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you welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 48. psalm 48. and i'll begin reading in verse 1. a song a psalm of the sons of korah great is the lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our god in his holy mountain beautiful in elevation the joy of the whole earth is mount zion on the sides of the north the city of the great king god is in her palaces he is known as her refuge for behold the kings assembled they passed by together they saw it and so they marveled they were troubled they hastened away fear took hold of them there and pain as of a woman in birth pangs as when you break the ships of tarshish with an east wind as we have heard so we have seen in the city of the lord of hosts in the city of our god god will establish it forever salah we have thought o god on your loving kindness in the midst of your temple according to your name o god so is your praise to the ends of the earth your right hand is full of righteousness let mount zion rejoice let the daughters of judah be glad because of your judgments walk about zion and go all around her count her towers mark well her bulwarks consider her palaces that you may tell it to the generation following for this is god our god forever and ever he will be our guide even to death amen well please turn to psalm 134 psalm 134 we'll stand as we sing together oh [Music] [Music] r [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for this opportunity to gather in your house we thank you for the sacrament of the supper and for the many blessings that you pour out upon us we give praise to you for the church of the lord jesus christ we give praise to you for so great a salvation and we give praise that tonight we can gather together in your presence and we can express that gratitude through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as well we can turn our attention to the word of the living and true god and also to the lord's table we pray that in all of this you would be exalted and glorified that father son and spirit would be enthroned upon the praises of your people in this place we ask that you would wash us and purify us from all of our remaining sin we ask god in heaven that you would forgive us and cleanse us in that precious blood of the lord jesus christ and god help us to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight please provide for us the holy spirit please provide to us that truth that does sanctify us and grant us help and grace to be conformed unto the image of your beloved son we pray father for those who've come here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and their sins we know god it takes sovereign grace to awaken them and so we appeal to you we pray to you we beg and implore you god almighty to rem the heavens and to come down to bring that conviction for sin and to set forth christ in his ability to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through him as well our father we pray that you would look with favor upon all of our children and our young people god the preacher says to remember your creator in your youth and we pray that by your grace that would be true for our little ones we ask god in heaven that you'd open their hearts that you'd open their their ears to the truth of your holy gospel and that by grace you would save them in their youth as well our father we pray for your blessing to be upon all of those in our midst that have ongoing trials with the physical afflictions we just pray that you would give them grace and strength help them to persevere help them in the midst of these things to meditate upon and realize the truth of the apostle paul when he speaks of the momentary weight of affliction that gives way to that exceeding weight of glory may they know that though the outer man does decay day by day that inner man is renewed and god may this encourage them may this cheer their hearts we pray again from mrs van shake that she would recover well from surgery we pray for little casey that you would continue to bless this baby that he would daily gain in strength and health we pray that he'd be able to breathe unassisted by machines that he would be able to return home soon and that god you would just set this boy apart in the future in terms of regenerating grace as well father we thank you for the fact that we're not alone in this city or in this country or in this world we thank you for the many churches of our lord jesus christ who are faithfully proclaiming the truth we ask god for your blessing to be upon the free reformed here in town we also pray for brother tim champ and for the the various churches that are seeking to glorify you in the proclamation of your word as well father throughout this nation we see faithful men and we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and i pray that you would just continue to uphold them we ask that you would bless in this land lord god for as we survey the current situation we see it does does parallel the days of israel at the time of the prophet isaiah when he pronounced woe upon those who who call evil good and good evil we see all manner of lawlessness in terms of the ten commandments being broken on a daily and a regular basis we see a rejection of the lord god most high and his christ and so father we pray that you would bless the proclamation of your truth we pray that you would awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would revive those who name the name of jesus christ and help us to be faithful in this present generation we ask that you would be merciful to those in civil authority we pray that you would grant them wisdom we pray that you would exercise restraint over them as solomon reminds us in proverbs 21 1 we ask god in heaven that they would do things that are right and legit and good for the body politic and when they step over their boundaries we pray that you would indeed check them as well our father we ask that you would just be merciful to the persecuted church we know that there are those in other lands that suffer greatly for jesus christ and god we do stand in off at such bravery at such courage and at the grace that you supply to your suffering saints we ask god in heaven that you would bless our brothers and sisters in china on a regular basis we get updates about those that we've prayed for for many years that are still facing threat from the the governing authority we get new reports of others that are suffering under this oppressive regime and yet god that gospel continues to go forth in that land we know that the the the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and we bless you and we praise you for the building project undertaken by the lord of glory as well our god we pray for your blessing upon the middle east and the various nations steeped in islam we pray for afghanistan and we know that that regime change has not gone well in terms of the people of god so lord bless and strengthen and encourage the saints of christ wherever they find themselves and may you be merciful and may you be that that strong tower that protection and that stabilizing influence in their lives and in their ministries and god we ask that you would bless the church and sorry we ask that you'd bless the plant and vernon and in dryden and we ask that you would be glorified in the building up of the saints of jesus christ and help us all to be faithful in the calling with which you've called us and do bless the work in honduras it cheers us and encourages us to see this building project it encourages us to know that that place will be used as a beach ad to proclaim the truth as it is in jesus christ so god bless your servants bless your gospel as it goes forth and be glorified we pray and we ask in the name of the lord jesus christ amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 459 hymn number 459 will stand as we sing together is is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] well you can turn with me in your bibles to matthew chapter 27. matthew chapter 27 we've been considering matthew's passion narrative for a while now in our lord's supper services and i want to read beginning in matthew 27 at verse 32. now as they came out excuse me 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 with 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 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 in two 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 and many women who followed jesus from galilee ministering to him were there looking on from afar among whom were mary magdalene mary the mother of james and jose's and the mother of zebedee's sons amen well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this narrative and for what it instructs us concerning the death of our lord jesus christ we know that as a result of his death and his resurrection we have eternal life and we praise you for that we ask now that you would guide our thoughts and our meditation that you would draw out our hearts and love and worship and adoration i do also want to pray for our brother jonathan hall tonight ask god that you would continue to watch over him and selena and their little children and just bless in this whole process and god encourage all of us now there are many things going on in the world today many things that perplex our hearts and our minds and many things that drag us down if if we allow it but help us to be encouraged by the balm of gilead help us to find great nurture in the word of the living god and especially as we concentrate our energy upon the the son of man who loved us and who gave himself for us forgive us again for our sin and transgression guide and lead us by your holy spirit and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well our focus tonight is on verses 51 to 56 so the k the the narrative that i read has to do with the crucifixion of our lord so the crucifixion proper is recorded in verses 32 to 38 and then you have the mockery of jesus while he is on the cross verses 39 to 44 and then the death of jesus here specifically in 45 to 56 but as we narrow in on this particular section there is the cry of dereliction in verses 45 and 46 the mockery of the bystanders again verses 47 to 49 the death of jesus in verse 50 and then tonight the signs and wonders after the crucifixion in verses 51-53 and then finally the witnesses to the crucifixion the women and the soldiers testify great things concerning the son of god who gave himself for us well let's look first at the signs and wonders following the crucifixion there are three recorded here first the torn veil verse 51a this is also parallel in mark and in luke secondly you have the earthquake and rocks that's unique to matthew the other gospel writers do not re record that and then you have the resurrection of the saints in verses 52 and 53 again unique to matthew you won't find that in mark or in luke so the torin veil the earthquake and the rocks and then the resurrection of the saints i doubt that every question will be answered tonight in terms of the resurrection of the saints but i'll simply try to point you in the right direction in the first place notice the torn veil verse 50 tells us that jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit then behold the veil of the temple was torn into from top to bottom now commentators are a bit divided upon this because we don't know if it was the inner veil or the outer veil there was an inner veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies and then there was an outer veil that separated the holy play or the holy uh the holy place from the outer courtyard and there is significance to be found in both with reference to the inner veil it would indicate or underscore that there is now access as well there is no more sacrificial sister there is no more uh old covenant legislation in terms of our approach to god with that inner veil rent from top to bottom it shows the initiative of god it's not from bottom to top it's not man sort of making his way upward but it is rather from the top to the bottom indicating showing demonstrating that god is appeased that atonement has been wrought and now man has access by god's grace through the mediation of our lord and savior jesus christ one man says that the whole epistle to the hebrews is commentary on this split veil now if it's the outer veil that's significant in terms of the impending judgment upon jerusalem now these two concepts are not far removed judgment typically implies salvation and salvation typically implies judgment while old covenant israel is going to be cut off and that's already been announced by jesus in matthew chapters 23 and chapter 24 there is that opening up in terms of the the the new covenant that blessed era prophesied in the old testament inaugurated by the lord jesus christ wherein access to the father is through the son the one who yielded up his spirit the one who rendered up a blood atonement the one who was the sacrifice for his people so the judgment aspect again i think it's there matthew poole makes this comment by this rending of the veil god testified his wrath against the jews and that he was leaving his temple amongst them spurgeon says as if shocked at the sacrilegious murder of her lord the temple rent her garments like one stricken with horror at some stupendous crime again these concepts are mingled the new covenant is initiated is inaugurated and it is signified here by the rending of this temple so the veil is torn from top to bottom indicating god's activity in bringing salvation to his people every attempt by man in terms of false religion is an attempt by man in vain to gain access to god the only way that sinners have access to god is if god initiates is if god orchestrates if god actually puts into practice a way or means by which sinners can come into his presence that is signified by the rent veil from the top to the bottom as well the veil that prohibited access to the holy of holies is torn indicating now that the sinner has approached into the holy of holies and again that is made much of in the book of hebrews by the apostle paul so we have access into that holy of holies and if you're thinking in terms of old testament religion that was only for the high priest on the day of atonement we have this priesthood of believers today that is most excellent in the new covenant we are those who by god's grace have access into god's holy presence again not because of our good works not because of our virtue or our law keeping but because of what christ has wrought in terms of his atonement on the cross for his people and the veil is torn and that serves as a visible display of the covenantal transformation again that will happen in 1870 when jerusalem is surrounded by her enemies when the temple is destroyed when the city is sacked and when the jews go into exile but with reference to this temp uh the the rending of the the veil the veil is torn and that serves as a visible display of the covenantal transformation involved and the fulfillment of the ceremonial law for those who witness or rather attend the wednesday night or the confession study there's three divisions in the law of god there's the moral law there's the judicial law and then there's the ceremonial law and the ceremonial law was extent or present in old covenant religion it prefigured christ it pointed forward to the lord jesus by virtue of a lot of different ways and sacrifices and means they were tutored to look forward to the coming messiah well by the sacrifice of our lord jesus christ that has been fulfilled again i think i mentioned this recently we don't have sacrifice tonight what we engage in is not atonement this is not a bloodless atonement vis-a-vis roman catholicism it is a means of grace it is a time and a special way to remember our lord's death on our behalf but we're not sacrificing there's no incense there's no animals that we bring into this place why because the ceremonies of moses have been fulfilled by our lord jesus christ the temple was under that same sort of an operation now that jesus has come there's no significance in an earthly temple this idea of dispensational theology to rebuild the temple in the city of jerusalem to await for the lord jesus christ is to go precisely backward in redemptive history the temple stood to point to the lord jesus now that the lord jesus is here we don't have to have a temple we certainly don't have blood atonement in terms of animal sacrifice that is a backward motion in terms of redemptive history john calvin comments for then christ the true and everlasting priest having abolished the figures of the law opened up for us by his blood the way to the heavenly sanctuary that we may no longer stand at a distance within the porch but may freely advance into the presence of god that is i think a good take-home message there may be some confusion in terms of the interval in terms of the outer veil in terms of salvation in terms of judgment in terms of ceremonies and in terms of what is binding in new covenant religion but let this faster or rather simmer in your heart what he says we have for we may freely advance into the presence of god what was reserved for the high priest on the day of atonement alone has now been opened up through the high priestly office of our lord jesus christ so that we have access to the father through the mediation of the son in the presence and the power of the holy spirit such that the church as it were enters into the very new jerusalem when we gather together for corporate worship we can advance we can enter the holy of holies now notice secondly the earthquake and rocks in verse 51b so then behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earthquake and the rocks were split davies and allison say god vindicates his son with a shower of astounding miracles nature speaks again and loudly if you go back to verse 45 now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land so the created order speaks at the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ it is as it were as if the created order is underscoring the significance of what is transpiring in the death of our lord jesus christ one man says as the skies darken before jesus death now the earth trembles after it so you have this statement the earthquake and the rocks were split turn back to the book of judges to see the significance involved in this language several passages underscore for us what is in view here remember that it's not only the death of jesus in its positive aspect in terms of opening to us the holy of holies but there's also the judgment upon the nation that has taken the lord of glory and hath has crucified him so these jews these lawless men appeal to pontius pilate because they don't possess the prerogative of execution of criminal offenders so they set up the case they it to pilot pilot because he's a coward kowtows to mob rule and what we have here is the greatest crime that ever transpired christ is holy harmless and undefiled there was nothing in him deserving that the treatment that he received at the hands of men so this phenomena that occurs in the natural order again underscores the significance of the event but it also thunders forth god's judgment over those rejecters notice in judges 5 at verses 4 and 5 in the song of deborah lord when you went out from seer when you marched from the field of edom the earth trembled and the heavens poured the clouds also poured water the mountains gushed before the lord this sinai before the lord god of israel turn over to psalm 114 psalm 114 the significance of this is that god intervenes and the significance of this is that he not only intervenes but he shows his disapproval of their action in other words he is intending to bring judgment to bear upon them that was announced in chapters 23 and 24 with the destruction of jerusalem that would occur in 80 70. but notice in psalm 114 specifically at verses 7 and 8 tremble o earth at the presence of the lord at the presence of the god of jacob who turned the rock into a pool of water the flint into a fountain of waters and then in terms of judgment look at the prophet jeremiah jeremiah chapter 10. so we've got god's intervention and we've got god's judgment jeremiah chapter 10 verse 10 but the lord is the true god he is the living god and the everlasting king at his wrath the earth will tremble and the nations will not be able to endure his indignation the minor prophet joel hosea joel the second of the minor prophets chapter 3 verse 16. same sort of an emphasis the judgment of god as demonstrated through the natural order so joel 3 16 the lord also will roar from zion and utter his voice from jerusalem the heavens and earth will shake but the lord will be a shelter for his people and the strength of the children of israel and then the prophet nahum just go a few bit a few books further and you'll see the prophet nahum this is a prophecy of judgment against the city of nineveh you remember that jonah was sent on that mission of mercy to preach to the city of nineveh well the ninevites repented but their repentance wasn't lasting and so the prophet nahum prophesies concerning their impending doom and then you notice in chapter one of the prophet nahum specifically at verses five and six the mountains quake before him the hills melt and the earth heaves at his presence yes the world and all who dwell in it who can stand before his indignation and who can endure the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him so back to matthew 27 it's god's intervention wherein this phenomena happens but it's demonstrative of god's judgment and if these godless christ-rejecting jews had pondered their old own scriptures they would have stood in fear there's no sense of that whatsoever they continue impenitent they continue rebellious they continue in that place of rejecting both yahweh and his christ matthew henry said the earth by trembling under such a load bore its testimony to the innocence of him that was persecuted and against the impiety of those that persecuted him never did the whole creation before grown under such a burden as the son of god crucified and the guilty wretches that crucified him so we would expect this in terms of the significance of the event that it would be attended by this phenomena but it does demonstrate to us not only the salvation of the elect as they have access to the holy of holies but the damnation of those who reject and those who continue in penitent back to matthew chapter 27 we have the third aspect in terms of the resurrection of the saints if you look at verse 52 it says 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 this demonstrates christ's power over the grave this demonstrates what will be admitted or rather testified by jesus in john's gospel in john 5 24-29 he has the power over the grave but when we look at that particular passage we need to make a stop at the end of opened because as the text is punctuated at least in the new king james the idea is is that the graves open the saints were resurrected and then they sat in the grave for three days and then they exited the grave when jesus rose from the dead their resurrection is connected to jesus resurrection that's the way the text is to be interpreted notice and the graves were open full stop period 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 you see the the process or the trajectory there you've got the graves open when the son of man dies but then three days later many of these saints are raised at that point it is consistent with the resurrection of our lord jesus christ calvin says there is no probability in the conjecture of some commentators that after having received life and breath they remain three days concealed in their graves that's not what happened so the graves were open preparatory for the resurrection that would take place when jesus rose from the dead now in terms of the significance of this particular passage it foreshadows chapter 28 it foreshadows the reality that christ will rise from the dead so in verse 50 you have the statement jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit and then here in verse 53 and coming out of the graves after his resurrection so it foreshadows as i said chapter 28 if there were no chapter 28 you still have a christ resurrected from the dead as well it underscores the efficacy of christ's atoning work so when that veil is rent from the top to the bottom that is god's signature that what christ has accomplished is efficacious it is approved by the father it is accepted the way of access has been gained we now have the ability to go behind the veil into the very holy of holies and to meet with god most high so we have the efficacy of christ's work underscored by his resurrection from the dead and then notice this identification of many saints it says in many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised we don't know who they are it doesn't give us their names it doesn't give us their identities it doesn't tell us either their status did they continue on in their lives the way that lazarus who was raised from the dead did or did they ascend at the time that our lord jesus ascended commentators are divided on either way but we do know who we don't know who they are but we do know this that they were saints that were resurrected by virtue of the work of the lord jesus christ in other words his life his death his resurrection was applied to all those prior to him turn to the book of hebrews where you see that you see a retrospective application of the finished work of our lord jesus to old covenant saints hebrews chapter 9 the point is simple anyone who has ever entered in to the presence of god has done so on the basis of the active and passive obedience of our lord jesus christ enoch walked with god and then he was not able was a righteous man who passed into the presence of god how did they enter in through the blood atonement brought out by our lord jesus christ the way we look back in history at that event it has blessing for us in the same manner that event had blessing for those prior to the cross notice in hebrews 9 15 and for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance look at chapter 10 verse 1 for the law having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year make those who approach perfect for then would they not have ceased to be offered for the worshipers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins but in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins they were typological they pointed forward to the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world but they weren't efficacious to bring sinners into the presence of god most high that is result uh reserved solely for the work of our lord jesus christ and then one final observation before we leave these saints notice what it says verse 53 and coming out of the graves after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many this as well foreshadows the nature of the christian hope i have suggested before that we are not gnostics gnostics believe that the body isn't incidental it's sort of a necessary evil it's not all that you know it's just not something that that is an end that's why you know in first john for instance and then ii john the apostle there emphasizes that jesus has come in the flesh why because not fully developed gnosticism and play at that point but at least in uh sort of seed form gnosticism they rejected the idea of the physical they rejected the idea of the bodily you see that through the history of the church as well roman catholicism for instance teaching that you know marriage the only only reason for marriage is for procreation now that's certainly an aspect of marriage but there's other parts to it as well you know the emphasis in rome about not eating meat on friday during lent or you know not eating whatever there is this sort of degradation of the physical among some who profess faith in christ and i think we can fall prey to that as well and somehow think that the end of redemption is simply the soul in the presence of god most high that's not it brethren we believe in the resurrection from the dead we believe in life eternal in the age to come body and soul one man says matter matters god made it in creation took it on in incarnation and raises it again in resurrection bodies are not immaterial or unimportant to the biblical god they matter so much that god raises them in the apostles creed we joyfully confess i believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting so brethren this is a foreshadow of that it's not just a sort of a bodyless spiritual existence when we get to heaven no there's going to be a general resurrection all of the bodies that are dead will be raised reunited to their souls and brought into the presence of god most high where we body and soul will live forever and ever praising father son and holy spirit so that is foreshadowed here as well and then it says that they went into the holy city jerusalem and appeared to many christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection we see that pattern their resurrection is connected to his resurrection but the saints went into the holy city and appeared to many to confirm that the christ who had been crucified has now been raised from the dead they didn't just do this as some sort of a parlor trick they didn't do this just because hey look i was dead and and here i am they did it to testify to the efficacious work of the son of god who loved us and gave himself for us they were testifiers they were witnesses they were those who shone the light of god's glory upon the resurrection of jesus christ our lord so those are the signs and wonders following the crucifixion let's look finally at the witnesses to the crucifixion very intriguing what we have here in verses 54-56 the first place you have the confession of the soldiers this is no small confession either this is a robust excellent confession made by these soldiers notice in verse 54 so when the centurion and those with him who are guarding jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened they feared greatly saying truly this was the son of god now in terms of their identity john tells us there were four soldiers present at the cross to make sure that everything happened in an orderly way this wasn't their first rodeo this is what they did now when it says that they feared greatly when this uh earthquake comes that indicates the supernatural character of the earthquake they had done many a crucifixion that were not attended by earthquakes this one happened to be so in terms of these men they're the four specifically tasked with carrying out his execution they are the ones according to 27 30 to 31 who mocked him look back at 27 27-31 they mocked our lord jesus christ they cast lots for his garments according to verse 35 which is indicative of the fact that christ hung on that cross naked he had no clothing on typically in christian art they put something covering his private parts that's not the way the text reads the text reads that he was naked on that cross as well they were the ones who kept watch over him according to verse 36 and the ones who witnessed all that he had suffered on the cross so that's who they are but in terms of their fear again look at the passage when they saw the earthquake and the things that had happened so the rent veil they saw the or knew the effect of the earthquake and then the rocks were split they knew that the graves were open but again the actual bodies weren't raised until uh connection with jesus resurrection but they saw this phenomena and then it says they feared greatly they feared greatly they knew they weren't doing a normal process in this execution they knew there was something atypical about this particular event and then notice their confession truly this was the son of god now this is ironic because previously in the passage people were walking by wagging their heads and mocking him challenging him if he is the son of god let him come down from that cross the religious leaders themselves mocked him in that particular way so the rejection of the son of god on the part of the jewish leaders and the people of israel makes this that much more glorious they the ones to whom he came the very nation from whom messiah comes he comes to his own his own receive him not they don't confess him as the son of god they use that as a taunt they use that as ridicule they use that as mockery they use that as a means by which to blaspheme him and yet the roman soldiers men associated with death men associated with pain and torment and punishment men who again was this was not their first rodeo they nevertheless confessed that jesus is the son of god davies and allison say the soldiers who are set up as witnesses in verse 36 take up the title to use to ridicule jesus in verses 40 and 43 and make it a sincere confession as well the confession of the son of god in light of what they knew think about what these men had seen they had seen the charge above his head this is jesus the king of the jews they had heard the mockery in verses 40 and 43 the idea that christ was in fact the son of god they hear jesus cry in terms of his commitment of his spirit to the father in luke's gospel and then their time in israel they would have had some concept a messiah they weren't ruler at least in terms of military over these people they would be common to some uh uh somewhat uh familiar with some of the idioms of their religion and of the messianic expectation and so this is an accurate confession truly this was the son of god and then in terms of matthew's gospel we see it very specifically in john so john starts off in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god and then john ends with thomas's confession my lord and my god what is john trying to communicate to us he's trying to communicate to us theology proper he's identifying for us who the word is he's telling us that jesus is the second person of the triune god who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven it's not as obvious in matthew's gospel but it is as obvious in matthew's gospel if you think about matthew's gospel this confession of jesus as the son of god is made by the father the father makes this confession in chapter 3 at verse 17 at the baptism of the lord the father makes this confession in chapter 17 at the transfiguration of our lord the disciples on a couple of occasions in matthew's gospel confess that jesus is the son of god jesus himself obviously claims to be the son of god in matthew's gospel and even the demons in chapter 8 and verse 29 confess that jesus is the son of god and so when we read this by the soldiers they were absolutely positively right on they were correct they weren't just taking a stab at some theological guess but rather matthew is showing us that this one who is crucified is in fact the son of god the religious leaders and the passers-by of israel rejecting their messiah would wag their heads and mock him for claiming to be the son of god and yet these roman soldiers now confess that he is in fact the son of god bruner makes this good observation he says it pleases matthew that just as it was gentile magi who first honored jesus birth in matthew 2 so it is now gentile militia who first honor jesus death they say they affirm they confirm that what we know of a truth and what was completely rejected by this audience is the reality and then bruner says that luther believed that the soldier's confession quote is a sign of the power of the death of christ the blood of christ not only awakens dead bodies but also sinners souls these were sinners souls who had been awakened through the death of our lord jesus christ brethren we may sit with abraham isaac and jacob and the four soldiers who conducted the execution of our lord jesus christ they made the good confession think back to matthew chapter 16 who do men say that i the son of man am the apostles say well there's all these people out there with all these conjectures out there and then jesus brings it to bear upon his own who do you say that i am and peter confesses thou art the christ the son of the living god and jesus says blessed are you simon barjona for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven he was the one that made this known so these soldiers make the proper confession concerning jesus christ and they say truly this was the son of god and then notice the presence of the women the presence of the women there are three things here their devotion they had followed jesus about 80 to 100 miles from galilee they had ministered to jesus on several occasions that they look on from afar here is no bad testimony on them it is simply a matter of fact in terms of their identity we are told mary magdalene mary the mother of james and josie's probably not jesus mother and then the mother of zebedee's sons remember it was the mother of zebedee's sons that brought her two precious boys to our lord jesus when they were jockeying for position at the right hand of the son of god remember that passage in matthew chapter 20 jesus says i have a baptism to undergo i have a cup to drink to undergo that you men know nothing of and so when it comes to push or when it comes to crunch time guess where the sons of zebedee are not they're not present at the cross but their mother is now why does matthew include this bit of information here well in the first place there's an apologetic significance apologetic significance bruner again says precisely because women's witness was not considered dependable in israel's courts now that makes us go nuts in the 21st century but that's just not the way it was back then right it was the way i'm not saying it was right i'm not condoning it i'm not saying that women's testimony shouldn't be invalid in a in a court of law but it's simply reporting what was it's just the way that it was we can't go back and clean up history we can't go back and refashion history we can't go back and fix history it's an impossible task we learn from history we praise god for history we extol the the heroes in history and we castigate the wretches in history but we can't go back in police history but in terms of the apologetic significance again bruner he says precisely because women's witness was not considered dependable in israel's courts the canonical writers would have had male witnesses present at these crucial events if they had invented the stories in other words that women were the witnesses and that the canonical writers matthew mark luke and john record that evidence that they're committed to the truth they're not shaping their narrative they're not saying in their first century context well nobody's going to believe the testimony of women so we'll excise them from the narrative and we'll put in a faithful body of men that's not what they do there's apologetic value to the reality of what we find in the gospel records at the level of the women's witness as well notice the contextual significance they are present at his death here they are present at his burial verse 61 and they are present at his resurrection in verse 28 verse 1 and following and then in terms of the practical significance the male disciples are not there it's not saying that women are better than men it's just simply a commentary on what happened in terms of the the crucifixion of our lord you had the bravado of a simon peter who said i will never deny you he denies jesus to a servant girl we see in matthew 26 that all the disciples flee from him and yet here are these faithful women the bible's not anti-woman the bible's not chauvinistic the bible doesn't have an axe to grind against women again persons think that they assume that they operate with that mindset but it's simply false it's simply incorrect it is simply wrong matthew dignifies these women by demonstrating their presence at the death burial and resurrection of our blessed lord jesus christ calvin says but praise is bestowed on the women alone who accompanied christ till death because their extraordinary attachment to their master was more strikingly displayed when the men fled trembling and calvin's not saying bad men they're horrible men they're satanic men they're in hell kind of men that's not what he's saying he's simply commending the faith of these women who are present at the death the burial and the resurrection in spite of the fact that the men had fled when the going got tough after having promised that i will die for you i will not deny you whatever comes your way i will be right there with you well when push came to shove off they went which before we close doesn't that illustrate the beauty of the gospel what does jesus not do you guys deserted me so forget it you guys deserted me so i'm cutting you off you guys deserted me so i'm done with you now the glory of the gospel is that god's not done with us the glory of the gospel is that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared the glory of the gospel is that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness the glory of the gospel is that through the blood atonement of our lord jesus christ through the rending of that veil the opening up to the holy of holies once by grace a sinner is conquered then that sinner is conquered forever he doesn't lose his salvation because he has a lapse he doesn't lose his salvation because he has remaining corruption he doesn't lose that salvation because ultimately that would reflect upon the savior either he comes to save his people from their sins or he doesn't and if a man can be truly saved and then lost that reflects upon the ability or the lack of ability on the savior himself so this idea that sinners for whom jesus died and rose again can somehow lose their salvation again it's been well said if we could we would absolutely positively in a moment if the church could have been destroyed by now it would have been destroyed by now god most high is in control of the church and he's in control of individual sinners and we rejoice in that well in conclusion couple of thoughts and then we move to the supper first the efficacy of the atoning work of christ from chapter 27 verse 32 to chapter 37 27 to verse 56 the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ is all according to the plan and purpose of god this wasn't uh invented by men this wasn't conceptualized by some drama school this was the plan and purpose of god most high in order to save his people from their sins that whole detailed legislation that we have in the old testament is preparatory i hope that as you read through the old testament now you you feel that sense of preparation you know this is going somewhere you know that there's purpose here you know that every sacrifice every detail every jot every title or that ceremonial law is pointing forward to and prefiguring the coming of the son of god who will save his people from their sins and with reference to the efficacy we see it in the rent veil we see it in the resurrection from the dead we see the power of jesus in inaugurating the new covenant j.c reil says the rending of the veil proclaimed the termination and passing away of the ceremonial law it was a sign that the old dispensation of sacrifices and ordinances was no longer needed brethren when we talk like this it doesn't mean it was bad it rather means it was temporary there was built-in and obsolescence with reference to the old covenant system it was built in it prefigured it typified it pointed forward to the coming of the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so when we talk about no more ceremonial law it's not some triumphalistic way say oh the ceremonial law was bad it was bad it was no no no no it was given for a time to keep the children of israel under check to tutor them in terms of their messiah and to provide for them gracious confirmation of god's saving interest in them and so while it was in play it was a most blessed institution but that jesus comes to fulfill and therefore abrogates or abolishes the ceremonies he does so through fulfillment he does so through realization back to ryle he says it was a sign that the old dispensation of sacrifices and ordinances was no longer needed its work was done its occupation was gone from the moment that christ died there was no more need of an earthly high priest and a mercy seat and a sprinkling of blood and an offering up of incense in a day of atonement the true high priest had at length appeared the true lamb of god had been slain the true mercy seat was at length revealed the figures and shadows were no longer needed may we all remember this to set up an altar and a sacrifice and the priesthood now is to light a candle at noon day obviously he's taken a shot at roman catholicism that has a priesthood that has altars that has sacrifice that has a tabernacle that has all those things that have been rendered obsolete not because they were bad but because they were fulfilled christ said it is finished there is no more ceremonies of moses that the people of god must imbibe that's why paul in galatians for instance takes aim at those who underscore circumcision along with faith as a means for justification no circumcision was part of the ceremonial law it set apart the nation of israel it prefigured certain things it was typical of certain things now that christ has come there's no more religious obligation on the people of god together not get circumcised if somebody wants to do that for a cultural or ethnic or whatever they're free to do that but the moment that one thinks it has religious significance they fall under the anathema of the apostle paul in the book of galatians as well we see not only the power of jesus and the inauguration of the new covenant but the power of jesus over sin access to god has been provided by god the veil is rent from the top to the bottom all of our attempts all of our our our uh efforts all of the the things that man i don't mean us specifically here but mankind in general the apostle summarizes it in first corinthians one for sins in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god but they tried they tried to gain access the philosophers spoke at length about god the jews certainly had had the old covenant scriptures and all those sorts of things but when they weren't living by faith in that god they were trying to do it on their own that's always the common report from every man is that he tries to go it on his own not christianity christianity is about a seeking god christianity is about the god of luke 19 10. the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost we have victory over sin in our lord jesus christ and as well you have the power of jesus over the grave and death the apostle in first corinthians chapter 15 says death is swallowed up in victory oh death where is your sting oh hades where is your victory we have that communicated to us in the opening of the graves and the rising up of the many saints and in their going into the holy city to testify that jesus christ is risen jesus christ has power over death jesus christ has power over the grave and jesus christ will usher his beloved church into his presence forever and ever and ever and that my brothers and sisters is a most encouraging benefit of our religion our people die but they die well they enter in to the presence of emmanuel they go to that place where there's no more sorrow there's no more pain there's no more suffering they go to that place where there's no more hunger where there's no more thirst they go to that place where there's no more sin they stand before the throne of god day and night crying out salvation belongs to our god and to the lamb who sits upon the throne and you know what else is not present in the new jerusalem death itself that is the last enemy that christ defangs according to first corinthians chapter 15 and verse 28 death punctuates this lower world death is a grief death is sorrowful death does hurt but in the new jerusalem there's no more death our savior is victorious our savior is triumphant and our savior has removed the fangs from the grave itself and in that god's people rejoice well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the work of jesus christ every time we remind ourselves of the gospel of our salvation we stand amazed that you would choose to save wretches like us that according to your good pleasure you chose us in him before the foundation of the world and that in your time you sent him it wasn't us who asked it wasn't us who fetched it wasn't at us who deserved but you sent the son of your love into this world sinners to save we thank you for that life of obedience we thank you for the death at calvary god as we survey this particular scene as we see this veil rent from top to bottom as we see access into the holy of holies opened up by our savior we stand amazed and we give you praise and glory and adoration and we ask that you would comfort and encourage our hearts tonight she would build us up in our most holy faith that god as we continue to diverse distance in this present world we would do so with that cheerful disposition knowing that when we breathe our last we'll enter into the presence of a gracious and a good and a holy god and as well help us to look forward to the resurrection from the dead because it's not just the intermediate state that is the christian hope but it is rather that resurrection that day when you will summons all men everywhere to rise up you will knit body and soul back together you will bring the righteous into your present where presence where we may enjoy our blessed god body and soul world without end we bless and praise you for these mercies and these graces that you've given to us we bless and we praise you for the for the goodness that you have shown to us in the gospel of our salvation and again father we are jealous and desirous that others would know this truth as well that you would convict sinners that you would show them it's not their works it's not their deeds it's not their subscription to ceremonies in terms of law but it is belief on the savior for salvation god do this for your glory do this for the good of souls from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and may you demonstrate your power and your sovereignty and your majesty in the saving of sinners by grace through faith in our lord jesus christ and we pray in his blessed name amen well you can turn with me to matthew 26 where jesus inaugurates the new covenant obviously in his blood and institutes the lord's supper a couple of observations that are necessary to make in the first place the the supper is for believers only it is a ordinance or a sacrament of the new testament and therefore it is designed rather it is designed specifically for god's people so if you're not a believer tonight we would ask kindly that you do not participate in eating the bread and drinking the cup and then the ordinance of the supper is for believers who are dealing with their sin according to god's word we see that in first corinthians 11. first corinthians 11 they had a meal in conjunction with the supper and at that meal they were sinning against god they were betraying the one or the the the body aspect of christianity and so the apostle paul tells them to examine themselves now when you examine yourselves before you take the bread and drink the cup it doesn't mean you find no sin i hate to break this to you but you're always going to find sin but are you dealing with that sin are you seeking to maintain a conscience void of offense toward god and toward men basically you have short accounts with god you sin you ask him for forgiveness you got sin in your relationships you try to mend those things you don't let them go undealt with or untended they only get worse as well the elements of the supper are not changed the bread remains bread the cup or the wine of the the juice remains the fruit of the vine there's no change that takes place it's not that jesus body and blood are actually present in the elements that's called transubstantiation or consubstantiation so as far as roman catholics are concerned the ba the bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of jesus as far as the lutherans are concerned it's pretty close jesus body is in with by and around the elements both are not what scripture teaches when jesus says this is my body he's speaking metaphorically that's a pretty simple interpretative process for some reason rome and luther faltered on it so there is no transubstantiation there is no sacrifice of atonement it is a means of grace designed to provoke our mindset to focus upon our lord jesus christ through the use of physical tangible elements and then ultimately the focus of the supper is always on jesus confess your sins ask for forgiveness and then praise god for jesus don't just stay at your sin or else you're going to be miserable as you eat this bread and drink this cup it's a time of rejoicing it's a time of blessing it's a time of covenant renewal it is service provided by the householder we look at it as our service to god god owns the house and god puts out the bounty and god calls us to take to eat to to rejoice as we remember his blessed son so if the brothers will come and pass out the bread we will sing a hymn while they do that and then we'll read the section appropriate to the bread in matthew 26 we'll pray and then we'll take the bread so while the brothers pass out the bread you can remain seated but turn to psalm 130 a as in alpha psalm 130 a as in alpha [Music] oh lord to me [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] in matthew 26 at verse 26 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 and father we thank you for the old covenant system and how it prefigured and pointed forward to our lord jesus we thank you for the announcement of john the baptist behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and we thank you for granting us a saving interest in this by faith and we pray that you would be glorified now as we eat this bread and as we drink this cup as a church together we proclaim the lord's death until he comes what a blessed privilege this is and what a wonderful corporate function this is and as peter says we are called out of darkness into marvelous light that we may proclaim your praises so god be glorified now we pray in jesus name amen we'll take together juice is in the outer ring if you're not inclined to take the wine the juice is in the outer ring so we'll sing 276 while they pass that out [Music] is [Music] [Music] jesus oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] r [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] 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 well let us pray our god we know that the old covenant was ratified through blood and we know that the new covenant is ratified through blood and we praise you for that blood of the lord jesus christ that does cleanse us from all sin we give praise to you for membership in that new covenant we know it is by grace and not by performance and we pray god most high that we would live in a manner consistent with this membership that we would glorify you as individuals as families as a church and that you would be exalted and enthroned upon your uh the praises of your people here we thank you for the fact that there is forgiveness with you we thank you for your mercy and for your grace and we praise you now through jesus christ our lord amen we'll take together three five two three five two we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] oh [Music] in my place [Music] is is [Music] [Music] is [Music] what i said [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 in 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 go with your church now grant us help and strength to glorify you in this world again bless those in our midst to have specific needs we commit each one to you and to the word of your grace and we pray that you would be glorified in and through us and we praise you for a blessed sabbath day we praise you for the baptisms this morning and for the membership we thank you as well for the supper tonight and for the goodness of god revealed to us so so profusely in and through the scriptures and through the gospel of our salvation and we praise you in jesus christ's name amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation you you you