move through each of the gospel records matthew mark luke and john one of the things that they take pains to demonstrate is that this was in fact a fulfillment of the scripture you're not supposed to ever think well this was a plan b you're not supposed to ever think that jesus somehow failed and this is the alternative you're not supposed to ever think that jesus came and offered the kingdom to the jews and the jews refused it and so jesus turned his attention to the gentiles you're not supposed to think that there was never a plan b in the mind of god everything that jesus does in terms of his life his suffering his death his resurrection had been prophesied after the giving of the first gospel promise in genesis 3 15 you see that built upon you see it amplified you see it explicated you see it applied to the coming messiah and so the lord jesus christ has not engaged in an afterthought rather the lord jesus christ is fulfilling scripture every jot and title now notice secondly by way of a broad observation the act of crucifixion and here we have five points first the act of crucifixion proper verse 35a secondly the division of the garments in 35b the observation of the guards in verse 36 the charge above his head in verse 37 and then the company of criminals in verse 38. again all of these things have their taproot in the old testament scriptures but notice the act of crucifixion verse 35 a then they crucified him that's it they don't get into a celebration or a rehearsal of every jot and tittle of the physical torment perpetrated against our lord jesus christ again france makes the observation the over attempts to draw out the physical horror of crucifixion which disfigures some christian preaching and at least one recent movie the movie he's referring to at the time that he wrote his commentary would have been the passion of the christ directed by mel gibson so he says the over-enthusiastic attempts to draw out the physical of crucifixion which disfigure some christian preaching and at least one recent movie find no echo in the gospels perhaps the original readers were too familiar with both the torture and the shame of crucifixion to need any help in envisaging what it really meant when you watch or rather think through these things again if you were not brought up roman catholic you don't understand this point they do celebrate it they do rehearse every jot and tittle every step of the way every bit of the nitty-gritty that's not what the gospel writers do ritterboss hermann ritter boss makes the similar observation the new testament has no trace of any passion mysticism oriented to the physical torture of jesus now having said all that it is imperative that we at least scratch the surface and understand what is involved in crucifixion remember true humanity true divinity one person two glorious natures well according to his humanity christ suffered and christ suffered severely and i'll let d.a carson describe for us what crucifixion in the first century looked like he said in the ancient world this most terrible of punishments is always associated with shame and horror it was so brutal that no roman citizen could be crucified without the sanction of the emperor you see that it was so bad that you could not be crucified if you were a roman citizen at the command of the emperor unless you were especially notorious it was typically reserved for revolutionaries it was typically reserved for insurrectionists it was typically reserved for traitors to the civil state that's the way you crush the opposition again back to carson he says stripped naked and beaten to pulpy weakness the victim could hang in the hot sun for hours even days to breathe it was necessary to push with the legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity open and functioning terrible muscle muscle spasm wracked the entire body but since collapse meant asphyxiation the strain went on and on this is also why the seducula that's little piece of wood that you see at the feet i mean you know we've we've seen the art we've seen the pictures to be sure but when they hung a man they had a little block of wood so that he could find purchase on that and prolong his suffering see asphyxiation meant you would basically strangle you would you would die of no air intake no oxygen but that little block of wood kept you fighting it kept you in the fight it kept you you know pushing upward and and still getting gasps of air into your body he says this is also why the sudecula prolonged life and agony it partially supported the body's weight and therefore encouraged the victim to fight on so that's why when it comes time to determine whether the subject was dead or not if he wasn't they would break his legs they would break his legs in order to hasten his death because he would no longer be able to fight but of course when they come to the savior they recognize that he's already dead so they don't have to break his legs again that is in fulfillment of the old testament scriptures now notice secondly in terms of the division of his garments verse 35 be then they crucified him this is again the roman soldiers and divided his garments casting lots now if you're using a non-king james tradition bible the rest of verse 35 is not present verse 35 in the king james tradition says that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet they divided my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots now that is the fulfillment formula while absent in the modern translations based on a particular particular text type it is present in john 19. so again this is fulfillment of scripture but let's look at it for a moment then they crucified him verse 35 and divided his garments what does that mean it means he's naked on the cross it means that it's not just the physical abuse and the torment but it's the shame who despising the shame the apostle says in hebrews chapter 12 at verse 2. when it comes to the crucifixion again we don't celebrate it with the nations on the cross but we must understand what happened in order to appreciate even more fully the savior's work on our behalf so the division of his clothes necessarily implies that christ is naked on the cross the division and and that was the common practice that's the way they did it and until in addition to that the division of his clothes was a perk for the roman soldiers they each got a portion of the clothing now we know there were four of them because in john's gospel it says that the the the garment was separated into four and they were given each to to a soldier and so this was a perk again the common custom at that time but matthew's per particular purpose john's particular purpose is to show us that this is a fulfillment of psalm 22. now as far as psalm 22 goes psalm 22 was written several hundred years before the crucifixion of our savior notice that it was written about the crucifixion of our savior at that particular time there was no roman empire at that particular time as far as we know there was no practice of crucifixion in israel and nevertheless david by inspiration of the holy spirit writes concerning his greater son that he will be crucified that he will be hung on a cross not in those terms but in that concept or in those themes he presents that material several hundred years before it comes to pass now notice thirdly the observation of the guards two things we ought to appreciate here first there's a contrast and secondly matthew might have an apologetic mindset notice the contrast in verse 36 sitting down they kept watch over him there sitting down he's suffering he's tormented he's naked he's the subject of mockery and brutality he is the subject of the grossest form of punishment that the world has ever known and these guards sit down there is a contrast between the suffering of the son of man and the comfort of the non-sons of men the rather or rather the soldiers that were just doing their or having their late leisure but notice what matthew says they kept watch over him there i believe that to be an apologetic thrust why because there have been those who have suggested that jesus really didn't die on the cross that his disciples came and they pulled him down from there and they shimmied him off and there he recovered and there he went about doing things and it was ascribed to him that he had been raised from the dead that can't fly in light of a passage where guards whose job it was to make sure that very thing didn't happen were sitting and watching and observing the whole entire situation the soldiers guard the scene there was no exchange of jesus with someone else there was no removal of jesus from the cross prior to his death there was nothing out of the ordinary in this execution as far as the guards were concerned they put him on the cross they'd divide his garments they then sit down and there they supervised the seed there was no monkey business this was an ordinary crucifixion everything went according to plan not just in uh in terms of the divine plan but in terms of man's plan that was what they did if these four men supervise the execution you better believe they had done it before they were good at it this was their job this was their task this was their assignment and so here they sit they guard the scene and nothing out of the ordinary transpires carson says perhaps matthew gives us this detail to eliminate any suggestion that jesus was removed from the cross without dying but as well there is this allusion to psalm 22 17. i can count all my bones they look and stare at me so even when one of these authors don't give us the exact fulfillment formula when one of these authors don't say this is what was spoken in the prophet whoever that doesn't mean there's not illusion that doesn't mean we're not supposed to think theologically in terms of genesis to revelation that doesn't mean we're not supposed to consider the implications of psalm 22 and it's teased out and fleshed out in other parts of the passion narrative now notice fourthly the charge above his head they put up over his head the accusation written against him now they would do this as a deterrent they would do this as a means of publishing to the body politic if you do what he did you're gonna get what he got so there was a reason that the charge was placed overhead there was a reason that the charge was published it was to hopefully de-incentivize anybody from ever going that particular route and so again common custom that obtained at that particular time as well notice the taunting effect that this would have had both on jesus the supposed criminal and as well the jews themselves this is jesus the king of the jews france says placed over a man dying in agony and disgrace it was both a cruel joke and a powerful deterrent matthew poole the 17th century commentator says there was nothing more pleasing to pilate than this as he thought to deride the jews as having such a despicable person as he judges him their king so it was a dig at jesus and it was a dig at the jews and it was a deterrent for the body politic that they themselves should never make a claim to kingship in that empire but one of the things that happens in the gospel narratives one of the things that happens is a fulfillment of psalm 76 in psalm 76 the psalmist says that the wrath or even the wrath of man shall praise you there are instances and times where the enemies of christ speak much better than they know for instance in luke's gospel chapter 15 when all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to hear jesus the scribes and the pharisees they complain they murmur they grumble and they say this man receives sinners and eats with them that was meant as a derision that was meant as an insult but for those of us who have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to receive we rejoice in that we bless god that this man receives sinners and eats with them there's another instance look at john chapter 11. john chapter 11 just underscoring that at times the enemies of christ spoke better than they knew john chapter 11 they're wondering this is pre-cross pre-crucifixion what are we going to do with jesus so in 1145 then many of the jews who had come to uh who had come to mary and had seen the things jesus did believed in him but some of them went away to the pharisees and told them the things jesus did then the chief priests and the pharisees gathered a council and said what shall we do for this man works many signs if we let him alone like this everyone will believe in him and the romans will come and take away both our place and nation and one of them caiaphas being high priest that year said to them you know nothing at all nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish now those of us who love the doctrine of substitutionary atonement we do one of these at this point we're very thankful that that is what caiaphas says concerning the lord it was expedient especially for guilty vile helpless sinners like us that the one would die for us caiaphas isn't speaking in terms of a positive commendation of substitutionary atonement notice in verse 51 now this he did not say on his own but being high priest that year he prophesied that jesus would die for the nation and not for that nation only but also that he would gather together in one the children of god who were scattered abroad here was an enemy of christ who spoke much better than he knew so going back to matthew chapter 27 at verse 37 and they put up over his head the accusation written against him this is jesus the king of the jews there is a universal testimony here both in luke and in john it indicates that this was published in greek hebrew and latin so every language at that time in that region not at that time but in that region was able to see the charge specified as well pilate insisted upon this in john's gospel in chapter 19 around 20 to 22 the jews say oh no write this is the king of the jews say that he claimed to have been the king of the jews and pilate insists what i've written i have written and then as well it's an accurate testimony this is jesus the king of the jews again not meant as a commendation of his life death and resurrection not meant as a commendation of his gospel not meant as a commendation of his mission meant rather in derision meant rather as a deterrent meant rather as a mockery against him and against the jews but nevertheless even the wrath of man shall praise you matthew henry said so pilate instead of accusing christ as a criminal proclaims him a king and that three times in three inscriptions thus god makes men to serve his purposes quite beyond their own another thing that you see as you move through the passion narrative yes the fulfillment of scripture but always and constantly the sovereignty of god it wasn't like this was a glitch in the system it wasn't like for this time frame for this horrid and wretched day it was as it were god left the throne and man went to went to to seed in terms of just how wicked and how bad he is no god's sovereignty is conspicuous all throughout this uh uh event and then notice finally the company of criminals verse 38 then two robbers were crucified with them one on the right and another on the left if you would have seen that who would you have thought was the most notorious of that probably the one in the center probably the one in the center which would have been barabbas if the jews had not said give us barabbas and when pilate says what shall i do with jesus your king they said away with him away with him crucify him there was going to be three crucifixions that day these two robbers on the other either side of jesus robbers i think i've explained before isn't just somebody who deprives another person of their goods that would not have been a capital offense that would not have been a a crucifixion offense they were insurrectionists they were traitors along with uh uh barabbas they were probably trying to overthrow the empire there was that vain there was that spirit at that particular time so these are two bad dudes but the one in the middle you would conclude was the ringleader you would conclude that he was the worst of the bunch calvin says that this underscores further the indignity inflicted upon the son of god he says for they assigned him the most prominent place as if it had been as if he had been rather the prince of robbers and then this again fulfills scripture the two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and another on the left again no fulfillment formula mark has fulfillment formula but the particular text is isaiah 53. we read that at the outset because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors so brethren as we walk through the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ we understand that it was horrific it was horrendous it was such a punishment that a roman citizen without the special permission of the emperor could not receive this as their punishment christ had never done anything the apostle celebrates that in hebrews chapter 7. he was holy harmless and undefiled this is the length to which he went in order to save us from our sins we don't like it when somebody doesn't smile at us we don't like it when somebody doesn't treat us with the dignity and the respect that we feel is owed to us we don't like it when there's a bit of shame in our life look at what christ went through on behalf of guilty people like us it truly is amazing and should underscore to us how important it is that we worship and we glorify and we honor him some concluding thoughts in the first place the testimony of pontius pilate he's a wretch we dealt with him as a wretch as we move through the passion narrative he wasn't a minister of christ he wasn't set apart by the church he wasn't one identified and qualified and given the spirit but nevertheless pilate testified truly concerning our lord jesus he confessed three times the guiltlessness of the savior at the time of the trial and here in hebrew greek and latin he publishes the truth that this is the king of the jews the testimony of pilate he spoke better than he knew secondly the triumph of the skull crushing seed of the woman the promise made as i've already rehearsed i will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel i think it's good for us to rehearse this once again this is pivotal in redemptive history the identity of the seed of the woman there's a collective sense all of the people of the uh of god but there is one identifiable seed galatians 3 16 it is jesus the nature of the seed he will be born of a woman he will be a man the redeemer the victor the one who brings triumph to his people isn't an angelic being rather clothed with our humanity he comes he lives he dies he's raised again and then the victory of the seed he crushes the head of the serpent that was prophesied in genesis chapter 3 at verse 15. it's furthered along typologically with the death of the enemies of god all throughout the old testament it comes to fruition at the place of the skull wherein christ deals the death blow to the devil john 12 31 affirms that reading acts 26 verse 18 affirms that understanding colossians 1 13 colossians 2 15. hebrews chapter 2 at verse 14. first john chapter 3 verse 8 revelation chapter 12 revelation chapter 20 we have the skull crushing seed of the woman who delivers the death blow through his death at the cross and then in that prophecy in genesis chapter 3 15 there's even an illusion to the crucifixion again not detailed the way we get it here in matthew's gospel but notice what the text says i will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head he shall crush your head he shall destroy you that's the prophecy but then notice and you shall bruise his heel it's a comparative statement the head of the serpent is going to be crushed the heel of the savior is going to be bruised so we see or can conclude or infer that it will come through suffering that this deliverer will render the death blow but where does a serpent typically bite the serpent typically bites at the heel and the particular serpent in view was most likely a venomous and poisonous serpent listen to middle michael reilneck he says since in the context the temper tempter has taken the form of a serpent it is likely that the tempter's blow would be equated with a serpent's bite and in the case of this animal the gen the hebrew generally uses it to speak of a venomous and lethal snake most likely therefore the text is speaking of two comparable death blows the future redeemer will strike the head of the temper tempt her and thereby kill it and at the same time the tempter will strike the heel of the redeemer and kill him so genesis 3 15 the proto-gospel contains in seed form all that the rest of the scripture is going to amplify and apply to our lord jesus christ that he would be the seed of abraham that he would be a man born of a woman that he would render full and decisive victory for the people of god in conquering the devil and that he would do that through his own suffering and his death so genesis 3 15 foundational to biblical revelation and we see some practical fulfillment here that christ is crucified at the place of the skull and then finally the immeasurable love of the savior the immeasurable love of the savior you see that very clearly in the passion in the first place he was stripped naked so that we might be clothed with his righteousness he was stripped naked so that you and i might be clothed with his righteousness calvin says for the evangelists exhibit to us the son of god stripped of his garments in order to inform us that by this nakedness we have obtained those riches which make us honorable in the presence of god secondly he was numbered among the transgressors that we might be received in glory brethren if you think biblically for oh about a half a second you will see that's what you deserve that's what i deserve my sin your sin against a holy god we should be publicly shamed we should be publicly vilified we should be publicly crucified for our crimes against the majesty of god but christ takes our place that's the beauty of substitutionary atonement the righteous one suffers for the unrighteous many caiaphas was right it is expedient that one dies for the nation only he didn't mean it the way the prophet isaiah does in isaiah 53. so he's numbered with the transgressors so that we might be received in glory and then thirdly he was crucified that we might have everlasting life matthew henry says and when we behold what manner of death he died let us in that behold with what manner of love he loved us when we behold the manner in which he died let us behold in that the manner of what love with which he loved us that my brothers and sisters is a great exhibition of the love of christ for his people the altogether lovely one the chief among ten thousand went to these lengths in order to save us from our sins well let us pray our father thank you for your word thank you for its clarity concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of jesus thank you for these fulfillment passages that indicate and show us the consistent testimony of holy scripture that sets forth the scope of the whole that demonstrates that it's god's glory and the salvation of sinners by jesus christ and lord thank you again for including us in this plan thank you for your mercy and for your grace thank you that tonight as we come to this supper we proclaim the lord's death until he comes thank you for this privilege thank you for the the blessed uh the spiritual blessings that you have conveyed upon us and god continue with us now we pray in jesus name amen we can turn back to matthew chapter 26 as we transition into the lord's supper just want to make a few observations while you're turning there in the first place as we often mention the ordinance is for believers it's not for unbelievers if you are not a confessing professing christian tonight then please do not take that's not meant to hurt or make anybody upset or anything like that but it is an in-house ordinance it is for the people of god almighty secondly the ordinance of the supper is for believers who are by god's grace seeking to deal with their sin in an appropriate manner first corinthians 11 the apostle paul has to chide the church in corinth and basically tells them that what they were doing was not observing the lord's table because while they were professedly observing the lord's table they were living in disharmony they had a lack of unity they had a situation where people who had a lot of food and a lot of drink were eating to the point of gluttony and drinking to the point of drunkenness and the poor among them had nothing so paul reproves them and paul uh cautions them and paul exhorts them to examine themselves and in the examination of ourselves it's not sin less perfection because we'd never be able to take it is rather the people of god seeking by the grace of god to maintain short accounts with god and with god's people so we are seeking by his grace to live in a manner consistent with our gospel calling thirdly the elements of the supper are not changed they are moved from normal use into sacred use but they do not become something other they are emblems they are visible tokens they are symbols of the body of our lord and of the blood of our lord but the roman catholic church teaches they are actually changed into and as a result of them having been changed into then there is a a re-sacrifice of atonement our confession calls that blasphemous and it is it's repugnant not only to scripture but to common sense you don't have a priest who has the ability as some have said with more power than god at that particular moment to change these things into the actual body and blood of jesus that's not what we're doing it is a memorial a time of remembrance but it is as well a means of grace for the blessing of the people of god and then the focus of the supper is ultimately on christ and i think the foot of the cross underscores that for us the foot of the cross demonstrates what is most important not personal fulfillment but divine forgiveness not earthly success but heavenly security not even happiness but righteousness which comes from god through faith in christ the foot of the cross puts things in a proper perspective for both the individual and the church christianity is about christ living dying and being raised on the third day is there really anything more important than this truth summarized by philip bliss guilty vile helpless we spotless lamb of god was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior brethren that's what the foot across of the cross demonstrates to us not again how good we are but how gracious and glorious our god is so the focus is upon jesus we need to be like that bride who sees the bridegroom in that sort of way he is altogether lovely he is chief among ten thousand and then practically we have the juice and the outer ring the wine is in the center of the dish when the brothers pass out the elements well i would like to invite the brothers to pass out the elements at this time please remain seated we'll sing number 341 please wait to take the bread we'll read the appropriate section and pray and then take the bread together because together is how the church proclaims the lord's death until he comes so 341 [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] oh in matthew 26 at verse 26 we read and as they were eating jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our god we thank you for this this ordinance and we thank you for this very vivid reminder that you give to your church we thank you that it is our privilege now to proclaim that death and god in heaven may we be encouraged and may we be strengthened in our study of the scriptures to see our savior's love for us and god may we stand amazed at your grace and your kindness and including us in your covenant promises and god we pray for more and more people to hear this truth more and more people to come out of darkness into marvelous light so that your churches may be filled with people singing the praises of god most high thank you again for his broken body on our behalf and be glorified now as we eat and we pray in jesus name amen we'll take together we can remain seated and turn to 345 3 45 just a reminder the juice is in the outer ring we'll sing 3 45 while the brothers pass that around oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is so [Music] i [Music] my in verse 27 we read then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but i say to you i will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when i drink it new with you in my father's kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the mount of olives amen well let us pray god as we consider that first covenant it was ratified in the blood of animals and we see that the latter covenant the covenant of grace is ratified in the blood of the son of god the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and we know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin so we give praise to you that you've dealt so completely with our sin problem we thank you that the blood of jesus christ your son washes us from all sin cleanses us from all sin and we pray now god in heaven as we drink this cup we would do so with that conscious reminder of what the savior accomplished on behalf of his people and we pray in jesus name amen we'll take together we can turn to 352 where we'll sing that philip bliss him three five two we'll stand as we sing together [Music] good [Music] [Music] i [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] was [Music] now may the god of peace who brought up our lord jesus from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete and every good work to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through jesus christ to whom be glory for ever and ever amen god may this be the case for each of us may work in our hearts in our minds in our lives may you further conform us unto the image of your blessed son and may we live in light of the cross and may we daily be strengthened and encouraged as we study scripture as we pray to you and god may we in all things bring glory and honor and praise to father son and holy spirit and we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen we'll close for a brief time of meditation [Music] you